OK...freaky, weird coincidence...maybe.
I was reading the Daredevil collection "Lone Stranger" last night which reprints some of the Ann Nocenti and John Romita, Jr. Daredevil issues from the 80s. I get to issue 270, which is the introduction of Blackheart, a demonic villain and "son" of Mephisto who is "born" on a hill in rural New York called Christ's Crown. The blood of a murdered woman seeped into the ground there in 1658 and bad stuff keeps happening there. The attempted rape of a woman on that spot in 1989 causes a level of evil to get to a point that Mephisto can create Blackheart...he's actually made up of black thorns to take down Daredevil. Mephisto really wants Matt to murder Blackheart there and, thus, become Mephisto's. As luck would have it, Peter Parker is going by on a bus (this was his WEBS book tour era), so he stops to lend a hand and save Matt's soul.
As I was reading this, I was thinking...man, this had to be around the time that Rick Veitch was vetoed from his Alec-becomes-the-crown-of-thorns and meets Jesus Christ time travel story in Swamp Thing. I look up the two issues...well, would be...Swamp Thing #88 was never released...and...HOKEY SMOKES...they were to hit the stands on the SAME MONTH. September, 1989. Marvel and DCs two most "mature" hero titles were both going to feature, in some way, the crown of thorns.
Were Nocenti and Veitch friends...could they have discussed this? I mean, it's probably just chance thing...but a very cool one. Especially, if Veitch's story had been printed. I hold out hope, still, that someday it will.
Replies
That's a great coincidence.
(Lucky for Matt that Peter's publsihers didn't stump up for first class travel for Peter on this occasion.)
My question is whether Veitch would be allowed to print that conclusion to his time-travel arc today? Christ as some kind of Gnostic shaman or something. A first century Alan Moore maybe.
Figserello said:
Could be. Or perhaps they were inspired by the same source (maybe something in the news?) and took it in two different directions. I'd sure like to read Veitch's original Swamp Thing #88. Pretty tame by today's standards, I'll bet.