PROGRESS WITH THE PROCESS

In a previous Cassandra Complex, I mentioned CrossGen's plan to release their collections in a new format, which they're calling "Traveler Editions".

The first book to be released as a Traveler is their coming-of-age title MERIDIAN. I recently received an advance copy courtesy of Chris Oarr, CG's new marketing director, on the promise that I'd read it and give my thoughts in this column.

(Those of you with good memories may recall my mentioning that MERIDIAN is pretty much the only CG title I've been inclined to pick up in any case, so there's serendipity for you.)

I won't go into the depth of a full review, as I don't have the space or time to do it justice - besides, I was more interested in seeing how the comic worked in this new format, especially given that MERIDIAN was originally published full-size and has therefore been reduced in the same manner as CG's 'compendia', FORGE and EDGE (soon to be renamed VECTOR).

What I will say is that the story is pretty good. It's a solid SF genre piece. Years ago, a distant world suffered an unspecified 'cataclysm' that made the surface all but uninhabitable, and seems to have thrown great chunks of land into the sky. The population now live and work on these huge floating rocks. (The details of all this are kept pretty vague - I suspect they may be elaborated upon later, but for now they're really not necessary.)

As I said above, this is a coming-of-age story, and the character with whom we're concerned is a young girl called Sephie, the daughter of the Governor of Meridian (one of the floating lands). Enter two of the ubiquitous CrossGen power-giving 'sigils', which are given to the Governor and his brother Ilahn, who governs a different land. Except that Sephie's father has a heart attack from the shock, and the sigil is instead passed on to her.

Cue much politicking, an invasion of Meridian, Sephie's realisation that her uncle is a bit of a git, and the girl's slow but sure development of her personality and the new power she wields. Like I said, all solid genre stuff.

One thing I've heard a lot about CG is that their comics are slow-burners, and that's certainly true with MERIDIAN; this story is equally concerned with relationships, familial ties and world-building as it is with assassinations, skyship chases and young girls surviving two-mile falls. Subsequently, I think it's easy to understand why MERIDIAN is selling well in book form - it's aimed squarely at the same audience as Anne McCaffrey or Ursula Le Guin.

So anyway. What about this format?

Well, I like it. This is an almost 50% reduction of the art's original size (as drawn, not published), but it all holds up very well. At many points the fact that I was reading something so small compared to 'normal' comics slipped from my mind, much as with Dark Horse's LONE WOLF & CUB collections.

The lettering is clear, the lines are crisp and someone in CG production has even taken the spine into account, so that the art's inside edges aren't lost in the middle pages (it sounds obvious, but I've seen more than a few collections that have overlooked this factor).

'It's easy to understand why MERIDIAN is selling well in book form.' The only thing that doesn't hold up so well, despite the glossy paper, is the colouring. It's very good, but many of the dark-coloured scenes were a little indistinct at this reduced size. I don't know if this is down to paper stock, or the surprisingly large halftone screen (the rosettes are enormous, easily visible to the naked eye), but this is one area someone at CG needs to look at.

(I also have to question the decision to change the cover - the design being touted about when I previously discussed this book was much more striking and inviting.)

Overall, though, I was pretty impressed with this format. It's certainly much more convenient to carry around, weighty enough (seven issues are reprinted here) to stand up to being thrown in a backpack, and as I said in the previous column, the $10 price tag is a big plus point.

The smaller format may have been around for a while in terms of manga reprints, but it's only recently taken a hold of Western publishers. It has obvious advantages over standard comic size - closer in dimensions to a paperback novel, a sturdier feel, easier to carry around and read in public...

It's very tempting to speculate that this format could quite literally be the shape of things to come, especially as I know at least two other Western publishers who are looking very seriously at this format. Perhaps the future might see normal-sized single issues and digest-size collections across the board, much as hardback novels eventually become smaller paperbacks. As they say, watch this space.

AND FIND THE STRENGTH OF MANY

One for the activists out there:

Retailer Paul Stock (of Astro Books/Librairie Astro in Montreal) had a brainwave last week, and posted the following 'viral marketing idea' to the CBIA forum. The original suggestion was of course aimed at retailers, but it could just as easily be carried out by a customer. As the man says, do with it what you will...

The Magic 8-Ball that is my head has floated this up to the surface:

You know someone who sells stuff on eBay. Not comics stuff, other stuff. Car parts. Videos. Meccano. Stuff that wouldn't bring their buyers into contact with the comic world.

You've got backstock that's readable as single issues - those 'key' CrossGens, HALO & SPROCKET, GLOBAL FREQUENCY, stuff like that. Nothing that could be construed as offensive, though. The language in WAR STORY, for example, might exclude it...

You create a note:

"Hi. Thanks for buying my eBay item.

"A friend of mine owns a comic shop. He's asked me to throw a comic into this package, because he loves the things, and wants to get other people to enjoy them too. So we hope you enjoy this freebie.

'Each new reader is a new customer for the industry as a whole.' "His shop is

"BlahBlah Comics, 5645 Koplotnick St. Etc.,

"But if you'd like to find a shop in your area, just call 1-800-CSLS, or check out The Master List of comic shops at www.the-master-list.com.

"Hope you enjoy, and thanks again!"

THE SENTENCE THAT IS ME

You know Mudvayne. They're that weird heavy metal band who look different every time you see them. But behind all the makeup and conspiracy-theory theatrics they're developing into a damn good band, finally moving out of the 'Poor Man's Slipknot' box they've lived in for the last couple of years. This month's titles are taken from their new album THE END OF ALL THINGS TO COME, on which they wax lyrical about the Illuminati, alien abductions, Armageddon and other cheery stuff. Give it a whirl.

Antony Johnston is the author of JULIUS, SPOOKED and THE LONG HAUL. His new ongoing series WASTELAND begins in July 2006.

This article is Ideological Freeware. The author grants permission for its reproduction and redistribution by private individuals on condition that the author and source of the article are clearly shown, no charge is made, and the whole article is reproduced intact, including this notice.