Let's continue with the countdown of horror movies I'd like to expand into comic books...
5 - ALIEN
So, back in 2019, I was in talks with Dark Horse about doing a couple of ALIEN books. But licensing fell through before the books could get done. I pitched them to Marvel, but they weren’t interested. Here are the high-level pitches I originally sent:
ALIEN: GRENDEL
What I’d like to do is a full-blown action/horror story, but featuring Vikings (or Viking-like) heroes facing off against the Xenomorphs. My first inclination would be a Viking-era Earth story, with a group of aliens appearing near a settlement where the Vikings go on one of their raids. The settlement appears abandoned, and the Vikings discover that the aliens have made off with the residents. The Vikings are caught in a battle with mounting alien numbers, and eventually a small group of heroes, including a Beowulf-style character rises for final battle with the alien Queen lurking in the caves not far away.
ALIEN: DELUGE
On a world of non-stop rain and endless seas, an underwater research station is beset by the aliens. Deep within the crushing depths, on board a claustrophobic research station, a group of scientists and their families must make a stand against the aliens. The first encounter with the aliens is through an alien that has gestated inside a marine predator. Additional encounters bring even more ghastly marine horrors into the light. When a submarine team investigates the phenomenon, they bring back eggs, which soon sets off a chain of events that releases human-gestated aliens into the station. Cut off, surrounded by crushing water and terrible marine life, scientist Carol Fenris struggles for the survival of those around her as the station begins to buckle all around them. Escape is an option. But the escape vehicle only has enough room for some of the survivors, and Fenris is unsure if any of the survivors--including herself--are free from contamination. Survival is complicated by security personnel who no longer want to recognize the authority of the scientists. Tight quarters. Horrible creatures. Rampant paranoia.
4 - HELLRAISER
Yes, there have been some really cool comics about Hellraiser, both from Marvel and more recently from Boom. I still would love to leave my mark on the mythology of The Order of the Gash. I’d put the Cenobites in the background of the story. They’d be there. Their presence would be felt. But I think they would show up only rarely, and when they do, it would be to godawful effect. Instead, I’d focus on a group of occultists trying to crack the code of the Lament Configuration. The deeper they get, the bigger the world that unfolds before them, the more awful revelations they would uncover. Cosmic level hellscape stuff here. And the main characters would slowly find themselves giving into their darkest desires in a world of filth and horror.
3 - FRIGHT NIGHT
FRIGHT NIGHT ranks high for me because it might have been the first concept that I wanted to develop into something more. When I was 16 or 17, I started taking notes for a series that painted Peter Vincent and Charlie as globe-trotting heroes facing (of course) vampires. But they would also be facing cool as Hell reinventions of many classic horror icons. Along the way, we would see scenes from Mr. Vincent’s movies. And Evil Ed would surface as a recurring villain. There have been other FRIGHT NIGHT comics. I remember liking the one back in the 90s but don’t remember the stories. I haven’t had the chance to read the one that is currently running.
2 - NIGHTBREED
Almost number one with a bullet.
I love the world of NIGHTBREED (and the novella CABAL) and I would love to explore what happens to the Tribes of the Moon as they move on from Midian. I had the notion of them finding another city, like Midian, full of different creatures. This city travels from place to place, always one step ahead of inquisitors who are searching for it. Not every creature in the city, though, is on board with these newcomers bringing their troubles to them, so there would be a lot of monster politics to play with, too.
1 - PHANTASM
It’ll never happen.
I’ve tried to tilt that windmill.
But it would be an amazing ride.
I’d love to tackle a story, taking place sometime before PHANTASM RAVAGER (Or after? Or during?) with Reggie and Mike hitting the road in the Hemicuda, following the Tall Man, trying to put a stop to his evil, encountering traps and horrors left behind, meeting those who have been impacted by the Tall Man’s machinations. All the while, the world around them… the illusion of the world… is breaking down, so that we can have some real surreal, nightmarish sequences. Would we ever be sure what was real and what was not? No way! That’s part of the beauty of PHANTASM.
1 comment
Cullen, your Alien: Deluge pitch gave me chills. THAT’S the kind of Alien story that I want. The first Alien series’ from Marvel were trash. The new one that Declan Shalvey is writing, is pretty good. Marvel should absolutely let you do the Deluge story. Anyway, it was great seeing you at Texas Frightmare, and I look forward to seeing you again at Cowtown in Dallas. Also, I need a copy of the Reanimator Eternal Lie #2. Just found out that was a thing, and the campaign had already ended.