# Crossover (Image Comics)

Crossover is an American comic book ongoing series created by Donny Cates, Geoff Shaw, Dee Cunniffe and John J. Hill, and published by Image Comics.
The series debuted on November 4, 2020 and was put on hold on August 18, 2022.

## Premise

In 2017, fictional characters from comic books, across various publishers and genres, come to life in the real world, causing mayhem, destruction and death around the city of Denver, Colorado.
Five years later, a ragtag team of humans and characters join forces and embark on a quest to return to Denver, now domed off and containing the displaced characters, to find out the cause behind "The Event".

## Publication history

In July 2020, during San Diego Comic-Con, Image Comics announced a comic book series titled Crossover, created by Donny Cates, Geoff Shaw, Dee Cunniffe and John J. Hill. Three years earlier, they created God Country and Redneck, two other Image series.
According to Cates and Shaw during an interview on IGN, the story is inspired by the concept of several crossover summer events that are presented by comic book publishers like DC Comics, Marvel Comics, among others, with the story being inspired by/based on "Avengers: Endgame as Cloverfield", and they also revealed the possibility for other characters from Image and other owners to appear.
Following the release of issue #1 in 3D edition on August 18, 2022, Image put the series on hold to release another comic book titled Vanish, also co-created by Cates.

## Characters
### Main

* Ellipses "Ellie" Howell — A survivor of the Event in Denver, Colorado, who works as an employee for a direct market retailer in Otto's comic book store, but now wants to return to her home. She is in fact a character from the fictional world.
* Orion "Ryan" Lowe — The son of an extremist Protestant, who previously has an altercation with Ellie and the others, but according to a prisoner in the Powerhouse (whose identity is later revealed), he will play a role in ending the Event.
* Ava Quinn — A citizen from the other world, who has superpowers of her own and befriends Ellie.
* Otto — The owner of a comic book store in Provo, Utah, who is Ellie's boss.
* Father Lowe — Ryan's abusive father and an extremist Protestant, who strongly believes the Event in Denver is the Devil's work to the point of planning a war against the characters.
* Nathaniel Abrams Pendleton — The Special Director of the Powerhouse, an organization dedicated to hunting characters and even conducting experiments on them, secretly instructs Ryan to find a way to end the Event. Meanwhile, he holds Donny Cates as a prisoner against his will.

### Guest

* Brian Michael Bendis
* Stefano Caselli
* Donny Cates
* Jonathan Hickman
* Megan Hutchison
* Robert Kirkman
* Michael Avon Oeming
* Geoff Shaw
* Brian K. Vaughan
* Chip Zdarsky

