THE CROSSGEN IMPLOSION

[Kevin Boyd]

The so-called rise and fall of Crossgen will be an interesting chapter in the history of this industry. A failed experiment because no matter how much money one throws into publishing a line of comics, it ultimately comes down to getting readers... and Crossgen was never able to successful attract readers to their books.

 

I fully support a solid non-super-hero title if the title warrants it, but a mediocre sci-fi or fantasy title holds the same appeal to me as a mediocre super-hero title. I am disappointed that the few readers that they did manage to bring to comics will suffer for the absence of the Crossgen titles they were interested in and hope that other companies consider expanding to do quality fantasy material. I have high hopes for the Conan relaunch next year.

 

Kev

 

 

 

 

[Ares]

the problem I had with crossgen at least to me it semed was that they tried to be everything to everyone!. SCI FI/Fantasy/Magic..ETC..

 

They should have stuck to one genre first then expanded!

 

 

The Sigil concept was interesting but should have started small then expanded!!

 

and that

[Darthdiesel]

The Sigil concept was interesting but should have started small then expanded!!

 

 

 

It was until they marked every protagonist in their separate series with one - I thought that they were going to do a crossover next and all somehow "pull a Voltron", ...and I'll form...THE HEAD

 

[Illiterati-migration]

The Sigil concept was interesting but should have started small then expanded!!

 

 

 

It was until they marked every protagonist in their separate series with one - I thought that they were going to do a crossover next and all somehow "pull a Voltron", ...and I'll form...THE HEAD

 

I want to be the thorax!

[Ares]

The Sigil concept was interesting but should have started small then expanded!!

 

 

 

It was until they marked every protagonist in their separate series with one - I thought that they were going to do a crossover next and all somehow "pull a Voltron", ...and I'll form...THE HEAD

 

I want to be the thorax!

and greggy the hole?

[Illiterati-migration]

The Sigil concept was interesting but should have started small then expanded!!

 

 

 

It was until they marked every protagonist in their separate series with one - I thought that they were going to do a crossover next and all somehow "pull a Voltron", ...and I'll form...THE HEAD

 

I want to be the thorax!

and greggy the hole?

 

[greggy]

The Sigil concept was interesting but should have started small then expanded!!

 

 

 

It was until they marked every protagonist in their separate series with one - I thought that they were going to do a crossover next and all somehow "pull a Voltron", ...and I'll form...THE HEAD

 

I want to be the thorax!

and greggy the hole?

 

[Aman619]

With Alessi's millions to spend, these were the best comics money could buy, artwork and coloring-wise. but their insistence on avoiding super-heroes and proving other genres would work if tried has done them in. Crazy. Nothing but superheroes hasn't worked for 25 years!

[lighthouse]

Long-time forum members will know that a year ago I was still very bullish on Crossgen...

 

I think there are two big reasons why Crossgen is in the fix it's in right now, the rapid expansion, and Greg Buls...

 

But first, some thread comments, mostly in response to pre-Voltron Darth:

 

No, never had issue with their promotions, just what they were promoting in the end. I still say for the time being, all lucrative efforts worth promoting are in the monthly pamphlet. Crossgen looking to promote tpbs of unproven material was ludicrous. What is good for the industry is that crossgen showed them what NOT to do in order to set up a comics imprint.

 

I disagree. I think Crossgen showed a lot of what TO do... but in the end they fell prey to hubris. Forge and Edge were mistakes from the beginning, but they were gutsy mistakes. First rule of engineering is "never fall in love with your design" and I think a savvier business would have admitted the failure of the anthology trades much sooner. They sell very well on every continent but this one, and clearly there just isn't a market for comic anthologies here.

 

Their other trades made selling Crossgen product easier. And I think they were absolutely correct to put out trades every seven issues just like they did. Trades are where the market has been heading for years and it's the only real growth sector in the industry.

 

Crossgen was reeling after their guarantee program (1st 4 issue of all 4 startup titles could be returned no questions asked), they were promoting Perez exclusivity to Crossgen as hype deal, but had nothing for him to work on. He had done some unrecognized work in a Crossgen Quarterly title nd then based on this, they want him to work on his own series when the current ones sucked? where's the logic? why not bring him on board to fix one of the 1st 4 titles.

