"Crossover" by Donny Cates: A Good Read?

Having finished the first 5 issues of Image Comics' Crossover, that's all that has been released so far, it felt like the right time to collect my thoughts. Over the past couple of years, I feel like no name in the comic industry has been brought up as much as Donny Cates. I know him best from his run in Marvel, starting in 2018 when he took the Venom title and completely took the character and his lore to new heights and his most recent run on Thor. Others may recognize him for his work on titles like Babyteeth, God Country, Cosmic Ghost Rider, Redneck, and many others. Needless to say, the man has built himself quite a reputation as one of the premiere comic writers working today, leading to my interest in a new title he brought to the shelves in November of 2020.

Crossover takes place 5 years after "the Event," during which a portal from the sky opens above Denver, Colorado and fictional characters from across the comic universe suddenly appear in the real world. With their arrival comes all of the chaos, fighting, and destruction that they saw in their own worlds, and to help contain it all, an unnamed hero establishes a force field around the city. This leaves those inside the city trapped, and those outside of the city unable to get in. A detail central to the plot of Crossover is that it was not just heroes and villains that came to the real world, but also everyday citizens from the comic world, distiguished by their retro comic art appearance (i.e. drawn with Ben Day dots). Over the years, most of our world carries negative feelings towards all comic characters, with many actively discriminating against them, and the government locking up and containing as many as they can. All of them. Heroes. Villains. Citizens. As you may imagine, this can represent a lot of themes in present-day society and I will touch on those later.

The primary perspective we follow is that of Ellipses (Elli) Howell, a comic shop worker in Utah who is a comic character (CC) sympathizer. We learn that she was separated from parents during the Event and that they are still in the dome, with her hopes of reuniting with them. Two primary events set off the current story focus, with the first being the introduction of Ava, a CC who is somehow outside of the dome and is taken in by Elli at the shop. Elli's own situation propels her to make reuniting Ava with her family her top priority, made easier by the fact that Elli wants back into Denver anyway. The second event comes when Father Lowe has his son, Ryan, set the comic shop at which Elli works on fire. The first couple of issues help establish the extremes of treatment towards the CCs: from the kindness of Elli to the religious bigotry of Father Lowe and his followers. The persecution does not stop at the CCs, though, it also extends to any casual fans of comics in general. It is strange to be reading a comic about condemning comics and while it does not impact me at all, I am not sure it is ever in anyone's best interest to use their product/medium to condemn that product/medium.

This book appears to want to be a spoof on the various crossover events that comic companies do each year, most of which usually never that great and are done to primarily boost sales and bring more eyes to the shelves. So it ignores exploring the details of the Event itself, like the threat it poses to our world, how it has changed society (outside of the hatemongers), or just the overall craziness of such an occasion. Instead, it takes our focus to a small group of individuals trying to get into the dome and has the Event and the impact its had serve more as a background to this road trip. The commentary here indicates that the big event is not as important as the smaller, more personal stories. Assuming that is the intention of the story, then yes, it is hitting its mark with great precision. Unfortunately, it ends up feeling more like a side story so far with the main story being kept away from us (that being the details of the Event).

It is a bit frustrating, especially since there has not been too much depth to grab onto in the first few issues. The most interesting character is Ryan, who comes upon the knowledge that he will have an integral role in the events to come, as a part of some premonition. Oh, and he is given a gun with what looks like a Kryptonite bullet that he is told he will need to use at some point. Other than that, there is a smidge of character development with Ava, but they ultimately do not an aspect of her a mystery long enough to be that compelling. Elli is a one trick pony thus far and a lot of the other characters we meet are cheap knock-offs of better-known comic characters. Now, the end of issue 5 has them entering the dome and the action appears to be picking up and the potential is high for interesting happenings moving forward, especially as it pertains to Ava and Ryan's "mission".

I think the comic ends up just feeling too political. Not that a political commentary is bad in the slightest, but with the sociopolitical thermometer sitting in the highs every day for the past few years, it becomes a distraction from the plot. Maybe that is the point, maybe Cates wants this comic to get us thinking about how society is marginalizing others and mistreating people. I don't know about you, but those messages creep into most facets of my life, it is hard NOT to think about. I really do not need my comics to also push those ideals, not that they are bad, but it minimizes the reasons I turn to comics in the first place: fantasy, escape, excitement, etc. This particular comic has a lot of potential to be really fun, especially with the oodles of comic Easter Eggs throughout, with many popular characters being hinted at existing in this world (but of course, can not participate in the action). I will continue reading Crossover, especially since this initial arc only has another issues left. Plus, starting with issue 7, Chip Zdarsky will take over the head writing duties, so who knows how the story will evolve and Crossover has definitely built an interesting enough universe worth exploring.

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INITIAL RATING: 💬 💬 💬 / 5