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!

Marvel Has the X-Men Event, "DNX," Coming This Fall, and Maybe Too Many Events Occurring, Honestly

Comic-book companies (particularly Marvel and DC) love a big event every now and then. Some take up a bunch of the comic line, and others are a bit more focused. The X-Men have a new horror-styled event called, "DNX," just announced for this Fall. Featuring the tagline, "Evolution is contagious," it makes me wonder if Marvel is aiming for some kind of boost in the number of mutants as was happening pre, "House of M," before the number of mutants was drastically reduced and slowly started growing again to a level where they again work as, "hated and feared minority," without being outright, "Endangered," as they were for a bit.

At the moment, Marvel has a number of smaller events all planned or popping off at once for better and worse. As Bleedingcool discussed, "So that's DNX for the X-Men, Armageddon for Avengers, Death Spiral for Spider-Man and Venom, and Queen In Black for Venom and Thor… any more for any more?" They're being snarky, but have a point about, "Eventitis," as it is sometimes called. Marvel seems to be stuck either doing a single massive event or a bunch of small ones at a near-constant rate. DC, meanwhile, has been steadily gaining more of the comic market through a slow-and-steady growth of their massively popular, "Absolute," line and an event here and there, such as the recently concluded and generally inoffensively fun, "DC K.O." I'm not the head of either company so I am wholly unqualified to argue who is doing, "Better." I would say a lot more people are excited for DC comics these days than a lot of Marvel's output, however.

The last big X-Men event I gave much attention to was, "House of X/Powers of X," which led into an era of the X-Men and many mutants spending a lot of time living on the island of Krakoa before that all wound down with little of consequence to show for an epic start and whimper of a conclusion. That said, a lot of these events are about the journey, not the destination ("Flashpoint," was a ton of fun years ago and led into the ho-hum New 52). Will the, "Adventure," we have with DNX or any other Marvel event strike enough of a nerve that people will really dig them? We shall see, and in the end, the comics at Marvel almost seem like an afterthought with how much is undoubtedly riding on the Marvel Cinematic Universe and if, "Avengers Doomsday," and, "Secret Wars," will undo the general feeling of disinterest many folks have had towards the MCU since, "Endgame." It is going to be a pivotal 2026 for Marvel, that's for sure.

Oh, More Blind Bags/Mystery Polybags. Okay?

Readers may recall that when the blind bag/mystery polybags comics for the Image/Skybound comic, “Battle Beast,” were a hit that I made a prediction/bet. I said there would be at least six different blind bag promotions from comic publishers (even multiple ones from the same company), and if that did not happen, I’d gladly buy someone a dollar coffee at Scooters (or they’d owe me one). Well, nobody took my bet, and it’s a good thing for them because the market is getting absolutely flooded with mystery Polybag variants. Some are overpriced and don’t sound exciting (the, “Batman,” relaunch comes to mind), others are the same price as a regular issue and look fun (Mark Spears has one promotion due before Halloween and announced a Christmas-themed batch). Marvel is doing, “True Believers,” blind bags for, “Ultimate Endgame,” and DC just announced they’re doing even more of these for, “D.C. K.O.,” as well.

Publishers big and small are into the trend, and some fans love it while others appear to hate this, passionately. Some people say it is an exciting and fun little idea. Others say it is like comics trying to imitate trading cards with their packs and odds of pulling a, “Common,” one, “Rare,” version and so forth. I see multiple sides and have lived through a number of eras of comic gimmicks that came and went pretty quickly—remember lenticular covers? I don’t think this is going to destroy the comic industry or change it too much either. It’s a method to promote your comic, and right now it’s the hottest thing around. It’ll fade away mostly and be replaced by another gimmick before too long, most likely, and the one thing that will stand out when the hype fades is the quality of the comic itself.

Ah, yes, the actual comic. You see, I get the idea that it is fun to buy a comic and have a chance of a rare variant cover, but I only care as long as the comic is good. When the comic sucks and the only selling point is a cool variant cover stuffed into a blind bag, that is a problem, my friends. That’s the crux of this too: It is a gamble. Pay $6 for your comic, and if you’re lucky, maybe pull a rare $100 cover! Plus, if you get a regular/common cover, you still have a comic to enjoy, so it’s a bit better than buying a lottery ticket, kind of. It just worries me to see folks speculating on these blind bags like a guy buying a bunch of bulk of aforementioned scratchers with the idea to resell them. At the end of the day, at least the (winning) scratchers can be redeemed for money no matter waht, who is to say even the rarest of these mystery polybag comics will hold their value in a year or two from now? 

Comics are already a volatile market where a book worth thousands one day could suddenly lose popularity and be worth a tenth of what it was going for a mere week later. Comic speculation can be fun—I’m an active member of the Comics Heating Up Forum where we talk about popular comics and what could get hot next—but with comic-books you’re best off buying what you love and wanna read, then selling it if the book happens to become sought-after. Chasing trends and dropping a mortgage’s worth of money on blind bags is only going to get you burnt, I’d imagine. My overdrawn point is that these blind bags are a gimmick that marries gambling with comics.

The folks over at CHU and its forum are great!

Should you like to play the slots or a hand of blackjack sometimes and think these blind bags are a fun gamble, then have at it and buy some mystery polybags! Just remember, as with any gamble, you should only play what you can afford to lose, and the House (in this case, the comic publishers) always wins in the long run/overall. That’s why I previously have just bought one Polybag comic if it’s priced reasonably and it is a series I want to read. I get the comic I wanted to enjoy and whatever cover I get, I can happy with. In conclusion: Tread carefully if you’re into these blind bags, plenty of gimmicks before have been a massive success right before suddenly flopping into dollar bins.