Polite Dissent

I now continue looking at the books put out by the failing CrossGen comics. After the initial releases, CrossGen added more titles to their “shared sigil universe” including Brath, Crux, The First, Negation, Route 666, Ruse, and Sojourn. Most of these seemed more two-dimensional concepts than well-composed titles. Today, I’ll look at the first three “Second Generation” books:

(Yes, I know I missed the CrossGen Chronicles as one of the first releases, but frankly, it was hit or miss and almost always a miss. I can’t recall a single good story from the series…)

The First
This book took place on what was supposedly the original world and source of life in the universe. It dealth with the original generation (the First) and their offspring. A previous argument had split the world into two non-connected parts (the “yin” and “yang” of the sigil). The stories had to with various character scheming against and scheming with each other. Towards the end, it was suggested that their were powers that predate the First, and some of the mysterious “higher being” guides were revealed here as well. There were too many characters to keep track of and most were entirely unlikable. The conflicts all seemed trite and superficial as well. The ending of the series was very unsatisfying as well. Add the bizzare square-jawed art of Bart Sears and the entire series is best forgotten.

Crux
Chuck Dixon’s first CrossGen book. Eons ago, most of the population of Atlantis chose to become a “higher being” and give up their earthly bodies. Some, however, chose to remain behind in suspended animation. They were supposed to revive and guide the evolving humans. This never happened, and centureies from now six Atlanteans awaken to find a devastated future Earth. There were some interesting ideas, and the art was generally good. The series meandered quite a bit, and there was even a two episode “Western” episode remniscient of the old Star Trek episode “Spectre of the Gun.” As in Sigil, the big-baddies the Negation had to be brought in to add tension to the final issues. Admittedly, it was handled much better here. This series, and the First, is where the “shared sigil universe” concept began breaking down. Knowledge of the other books was required to understand all the activities in these books; worse, these mediocre books had to be read to explain some of the central mysteries of the sigil and the “higher beings.”

Negation
Not a book about the evil Negation, but instead a comic about a group of prisoners from different planets brought to the Negation universe so that the Negation could understand our (the sigil) universe and how best to invade it. Most of the characters have sigils and power of one sort or another. There are some exceptions: one amoral character is one of the First, there is a seemingly powerless - yet indestructable - mother and infant, and finally, there is Oberon Kaine, a non-powered ex-Army officer who becomes the de facto leader of the prisoners once they escape. The story deals with a fair amount of double dealing and double crossing, and several characters meet untimely ends. The main villain Komptin is mostly uninteresting, but the occasional peeks of the mis-shapen Lawbringers are spectacular. The writing is good, and the art by Pelletier excellent. This was my favorite of the second generation CrossGen books, mostly because it exceeded its expectations, the characters were compelling, the stories kept me coming back for more, and I’m a big fan of Pelletier’s art.

Tomorrow, I finish up CrossGen: the Second Generation (Ruse, Sojourn, Brath, and Route 666). Then I’ll touch on the Mini-series, and the third generation…
[Note: I never read much Way of the Rat or The Path, so these will not be included in the rundown]