| Crossover | |
|---|---|
 Cover A for issue #1 by Geoff Shaw and Dave Stewart | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher |
|
| Format | Monthly |
| Genre | |
| Publication date | November 4, 2020 — August 18, 2022(on hiatus) |
| No. of issues | 13 (plus 1 special) |
| Creative team | |
| Created by |
|
| Written by |
|
| Pencillers |
|
| Letterer | John J. Hill |
| Colorists |
|
| Editor | Mark Waid |
| Collected editions | |
| Kids Love Chains | ISBN 1-5343-1893-3 |
| The Ten-Cent Plague | ISBN 1-5343-1928-X |
Crossover is anAmerican comic bookongoing series created byDonny Cates, Geoff Shaw, Dee Cunniffe and John J. Hill, and published byImage Comics.[1]
The series debuted on November 4, 2020 and was put on hold on August 18, 2022.[2]
In 2017,fictional characters fromcomic books, across various publishers and genres, come to life in thereal world, causing mayhem, destruction and death around the city ofDenver,Colorado.[2]
Five years later, a ragtag team of humans and characters join forces and embark on a quest to return to Denver, now domed off and containing the displaced characters, to find out the cause behind "The Event".[3]
In July 2020, duringSan Diego Comic-Con,Image Comics announced a comic book series titledCrossover, created byDonny Cates, Geoff Shaw, Dee Cunniffe and John J. Hill.[1][4] Three years earlier, they createdGod Country andRedneck, two other Image series.[5]
According to Cates and Shaw during an interview onIGN, the story is inspired by the concept of severalcrossover summer events that are presented by comic book publishers likeDC Comics,Marvel Comics, among others, with the story being inspired by/based on "Avengers: Endgame asCloverfield", and they also revealed the possibility for other characters from Image and other owners to appear.[5][6]
Following the release of issue #1 in 3D edition on August 18, 2022, Image put the series on hold to release another comic book titledVanish, also co-created by Cates.[7]
| Character(s) | Franchise | Creator(s) | Owner(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antiquarian | The Paybacks | Donny Cates, Eliot Rahal and Geoff Shaw | Donny Cates, Eliot Rahal and Geoff Shaw (published byDark Horse Comics, a subsidiary of theEmbracer Group) |
| Archie Andrews | Archie | Vic Bloom,John L. Goldwater andBob Montana | Archie Comics |
| Aristus | God Country | Donny Cates, John J. Hill, Geoff Shaw and Jason Wordie | Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw (published by Image Comics) |
| Avengelyne | Avengelyne | Cathy Christian,Rob Liefeld and Tony Lobito | Rob Liefeld and Little Wolf Productions (published byImage Comics) |
| Batman | DC Universe | Bill Finger andBob Kane | DC Comics (Warner Bros. Discovery) |
| Battle Pope | Battle Pope | Robert Kirkman andTony Moore | Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore (published bySkybound Entertainment through Image Comics) |
| Bloodpouch | The Paybacks | Donny Cates, Eliot Rahal and Geoff Shaw | Donny Cates, Eliot Rahal and Geoff Shaw (published by Dark Horse Comics, a subsidiary of the Embracer Group) |
| Carnage | Marvel Universe | Mark Bagley andDavid Michelinie | Marvel Comics (The Walt Disney Company) |
| Christian Walker | Powers | Brian Michael Bendis andMichael Avon Oeming | Jinxworld (currently published by Dark Horse Comics, a subsidiary of the Embracer Group) |
| Colonel Weird | Black Hammer | Jeff Lemire andDean Ormston | 171 Studios and Dean Ormston (Published by Dark Horse Comics, a subsidiary of the Embracer Group) |
| Combo Man | Marvel Universe | Hector Collazo,John Statema andMark Gruenwald | Marvel Comics (The Walt Disney Company) |
| Cosmic Ghost Rider | Marvel Universe | Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw | Marvel Comics (The Walt Disney Company) |
| Count Dracula | Dracula | Bram Stoker | In thepublic domain |
