Breakfast and Comic Books.

What’s the breakfast bit about? Well, it’s supposed to be the most important meal of the day and I’m aiming for this to be the equivalent in comic book comment. So come and get your all day breakfast.

And comic books!

Rawle Austin presents...

A little while ago I predicted that CrossGen would eventually be the number three publisher in the comic book industry. Click here to read that article! How wrong I was! They really showed promise with innovative ideas. However, non payment of talent (the creators) will never endear you to the fans or the industry as a whole. After a steady stream of bad press it was enevitable that they were destined to follow previous big name publishers like the Valiant Universe, Ultraverse and Awesome Entertainment into the history books. And they did just that. It’s a crying shame because it will make it harder for any new publishers to challenge the dominance of Marvel and DC, which is needed for a healthy industry. Click here to check out Hulk: Planet Hulk TPB (Marvel Comics) by Greg Pak

When we hear big announcements, from a fresh publisher, of a brand new concept universe, here to save the industry, we’ll be that little bit more jaded (if we weren’t already!).

Did CrossGen expand too fast? Should they have gone for the slow build?

Were their core concepts doomed from the very start?

Only time will tell but I feel that the forced link between the titles, the Sigil, hurt them in the long run. It felt like you had to read all the titles even though most were written as self-contained. The perception was there. Ironically, in hindsight, I think they would have had greater success if they had started with the current line up of titles that are coming out now including El Cazador and Kiss, Kiss, Bang Bang, designed to replace the Sigil-orientated ones! With the demise of CrossGen being played out in the public eye, via online news sites, message boards and the printed comic book press, valuable lessons should be learnt by the next generation of publishers who want our business. Click here to check out the Planet Hulk [DVD] (Marvel Comics)

The success of a brand depends on the product and though some quality did come through (Mark Waid's Ruse and Ron Marz's Sojourn) it was not enough for the comic book buying masses.

Regardless of where it was placed in the Diamond order catalogue.

True cream will always rise to the top!

After all this, I have to say I loved Negation (from the Sigil based titles) and I recommend you check out the trades or back issues as this is a true gem written by Tony Bedard and pencilled by Paul Pelletier. It was a great epic sci-fi tale which ended half way with the stunning Negation War. Definitely one of comics greatest unfinished symphonies.

The First was a highly ambitious series featuring the lives of gods and their interference on the world of men. Excellent story by Barbara Kesel and Bart Sears.

Scion was a beautifully illustrated coming of age fantasy tale by Ron Marz and Jimmy Cheung. Plenty of action, adventure and dragons!!

Also, Ruse by Mark Waid was a play on Sherlock Holmes set in a similar time period with a strong fantasy aspect. The Path by Ron Marz and Bart Sears and Way of the Rat were stories set in Japanese and Chinese settings respectively. Both had a great feel and atmosphere and were must reads.

All in all, CrossGen is greatly missed, and that is the lasting legacy of all who were involved in creating those quality comic books.

Breakfast is served!

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