| Crossed | |
|---|---|
Cover of Crossed Volume 1. Art by Jacen Burrows. |
|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Avatar Press |
| Schedule | Irregular |
| Format | Limited series |
| Genre | Horror, post-apocalyptic |
| Publication date | September 2008 – March 2010 |
| Number of issues | 10 (of 10) |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | Garth Ennis |
| Artist(s) | Jacen Burrows |
| Colorist(s) | Greg Waller (#0) Juanmar |
| Creator(s) | Garth Ennis Jacen Burrows |
| Editor(s) | William A. Christensen Ariana Osborne |
| Collected editions | |
| Hardcover | ISBN 1592910912 |
| Paperback | ISBN 1592910904 |
Crossed is a comic book written by Garth Ennis and drawn by Jacen Burrows for the first ten issues, and published by Avatar Press. Follow ups Crossed: Family Values, Crossed 3D, and Crossed: Psychopath were written by David Lapham. A web comic has also been produced.
Contents |
Crossed is a creator-owned series from writer Garth Ennis and artist Jacen Burrows.[1][2] It began with Crossed #0 on August 27, 2008 and all 10 issues have been released.
The second series Crossed: Family Values is written by David Lapham[3][4] and drawn by Javier Barreno.[5] Ennis described how this unusual situation for a creator-owned property came about:
| “ | To be honest, there was never really going to be a volume two- William [Christensen, editor-in-chief/publisher of Avatar] would ask me regularly about the possibility, but apart from one or two vague scenes I pretty soon realised I had no more Crossed stories in me. I didn't want to force the issue, either, because I'm very pleased with Crossed and don't want to dilute it with a sequel that I hadn't the ideas to sustain.
That said, it's pretty obvious that what you have with Crossed is a ready-made fictional world with a good deal of potential for further development, and the Crossed themselves seem to be strong enough villains to maintain an audience. So when William suggested other people doing more I said I wasn't averse to it, so long as a) I thought the creative teams were up to scratch, and b) my own story and characters would be left alone. Which means no sequel, no more Stan, Cindy, Thomas or Kitrick (or Horsecock, Face or Stump, come to that)- just fresh stories set in the same world. As for David, who better? I think you'll see right from his first episode that he knows exactly what he's doing with the Crossed.[6] |
” |
The story follows survivors dealing with a plague that causes its victims to carry out their most evil thoughts and wishes. Carriers of the virus are known as the Crossed due to a cross-like rash that appears on their faces. This contagion is primarily spread through bodily fluids, which the Crossed have used to great effect by treating their weapons with their fluids.
The outbreak spread rapidly, apparently overwhelming the entire United States, and in all probability, the world, overnight. Law and order quickly broke down as police and military were infected or deserted their posts, Air Force One was destroyed midflight and the infected run amok, killing, raping and maiming for fun. Jetliners were crashed into buildings, nuclear power plants were intentionally blown up and families and friends brutally butchered each other with whatever weapons they could find.
The main story takes place ten months after the first outbreaks, with flashbacks to those events, as a small group makes their way to Alaska. In the belief that the low population before the outbreak will mean the are fewer Crossed to be avoided, also the Crossed's blood lust hampers their ability to look after themselves e.g. dressing for cold weather, not fighting each other when no victims are available etc.. However they encounter a small group who have a degree of self control and subsequently begin a long range hunt for the survivors.
In Family Values, the story centers on a religious family who escapes their Utah ranch to survive in a mountain compound led by the protagonist Addy's father, who, while being a strong leader against the Crossed, is a sexual predator who has routinely raped his daughters.[7]
"3D" was written with the 3D effect in mind and is not available in a 2D format. The story follows SWAT veteran Lt. Hunt MacAvoy as he leads a rescue mission into the middle of crossed infected New York City to rescue a stranded human doctor.
In Psychopath, the story follows a group of survivors who pick up a man who understands the way the Crossed think, and is unbeknownst to them tracking a specific group of Crossed who killed a woman he had stalked prior to the outbreak and subsequently forced a relationship upon her as they survived. He is a psychopath and is killing members of the group as they discover his true nature, passing them off as the grisly acts of Crossed.
The series has been optioned for an independently-funded film, with Ennis writing the screenplay.[8] It will be financed by Trigger Street Productions and produced by Michael De Luca, Jason Netter and Kevin Spacey. [9]