FAILED-PROJECT FRIDAY: The GEN13/ DIRTY PAIR crossover (Patreon)

Welcome to another installment of Failed-Project Friday!

Back when I was working on the Gen13 Bootleg: "Grunge: The Movie!" arc for Wildstorm circa 1996 or 1997, 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).  As I was working on both books at the time, a Gen13/ Dirty Pair crossover seemed like an obvious idea to pitch, as seen in the pitch art above.

 I dusted off the antagonists and premise from another, earlier defunct FFF project, the X-Force: Junk Mail Marvel proposal, which involved nanotech salesman from the far future traveling back in time to conduct a wildly bizarre and incredibly violent infomercial/ sales pitch on our hapless heroes.  I'd explain more of the premise, but, ah, screw it, I'm tired.  Suffice it to say that Kei and Yuri also go back in time, and team up with three of Gen13's members to battle an ultra-tech enemy whose  "infomercial" soon spirals completely out of control.  (Once again, poor Sarah and Bobby got shafted out of an appearance, as I didn't want a  seven-member set of protagonists; also once again, the DP's rarely appearing feline companion Mughi was left out, as well.) 

Wellp, the pitch didn't get much response from Wildstorm, and that was the end of this frankly desperate crossover.  Turned out, this would be one of many, many  failed attempts to get a Dirty Pair crossover off the ground... Dirty Pair/ Superman, Dirty Pair/ Predator, Dirty Pair/ Aliens (just kidding, that would've been too Project Eden-y), even Dirty Pair/ Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  Oh,  well. 

Side note: I've heard from some quarters that Failed-Project Fridays might  be coming across as negative, disheartening, depressing or the like.  Well, it's not supposed to be like that, folks.  I'm just showing you a wee hint, the merest taste of the reality inherent to working in the  comics field (or any creative field, really): you're gonna have to come  up with a lot of different ideas, throw one concept after another up  against the metaphorical wall until something sticks, and, well, face a great deal of rejection... especially if you're a writer or someone who wants to initiate a project.  (Artists sometimes have an easier time of  getting brought on board pre-existing projects.) 

Even the most wildly successful of my comics-field friends and acquaintances have long, long lists of failed pitches and aborted projects aplenty.  If anything, the grinding prospect of all the negative responses you'll encounter only makes sweeter the rare but wonderful times when a proposal of yours actually comes to fruition.

Talent and skill are one thing; persistence and "stick-to-it-iveness" (ouch) are quite another, and are invariably more critical to your long-term survival in a creative field.  I could gush forth some happy-face sheepdip about comics being a wondrous, magical fairyland of puppies and candy and rainbows—but that just ain't the case, chillun.  (Even if you actually draw comics about puppies and candy and rainbows, as do some folks I know.)  Alas,  rejection and failed proposals and ill-fated properties just come with the territory.