### Returning

| Character(s) | Franchise | Creator(s) | Owner(s) |
| Antiquarian | The Paybacks | Donny Cates, Eliot Rahal and Geoff Shaw | Donny Cates, Eliot Rahal and Geoff Shaw (published by Dark Horse Comics, a subsidiary of the Embracer Group) |
| Archie Andrews | Archie | Vic Bloom, John L. Goldwater and Bob Montana | Archie Comics |
| Aristus | God Country | Donny Cates, John J. Hill, Geoff Shaw and Jason Wordie | Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw (published by Image Comics) |
| Avengelyne | Avengelyne | Cathy Christian, Rob Liefeld and Tony Lobito | Rob Liefeld and Little Wolf Productions (published by Image Comics) |
| Batman | DC Universe | Bill Finger and Bob Kane | DC Comics (Warner Bros. Discovery) |
| Battle Pope | Battle Pope | Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore | Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore (published by Skybound Entertainment through Image Comics) |
| Bloodpouch | The Paybacks | Donny Cates, Eliot Rahal and Geoff Shaw | Donny Cates, Eliot Rahal and Geoff Shaw (published by Dark Horse Comics, a subsidiary of the Embracer Group) |
| Carnage | Marvel Universe | Mark Bagley and David Michelinie | Marvel Comics (The Walt Disney Company) |
| Christian Walker | Powers | Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming | Jinxworld (currently published by Dark Horse Comics, a subsidiary of the Embracer Group) |
| Colonel Weird | Black Hammer | Jeff Lemire and Dean Ormston | 171 Studios and Dean Ormston (Published by Dark Horse Comics, a subsidiary of the Embracer Group) |
| Combo Man | Marvel Universe | Hector Collazo, John Statema and Mark Gruenwald | Marvel Comics (The Walt Disney Company) |
| Cosmic Ghost Rider | Marvel Universe | Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw | Marvel Comics (The Walt Disney Company) |
| Count Dracula | Dracula | Bram Stoker | In the public domain |
| The Darkness | Top Cow Universe | Garth Ennis, Marc Silvestri and David Wohl | Top Cow Productions (published through Image Comics) |
| Deanna "Dee" Quinlan | God Country | Donny Cates, John J. Hill, Geoff Shaw and Jason Wordie | Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw (published by Image Comics) |
| Denna Pilgrim | Powers | Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming | Jinxworld (currently published by Dark Horse Comics, a subsidiary of the Embracer Group) |
| Doctor Blaqk | The Paybacks | Donny Cates, Eliot Rahal and Geoff Shaw | Donny Cates, Eliot Rahal and Geoff Shaw (published by Dark Horse Comics, a subsidiary of the Embracer Group) |
| Doctor Strange | Marvel Universe | Stan Lee and Steve Ditko | Marvel Comics (The Walt Disney Company) |
| The Driver | The Paybacks | Donny Cates, Eliot Rahal and Geoff Shaw | Donny Cates, Eliot Rahal and Geoff Shaw (published by Dark Horse Comics, a subsidiary of the Embracer Group) |
| Elizabeth Quinlan | God Country | Donny Cates, John J. Hill, Geoff Shaw and Jason Wordie | Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw (published by Image Comics) |
| Emmet Quinlan | God Country | Donny Cates, John J. Hill, Geoff Shaw and Jason Wordie | Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw (published by Image Comics) |
| Emory Rains | The Paybacks | Donny Cates, Eliot Rahal and Geoff Shaw | Donny Cates, Eliot Rahal and Geoff Shaw (published by Dark Horse Comics, a subsidiary of the Embracer Group) |
| Escape Goat | Buzzkill | Donny Cates, Geoff Shaw and Mark Reznicek | Mark Reznicek and Donny Cates (originally published by Dark Horse Comics, a subsidiary of Embracer Group; now published by Image Comics) |
| Francis Pierce | Buzzkill | Donny Cates, Geoff Shaw and Mark Reznicek | Mark Reznicek and Donny Cates (originally published by Dark Horse Comics, a subsidiary of Embracer Group; now published by Image Comics) |
| Gertrude | I Hate Fairyland | Skottie Young | Skottie Young (published by Image Comics) |
| Ghost | Comics' Greatest World | Barbara Kesel, Jerry Prosser, Mike Richardson, Randy Stradley and Chris Warner | Dark Horse Comics (Embracer Group) |
| Godzilla | Godzilla | Eiji Tsubaraya, Ishirō Honda and Tomoyuki Tanaka | Toho (North American comic books currently published by IDW Publishing) |
| High Guard | Buzzkill | Donny Cates, Mark Reznicek and Geoff Shaw | Mark Reznicek and Donny Cates (originally published by Dark Horse Comics, a subsidiary of Embracer Group; now published by Image Comics) |
