Reeder's Digest 3: CrossGen

In the race for new comic publishers to burn out like a dotcom start-up, CrossGen comes a resounding first. Resident expert Hector Reeder powers up his sigil to reveal why Mark Alessi's bold venture is winding up last everywhere else.
28 June 2004

Boy, do I hate superheroes.
Then I'm afraid you're in a bit of a minority, at least as far as current comics-reading audiences are concerned. What are you, a filthy black-and-white indie reader?

Not likely! I'm a fan of fantasy, horror, martial arts, spy stories and other genre fiction. But I'd like them on shiny paper and in colour, please.
Ah. Shame about CrossGen, then, isn't it?

CrossGen?
Why, yes. The publishers of RUSE, BRATH, EL CAZADOR and other titles have run into, shall we say, operational difficulties.

Let me guess. Late shipping titles? Talent defections?
That's certainly part of it, but their main problem right now is debt. Big, fat, serious debt to the tune of over three million dollars, half of which is due to their printers, Quebecor.

Three million dollars? Didn't anyone notice?
People certainly did notice, not least CrossGen's creative staff - many of them noticed a distinct lack of cheques for work done a long time ago, for example. But the writing concerning CrossGen's long-term future wasn't daubed on the wall until December 2003, when they cancelled nine titles - including their four launch titles, and the George Perez showcase book SOLUS.

But hang on, I thought they'd been doing well with their new, "non-Sigil" comics.
Aye, and there's the rub. The likes of EL CAZADOR, KISS KISS BANG BANG and ABADAZAD have sold rather better than the CrossGen Universe titles, and many people have speculated that this is largely to do with their lack of tie-ins to the "Sigil-verse". But it's been a case of too little, too late, and now these books may never see print again. EL CAZADOR and KISS KISS BANG BANG are already on a somewhat euphemistic "hiatus", and the recently-announced horror title RAVEN HOUSE has already lost its artist, Leonardo Manco.

That was careless. Have they looked behind the sofa?
Sadly, the sofa failed to even turn up two pennies to rub together, let alone a top-flight artist who's now signed a two-year exclusive deal with DC - much like the deal that former CrossGen Art Director and Vice President Brandon Peterson recently signed with Marvel. Or the deals that SOJOURN penciler Greg Land and CRUX penciler Steve Epting have also signed with the House of Ideas. Or...

Okay, okay. I get it. CrossGen's losing its creators. It can always hire more, right?
Not if there are no books for them to work on. In addition to the above-mentioned titles, SOJOURN, WAY OF THE RAT and BRATH have also met with the axe, and this is in addition to the recent cull of Sigil-verse launch titles such as MERIDIAN and NEGATION in the recent "Negation War" crossover. Besides, it's not just the creative teams who are jumping ship. Bill Rosemann - formerly Our Man At Marvel, and latterly Crossgen's VP of Publishing - has packed up his desk, swiftly followed by Chris Oarr, VP of Marketing and Sales.

But it can't be all doom and gloom, surely? All these staff quitting can only mean that CrossGen will have more cash to pay its creditors off with.
You'd think so, wouldn't you? But it seems it's all a little late for that. On June 21st 2004, Newsarama ran the story that Crossgen was intending to file for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. Later the same day, a copy of the filing was posted.

Chapter 11? That sounds pretty close to the end of the book.
Oh, very droll. But it could be worse - "doing a Chapter 11" allows CrossGen to continue to operate as a going business concern while reorganising its finances. It's the same option Marvel chose when it was in financial straits in the late '90s. Unlike Marvel, however, CrossGen doesn't have a stream of movie merchandising revenue to shore up the bank balance, and so it's back to the old investor hunt again. Meanwhile, the entire staff has been laid off (save for a skeleton crew, mainly consisting of accountants and lawyers) and the infamous "CrossGen Compound" offices have been closed.

So we might never see another issue of THE FIRST?
Well, every cloud has a silver lining.

Hector Reeder is an expert.

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