outtakes and alternate scenes

It's always hard to kill your babies. in the process of writing a typical 22-page story, I will typically write 24 to 28 pages, then trim back to the 22 limit. Sometimes it's just an exercise, like an artist sketching, I'm trying to find a character's voice or his or her weight and rhythm in a story. I've found I can sit and think about it for weeks, but nothing really works so well as actually walking around in the character's skin for a bit. This is certainly the long way home, in terms of writing, but it's part of my process. Along the way I end up with dozens of unpublished pages, most of them cut by me rather than the company, who usually never sees these alternate and excised scenes. This archive will eventually collect some of these moments, which didn't work or didn't make it in for space reasons. These scenes may be of special interest to those who have read the final stories. Taken out of context, the scenes may or may not make a whole lot of sense, but may be a treat for fans of the published, final works. I'm glad these pages have finally found a home.

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eots2: cargo plane sequence

In an earlier draft of ENEMY OF THE STATE II, we had included SHANG-CHI, MASTER OF KUNG FU in the arc as part of the Panther's covert ops team. Later, we were told that Shang Chi was not available. For a few days we considered replacing him with Moon Knight, and changing this sequence so it takes place on board Moon Knight's crescent ship. but after some thought I decided we were already trying too hard and had too many people running around the arc. We streamlined things by removing Shang Chi and replacing him with Okoye, Panther's chauffeur/bodyguard and faithful Dora Milaje. Ultimately, this scene, where our heroes make a dicey escape from the South American den of thieves known as Volcan Domuyo, was cut. For once thing, it maroons Wolverine on board a cargo jet, where we really don't get much chance to see Wolverine being Wolverine. And Iron Man, despite his ariborne ability, never comes in contact with Panther's team. Thus, we opted for a different approach, which we will not tell you about now, but you'll be able to see for yourself in BLACK PANTHER #42, on sale early March.

eots2: queen & junta

One of the sub-plots in ENEMY OF THE STATE II, concerns an unlikely team-up betwen QUEEN DIVINE JUSTICE, The Black Panther's semi-faithful sidekick, and a man called JUNTA, an operative for the LCL, the Volcan Domuyan Secret Police. Junta, whose real name is Danny Vincent a.k.a. Vicente, attempts to recruit Queen to help him convince the Black Panther that he has turned over a new leaf, that he is now one of thhe good guys. Long-time readers may remember Vincent from the original ENEMY OF THE STATE (now available in Trade Paperback), where Vincent helped the Russian Mob and the CIA topple the Panther's government in Wakanda. Thus, winning Panther's trust will be nmo mean feat, and Vincent will need all the help he can get. This scene, set in a Chicago disco, was cut for space. In fact, a good deal of this subplot, and the bi-play between these two young characters, had to go to make room for the main story, though there still is a good deal of comic relief with these two wreaking havoc as the world reels in crisis.

seduction of the innocent

Our "Seduction of The Innocent" arc, from BLACK PANTHER #31-33, was a bit of a stretch for all of us. I wanted to give Ross a rest, and experiment with storytelling. We omitted the humor, going for a darker and more serious tone.

To get there, I went through a lot of rewrites. I did 10 distinct drafts of PANTHER #31, and at least three drafts of #32 and 33, before I got the rhythm I was looking for. I’ve clipped together some scenes here that either never made it into PANTHER #31, or arrived in briefer form. 

In the original opening, Malice recruits a disciple of sorts while she is in Tibet. I wanted to use this sequence to do an elaborate recap of her background so we get all of that done and over with. But, see, Malice only talks to Panther, and only talks in Hausa (though she, likely, understands nearly as many languages as Panther does). I tried this scene a few different ways, including one where she breaks her oath and just starts talking, telling her origin. None of the approaches worked, and the exposition was just too lengthy.

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