| The Darkness | Top Cow Universe | Garth Ennis,Marc Silvestri andDavid Wohl | Top Cow Productions (published through Image Comics) |
| Deanna "Dee" Quinlan | God Country | Donny Cates, John J. Hill, Geoff Shaw and Jason Wordie | Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw (published by Image Comics) |
| Denna Pilgrim | Powers | Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming | Jinxworld (currently published by Dark Horse Comics, a subsidiary of the Embracer Group) |
| Doctor Blaqk | The Paybacks | Donny Cates, Eliot Rahal and Geoff Shaw | Donny Cates, Eliot Rahal and Geoff Shaw (published by Dark Horse Comics, a subsidiary of the Embracer Group) |
| Doctor Strange | Marvel Universe | Stan Lee andSteve Ditko | Marvel Comics (The Walt Disney Company) |
| The Driver | The Paybacks | Donny Cates, Eliot Rahal and Geoff Shaw | Donny Cates, Eliot Rahal and Geoff Shaw (published by Dark Horse Comics, a subsidiary of the Embracer Group) |
| Elizabeth Quinlan | God Country | Donny Cates, John J. Hill, Geoff Shaw and Jason Wordie | Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw (published by Image Comics) |
| Emmet Quinlan | God Country | Donny Cates, John J. Hill, Geoff Shaw and Jason Wordie | Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw (published by Image Comics) |
| Emory Rains | The Paybacks | Donny Cates, Eliot Rahal and Geoff Shaw | Donny Cates, Eliot Rahal and Geoff Shaw (published by Dark Horse Comics, a subsidiary of the Embracer Group) |
| Escape Goat | Buzzkill | Donny Cates, Geoff Shaw and Mark Reznicek | Mark Reznicek and Donny Cates (originally published by Dark Horse Comics, a subsidiary of Embracer Group; now published by Image Comics) |
| Francis Pierce | Buzzkill | Donny Cates, Geoff Shaw and Mark Reznicek | Mark Reznicek and Donny Cates (originally published by Dark Horse Comics, a subsidiary of Embracer Group; now published by Image Comics) |
| Gertrude | I Hate Fairyland | Skottie Young | Skottie Young (published by Image Comics) |
| Ghost | Comics' Greatest World | Barbara Kesel,Jerry Prosser,Mike Richardson,Randy Stradley andChris Warner | Dark Horse Comics (Embracer Group) |
| Godzilla | Godzilla | Eiji Tsubaraya,Ishirō Honda andTomoyuki Tanaka | Toho (North American comic books currently published byIDW Publishing) |
| High Guard | Buzzkill | Donny Cates, Mark Reznicek and Geoff Shaw | Mark Reznicek and Donny Cates (originally published by Dark Horse Comics, a subsidiary of Embracer Group; now published by Image Comics) |
| Hit-Girl | Kick-Ass | Mark Millar andJohn Romita Jr. | Dave and Eggsy Ltd. and John Romita Jr. (published byMillarworld, aNetflix company, through Image Comics) |
| Hulk | Marvel Universe | Jack Kirby and Stan Lee | Marvel Comics (The Walt Disney Company) |
| Invincible | Invincible | Robert Kirkman, Ryan Ottley andCory Walker | Robert Kirkman, Cory Walker and Ryan Ottley (published by Skybound Entertainment through Image Comics) |
| Janey Quinlan | God Country | Donny Cates, John J. Hill, Geoff Shaw and Jason Wordie | Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw (published by Image Comics) |
| The Joker | DC Universe | Bill Finger, Bob Kane andJerry Robinson | DC Comics (Warner Bros. Discovery) |
| Lucifer | The Wicked + The Divine | Kieron Gillen andJamie McKelvie | Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie (published by Image Comics) |
| Luther Strode | The Strange Talent of Luther Strode | Justin Jordan andTradd Moore | Justin Jordan and Tradd Moore (published by Image Comics) |
| Madman | Madman | Mike Allred | Mike Allred (currently published by Dark Horse Comics, a subsidiary of Embracer Group) |
| Max Damage | Irredeemable | Peter Krause andMark Waid | Boom! Studios |
| Miss Adventure | The Paybacks | Donny Cates, Eliot Rahal and Geoff Shaw | Donny Cates, Eliot Rahal and Geoff Shaw (published by Dark Horse Comics, a subsidiary of the Embracer Group) |
