In both an alliterative title AND a trio of interviews on Bleeding Cool (an Avatar Press front end, we think), the owners and creators of one of my favorite new comics, Crossed, talk about the series.
First up is Garth Ennis, celebrated author and twisted mutherflapper, who has penned such little titles like Hellblazer, Preacher, Hitman and Bloody Mary. When asked by the interviewer about where the ideas come from for the current series, Crossed, Garth gets all serious:
The kinds of acts you see in the story, however, are not invented at all. A quick glance through the history books will reveal all manner of depraved activity; thousands upon thousands of dreadful things that we’ve been doing to each other since time began. Look at what went on in the torture chambers of the inquisition, or what the settlers and natives did to each other out on the great plains of North America, or what was going on in Eastern Europe in the mid-nineties. Hell, look at what people do to each other in prison, or what many women have to fear on their way home from work in urban areas. The list is endless.
Garth Ennis is the main reason I picked up the book in the first place. I’ve been a fan since Hellblazer days. Preacher is one of my all time favorite books, as well. What add extra value to Crossed is the artwork (as any good comic fan will tell you) — Jacen Burrows has the clean lines and story pacing that remind me a great deal of another Ennis collaborator, Steve Dillon, who worked on both Hellblazer and Preacher.
Jacen talks with his interviewer about many things, not least of which is an answer to the question, Who is more twisted, Garth Ennis, Warren Ellis, or Alan Moore. Rather than being stunned to silence by the world-damaging effects of such close proximity to the works of the individual writers in question, Jacen says, in essence, that they are all fairly twisted individuals. He then goes on to say that Warren Ellis has the honor of asking for the most depraved scene, specifically. Go see the interview for details.
In regards to the horrors of Crossed, Jacen says,
“We are incredibly lucky to live the lifestyles we do in the West, particularly in the States. We’re sheltered from real violence, so much so that when it occurs it shakes us to our core. But all around the world there are places where things are happening every day that are worse than anything we showed.”
Finally, David Lapham, the new writer on Crossed, Volume 2 (which, according to Garth Ennis, wasn’t originally planned in his pitch for the series), gets to talk a bit about his own take on the Crossed and the uninfected. David says, about his own twisted soul:
Regardless, I’m not looking forward to eating your pets, so instead I bring you Crossed: Family Values. Instead of putting you in the wood chipper, I have the Pratt family–Adaline, and her brothers and sisters and her mom and her dad to torture….[snip]. I will make them all miserable. Then probably dead. Be grateful for each horror they endure. They suffer so you don’t have to.
Makes you want to read it, right? I know *I* do. MAke sure you head out to your favorite comics shop and get all the issues of Crossed, right now. There’s only 8 of them so far, so you can afford it. In fact, I’m pretty sure you can’t NOT afford it.
