Comic Book Crossovers

What are your thoughs on Crossovers? Do you like them? Is a bad idea because you have to buy a title you don't usually read? Comments?

Normally, I love to hate them, but I admit I'm way too curious what the writers have cooked up - I'm the nosey kind 😉.

Occasionally, crossovers can be intelligent and well written. But lots of times they suck. It's almost always very predictable: just let two popular characters beat the shit out of each other, and halfway the comic/story, they decide (out of the blue) that it might be better working together than wasting precious time trying to dismember each other.

It normally ends with the two heroes (or three or four...) respecting each other and beating up the bad guy(s).

Yawn...

Occassionally, crossovers can be good. Usually, as who?-kid pointed out, they are completely predictable. Still, there are a few I've enjoyed, Like Claws of the Catwoman (Batman/Tarzan) and Die Laughing (Batman/Judge Dredd).

I like em when they don't become commericalized to the point of just money. At first i thought marvel was just doing them for pure money reasons. That can kill a book. I'd like to see a crossover that starts as a match between say the FF meets Avengers in a limited series. Then something comes out of that that brings a crossover between the books.

Wait ... are we talking about crossovers between series within a company (Batman/Superman) or between companies (Superman/Silver Surfer)?

I liked W.I.L.D.Cats/ X-men...

Originally posted by Gregory
Wait ... are we talking about crossovers between series within a company (Batman/Superman) or between companies (Superman/Silver Surfer)?

You're right Gregory, I should have been more specific. For the purpose of this thread I meant to imply crossovers within the company. Like Acts of Vengence, inferno, Infinite Gaunlet...etc. Of course if you want to talk about crossover between companies that is also welcome.

In that case, I think crossovers are a good way to give exposure to relatively minor characters. Example: I had never even heard of Scott Free until he had a cameo in another character's book (Sandman), and the only other time I've seen him was in a crossover comic (Brave and the Bold).

However, I resent crossovers like Flash: Dead Heat that are spread over different series, so that if I want to know what's going on in my Impulse comics, I have to also buy three Flash comics. If I wanted to read about Flash, I'd subscribe to Flash comics; but I don't. The worst example of this was the Knightfall series. To fully understand what was happening in Batman, you had to pick up several issues of JLA Taskforce. What the hell?

Some company crossovers are great(i really liked JLA/Avengers), but others leave you wanting, for example,Hulk/Darkness, which was just released....was kinda lame. though, im curious and will pick up the next Image/Marvel crossover, which is Wolverine/Witchblade. from the previews ive seen, they are married! either that, or ive completely misunderstood the first 4 pages.

I usually despise crossovers, since they're typically poorly written and illogical. And now they're really overdoing it...just about every DC title I read nowadays has another hero showing up.

Do you guys think that when Marvel or DC makes a crossover is to help promote a certain title? If I remenber correctly She-Hulk was a very poor series that got cancel. But there were crossovers that included that series. You think is a good idea to link the storyline to Comic books that are basically going to get cut?

She-Hulk just had a new title released. the next issue comes out this month and its #4 i think.

some crossovers really piss me off cause they are either sloppy or insipid. some of the worst crossovers of all time have to be Acts of Vengeance, Daredevil/batman, and heroes reborn.

Originally posted by Arachnoidfreak
Some company crossovers are great(i really liked JLA/Avengers), but others leave you wanting, for example,Hulk/Darkness, which was just released....was kinda lame. though, im curious and will pick up the next Image/Marvel crossover, which is Wolverine/Witchblade. from the previews ive seen, they are married! either that, or ive completely misunderstood the first 4 pages.

Witchblade/Wolverine is out! and it was WAY better than Darkness/Hulk. man i liked this one(well, it was written by Claremont, what else could you ask for?) it was too short though. they should make these kind of crossovers 4 or 6 issue mini series. i have a feeling Darkness/Hulk would have been much better if it was longer.

Originally posted by Darth Jello
some crossovers really piss me off cause they are either sloppy or insipid. some of the worst crossovers of all time have to be Acts of Vengeance, Daredevil/batman, and heroes reborn.

Acts of Vegence was a pointless crossover (for me at least). As far as I remenber there wasn't anything special. Except for that fight between Spidey and Magneto in (Amazing Spider-man 328? I think)

I think that the idea is to introduce a new character or supehero into the universe.

didn't cosmic spidey kick his ass? the other thing that gets me is when the companies release TPBs and don't release all the back issues. for example, some of the most dramatic parts of the Fall of the mutants and Inferno took place in Daredevil.