| Negan | The Walking Dead | Robert Kirkman andCharlie Adlard | Robert Kirkman (published by Skybound Entertainment through Image Comics) |
| Night Knight | The Paybacks | Donny Cates, Eliot Rahal and Geoff Shaw | Donny Cates, Eliot Rahal and Geoff Shaw (published by Dark Horse Comics, a subsidiary of the Embracer Group) |
| Panteradactyl | Buzzkill | Donny Cates, Mark Reznicek and Geoff Shaw | Mark Reznicek and Donny Cates (originally published by Dark Horse Comics, a subsidiary of Embracer Group; now published by Image Comics) |
| Rawhide Kid | Marvel Universe | Bob Brown and Stan Lee | Marvel Comics (The Walt Disney Company) |
| Roy Quinlan | God Country | Donny Cates, John J. Hill, Geoff Shaw and Jason Wordie | Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw (published by Image Comics) |
| RX-78-2 Gundam | Gundam | Yoshiyuki Tomino andHajime Yatate | Sotsu/Sunrise (Bandai Namco Holdings) |
| Savage Dragon | Savage Dragon | Erik Larsen | Erik Larsen (published by Image Comics) |
| Scooby-Doo | Scooby-Doo | Joe Ruby,Ken Spears andIwao Takamoto | Cartoon Network Studios/Hanna-Barbera (Warner Bros. Discovery) (comic books published by DC Comics) |
| ShadowHawk | ShadowHawk | Jim Valentino | Jim Valentino/Shadowline (published through Image Comics) |
| Shoxxx | Buzzkill | Donny Cates, Mark Reznicek and Geoff Shaw | Mark Reznicek and Donny Cates (originally published by Dark Horse Comics, a subsidiary of Embracer Group; now published by Image Comics) |
| Soviet Nunchuck | The Paybacks | Donny Cates, Eliot Rahal and Geoff Shaw | Donny Cates, Eliot Rahal and Geoff Shaw (published by Dark Horse Comics, a subsidiary of the Embracer Group) |
| Spawn | Spawn | Todd McFarlane | Todd McFarlane Productions (published through Image Comics) |
| Spider-Man | Marvel Universe | Steve Ditko and Stan Lee | Marvel Comics (The Walt Disney Company) |
| The Squid | Watchmen | Dave Gibbons,John Higgins andAlan Moore | DC Comics (Warner Bros. Discovery) |
| Starfox | Marvel Universe | Jim Starlin andMike Friedrich | Marvel Comics (The Walt Disney Company) |
| Stay Puft Marshmallow Man | Ghostbusters | Dan Aykroyd and Bill Bryan | Columbia Pictures (Sony) |
| Superman | DC Universe | Joe Shuster andJerry Siegel | DC Comics (Warner Bros. Discovery) and the Jerry Siegel Family[8] |
| The Thing | Marvel Universe | Jack Kirby and Stan Lee | Marvel Comics (The Walt Disney Company) |
| Thor | Marvel Universe | Jack Kirby, Stan Lee andLarry Lieber | Marvel Comics (The Walt Disney Company) |
| The Tick | The Tick | Ben Edlund | Ben Edlund (published byNew England Comics) |
| Valofax | God Country | Donny Cates, John J. Hill, Geoff Shaw and Jason Wordie | Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw (published by Image Comics) |
| Witchblade | Top Cow Universe | Brian Haberlin, Marc Silvestri,Michael Turner and David Wohl | Top Cow Productions (published through Image Comics) |
| Wonder Woman | DC Universe | William Moulton Marston andH. G. Peter | DC Comics (Warner Bros. Discovery) |
| Issue | Title | Written by | Drawn by | Colored by | Publication date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | "Kids Love Chains: Part One" | Donny Cates | Geoff Shaw | Dee Cunniffe | November 4, 2020 |
| In 2017, the city ofDenver was invaded byfictionalsuperheroes andsupervillains fighting each other, causing destruction and death, until a superhero created a force field around the city. Five years later, most of society has rejected those characters, but Ellie Howell is one of the few people who still believes in them. She works for a comic book store located inProvo, until one day, her boss Otto spots Ava, a fictional character who somehow got evacuated from Denver. This alarms a mob of fanatical Protestants led by Father Lowe, who forces his son Ryan to toss aMolotov cocktail against the shop, causing it to explode. Ava reveals a figure helped them escape.[9] | |||||
