News: Key Issues

[Ralph Kruhm]

Von Newsarama:

"CrossGen announced Tuesday that beginning in December, direct market comic shop customers will begin to see a new look popping up with certain issues of every CrossGen Universe title. These new logos and trade dresses are the banner for CrossGen's new ‘Key Issue Program’, aimed at helping new readers jump on-board CrossGen's existing monthly titles.
According to the publisher, “Each Key Issue will contain a complete story that fits into the current longer-term storyline, but with certain key elements and characters featured in such a way that new readers can come on-board easily without having to have read any previous issue of that title. The current plan is to have one Key Issue every month, and one Key Issue per year for each title. The scheduling may work out differently in the long run, as the Key Issues will also feature that title's regular art teams and not relief artists, so there may be slight variations as time goes by. The logos of the books will change for that issue only, and the style of that logo will be consistent for every title published in the Key Issue Program. In addition, the issues will have a Key Issue banner running across the top of the book, and a miniature sigil-key near the artists' signatures.”

The first three CrossGen Key Issues will be:

“The First #25 (November 6) Writer: Barbara Kesel Penciler: Andy Smith Inker: Bobby C Colorist: Sumi Pak

“This issue features the debut of some new and old faces in new roles in the art team for this title,” reports CrossGen. “Andy Smith, formerly Bart Sears' inker during his run as penciler on The First, debuts as regular penciler on The First with this issue. Inker Rob Hunter, who is being identified as Bobby C in the issue credits, stays in the role he has had on this title since issue #15. He changed his credit because, ‘Bobby C is what everyone calls me.’ The ‘C’ is his middle initial, but Hunter declined to say what it stood for. The new colorist for The First, Sumi Pak, is a relative newcomer to the industry. She recently worked as a staff colorist at Wildstorm, where she worked on titles such as Birds of Prey, Codename: Knockout and several of DC's Batman titles. Pak's background prior to comics included four years at the Disney-supported Cal-Arts animation school, and prior to that, she attended the Rhode Island School of Design. Her first work for CrossGen was as a relief colorist for Meridian #27.”

Mystic #31 (December 4) Writer: Tony Bedard Penciler: Aaron Lopresti Inker: Matt Ryan Colorist: Wil Quintana

Crux #22 (January 15) Writer: Chuck Dixon Penciler: Steve Epting Inker: Rick Magyar Colorist: Frank D'Armata

"This whole idea started at an after-hours bull session with a couple creators and executives here talking about the fact that there is still a public perception about the CrossGen Universe that the train has left the station, and there is no way to get on it now," said Tony Panaccio, Vice President of Product Development for CrossGen. "It's a complete fallacy, because we try very hard to make each title stand alone and each issue new reader friendly. For the uninitiated, we need to reiterate that every CrossGen title can stand on its own as a story without readers needing to follow every other CrossGen title and we don't do company-wide crossover events. So, the Key Issue Program is simply an extension of that overall philosophy."

The publisher says the “challenge” in executing this type of program fell to the creators, who saw “the need to create stories that regular fans would enjoy, but that new fans could easily grasp without having background knowledge of all the characters before picking up that issue.”

"What we didn't want to do in the Key Issues was write stories that rehashed everything, and provided no value for our existing fan-base," said Barbara Kesel, CrossGen's Head Writer. "We needed to provide complete stories that moved the overall stories along, while at the same time, introducing the basic concepts and characters of the ongoing epic of each title. With each new issue, we're finding that we're more and more up to that challenge, and we couldn't be more pleased with the stories our teams have cooked up."

CrossGen hopes that for retailers, the Key Issue Program offers a “low-cost point of entry for existing customers looking for something different, and something new every single month that can be used as a point of entry for the CrossGen line.”

"As CrossGen continues to grow and expand, we continue to learn new things about the ways aggressive retailers are marketing our titles," Panaccio said. "When we start a new title with a #1, it's easy for retailers to point those issues out as a great jumping-on point, but the ongoing titles get left out of that equation. So, we wanted to provide retailers a tool that enabled them to sell our existing titles to new readers in a way that was simple, easy and truthful."

[CraczyFreak]

Ich find es ja echt toll, das auch US Infos in diesem Forum zu finden sind!

Aber kann mir mal jemand sagen was da steht! In Deutsch.