 

This just isn't true, Darth. Crossgen didn't lose a dime on the initial guarantee program. In fact, that program was sheer genius and was wildly successful. It made retailers more comfortable in pushing the titles and comics have always been a "push" market rather than a "pull" market.

 

As for Perez, you are correct. That was the biggest waste of an exclusive contract I have ever seen. My guess is that George didn't really feel like working for anyone at all, given his health situation, and used the "exclusive" contract as a way to avoid generating ill will... But the fans took it in the shorts, expecting new work from him and getting none.

 

Didn't crossgen admit to shipping problems of late. 2 years into their creation, already shipping problems? I know happens, but when readers/retailers count on that setting them apart from the big 2- they will react in an unkind manner. I don't condone the lateness from the big two either, but they have such a plethora of stable popular titles that I can move on and busy myself with another title. Daredevil the target, spidy/black cat - not missing them? busy reading hush, bats/supes, 1602, supreme power, etc.

 

The recent shipping problems were not their fault though... The digital files at Quebecoir were corrupted and two entire weeks worth of books were bumped as a result. This wasn't a matter of artists not finishing on time. Crossgen delivered the books ontime to Quebecoir. What happened after that is the problem... There's two sides to every story, and the frosted side tastes better, but this wasn't your typical lateness problem...

 

As for Kevin Smith... well... his fans will forgive anything and continue to buy...

 

Sometime too much choice can be detrimental, especially if the choices are weaker for it. Dilution of the market revenue to terrible projects hurtrs the industry more. Just because it was different is not enough..it should be good as well. Quality, not quantity plays a factor here. Maybe this will force the talent from Crossgen to step up and present projects to the big two that are worthy of the readers time? I loved Crossgen art, I will always admire and praise them for it. The writing/plot premise, and business model...well, we see where that lead.

 

I don't see any market dilution here. The people I have buying Crossgen books aren't making a choice between Sojourn and X-Men. If Sojourn stops being published those are dollars that are gone from the market, you won't see an increase in super-hero books as a result. What I think you do see is a dilution of company focus.

 

Crossgen circa early spring 2002 was a company in good shape. They had nine titles being published along with collected editions of those titles. Between the nine, they covered a variety of genres, and all nine were selling reasonably well with month-to-month growth. Then within weeks of each other, they launched two new titles Path and Way Of The Rat plus the two new anthologies Forge and Edge. Forge and Edge were dogs from the start, Path and WOTR were extremely well received and were both soon vying with Sojourn and Ruse for CG's top seller status.

 

What's happened since then has been a mess. They launched two new imprints, started a creator-owned division, launched several new titles... They took a campfire that they had been steadily building for two years, a fire that had been growing at a very sensible pace, and they grabbed all the burning logs and decided they had enough to turn it into nine new fires... You better have a LOT of dead president kindling if you want to make that work, and you'd better be prepared to watch it go up in smoke. They've got 21 titles in the September Previews. That's at least eight too many...

 

Forge and Edge should have been round-filed after no more than 6 months, and Crossgen should have continued their slow and steady growth, the same plan that got them to a reasonable success level in Spring 2002...

 

I opened by saying that I thought there were two big reasons... the over-zealous expansion, and Greg Buls...

 

I know Greg personally, which makes me a little reluctant to comment on this. But I don't know that he was the right horse for Crossgen to back. Those of you who followed the rise and fall of Valiant in the early 90's know who Greg is. He's also Crossgen's exclusive backlist distributor and has been since February, after championing their products and the Premier Retailer Program to his customers... Greg is an exceptional salesman, and an expert market manipulator. I just have to wonder...

 

Crossgen has stated in the threads about back pay owed to artists that the reason they were behind was in large part due to problems with payment from their vendors... They don't sell ads in their books. I doubt Diamond is the vendor who isn't paying them. So the choices are the major booksellers (selling collected editions) and Greg Buls, who bought their entire backstock in February 2003 on an installment basis, backstock that filled two 48ft trailers... Bookstore deals are always complicated, but I wonder whether they are at fault here or if Greg has run into some of the same problems he had with Valiant...

