Chronos #1,000,000 vs B&W Preview
What is this Chronos #1,000,000 B&W Preview?
I've never been so sure and then unsure of my self. You see I saw
and flipped through the original B&W Chronos #1,000,000
preview issue. And when I got home I wrote all the facts I could
remember from all the DC One Million tie-in books and a
few others, down in my Dragon*con '98 review issue of my own
now-dead e-zine Digested Digest (#17).
From Digested Digest #17 (Sep 6 1998) [DD was an online fanzine I created]
"Chronos #1,000,000----
The artwork gets even better (in fact it they didn't color the
book it does look a whole lot better in B&W) as Chronos meets
his match. We get to see a lot of Chronoloplis as well as a few
brief parts of the DC 1M storyline as Chronos meets up with the
future Flash to steal with Gauntlets (I didn't look to see if he
did or not.) But there some really cool things in this issue
besides that like… Chronos Meets Hourman, Chronos gets is
first true arch-enemy. Plus David Clinton, The original Chronos
isn't dead..."
Once Chronos #1,000,000 and Chronos #9 had been
released the former Time Masters Mailing List had a series of
discussions on the discontinuity of the series as of late and how
it could possibly end. I saw fit to make my comments known in the
following excerpt.
Date: Oct 29 1998
[...] Issue #1,000,000 was ment to be the continuation of #8. No
matter waht you read, that issue was TOTALLY PLOTED AND DRAWN by
the origianle creators when DC ONE MILLION #1 came out.
I should know. I went to Dragon*Con '98, and I got to see all the
B&W preview issues. For some reason they only showcased the
#1,000,000 issues. But, I made sure to look through the Chronos
#1,000,000. Get this. Ambush Bug made ONLY a head shot cameo, not
a full body with gun cameo in a bar. David Clinton (Chronos I)
had a big part in the issue. We get to see David Clinton in a
Void (time stream if it was colored?) Contemplating the choice he
made with Neron. Walker Gabriel did meet up with The Flash and
Hourman but definitely not the ways we see in the issue that saw
print. Get this: The B&W issue I saw had it set almost
entirely at Chronolopolis.
Also did anyone notice that the Walker that appears in #1,000,000
ACTS like the future Walker we see in the club on the first page
of Chronos #1. Don't forget we see alternate versions of
Walker throughout.
OK here is an interesting note on Issue's #1,000,000 and #9. The
issues that saw print were intended to be fillers, between #8 and
#10. Anyone wanna take a guess at why the creators pulled the
plug on Chronos now? It was a combination of the creators
decisions based on DC's main idea. Plus Archie Goodwin died.....
[...]
At the same time I also saw fit to send a bit of a e-mail rant to
fellow Chronos theologian Loren Collins about the differences in
the Chronos #1,000,000 preview I had seen at
Dragon*Con'98 and the actual issue that saw print.
Date: Oct 29 1998
[...] Besides Walker Gabriel acting like the Walker from Chronos
#1, Page 1. Get this, The issue was TOTALLY REDONE!!!!
I had a chance to view a B&W preview copy of Chronos
#1,000,000 at Dragon*Con '98.
And I'll tell you. The artwork and general plot looked a lot
better in the preview version. Get this David Clinton actually
had a full 'materialization' from the void in the issue I saw,
not this 'Walker talks to David's Spirit in a bar' scene in the
printed version. Also the Ambush Bug cameo didn't even happen
like that in the preview. In The preview we only see his head
after a big fight.
The Hourman cameo and Flash meeting did happen in the Preview.
But, the majority of the story instead happened in Chronolopolis,
with a cameo by the 'cadaver.'
I do know they decided to make it a stand alone. but Totally
redrawing the story in 4 weeks is a little much. (Remeber
Dragon*Con '98 happened right after DC One Million #1
was released).
Now, most of what I have pointed out actually appeared in the
issue that was published. But, there are 3 very different things
that happened in the Preview when compared to the issue that was
published. These are:
1.) David Clinton (Chronos I) had a big part in the issue. I got
to see David Clinton in a Void (time stream if it was colored?)
Contemplating the choice he made with Neron.
2.) Gravesend (the cadaver) had a cameo in the issue.
3.) Ambush Bug made ONLY a head shot cameo in a crowd, not a full
body with gun cameo in a bar.
A possible hypothesis for what happened is that the issue was
complete. But when the word of cancellation hit, the staff
decided to rework the plot to make the series self contained with
few dangling plots at the end of the series. If this theory holds
true, it could explain why the David Clinton ghost part was
removed and why the Threshold story line was shifted. I have no
comment for the Ambush Bug difference.
In the September 2001, I got an unexpected e-mail from John Moore that read as follows:
Adam,
I stumbled on your Chronos site after self indulgently doing a Google
search on projects I've been part of. I'm impressed and gratified that
you liked the series enough to create such a thorough and well designed
web site.
I'm curious about your speculation on the Chronos #1,000,000 issue. As
far as I know, while the issue differed drastically from the story I
initially proposed, the final plot, written after too much last minute
editorial coordination with the JLA office, was never given to Paul
Guinan to draw. J.H. Williams drew the final version of the plotted
story and then I scripted from his pencils. If I remember correctly, I
plotted issue #8 rather quickly so that Paul would have something to
work on after he finished penciling issue #7.
Since I haven't spoken to Paul in a while, but we were in regular
contact during Chronos' run. If he had drawn pages that were rejected
by then editor Dan Thorsland, I'm sure he would have let me know.
If you're curious I'll be happy to e-mail my original synopsis for
Chronos #1,000,000. I was originally under the impression that my book
was not part of the Justice League storyline. When Dan Thorsland and
Dan Raspler decided the story needed to be tied in with the event story,
we came up with story that saw print. However it was such a last
minute decision that Chronos never appears in the One Million
mini-series--and there's a half hearted line (that I believe Raspler
shoe-horned into the final sequence in the final one million book) where
Chronos (a recording) takes credit for sabotaging the future Flash's
gloves once Vandal Savage tries to use them.
Secrets of the comics, as they say.
Best,
John Moore
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