When i heard that Marvel was going to be doing relaunches of at least some of the CrossGen titles, i was both psyked and incredibly wary. Marvel does not have a great track record when it comes to taking someone else's ball and running with it, especially if they pretty much intend to bury it just out of spite. *cough* Ultraverse *cough*
That having been said, im still looking forward to both of these miniseries and hope it opens the door for future CrossGen come backs. The only big gripe i have thus far is that both of the books are taking place (at least as far as i can tell) on Earth and i think it loses a little bit of the flavor the original various series had because of it, but i can get by it if the reboots are interesting enough. In both cases im eyeing the two series pretty critically since both titles (Sigil & Ruse) were among my favorite of the old line.
so of course, ive picked them up.
Sigil #1; Haz already covered the basics, so i dont feel much need to retread old ground here. So ill just jump in and say it's nice to see some callbacks to the old series. For those folks who were familiar with CrossGen works, while the title said Sigil, i actually got more of a Meridian vibe from this comic. i hope they drop most of the school stuff quickly, since it's seems to be little more than filler to show the audience "oh look, the girl is strange! but she's got problems just like you!" Overall a pretty decent first issue though, set up the basic premise easily enough, gets you into the action, and i dont have any overwhelming desire to strangle the main character when she talks. good signs generally that this could be worth following around for another couple months. the story is okay, but to be honest im looking to see what else from the past stories get involved here, since it seems Sigil is going to be the title that reboots as much of the CrossGen universe as Marvel will be comfortable with.
Ruse #1, right. This was probably my favorite series aside from Negation. Holmes style detective on a world permanently settled into the Victorian era and riddled with steampunk, magic, and etc. with only a brief connection to the rest of the sigil bearers in 'emma'. This time around, we're on earth, and while there does seem to be some of the steam punk type gadgets around, this seems to be a more straight up Holmes' homage than the original. With Ruse coming across even more acerbic than the first time through. Though, it does set up the series nicely, intros the characters well and is familiar enough for an old fan to dig it and wonder where they're going, and for new folks to jump on without having ever picked it up before. The art is a little... off. i dont know what it is, but something about just doesnt look right. Like an expression will be drawn oddly or there's an angle choice im not happy with. little nitpicks that i can get over with because the story is alright, and it has been (ugh) almost ten years since Waid last wrote for the character.
Overall a good attempt from both titles, and i hope they do well enough to see more CrossGen titles get released from Marvel.
Alright, the first issues of the CrossGen properties relaunched as a Marvel imprint have started coming out this month, so I figure this is where we can discuss what we've seen thus far...
Sigil #1 - Written by Mike Carey, this new title doesn't feature spacefaring war hero turned mercenary Samandahl Rey, but present-day high school student Samantha Rey. True to the title and her namesake, however, she has a strange birthmark on her chest in the shape of the redesigned "sigil" that seems to have begun affecting her life in odd ways. There's mention of her mother as well, who died a year ago under mysterious circumstances that Sam is still trying to deal with, and what's been happening to Sam since then suggests that the sigil may be somehow connected to it all.
The one major negative in this first issue for me is the band of ridiculous high school girl bullies who torment and threaten Sam. But hopefully the rest of the series will push those elements into the background or at least round them out as it explores the mysteries surrounding Sam and her mark of power, starting with her appearance at the end of the issue on the deck of a certain pirate ship that may be familiar to CrossGen readers from the end of the old era...
So far, probably not the strongest start to a series, but I'm willing to hang in for a couple more issues at least to see where it's all going. But it does seem that this new line will be ditching the cosmic setting of the wider old CGUniverse and setting most of the books on Earth in different eras.
Ruse #1 - Penned by the original series' creator Mark Waid (woot!), this title appears to firmly establish that the rebooted CrossGen line will indeed be taking place on Earth, rather than various Earth-like worlds in the distant future. As such, the more fantastical elements of the old series such as the gargoyles and strange beings gifted with cosmic power playing their own games behind the scenes have been removed. But the good news there is that the supernatural stuff was never the real strong point of the old series.
No, the real focus of Ruse has always been, and thankfully remains, the relationship between master detective Simon Archard and his assistant (partner!) Emma Bishop. Waid has slipped almost seamlessly back into writing these two characters as if they'd never been gone, and it's so very good to have them back. Granted, they're now operating in 19th century England instead of the world of Arcadia, but the city of Partington is still riddled with crime and mysteries for the dysfunctional duo to confront. As always, Emma has made it her thankless mission to help humanize the brilliant but cold Archard, though this time it's of her own volition instead of at the behest of a higher power for reasons unknown. And Simon... well, he's still Simon.
This is a much stronger start to a relaunched title than Sigil thus far, and it gives me some real hope for whatever Marvel has planned with the rest of the line. (However, I REALLY wish they'd kept the Victorian-style title design from the old series; the title fonts for the new books so far just seem a little too bland and unimaginative overall, where the old CrossGen books each had their own distinctive and memorable title designs.)
So. Thoughts? Did anyone else pick these up?
There is an art, or, rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. --The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy