Sojourn & Negation Hit "Best Of " Lists For '03...El Cazador & Kiss Kiss Bang Bang "Buzz Books" In '04!
As 2003 roars to a close, the gang in the studio gathered a few cool news items to pass your way...
CROSSGEN'S TALKING MONKEY LEAPS INTO AOL RED!
Po Po, the all-wise monkey mentor of WAY OF THE RAT, is now talking to teens! The high-kicking kung fu series has jumped into the spotlight in the "Comics & Anime" section of AOL RED, the newly launched teen site on AOL. "It's official: people love the monkey," said writer Chuck Dixon. "The entire creative team is excited by the chance to reach a huge new audience and bring them along for a wild tale of swords, ghosts and dragons." Users of AOL 9.0 or AOL for MAC OS X can reach AOL RED at keyword "Red".
CG CREATORS & CHARACTERS HONORED BY 2003 WIZARD FAN AWARDS NOMINATIONS!
Several CG creators and characters have been nominated in the 2003 Wizard Fan Awards! CrossGen congratulates all nominees and thanks readers for nominating us -- through voting at wizarduniverse.com -- for the following
categories:
Favorite Penciler: George Pérez (JLA/Avengers, SOLUS)
Favorite Colorist: Laura Martin (RUSE)
Favorite Letterer: Dave Lanphear (EL CAZADOR, RUSE) Favorite Heroine: Arwyn (SOJOURN)
Favorite Publisher: CrossGen Comics The winners will be announced in August at the Wizard World Chicago convention. You can vote for your favorites now via the ballot found in Wizard #148!
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, CINESCAPE AND MORE SPOTLIGHT CG TITLES!
Several recent periodicals profiled a variety of CG titles... Crowning it "a successful mix of horror and humor," Publishers Weekly said that ROUTE 666 "deftly pushes an unsettling situation as far as it can while still remaining amusing." After sailing on EL CAZADOR, Cinescape admitted: "What's surprising is how much fun it can be, especially with a female pirate named Captain Sin leading the way to the booty!" In a full-page feature article, Cinescape also noted that WAY OF THE RAT "should thrill fans of martial arts action and monkey sidekicks." The "electronic lifestyle" magazine BPM hailed THE PATH Vol. 2 as "a wide-screen samurai epic, in blood-and-sweat dripping color...full of grand landscapes, intense stare-downs and explosive action." NewType USA called RUSE Vol. 1 "a wild ride through an alternate Victorian-style era...you can almost hear the gargoyles flapping overhead." In an article titled "Bridging The Generation Gap," Cinescape writer Arnold T. Blumberg profiled BRIDGES, stating: "Pretty soon, bringing a comic book to class won't be seen as a massive breach of etiquette. Thanks to CrossGen Education, comics may soon take their place as a worthy supplement to the learning experience for young children...aimed at strengthening reader comprehension and analytical skills in grades 4 - 12, the program provides interested parties with graphic novels, related activity and exercise materials, and a chance to improve the old-fashioned approach to teaching reading." Blown away by the sci-fi series NEGATION, Comics International raved: "Penciler Paul Pelletier positively shines and writer Tony Bedard mixes some superheroics into the sci-fi to great effect. Try it...you'll like it!" Maggie Thompson of Comics Buyer's Guide called EL CAZADOR "impressive," adding "this pirate series is a showcase for some of the very best art that even CrossGen has used to date...the storytelling is outstanding, and the series is selling briskly. Don't miss it." CBG also listed WAY OF THE RAT in their "Best Comics You're Not Reading (Yet)!" feature. Hilary Duff, The Olsen Twins...and Sephie? The teen magazine Blast! highlighted both the SOJOURN and MERIDIAN Traveler Editions and Digital Comic Books in their "Something Different" column.
SOJOURN & NEGATION MAKE "BEST OF 2003" LISTS!
The fine folks at Comix View and BrokenFrontier.com have honored two CG series on their annual "Best Of" lists! First, Comix View editor Daniel C. Hartman placed SOJOURN #19, the all splash-page issue, on the e-zine's "Best Comic Books 0f 2003" list. Daniel raved: "Kudos to (penciler) Greg Land, as he shows why this book is moving up the charts with a bullet! If you are a fan of incredible 'photo-realistic' art, do not miss this issue!" BrokenFrontier.com's Kyle Litke selected NEGATION as the "Best Series Of 2003." In an article titled "The Sensation That Is Negation," Kyle stated: "There are so many great things about NEGATION, it's difficult to know where to begin. When it comes down to it though, there's really only one place to start, and that's Tony Bedard. His name may be unknown to many, but you'll be hearing much more about him in the future, count on it. He may be one of the best writers in the comic book industry today...Tony Bedard has the rare ability to not only tell an amazing tale, but to make each and every issue action packed."
EL CAZADOR, KISS KISS BANG BANG AND SOJOURN SELECTED AS "2004 BUZZ BOOKS" BY WIZARD!
The pounding waves of the new pirate series EL CAZADOR have swept up the staff of Wizard. First, the popular comics magazine listed EL CAZADOR #2 on their latest "Heat Index" list, saying: "No parrots. No 'argh, matey!" or 'shiver me timbers.' Just a gritty pirate tale with a majestic Spanish ship, a crew of black-hearted backstabbing buccaneers and a beautiful, vengeful mistress of the seas who commands them with saber in hand. Toss in a mutiny, an intense duel and a marooning on a desert island, and you've got a treasure trove of high seas adventure." The staff also named EL CAZADOR one of their 2004 "Buzz Books". Chuck Dixon and Steve Epting's nautical adventure was also joined on the elite list by the upcoming spy series KISS KISS BANG BANG and the epic fantasy saga SOJOURN. In addition, the staff spotlighted ABADAZAD, NEGATION, ROUTE 666 and WAY OF THE RAT in their "2004 Preview" list.
The entire staff at CrossGen thanks all the readers, retailers, and journalists for their continued support in 2003. And from all of us to all of you: Happy New Year!