[Darthdiesel]

Thanks for setting the record straight, from your unique perspective. I was putting forth my involvement as a fan for the 1st year of the initial 4 titles, 6 issues of the First and picking up first issues of Ruse and Sojourn and El Cazador - that would cover my involvement with CrossGen. i was pretty much done with them early on before you thought they were starting their path to destruction. Their material was WEAK at the point where you stated their marketability and revenue generating methods were at their peak.

 

As for the 1st four issue guarantee, I know several folks who pulled the trigger, returning cases of unsold stock. I extrapolated too much there to mean that Crossgen's plan backfired on them.

 

Quebecior? Any other digital files get corrupted, or was it just Crossgen's ?

[lighthouse]

Believe me... you don't want my "unique" perspective on this...

 

I know far, far more about what's gone on between Greg and Crossgen than I will ever relate, because in spite of his business dealings, Greg and I do get along... But anyone who could have a thriving business selling "shares" of Valiant comics that perhaps didn't even exist and rake in over $50K doing so is someone to cover your wallet around... A friend of mine who is a prominent member of one of the Chicago families told me that Greg Buls was the only person he was truly afraid of in business dealings, because he had never met anyone who could work a deal from six different angles like Greg can.

 

It takes a lot more than a slick huckster to bring a company down though, and Crossgen clearly made significant mistakes in the last 18 months. But the 4-issue guarantee was not one of them.

[Darthdiesel]

Believe me... you don't want my "unique" perspective on this...

 

What's with you and your affinity for hanging with the comic industry's criminal underworld?

[lighthouse]

Believe me... you don't want my "unique" perspective on this...

 

What's with you and your affinity for hanging with the comic industry's criminal underworld?

 

... We all have our crosses to bear... The funny thing is I knew the Chicago guy for 4 years before I ever had an inkling of his connections...

 

And I found out last year that a guy I went to college with and used to play 9-Ball at $10 a rack is actually the heir to the largest Phillipine crime family... Would have never guessed. Seemed just like a regular guy with a nicer watch and better car...

[blutobc]

I've avoided Crossgen in general...but I would miss Route 666.

[kahml]

Yes, yes, yes!

 

That would be awesome - I can just picture the glint from her bracelets...

 

And my fair-haired life partner would be curious as to why I was reading >her< books.

 

 

[delekkerste]

Holy ...here are all the titles getting the axe from CrossGen (the last issue of each is shown):

 

CRUX #33

THE FIRST #37

MERIDIAN #44

MYSTIC #43

THE PATH #23

RUSE #26

SCION #44

SIGIL #43

SOLUS #8

 

And here are the titles that will remain:

 

Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang

Way of the Rat

Brath

Negation

Lady Death

El Cazador

Route 666

Sojourn

Abadazad

 

Gene

[jonnydouble]

I don't understand why they would cancel Ruse....it's one of their best titles...

 

J.D.

[chrisco37]

El Cazador is the only CrossGen book I've ever read. Issue #2 came out Wednesday! I really liked it. Some of the stuff that was a little hokey got worked out in this issue. The art is phenomenal. If CrossGen going to be set up at the Toronto or Vegas Con? Would anybody be willing to ask if they have art from the book on sale, and possibly pick one up for me? I will reward you for your effirt. PM me if you wouldn't mind doing this. (I'd do it for you! )

 

Thanks!

 

Chris

[lighthouse]

Holy ...here are all the titles getting the axe from CrossGen (the last issue of each is shown):

 

CRUX #33

THE FIRST #37

MERIDIAN #44

MYSTIC #43

THE PATH #23

RUSE #26

SCION #44

SIGIL #43

SOLUS #8

 

And here are the titles that will remain:

 

Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang

Way of the Rat

Brath

Negation

Lady Death

El Cazador

Route 666

Sojourn

Abadazad

 

Gene

 

So they are cancelling the first six titles they started??

 

Yeah... that's gonna go over real well with retailers...

 

Any good word of mouth they were receiving from retailers like Graham Crackers just got flushed down the toilet...

 

You got a link to a more complete story, Gene?

[hobbes]

I'm glad to see they are keeping Way of The Rat. I have enjoyed reading that title. Can't say I know much about the rest. Personally, I'm just glad they haven't gone completely under.

 

Russ