Adam Warren: Welcome to another installment of FAILED-PROJECT FRIDAY!
I’m reeeeaaally short on time today (as I’m trying to wrap up the story that closes out EMPOWERED vol. 2 this weekend), so I’m going with the most easily addressed project possible: the long-defunct SUPERMAN/ DIRTY PAIR crossover.
Back around the time I was working on GEN 13 BOOTLEG’s « GRUNGE: THE MOVIE » arc for Wildstorm, I was flailing desperately about to line up a crossover-- ANY crossover-- between the Dirty Pair and some other, more popular book, in an attempt to boost the DP’s profile (and earn some sweet mainstream page rates in the process).
Long story truncated, I made a pitch for a SUPERMAN/ DIRTY PAIR crossover that, I gather, took the DP into the DCU for an adventure with Superman… I no longer recall the details in the slightest, sadly enough.
Nanotechnology was clearly involved, given the use of the SF term « jupiter brain », which refers to a planet-sized body restructured by nanotech into a cyclopean « hypercomputer. » The term’s usually a figure of speech, but this time around Jupiter itself was obviously being transformed into an, uh, « Jupiter brain. »
IIRC, the pitch was briefly approved by DC, long enough for Wizard magazine to ask me to do a mildly infamous promotional illo for the project: the « Kei tugging on Superman’s cape » piece. (The wee, crappy gifs I could find for the piece online now mysteriously refuse to upload to DA, so you’ll have to take my word on this one.)
Alas, that promo illo proved to be wildly premature, as the project was eventually « unapproved » by DC, for various reasons. Oh, well. Can’t blame 'em, as the DP’s meager popularity wouldn’t have brought many sales to the table. My apologies for not going in to more detail on this defunct project, but I dinnae have time for such blithering today.
Anyhoo, I’m outta here, and back to the drawing board. BTW, thanks for the very kind words on EMPOWERED, everybody; I’ve been extraordinarily heartened to see readers embrace such an odd but (I hope) appealing little project… I’ll post s’more about EMP once I’m done with this current vol 2 story.
Thanks again,
AW