Once upon a time, Warren Ellis was asked to pitch Black Panther 2099 and Blade. Really. What the what?
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I remember being asked to pitch for a mooted BLACK PANTHER 2099 book at Marvel. The book actually never happened at all. I imagine none of the pitches were up to snuff, and they just killed the idea. I dimly remember mine being a sort of terrifying "Fear Of A Black Planet"/Huey P. Newton thing, with Black Panther Cells run from Marvel's fictional African country Wakanda destabilising corporate-run America. I think I used some of the stuff in there for my later DOOM 2099 sequence. I wasn't happy at doing the foot race: I got paid, and my foot hadn't been in the door that long, and I supposed this was just the way things were done. But I had a feeling that maybe it wasn't the best way to do things.
I also took part in a run-off for a BLADE comics series. You didn't always find out whom you were in competition with, but this time I'd discovered that I was running against my good friend Ian Edginton. It was awkward, but we had a teddibly English gentlemen's-manners thing about the whole situation, and I was delighted for him when he got the book. Also slightly irritated, because I could have used the money, and as corporate jobs go it had some potential for fun and advancement. But I'd obviously rather the gig go to a friend if it had to go to anyone but me. I remember that Ian ran into problems on the book straight away. And a few months later the editor phoned me and asked me if I'd take over the book.
Don’t like ads? Become a supporter and enjoy The Good Men Project ad freeI was young, and arrogant, and a bit of a prick, and I said to him, "No. You should have got it right the first time." Which was offensive on a number of levels, not least to poor Ian, who did not deserve the inference. But I didn't get anywhere without having a degree of security in my own talent. And I was pissed off.
Given the amazing stuff Ellis did with Doom 2099, it's interesting to wonder what he might have done with a future Wakanda, and his work on John Constantine could have easily influenced working with the Daywalker. Shame.
[Source: Warren Ellis Dot Com]