| Hit-Girl | Kick-Ass | Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. | Dave and Eggsy Ltd. and John Romita Jr. (published by Millarworld, a Netflix company, through Image Comics) |
| Hulk | Marvel Universe | Jack Kirby and Stan Lee | Marvel Comics (The Walt Disney Company) |
| Invincible | Invincible | Robert Kirkman, Ryan Ottley and Cory Walker | Robert Kirkman, Cory Walker and Ryan Ottley (published by Skybound Entertainment through Image Comics) |
| Janey Quinlan | God Country | Donny Cates, John J. Hill, Geoff Shaw and Jason Wordie | Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw (published by Image Comics) |
| The Joker | DC Universe | Bill Finger, Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson | DC Comics (Warner Bros. Discovery) |
| Lucifer | The Wicked + The Divine | Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie | Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie (published by Image Comics) |
| Luther Strode | The Strange Talent of Luther Strode | Justin Jordan and Tradd Moore | Justin Jordan and Tradd Moore (published by Image Comics) |
| Madman | Madman | Mike Allred | Mike Allred (currently published by Dark Horse Comics, a subsidiary of Embracer Group) |
| Max Damage | Irredeemable | Peter Krause and Mark Waid | Boom! Studios |
| Miss Adventure | The Paybacks | Donny Cates, Eliot Rahal and Geoff Shaw | Donny Cates, Eliot Rahal and Geoff Shaw (published by Dark Horse Comics, a subsidiary of the Embracer Group) |
| Negan | The Walking Dead | Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard | Robert Kirkman (published by Skybound Entertainment through Image Comics) |
| Night Knight | The Paybacks | Donny Cates, Eliot Rahal and Geoff Shaw | Donny Cates, Eliot Rahal and Geoff Shaw (published by Dark Horse Comics, a subsidiary of the Embracer Group) |
| Panteradactyl | Buzzkill | Donny Cates, Mark Reznicek and Geoff Shaw | Mark Reznicek and Donny Cates (originally published by Dark Horse Comics, a subsidiary of Embracer Group; now published by Image Comics) |
| Rawhide Kid | Marvel Universe | Bob Brown and Stan Lee | Marvel Comics (The Walt Disney Company) |
| Roy Quinlan | God Country | Donny Cates, John J. Hill, Geoff Shaw and Jason Wordie | Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw (published by Image Comics) |
| RX-78-2 Gundam | Gundam | Yoshiyuki Tomino and Hajime Yatate | Sotsu/Sunrise (Bandai Namco Holdings) |
| Savage Dragon | Savage Dragon | Erik Larsen | Erik Larsen (published by Image Comics) |
| Scooby-Doo | Scooby-Doo | Joe Ruby, Ken Spears and Iwao Takamoto | Cartoon Network Studios/Hanna-Barbera (Warner Bros. Discovery) (comic books published by DC Comics) |
| ShadowHawk | ShadowHawk | Jim Valentino | Jim Valentino/Shadowline (published through Image Comics) |
| Shoxxx | Buzzkill | Donny Cates, Mark Reznicek and Geoff Shaw | Mark Reznicek and Donny Cates (originally published by Dark Horse Comics, a subsidiary of Embracer Group; now published by Image Comics) |
| Soviet Nunchuck | The Paybacks | Donny Cates, Eliot Rahal and Geoff Shaw | Donny Cates, Eliot Rahal and Geoff Shaw (published by Dark Horse Comics, a subsidiary of the Embracer Group) |
| Spawn | Spawn | Todd McFarlane | Todd McFarlane Productions (published through Image Comics) |
| Spider-Man | Marvel Universe | Steve Ditko and Stan Lee | Marvel Comics (The Walt Disney Company) |
| The Squid | Watchmen | Dave Gibbons, John Higgins and Alan Moore | DC Comics (Warner Bros. Discovery) |
| Starfox | Marvel Universe | Jim Starlin and Mike Friedrich | Marvel Comics (The Walt Disney Company) |
| Stay Puft Marshmallow Man | Ghostbusters | Dan Aykroyd and Bill Bryan | Columbia Pictures (Sony) |
| Superman | DC Universe | Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel | DC Comics (Warner Bros. Discovery) and the Jerry Siegel Family |
| The Thing | Marvel Universe | Jack Kirby and Stan Lee | Marvel Comics (The Walt Disney Company) |
| Thor | Marvel Universe | Jack Kirby, Stan Lee and Larry Lieber | Marvel Comics (The Walt Disney Company) |
| The Tick | The Tick | Ben Edlund | Ben Edlund (published by New England Comics) |
| Valofax | God Country | Donny Cates, John J. Hill, Geoff Shaw and Jason Wordie | Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw (published by Image Comics) |
| Witchblade | Top Cow Universe | Brian Haberlin, Marc Silvestri, Michael Turner and David Wohl | Top Cow Productions (published through Image Comics) |
| Wonder Woman | DC Universe | William Moulton Marston and H. G. Peter | DC Comics (Warner Bros. Discovery) |