| #2 | "Kids Love Chains: Part Two" | Donny Cates | Geoff Shaw | Dee Cunniffe | December 9, 2020 |
| Following the burnout of their comic book shop, Ellie is given asylum by Otto. She offers herself to return Ava to her parents, unaware she has superpowers of her own. During his temporary imprisonment, Ryan is secretly recruited by Nathaniel Abrams Pendleton, Special Director of the Powerhouse, as he reveals that Ryan would play a major role in ending the Event in Denver. In the meantime, there are murders against comic book writers and artists, likeBrian K. Vaughan.[10] | |||||
| #3 | "Kids Love Chains: Part Three" | Donny Cates | Geoff Shaw | Dee Cunniffe | January 6, 2021 |
| While Ellie, Otto and Ava travel to Denver, they meet Ryan, who decided to escape from his father. At the same time, aGundam is fighting akaiju, but the group is rescued by the Paybacks, who were sent byMadman, the figure that helped Ava and several others to escape the dome.[11] | |||||
| #4 | "Kids Love Chains: Part Four" | Donny Cates | Geoff Shaw | Dee Cunniffe | February 24, 2021 |
| Madman reveals that Ava's parents are back in the fictional world through a portal inside Denver, and Payback member Doctor Blaqk reveals he was the one that put the dome over the city, but as long as the characters stay away from it, their powers weaken. The group travels to the National Event Memorial and Museum Center, where they meet Deanna Quinlan, granddaughter of Emmet Quinlan and keeper of the sword Valofax. Meanwhile, Father Lowe keeps a prisoner inside his ministry compound, while Director Pendleton receives orders to advance the experiments of the "Amalgam Program".[12] | |||||
| #5 | "Kids Love Chains: Part Five" | Donny Cates | Geoff Shaw | Dee Cunniffe | March 31, 2021 |
| Father Lowe uses his prisoner as a suicide bomb inside the Powerhouse, as part of his plan to start a war against the characters. The group travels inside the dome in Denver, where they are confronted by an army of Amalgams sent by the government, but as an army of planes begin to launch missiles, Ava unleashes her powers to destroy them. As Madman fails to convince her to stop, Ryan has no choice but to shoot Ava with the same special gun that he was given by Pendleton.[13] | |||||
| #6 | "Kids Love Chains: Conclusion" | Donny Cates | Geoff Shaw | Dee Cunniffe | April 28, 2021 |
| After Ellie prevents Ryan from shooting Ava, the group reunites to find the portal. However, many characters still fight each other after years. The team succeeds in finding the portal and Ava returns to her world with her parents. Ellie and Ryan escape from the dome, but Otto gets injured and left behind in the process. Inside an apartment, Ellie reveals to Ryan that she is not a real human, but a character from the fictional world.[14] | |||||
| #7 | — | Chip Zdarsky | Phil Hester andAnde Parks | Dee Cunniffe | June 30, 2021 |
| In the wake of the murders against comic book celebrities, Steve Murray is on the run when he meets his alter ego "Chip Zdarsky". While trying to escape by car, they have a crash, and when Chip is killed by an assailant, Steve escapes and reports what happened to detectives Christian Walker and Denna Pilgrim from thePowers Division.[15] | |||||
| #8 | "Meanwhile: Part One" | Donny Cates | Geoff Shaw | Dee Cunniffe | September 29, 2021 |
| While Ellie and Ryan deal with their issues, they are taken to the Powerhouse by the Powers Division. Pendleton informs Ryan about the recent murders against comic book celebrities, and that he has Father Lowe in custody for the previous bombing. In the meantime, the mysterious prisoner gets upset for how the order of events has been changed due to Ellie's actions.[16] | |||||