Danke

[Ralph Kruhm]

Kurz gesagt wollen die Autoren künftig die Serien so schreiben, daß in jedem Monat mindestens eine Serie eine Story mit idealem Einstiegspunkt für CG-Anfänger bietet, in der dem Neuling auf subtile Weise das Wichtigste über diese Serie nahegebracht wird. Im Laufe eines Jahres soll jede Serie mindestens einmal so eine Einstiegsausgabe dabeihaben. Diese Einstiegshefte werden sich auch optisch etwas von den normalen Ausgaben unterscheiden.

[Arabrax]

Ich hätte es nicht besser sagen (schreiben) können :rolleyes:

[Northstar]

Was an sich ne gute Idee ist, wie ich finde. Natürlich nur wenn die Ausgabe dem normalen Leser der schon alles weiß auch zu gefallen weiß.

Allerdings sind die Logos etc. doch etwas dumm & groß geraten & es sieht alles nicht ganz so toll aus. Guckt mal unter:

http://www.comicon.com/pulse/images/crossgen_31_lopresti.jpg

Dafür zeichnet Lopresti aber 'ne tolle Giselle!;)

Northy

[Arabrax]

Also mir gefällt sie von Lopresti nicht. :mad:

[NikiMaus]

Mir auch nicht.

Denn abgesehen von den selbstverständlich ausgeprägt geschwungenen Rundungen, wirkt sie etwas grob gezeichnet :( .

[Arabrax]

Sie sieht aus als ob ihr Make Up verwischt ist.
Ich glaube ausgeprägt geschwungene Rundungen lernt jeder Comic-Zeichner als erstes :D .

[NikiMaus]

Aus dieser Intention heraus entstand auch mein "selbstverständlich" :D :D .

Das mit dem verwischten Make-Up sehe ich ähnlich ... aber dann ergibt sich die Frage, ob es vielleicht eher dem Inker anzulasten ist. Oder inkt Lopresti selber? Nach der Anzahl der Namen auf dem Cover, aber wohl nicht.

[Ralph Kruhm]

Hier ist ein längerer Artikel zum Thema von Newsarama...

"by Cliff Biggers:
Last week, CSN told you about CrossGen’s new Key Issues program, set to debut next month. What led a company less than three years old to create a reader-friendly plan to offer clearly-identifiable reader-accessible key issues that would make “jumping on” to these series virtually effortless? We posed that question to CrossGen’s Tony Panaccio, CrossGen’s Vice President of Product Development, who explained how it all came about.

“The Key Issue program grew out of a conversation one evening with Ian [Feller], Ron Marz, Mike Beattie, me, and a couple other folks who were hanging out after hours. The lament was that, as we embarked on new projects like Code 6 and CGE, our core line of books seemed to be getting less and less attention from retailers, new readers and, last but not least, our own marketing department.

“Since our Sigil-verse books are the foundation upon which CrossGen is built, we started brainstorming that evening about some of the reasons why new readers might be reluctant to try our core line of books. Some of the objections that we came up with included the misguided notion that the CrossGen Universe is so interconnected that new readers can't understand any of the titles unless they pick up the line.

“We've said since Day One that each of our individual titles stands alone, while still fitting into a larger epic story, but the prejudices of fans - largely caused by the practices of other publishers - seem to take precedence over the reality of the situation. Also, as our books progress into their third year of publishing - without having missed a deadline, by the way - some potential new readers are concerned that it's too late to jump on the train. So, we decided that evening to design a program that answered these objections in a creative and innovative way, without resorting to cheap marketing gimmicks like killing a main character or playing the ‘new direction’ card, which then suggests there was something wrong with the old direction.

“Hence, the Key Issue program. With Tony Bedard taking the helm on the side of the creators to help us flesh out how our writers could help us eliminate those objections in a single issue, we established the program in this way: Once a month, one of our titles will be featured in the Key Issue program, and these titles will provide a done-in-one style story that still moves the overall plot of the story along, and also re-introduces a few of the key elements of the series. The gauntlet we threw down to our creators - and it's a tough one - was to design a story that does all this without six pages of recap, and without making our existing fan-base feel like they didn't get value out of the issue.

“Is it tricky? You bet. But if any staff of creators in this industry can pull this off, it's ours. Besides, much of this program was conceptualized by the creators themselves.”