## Issues

| Issue | Title | Written by | Drawn by | Colored by | Publication date |
| #1 | "Kids Love Chains: Part One" | Donny Cates | Geoff Shaw | Dee Cunniffe | November 4, 2020 |
| In 2017, the city of Denver was invaded by fictional superheroes and supervillains fighting each other, causing destruction and death, until a superhero created a force field around the city. Five years later, most of society has rejected those characters, but Ellie Howell is one of the few people who still believes in them. She works for a comic book store located in Provo, until one day, her boss Otto spots Ava, a fictional character who somehow got evacuated from Denver. This alarms a mob of fanatical Protestants led by Father Lowe, who forces his son Ryan to toss a Molotov cocktail against the shop, causing it to explode. Ava reveals a figure helped them escape. ||||||
| #2 | "Kids Love Chains: Part Two" | Donny Cates | Geoff Shaw | Dee Cunniffe | December 9, 2020 |
| Following the burnout of their comic book shop, Ellie is given asylum by Otto. She offers herself to return Ava to her parents, unaware she has superpowers of her own. During his temporary imprisonment, Ryan is secretly recruited by Nathaniel Abrams Pendleton, Special Director of the Powerhouse, as he reveals that Ryan would play a major role in ending the Event in Denver. In the meantime, there are murders against comic book writers and artists, like Brian K. Vaughan. ||||||
| #3 | "Kids Love Chains: Part Three" | Donny Cates | Geoff Shaw | Dee Cunniffe | January 6, 2021 |
| While Ellie, Otto and Ava travel to Denver, they meet Ryan, who decided to escape from his father. At the same time, a Gundam is fighting a kaiju, but the group is rescued by the Paybacks, who were sent by Madman, the figure that helped Ava and several others to escape the dome. ||||||
| #4 | "Kids Love Chains: Part Four" | Donny Cates | Geoff Shaw | Dee Cunniffe | February 24, 2021 |
| Madman reveals that Ava's parents are back in the fictional world through a portal inside Denver, and Payback member Doctor Blaqk reveals he was the one that put the dome over the city, but as long as the characters stay away from it, their powers weaken. The group travels to the National Event Memorial and Museum Center, where they meet Deanna Quinlan, granddaughter of Emmet Quinlan and keeper of the sword Valofax. Meanwhile, Father Lowe keeps a prisoner inside his ministry compound, while Director Pendleton receives orders to advance the experiments of the "Amalgam Program". ||||||
| #5 | "Kids Love Chains: Part Five" | Donny Cates | Geoff Shaw | Dee Cunniffe | March 31, 2021 |
| Father Lowe uses his prisoner as a suicide bomb inside the Powerhouse, as part of his plan to start a war against the characters. The group travels inside the dome in Denver, where they are confronted by an army of Amalgams sent by the government, but as an army of planes begin to launch missiles, Ava unleashes her powers to destroy them. As Madman fails to convince her to stop, Ryan has no choice but to shoot Ava with the same special gun that he was given by Pendleton. ||||||
| #6 | "Kids Love Chains: Conclusion" | Donny Cates | Geoff Shaw | Dee Cunniffe | April 28, 2021 |
| After Ellie prevents Ryan from shooting Ava, the group reunites to find the portal. However, many characters still fight each other after years. The team succeeds in finding the portal and Ava returns to her world with her parents. Ellie and Ryan escape from the dome, but Otto gets injured and left behind in the process. Inside an apartment, Ellie reveals to Ryan that she is not a real human, but a character from the fictional world. ||||||
| #7 | — | Chip Zdarsky | Phil Hester and Ande Parks | Dee Cunniffe | June 30, 2021 |
| In the wake of the murders against comic book celebrities, Steve Murray is on the run when he meets his alter ego "Chip Zdarsky". While trying to escape by car, they have a crash, and when Chip is killed by an assailant, Steve escapes and reports what happened to detectives Christian Walker and Denna Pilgrim from the Powers Division. ||||||
| #8 | "Meanwhile: Part One" | Donny Cates | Geoff Shaw | Dee Cunniffe | September 29, 2021 |
| While Ellie and Ryan deal with their issues, they are taken to the Powerhouse by the Powers Division. Pendleton informs Ryan about the recent murders against comic book celebrities, and that he has Father Lowe in custody for the previous bombing. In the meantime, the mysterious prisoner gets upset for how the order of events has been changed due to Ellie's actions. ||||||
| #9 | "Meanwhile: Part Two" | Donny Cates | Geoff Shaw | Dee Cunniffe | November 3, 2021 |
| When Walker and Pilgrim interrogate Ellie about the murders, Father Lowe reveals to Ryan that he knows the killer's identity and intentions. Walker and Pilgrim then investigate a crime scene, where the victim is Scott Snyder and the murder weapon is a Batarang. ||||||
| #10 | "Meanwhile: Part Three" | Brian Michael Bendis and Donny Cates | Michael Avon Oeming and Geoff Shaw | Nick Filardi and Dee Cunniffe | December 8, 2021 |
| Pendleton reveals most of his past as a family man who got widowed after the Event, and decided to solve the mystery behind what happened. He also knows the mysterious prisoner inside the Powerhouse is in fact Donny Cates himself. ||||||
| #11 | "Meanwhile: Part Four" | Donny Cates | Geoff Shaw | Dee Cunniffe | February 2, 2022 |
| In a previous interrogation, Cates reveals to Pendleton he only wanted to make a love story, but the idea was cancelled before the Event happened. Pendleton forces Cates to remain as a prisoner in the Powerhouse until an "ending" is made. In the present, when Ellie initially does not believe in Cates' words, he secretly gives her a letter detailing the coming events. When Walker and Pilgrim take Father Love to a baseball stadium in search for the killer, it was revealed that Negan was the material author, but it was Lowe who orchestrated those killings. ||||||
| #12 | "Meanwhile: Part Five" | Robert Kirkman and Donny Cates | Phil Hester and Geoff Shaw | Klaus Janson and Dee Cunniffe | March 2, 2022 |
| Sometime after the Event, Negan met and killed his creator, Robert Kirkman, as revenge for the life he gave him. Back in the present, Negan reveals to Walker and Pilgrim about why he joined Father Lowe, as they both share the same interest of freeing the real world from all fictional characters. Besides, he met another person more powerful than Cates. Within the Powerhouse, Cates manages to use his powers to lock Pendleton in his own room, while freeing Ellie (reunited by Valofax) and Ryan (armed with a lightsaber) to save Walker and Pilgrim. ||||||
| #13 | "Meanwhile: Conclusion" | Donny Cates | Geoff Shaw | Dee Cunniffe | May 11, 2022 |
| The humans and characters go into an all-out war, as Negan takes Donny hostage, but Ellie uses Valofax to impale them both. When Father Lowe tries to become a suicide bomb, Ryan tries to reason with him, but Pendleton kills him by using a special armor. In his dying moment, Donny reveals to Ellie and Ryan that they must kill artist Geoff Shaw in order to put an end to the Event in Denver. ||||||
| #1 | 3D Special side story | Donny Cates and Matthew Rosenberg | Megan Hutchison | Dee Cunniffe | August 18, 2022 |

