Crossover #1
Worlds collide in Crossover #1, by writer Donny Cates, artist Geoff Shaw, colorist Dee Cunniffe, and letterer John J. Hill. The God Country, Thanos, and Guardians Of The Galaxy team of Cates and Shaw reunite to give readers a look at what happens when the fictional becomes real.
On January 11th, 2017, superheroes came to the real world, and all hell broke loose, bringing their battles with them. The death toll still isn't known all these years later because the heroes and villains sealed themselves off in the state of Colorado. Comics and their fans have become pariahs, with religious fundamentalists hounding them. Elle is one of the last true believers in comics and walks to her job at one of the last comic stores. Her boss Otto is a curmudgeonly old comic store owner. A customer tries to shoplift, and he intercepts her, only to find that she's colored with old fashioned dots. She's from the superhero universe, and everyone freaks out because they weren't supposed to be able to escape Colorado. Outside, the religious protesters see what's going on, and their leader gets his son Ryan, who he had caught with a comic, to throw a Molotov cocktail into the store. In the store, Elle asks the girl how she got out, and the girl says a man she doesn't know got her out and that she can draw a picture of him. The Molotov cocktail explodes through the window, and Elle won't live until she gets the girl out and sees the picture, a picture of a man with a cape and an S on his chest.
Cates starts this comic perfectly, even if he's kind of stealing the whole premise of the beginning from a Grant Morrison interview- the question is raised of who is more real- us, as the readers of comics or Superman. Most of us will never reach as many lives as Superman will. All of us will die, but Superman won't. Superman will always be here, as long as humanity keeps telling stories. For readers familiar with Morrison and his ideas on the reality of fictional universes, this isn't a new theory, but Cates is using it as set dressing here. The comic barely touches on the chaos of the battle between four colors titans going on in Colorado. This is about the people and the world left behind, and Cates keeps up the bravura performance in that respect as well.
Elle is the protagonist; we find out that her parents are still trapped in Colorado. Otto is shown to be a bit of a typical comic store owner, brusque with people who aren't the faithful and think that their comics are worth something, but there's a heart under there. Ryan is being forced by his father to do something he doesn't want to do. The little girl from the comic world is never named, but she's intriguing. Cates does just the right amount of work with each character to tantalize readers and set them up. The captions tell readers that this isn't a story about superheroes. It's about people, and it's maybe a love story. All of this serves to hook readers, and it works like a charm.
For everyone hoping to see Geoff Shaw draw some big showy superhero fights, that ain't this, but his art is still amazing throughout. There's a heaviness to the linework that gives the action in the foreground the weight it needs to catch the reader's eye, and his character acting is on point the whole time. This comic looks great throughout, thanks not only to his art but also Dee Cunniffe's colors, which make everything pop.
Crossover #1 is the real deal. It's gripping and powerful right out of the gate and is just wonderful throughout. Readers are given just enough to get what kind of world they're dealing with, and everything about it is bait to keep them coming back. This comic is pretty much perfect.
Grade: A+
