The past few months have been pretty crazy, haven’t they? And the last week has been the nuttiest of all for me as I waited to hear whether or not NBC would green-light a television series based on THE SIXTH GUN. Well, as you may know if you follow me on Twitter, NBC has decided to pass on the show.
I don’t know everything that goes into such a decision. Hell, I’m just a poor country boy who likes to write comic books. If you’re one to read the comments sections of various “news” sites, you’ll see lots of opinions on the subject, most of which postulated by people who know even less about how Hollywood works than I do. The bottom line, the network made the decision they felt was best for them.
I’ll admit, it was a little bit of a surprise. I’ve seen things like this fall apart time and time again, so I try not to get my hopes up. I was doing pretty well with that, too. But then I started seeing footage from the pilot. I started talking to the folks involved in making the show. I visited the set, met the cast, director, and crew. I held both the Fourth Gun and the Sixth Gun in my hands, by God! And it started to feel very, very real. When I first arrived on set, I walked into the Emerald Palace (the brothel Missy Hume owns) and came face to face with a bunch of cowboys and saloon girls… and as far as I was concerned the show was already going full speed ahead. The pilot had a great script. Buzz was good (as it should have been because it was pretty terrific) and everyone involved was pretty optimistic.
So… yeah… I was taken aback and pretty disappointed.
People who know me realize I get depressed about things like this pretty easily. I tend to be crushed by bad news. But I actually took this remarkably well. It might have been because I was surrounded by my amigos, the Disheveled Dilettantes, when the news rolled in. It might have been the delicious margarita I was enjoying. It might have been that I didn’t fully believe what I was hearing.
But what it really boils down to is this: I’m still doing a job that I never thought I’d be able to do. I write comic books for a living! More than that, I still get to focus on writing THE SIXTH GUN comic series. I just finished scripting issue 35, and there are 15 issues to go before the series reaches its conclusion.
And–let’s face it–a book I wrote got the attention of Carlton Cuse, someone I greatly admire. I got the chance to speak to Carlton Cuse about BRISCO COUNTY JR, LOST, and the freakin’ SIXTH GUN!
That’s pretty amazing for the aforementioned poor country boy.
The buzz about a pilot got a few more people to pick up the book. That’s a check for the “win” column. And I think we’ll continue to gather new readers to the fold. Those of you who love the book, keep spreading the word. If you haven’t tried the book, you can read the first issue here without spending a dime. And you can buy the trades at your local comic shop or on Amazon.
I’m very thankful to Oni Press, Closed on Mondays, Carlton Cuse, Ryan Condall, Jeffrey Reiner, the cast, the crew, and all the others who brought me along on this adventure! One thing I’ll say: everyone involved in making the show actually read and loved the book, and it was obvious in the amazing pilot they put together.
Keep in mind, just because NBC passed on the project doesn’t mean it is dead in the water. As Oni’s top dog Joe Nozemack said:
“NBC has passed on picking up THE SIXTH GUN pilot for series. Universal Television, where we have our first look deal and who are our partners on the pilot, are still very much behind the property and series. In the coming weeks we’ll be exploring all the other possible homes and outlets for THE SIXTH GUN. So just like General Hume, we’re not dead yet.”
And as Drake Sinclair said:
“The end of the world can’t stop me.”
There’s a passionate, motivated group of people who still want to see this thing happen.
Stay tuned.
