Tuesday, August 4, 2026

Observation: We Need More Weird/Wacky Crossover Comics

A comic crossover can be relatively small-scale, such as when two characters in the same Universe have a special comic/mini-series. The Fantastic Four and the X-Men, for example. We also have different Universes within the same publisher, like when Peter Parker and Miles Morales first met (when he was in the original Ultimate Universe). Then, you've got crossovers between publishers, be they having Batman meet Deadpool, Vampirella and Witchblade teaming up, or the cast of Black Hammer chatting with the Justice League. You know what I really like, however? Weird crossovers. Not just quirky, but ones that outright shouldn't make sense yet end up working against all odds.

DC owns Looney Tunes and DC heroes. There was a time when various Looney Tunes characters had crossover comics with assorted DC characters. Many of the comics were forgettable except for Batman facing off against the ice-old assassin...Elmer Fudd. Yes, seriously. It was hardboiled, dripping with a sleazy vibe, and Tom King wrote it so seriously, with Lee Weeks giving us art that went so hard, it was amazing. It took something silly and combined it with something decidedly less, "Cute," and the result was good. Think of when Archie met the Punisher. 

True, Frank Castle doesn't kill anyone during his time interacting with Archie, but he's still pretty grim and slightly (just slightly) finds the earnest innocence of Archie and his friends endearing. Archie does a lot of weird crossovers, honestly, and I applaud that. He's fought the Predator, been a bit shocked by the harsh language of Kevin Smith's Jay and Silent Bob, and soon Riverdale is going to combat the Terminator! 

A weird crossover is good fun, whether it's Godzilla fighting Marvel, DC, Sonic, or anyone else--a Kaiju up against anybody is zany! I mean, IDW once did that crosser-that-wasn't-exactly-a-crossover with, "Infestation," where some original characters happened to meet everyone from the Ghostbusters to Star Trek's crew, G.I. Joe, and more (although the various brands did not meet). The most recent outrageous crossover I dug was that, "DC K.O. Boss Battle," which had DC's characters running into everyone from Homelander, to Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Mortal Kombat characters, and a talking serial-killer bear from the popular, "Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees," series, to not even name everyone. It was bizarre and glorious. 

We need more crazy stuff. Things where when they are first announced people ask, "Wait, is this a joke?" then get excited at just how wild these crossovers get. I appreciate that comics can be serious literature, but sometimes you just want to see Popeye fighting the aliens from, "Mars Attacks," for funsies! My point is, I hope companies keep the wacky intra- and intercompany crossovers coming!

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