Barbara Kesel, one of CrossGen’s original writers and a head writer for the line, explained that “the Key Issue program is a marketing tool designed to get the shy to sample our titles, but it was an absolute order from on high - on high being Mark Alessi - that in making sure that each of these Key Issues was welcoming to a brand-new reader, we must also make sure that the long-time reader is served. The Key Issue stories do not have to be ‘stand alone’ tales - in fact, since continuity is one of our core principles, it's important to include a sense of the intertwined reality that lies under our titles - but they had to be comprehensible to someone who hasn't read the first couple of years of each title. There were no rules except ‘invite everyone in.’”

Will these Key Issues feature any text or backup material that would explain what’s happened previously, or a rundown of prior storylines that might lead readers to check out back issues or trade paperback compilations? “From time to time, we offer that in our regular issues, anyway,” Panaccio said. “We're trying to keep it honest by letting the story do all the work here. Between our ‘Story So Far’ page in the beginning of each book, and our periodic interviews with creators in the backs of the books, our letters page and our news page, I think we're already pretty darn new-reader-friendly to begin with.

”The Key Issue Program is aimed more at the perception that we're not new-reader-friendly than the reality, because in truth, it's easier to start just about any one of our series mid-way than it is for just about any other publisher. With these stories, however, I think we can add value to the experience for both the regular reader and the new one, and it gives everyone a milepost to look for when they are investigating picking up one of our titles. The question from fans that retailers get all the time about us is, ‘Which issue is a good place to start?’ The answer we like to see out there is for them to pick up a trade paperback. However, for those folks who only want to risk $2.95, a good answer can now be to look for the distinctive trade dress of the Key Issue program.”

Panaccio stressed that they Key Issues won’t be atypical of the line; the idea is to give readers a reason to sample the book and a means to get a taste of the ongoing series. “The Key Issues will almost always be written and drawn by the regular art teams. We're going to work to make that happen, so that new readers get a true representation of what they can expect from month to month. Because comic book scheduling and production is more art than science sometimes, I don't want to guarantee outright that every issue will come out with the regular teams - because in the real world, you can't always get what you want. But we have found thus far that if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need...” (Before he could gather any moss, Panaccio added, “Sorry - once I started down that road, I just couldn't stop myself!...”)

In at least two cases, the Key Issues will not only offer a sample of the regular creative team, they will actually introduce the new team. “With The First #25 and Mystic #31, it was simply a matter of coincidental timing; as I said, we’re going to strive to present the regular art teams - especially if we have new teams debuting - when we can.”

How long will the program run? Panaccio explained that, “we're starting out with a roster of five, at this point. If they are successful, we'll continue. If they aren't, we'll re-strategize and work out something that makes more sense with the market response as our guide. The great thing about being a large publisher with a thin management layer is that we can turn on a dime and change direction to better suit the needs of our retailers and fans.”

“Here's the schedule thus far: November, The First #25 (new artist); December, Mystic #31 (new artist); January, Crux #22; February, Sigil #33; and March, Meridian #34.” Any chance that these Key Issues might be gathered into their own entry-level compilation later on? “Hmmm... Something to think about, isn't it?”


Keepers of the Keys

CSN asked the writers of the first three Key Issues to offer readers a rundown of what they can expect.


Barbara Kesel (The First #25): “This Issue focuses on a turning point in the life of Seahn and starts off another wave of political change within the First. To tell you exactly what event sets Seahn on this vector would ruin issue #25, though.
“In terms of new direction, we do have the characters setting off on the next phase, one that will be strongly affected by events involving Solus, but I've also adopted a new storytelling style for the book with this issue: I've reinvented how I do the plots and tell the story three times now, each time playing to the artistic strengths of the current penciler. With Andy Smith's arrival on the title, the actual way the stories are told changes once again.”

Why was this book tapped to kick off the program? “The First #25 was chosen to be the first Key issue because it's the new artist's first issue; it's also the title that's the biggest challenge to make an ‘easy access’ version of, since The First was deliberately designed to appeal to the puzzle-solvers and continuity lovers in the comics audience.”