| #9 | "Meanwhile: Part Two" | Donny Cates | Geoff Shaw | Dee Cunniffe | November 3, 2021 |
| When Walker and Pilgrim interrogate Ellie about the murders, Father Lowe reveals to Ryan that he knows the killer's identity and intentions. Walker and Pilgrim then investigate a crime scene, where the victim isScott Snyder and the murder weapon is aBatarang.[17] | |||||
| #10 | "Meanwhile: Part Three" | Brian Michael Bendis and Donny Cates | Michael Avon Oeming and Geoff Shaw | Nick Filardi and Dee Cunniffe | December 8, 2021 |
| Pendleton reveals most of his past as a family man who got widowed after the Event, and decided to solve the mystery behind what happened. He also knows the mysterious prisoner inside the Powerhouse is in factDonny Cates himself.[18] | |||||
| #11 | "Meanwhile: Part Four" | Donny Cates | Geoff Shaw | Dee Cunniffe | February 2, 2022 |
| In a previous interrogation, Cates reveals to Pendleton he only wanted to make a love story, but the idea was cancelled before the Event happened. Pendleton forces Cates to remain as a prisoner in the Powerhouse until an "ending" is made. In the present, when Ellie initially does not believe in Cates' words, he secretly gives her a letter detailing the coming events. When Walker and Pilgrim take Father Love to a baseball stadium in search for the killer, it was revealed thatNegan was the material author, but it was Lowe who orchestrated those killings.[19] | |||||
| #12 | "Meanwhile: Part Five" | Robert Kirkman and Donny Cates | Phil Hester and Geoff Shaw | Klaus Janson and Dee Cunniffe | March 2, 2022 |
| Sometime after the Event, Negan met and killed his creator,Robert Kirkman, as revenge for the life he gave him. Back in the present, Negan reveals to Walker and Pilgrim about why he joined Father Lowe, as they both share the same interest of freeing the real world from all fictional characters. Besides, he met another person more powerful than Cates. Within the Powerhouse, Cates manages to use his powers to lock Pendleton in his own room, while freeing Ellie (reunited by Valofax) and Ryan (armed with alightsaber) to save Walker and Pilgrim.[20] | |||||
| #13 | "Meanwhile: Conclusion" | Donny Cates | Geoff Shaw | Dee Cunniffe | May 11, 2022 |
| The humans and characters go into an all-out war, as Negan takes Donny hostage, but Ellie uses Valofax to impale them both. When Father Lowe tries to become a suicide bomb, Ryan tries to reason with him, but Pendleton kills him by using aspecial armor. In his dying moment, Donny reveals to Ellie and Ryan that they must kill artist Geoff Shaw in order to put an end to the Event in Denver.[21] | |||||
| #1 | 3D Special side story | Donny Cates and Matthew Rosenberg | Megan Hutchison | Dee Cunniffe | August 18, 2022 |
Oscar Maltby wrote forNewsarama that the first issue was "bold as hell" and an intriguing start.[22]
| Issue | Publication date | Critic rating | Critic reviews | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | November 4, 2020 | 8.9/10 | 26 | [23] |
| #2 | December 9, 2020 | 7.9/10 | 15 | [24] |
| #3 | January 6, 2021 | 8.4/10 | 11 | [25] |
| #4 | February 24, 2021 | 8.2/10 | 14 | [26] |
| #5 | March 31, 2021 | 8.0/10 | 12 | [27] |
| #6 | April 28, 2021 | 9.2/10 | 11 | [28] |
| #7 | June 30, 2021 | 8.5/10 | 7 | [29] |
| #8 | September 29, 2021 | 8.9/10 | 6 | [30] |
| #9 | November 3, 2021 | 9.3/10 | [31] | |
| #10 | December 8, 2021 | 8.1/10 | [32] | |
| #11 | February 2, 2022 | 9.1/10 | [33] | |
| #12 | March 2, 2022 | 8.9/10 | 4 | [34] |
| #13 | May 11, 2022 | 9.2/10 | 6 | [35] |
| Overall | 8.7/10 | 130 | [36] |
| Title | Volume | Material collected | Pages | Publication date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crossover, Volume 1: Kids Love Chains | 1 |
| 176 | May 26, 2021 | 1534318933,978-1534318939 |
| Crossover, Volume 2: The Ten-Cent Plague | 2 |
| June 8, 2022 | 153431928X,978-1534319288 |
