Panini Comics publishes the latest bubbly offerings from Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw.
What is the first thing that comes to mind when it comes to discerning what it is about the comic that makes its readers so enamored? All sorts of answers will likely be given: characters, crazy ideas, flamboyant nature, language, the weird way to go, the possibility to tell a story with pictures, the beauty of the drawing, the way it’s set up. rendering with still images…
This is an environment that can be approached from many angles, all of which are valid. But just like in love, what really draws you to something or someone is what cannot be fully described in words. It is more than the sum of qualities; it is an invisible and imperceptible element that irreversibly binds you to a person, or in this case to the Ninth Art.
Inevitably, all these thoughts crossed Donny Cates’ mind as he plotted. passage† And this work remains a tribute and tribute to everything he loved about comics. Moreover, despite a large metalinguistics load, it is very accessible and entertaining.
Because the author manages to tell a direct and simple story in the first place. Then it’s time to honor the title: cross this story with all the characters she loved and loved so much. A small child playing with dolls but if he can organize a coherent story.
It’s amazing how far Cates has gone by convincing several writers to lend their franchises to include in his project. The reader watches in amazement, as characters from different publishers emerge completely naturally, without beeping, with the story to be told. And fair fair, the sauce for this dish.
The premise is nothing more than speculation about what will happen if comic book heroes manage to enter our reality after an event. This, of course, would cause a major global catastrophe that caused the world to change. This ensures that anything related to vignettes is prosecuted. Those who nevertheless continue to enjoy this environment have become a very niche resistance, and the protagonist of the story is one of those people who defy the status quo.
Frankly, this is one of those parts where it’s better to come from absolute innocence. Not surprisingly, there are many surprises that the reader is better off exploring at their own risk. It is a work with the clear aim of regaining the capacity for surprise from an increasingly intelligent audience. And if it succeeds, it means that the sequential story has a lot of thread left.
This project also stems from a health issue that causes Cates to think she’s going to die. The same thing happened to him when he created it in 2015. god’s land† Here, however, he tried to banish the devil from a much healthier optimism. And even out of naivete, what she wants to do with Crossover is talk about everything she loves and try to explain why in a meaningful way. And it is clear that the mission has been accomplished.
Therefore, the tone is much less serious in its work than usual. He feels that he is striving for an unusual lightness for himself. The game has never taken itself too seriously and in some cases adopts absurd humor. On its own premise, it’s a work of depth and a certain assertiveness, but at no point does it feel like it wants to be more than it is.
It plays a spidic rhythm in favor of it. No time to digest one idea, the next idea has already appeared, which is even more shocking and interesting. In a way, the reader is overwhelmed by an endless shower of concepts. It might have helped at certain moments to hit the brakes and try to analyze a few things more deeply, but that could cut some of the core of the matter: enthusiasm.
art geoff shaw shows greater maturity in the works that made him famous. It is clear that he understands that this is a bigger job and that he is looking for the best. Going from scratch to a world very similar to ours and integrating some historical figures of American industry with a “realistic” key must be so much fun. It shows flexibility in rendering pages very cleanly. Undoubtedly, there is an artistic delicacy and effort for detail.
Dee Cunniffe color always understands art and nourishes and enriches it. Choose a palette that is very pop and colorful, which is more than enough for the project, but also adds to the slowness of trying things out. He draws on the character of this work to suggest some strategies that refer to old color methods versus digital. All while keeping the world consistent despite the addition of characters from other universes with different aesthetics. Of course, this is work beyond praise.
Panini Comics is releasing this long-awaited series in a very relaxed and careful print, but it could have been accompanied by some extra material in addition to the introduction of Cates and the original and alternate covers.
The crossover is pure medium magic captured in a few panels and made to look easy. It’s a testament to the boundless versatility held by those who know how to play with the language of this medium. Because this comic may not have invented the metalanguage, but it has a great quality: it’s unlike any other experimental comic you might read.
