Is Priest Cursed?

Today sees the release of Captain America and the Falcon #14, the final issue in the series and latest cancellation in the odd career of Priest. The cult-favorite writer has watched his last three Marvel series get the axe, despite critical acclaim and the support of a small but loyal fanbase. Like his previous efforts — Black Panther and The Crew — CAF was an intelligent superhero book layered with interesting character development and intricate subplots. Unfortunately, like BP and The Crew, CAF didn’t sell.

Marvel’s decision to drop CAF effectively destroys a terrific Priest storyline in the making. Sure, these things happen to writers from time to time, but for Priest, cancellation is almost becoming automatic.

A couple years ago, Marvel Comics told Priest to radically revamp Black Panther with issue #50 in an effort to attract more readers. In order to change direction, Priest had to scrap some brilliant ideas for Wakanda’s king and come up with a whole new character to play the lead. Once the revamp was underway, Priest revealed his original BP plans on the ComiX-Fan message boards. Had T’Challa’s story continued after issue #49, Priest said he would have made him a villain and “an enormous threat to the world.” He also said he wanted to marry Panther and Storm for a short time. Instead the revamped BP ran 13 issues and was discontinued.



A similar blow was dealt to the Priest-penned series, The Crew, an unappreciated spin-off of the retooled Panther book. Marvel unjustly closed the door after just six issues (why would a company launch an offbeat, obvious hard sell like The Crew with so little promotional effort?) The cancellation was so swift Priest became depressed and almost gave up writing comics. Once again, he had some great plans for a comic book that will never see the light of day.

So, now Captain America & The Falcon #14 joins the list of early ended comics in the Priest catalog. At his message board Priest said he had plans to extend the last CAF arc, “The Death of Captain America,” and explore the fallout of Steve Roger’s demise in the Marvel Universe:

Nobody, I mean nobody, in the Marvel U believes it’s a random shooting. Everyone thinks it’s an ONI plot set in motion by Admiral Jimmy, and the global political scene spirals somewhat as it seems the U.S. is under some manner of attack because, I mean, c’mon, Cap couldn’t POSSIBLY have been killed by a street punk. In response, the government quickly sets up a Warren Commission type of deal while several Cap wannabes, including USAgent and the Anti-Cap, attempt to fill Cap’s boots, and The Falcon, desperate to un-do this wrong, travels back in time and ends up fighting side-by-side with Cap in World War II.

Traveling back in time may save Cap and the Falcon, but for Priest the past isn't much better than the present. A time jump by internet search reveals that Priest's career is layered with comics that have fallen by the wayside. Before BP and The Crew; before CAF, Priest suffered cancellation on The Ray, Xero, Steel, and Power Man & Iron Fist.

None of these series lasted long after Priest took the reigns. In fact, Priest’s 62-issue run on Black Panther is the longest he’s ever been on one title. Sure, half a decade on a book isn’t a bad run by any means, but when you consider the threat of cancellation that loomed over BP for most of the run, that five years wasn’t a very comfortable stretch.

All of this leads me to a question I read a few months ago on a message board – “Is Priest cursed?”

Quite frankly, the Priest cancellation parade is enough for me to consider the possibility of bad mojo, and those are just his most visible trials. I could easily write another blog called, "Why is Priest only given B-list characters to write?" or "Why is Priest labelled a black writer and not just a writer?"

But, you know, I don't want to believe in curses. A guy as talented as Priest should be connecting with a lot more comic book readers and churning out some long-term hits. I sincerely hope his next series stays on the stands a little while longer.