## Reception

Oscar Maltby wrote for Newsarama that the first issue was "bold as hell" and an intriguing start.
| Issue | Publication date | Critic rating | Critic reviews |
| #1 | November 4, 2020 | 8.9/10 | 26 |
| #2 | December 9, 2020 | 7.9/10 | 15 |
| #3 | January 6, 2021 | 8.4/10 | 11 |
| #4 | February 24, 2021 | 8.2/10 | 14 |
| #5 | March 31, 2021 | 8.0/10 | 12 |
| #6 | April 28, 2021 | 9.2/10 | 11 |
| #7 | June 30, 2021 | 8.5/10 | 7 |
| #8 | September 29, 2021 | 8.9/10 | 6 |
| #9 | November 3, 2021 | 9.3/10 | 6 |
| #10 | December 8, 2021 | 8.1/10 | 6 |
| #11 | February 2, 2022 | 9.1/10 | 6 |
| #12 | March 2, 2022 | 8.9/10 | 4 |
| #13 | May 11, 2022 | 9.2/10 | 6 |
| Overall | | 8.7/10 | 130 |

## Collected editions

| Title | Volume | Material collected | Pages | Publication date | ISBN |
| Crossover, Volume 1: Kids Love Chains | 1 | Crossover #1−6 | 176 | May 26, 2021 | 1534318933, 978-1534318939 |
| Crossover, Volume 2: The Ten-Cent Plague | 2 | Crossover #7−13 | 176 | June 8, 2022 | 153431928X, 978-1534319288 |