Did Kesel have to modify her storyline to make it a Key Issue? “Nothing in the issue changed from the original outline, but the approach I used to telling the story did: this issue is much more linear and single-character-focused than usual. The only stumbling block I faced was integrating the Key concept into an issue that follows a ‘summary’ issue. My challenge was making #24 and #25 different enough so no one would be thrown by back-to-back 'explain-y’ issues.”


Tony Bedard (Mystic #31): “Giselle awakens in a strange, prehistoric land - a land without magic. She has no idea how she got there and she's alone, cut off even from the Guild Spirits that ‘live’ within her. As the mystery unfolds - and we have some Queen of the Jungle-style fun - we get a hint of the mysterious new foe who arranged to have Giselle banished here. This is a good jumping-on point for new readers, and a fun, out-of-the-ordinary welcome for our new regular penciler, Aaron Lopresti. Aaron has a terrific, open, dynamic style that does a lot to bring out Mystic’s sense of humor and take full advantage of every opportunity for eye-candy. I wouldn't be surprised if the Boss [Mark Alessi] wants to buy each of his first three covers! I worked with Aaron a few years ago at Valiant, so we've known each other a while. I'm amazed by how much his talent has grown over the years - and I thought he was pretty damn good back when I met him!
“This Key Issue is more geared towards starting the next great Mystic adventure and giving the reader a satisfying single issue than it is about recapping what's come before. Besides, with Giselle as a stranger in a strange land, exposition happens very naturally as she gets to know the jungle-land's denizens and tries to figure out where she is.”

How does Bedard make the story appealing to newcomers and long-time readers alike? “An artist like Aaron Lopresti goes a long way toward pleasing pretty much anybody who picks up Mystic #31. Apart from the great visuals he's cooking up, putting Giselle in a new and very unexpected situation keeps things interesting for the regular readers. Introducing a major new threat and a shift in the balance of power on the magical world of Ciress is something old and new readers can discover together. Also, this issue launches events that will be important for at least the next half a year of Mystic. More importantly, it launches Aaron's run on the book, which I think will be a very, very enjoyable one...for me, at least!”


Chuck Dixon (Crux #22): “Our core Atlanteans - Capricia, Tug, Zephyre, Veri, Galvan and their human friend Geromi - return to Atlantis after their Western theme park adventure to find they are being hunted by persons unknown. The revealed identity of their stalker will be a shock to regular and new readers alike.” Dixon added that “the plot has always been a part of Crux's long-term storyline. It's a happy accident that the Key Issue landed where it did.”
Don’t look for a simple restatement of characters and premise; Dixon is too much a veteran to offer readers something like that. “Nothing that dry. It will re-introduce the characters in a way I hope is engaging to anyone fresh to the book and entertaining to our regular readers. There will be a major new story development that jumpstarts a brand new storyline. This is not a ‘day in the life’ or ‘origin’ issue. It's a vital issue that provides a logical place for new readers to hop on.”

Dixon admits that constructing a Key Issue is “a bit of a challenge but I've had to do these sort of ‘101’ issues before. Instead of being a drag, they're often fans' favorites. Two issues I've done before I would consider Key books. Birds of Prey #8 and Nightwing #25, are among the most popular single issues I've ever written and they both accomplish what we're trying to do with our Key Issues at CrossGen: providing a very engaging story that thrills our core readership while pulling in folks who haven't tried us yet.”

[Slobdell]

Die Idee hinter den Key Issues ist ganz ok. Nicht Bahnbrechend. Bin gespannt wie die äußerst komplexe Hnadlung der First in nur 6 Seiten zusammengefaßt werden soll. Toll aber der Anspruch, dass immer das reguläre Team das Heft gestalten soll.

Übrigens ist im ComicshoNews #802 auch der gleiche Artikel zum nachlesen (keoin Wunder die kriegen die Infos von Newsrama) und da ist dann auch schon eine Seite von Andy Smiths "The First" zu sehn. Die Zeichnungen sehen auch gar nicht so misslungen aus wie seine Crux/Meridian Fill ins, vielleicht haut ja jetzt der Durchbruch hin.

Slobby

Allemal bin ich auf die Key von Sojourn gespannt. Marz wird dafür keine 6 Seiten brauchen , 6 Sätze dürften reichen.

[Slobdell]

Loprestis Mystic umweht ein Hauch von femme fatale, keine Frage die partyhopping days sind vorüber.

Slobby