Deadpool, the Merc with a Mouth, Marvel Comics’ resident maniac gun-for-hire is all the rage these days. But this wasn’t always the case. 11 years ago last month, Marvel had a big Deadpool push with “Deadpool Month”, October 1998, when Marvel put out a series of Deadpool related one-shots and such in addition to his monthly title.
Now coveted on the back issue market as collectors’ items, books like Encyclopedia Deadpoolica, Baby’s First Deadpool Book, and Deadpool Team-Up Starring Widdle Wade all came out that month.
Being in the offices at the time I was aware of the upcoming event and pitched my own idea for a one-shot: DEADPOOL/SPICE GIRLS: WORLD TOUR.
The premise was simple: Deadpool meets The Spice Girls, who, at the time, were HUGE. The movie Spice World was released earlier that year and yeah, they were a big deal. And it seemed to me a perfect pairing.
The story was a simple one: Deadpool, a mercenary, gets hired to off the Spice Girls. He takes the job but when he’s finally got the girls in his sniper scope he’s taken by Scary Spice and instantly falls deeply in love. He cannot kill the woman of his dreams…his soul mate… He confesses his love to Scary Spice and the plot to kill them is revealed, leading to Deadpool and the Spice Girls teaming up to flip the game and take out those who hired Deadpool in the first place. I wrote up the pitch, worked up a piece of art, and, suffice to say, it’s now appearing on my site under the “From the Reject Pile” heading.
I’d be lying if I said I actually thought it would fly (though, courtesy of my intern at the time, Dennis, I do have the address for Spice Girls Limited, who I was prepared to contact should rights need negotiating).
But what could have been has long since passed and all that left is that single piece of pitch art, in pencil, appearing here for the very first (and really, only) time. So, from 1998, please enjoy:
Don’t it just make you want to zigazig ah?
(Fig. 1 – Luke Skywalker “Escape from Mos Eisley” – note “Swabby Hat”)