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Nine Of Brian Wood's DC Comics That Never Were

Published Thu, 13 Dec 2012 11:00:07 -0600

Last updated Thu, 13 Dec 2012 11:02:22 -0600

Brian Wood, currently to be seen on comics such as Conan, Star Wars and The Massive for Dark Horse Comics and his upcoming Mara from Image Comics, did have a few spits and spots for DC Comics. And he's made a list of the pitches that never made it to print. Including an original graphic novel with Jamie McKelvie

1. Rima The Jungle Girl – I was asked by Azzarello to write a miniseries for his First Wave thing, and I wrote the outline and met with the editor and got that approved and all seemed cool, but the green light to start scripting never came, and to this day I have no idea why. I like the story, and since I wasn't paid anything by DC for the outline the story's mine, so maybe I'll find a use for it.

2. (The Original) Anthem – I've since reused the title, but I had an OGN project approved at Vertigo with Jame McKelvie on art that, and I can't even explain why, just dropped off the edge of the world. This was late 2009, and I suspect it was the changing of regime at DC that was to blame. This wasn't the most traditionally commercial project, and I think in the aftermath it was quietly disposed of. Following that, I reconfigured this concept in at least a half dozen different ways, trying to make it palatable to DC, with no luck at all.

3. The Re-Imagined Wildstorm Universe – talked a bit about that here. I had a year of stories mapped out for Wildcats, The Authority, and a new title that I'm not sure we ever decided on a name, but it was a sort of Stormwatch meets Global Frequency thing, using a wide cast of characters, including the DV8 kids.

4. Superman Beyond – I did a few rounds of pitches but this one I pulled the plug on, and the process was starting to remind me too much of Supergirl.

5. Supergirl – whatever you've heard about this online is probably true. Maybe I'll put the finished scripts online when I'm on my deathbed.

6. Green Arrow – this was only a pitch, originally written for the digital office, for a digital-first series. Last I heard Jim Lee liked it and tucked it away for possible future use in the DCU. This was late 2010.

7. Starve – my foodie comic, fully developed as a Vertigo monthly and ready to go at a moment's notice, only to be scooped by that Anthony Bourdain graphic novel. Lesson learned: don't wait too long to pitch.

8. Gotham: Neighborhood Rebellion aka Catwoman Year 100 – When Bob Schreck was at DC, he asked me to pitch a few things, and I did, and none of them got past the first draft pitch stage. This was one of them, a far flung future crime story featuring a young girl named Nomi Blume (I've since used that name in Ultimate X-Men for the Mach Two character… cuz nothing goes to waste). The other pitches I can't locate.

9 QC (short for Quattrocento) – a Vertigo miniseries about inventors and secret societies and musical prodigies in 15th century Italy, with the same darker tone that Northlanders has. This is still in my "active" file, and I hope to get it out there someday.