Ongoing Clandestine

[A.D.fan]

Alan, I've been rereading the entire Clandestine collection in anticipation of the upcoming annuals and I have to say it's still one of my favorite all-time comics. It really deserves to be a regular series. I know you are unable to keep a schedule like that, but have you ever thought of pitching a series to Marvel that has you writing with another artist? I buy everything you draw, but your writing and plotting, especially for this series, is truly great. I know you've referred to yourself as an amatuer in this area, but I (and probably most of your fans) would disagree. If you haven't considered this, I hope I've planted an idea. We need more Clandestine!!!

[Alan Davis]

Thanks for the kind words. If there was even the slightest hope that the Clandestine could find a large enough audience to make a regular series viable I wouldn’t hesitate in devoting myself to telling as many stories as possible before I turn my toes up. The reality is, for whatever reasons, the series didn’t catch on. I can’t blame anyone but myself because, in all the ClanDestine’s various incarnations over the years, I have always been allowed to tell the stories I wanted to tell and to evolve the characters as I saw fit. The only problems I encountered while working on the Clandestine both of which were unavoidable consequences of the Clan’s erratic appearances. The first, because so many years passed between appearances that each new incarnation required a degree of reintroduction of basics that would have been unnecessary if all of the issues had followed consecutively in a single series. Second, and this is slightly vague because I’m the only one who knows how I plotted the main story arcs for ClanDestine in 1994. In the intervening years the MU changed, other creators developed similar ideas elsewhere or my ideas became dated or, in a couple of instances, I used them on other projects believing I’d never get to used them in further Clan-comics.

Alan

[A.D.fan]

Thank you, sir!

[Keoni]

Second, and this is slightly vague because I’m the only one who knows how I plotted the main story arcs for ClanDestine in 1994. In the intervening years the MU changed, other creators developed similar ideas elsewhere or my ideas became dated or, in a couple of instances, I used them on other projects believing I’d never get to used them in further Clan-comics.

Alan

Could you give us a few hints or outright tell us which "couple of instances" you used your Clandestine ideas in other projects?
I'm dying to know so I can reread them and imagine them as Clandestine stories.

[Alan Davis]

While it is highly unlikely I’ll ever get to do more ClanDestine I still don’t want to give too much away and can only apologise for being evasive.
I think I have already mentioned elsewhere that elements of the story in Thor: Truth of History were originally part of my plans for the ClanDestine.
Some of the time distortion events in Another Nail had their roots in my ClanDestine long-story—and one of those originated from the failed ‘Warpforce’ series. Warpforce designs were also recycled for Cerise and Widget/Kitty’s hybrid form in Excalibur-- likewise my revision of the Amazo android for the Nail and Another Nail. The time-warp event in FF:The End also grew out of ideas I plotted for Warpforce.
One specific, though very trivial consequence of the delays on ClanDestine, is that I had always imaged the Djinn as having white hair, like Mint Julep, but after drawing the Killraven series it seemed too obvious.

Alan