Crossover #11
The ending is revealed in Crossover #11 by writer Donny Cates, artist Geoff Shaw, colorist Dee Cunniffe, and letterer John J. Hill. This issue leans into last issue's reveal and then compounds it at the end with another big moment.
Donny Cates takes center stage as readers and Elle learn about how he ended up at the facility. She doesn't react very well to any of it, and after he leaves her cell, she finds a note to her about her importance. Ryan's father is taken out of the facility to find the person killing comic book creators, a very familiar face to Image creators.
Donny Cates isn't the first comic creator to take a starring role in a story, but he does do it in his way. There's a moment towards the beginning of the issue where he looks at the reader after saying he doesn't want to do this, and it's a great little joke. From there, he lays into his yarn about his origin story in the book, and it leaves more questions than it answers. His note to Elle does the same, and all in all, it's an interesting development in a book full of them. What role does he play in the whole thing? That's to be continued.
The moment that's going to have everyone talking is the end of the issue, as another very famous Image character shows up. However, this one is the most interesting because he isn't colored like any of the other comic characters in the book. There are two explanations for that; one of them is that he's doing what Elle did and wearing make-up, or… well, that would be telling and ruin the surprise. Regardless, it's a very interesting development that Ryan's father is working with this person at all, especially because of his hatred of comic characters.
Shaw's art feels like it's hit a new high in this issue. His linework is straight-up amazing. It certainly helps that he knows Donny Cates in person; he does a great job with his collaborator, especially the panel where Cates looks at the audience. Every character in this issue looks better than they ever did before, which is definitely saying something. Shaw has the goods, and this issue is an excellent example of that.
Crossover #11 continues this book's run of excellence. Cates uses himself as a mouthpiece to give readers more about the secrets of this story. It's a tantalizing glimpse that leaves the reader wanting more. Shaw's art is wonderful and is some of the best work he's done on this series. The end reveal is a big deal and bodes well for what's to come in this book.
