Infernal Man-Thing

This story was originally listed in one of the give-away comic shop gossip sheets back in 1990 along with a sample of some very nice painted artwork, but then nothing....

On his yahoo mailing list in early 2003, Kevin Nowlancommented when asked Man-thing should be published later this year. It's not all finished, but we're trying to figure out a way to get the remaining pages completed...It had numerous problems from the very beginning and I'll be very happy when it's finished once and for all. Later (2004-06) Nowlan posted some scans of artwork from the graphic novel, adding: Before anyone asks, I don't know what the status of the of the book is at the moment. I'm waiting to hear back from a Marvel editor so we can reconnoiter.

Several pages of painted artwork for the graphic novel were included in Modern Masters Volume Four: Kevin Nowlan by Tomorrows Publishing

I asked Steve Gerber in the early 2000s if he knew anything about it and he replied As for the graphic novel, well -- Kevin Nowlan has never finished it, and I have no idea whether or not it will ever be published.

Letterer Todd Klein was the best source for project updates such as Not sure what the final title of this will be, it's a script from the 1990s, I believe, by Steve Gerber, with terrific art by Kevin Nowlan, who started it a long time ago, and is now finally wrapping it up. Wild stuff, wonderful art! ....After some signs of life this past summer, when I finished the lettering and did corrections, the project seems to have gone dormant again. Don't know when it might come out.

Then in late 2011 folk at Marvel were dropping hints that the book was on its way:

Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso: All I can say is we do have a Man-Thing project coming out soon that is older than some of Marvel's assistant editors and well worth the wait.

In response to that article a visitor added a comment stating Kevin had finished the art in June.

March 2012 saw Kevin Nowlan point out that the book had been listed at Amazon, in hard back, for release October.

Not long after this Bleeding Cool reported that Marvel would be giving Manny a new comic series in June 2012, entitled Infernal Man-Thing

Eventually Marvel went public with full details and it revealed that the two projects were in fact one-in-the-same: a three-issue limited series beginning in June, will present the final Steve Gerber Man-Thing tale, a previously-unknown story that until recently remained only a wishful thought in the hearts and minds of his devotees.Plus what must be the collected hard back edition in October.

The article from Marvel put a calm and friendly spin on the history of the book, overlooking the fact the book existed as artwork, solicitations, ongoing work for the artist, letterer, and probably a few stressed editors along the way for more than ten years - but let's not quibble. As Nowlan put it As to what Steve Gerber might've thought about his final Man-Thing story finally seeing publication, the artist feels he cannot possibly know for certain, but there's a definitely an open-minded wish there that the writer would be pleased. "I hope he would have been happy," Nowlan says. "Maybe a little annoyed that it took so long."