u/OkWinter5690

Interestingly, Garth Ennis only allowed spinoffs as long as his characters weren't used. I wonder if Alan Moore was the exception due to their friendship?

Around 2023 (based on my calculations), the twins inform Smokey of rumors of intelligent Crossed. "Canada, Los Angeles, Tennessee". Not England anymore, because Aoileann is long dead.

Tennessee is clearly Beauregard Salt. There's nobody else it could be. Canada could mean the autistic kid is still alive. Now, you may recall there was a supercrossed in Los Angeles...Mattias Vichnyak. Whether this is indeed him still searching for Serena is unknown, but wouldn't that just be goddamn heartbreaking?

I noticed a group in Badlands #99 that bears a noteworthy resemblance to the Blood Men of Crossed mythology. Is there a chance there's any connection? Perhaps, like oh so many religions, Homo Tortur encountered a schism in the church? My rudimentary calculations place this at least two and a half years after C-Day, give or take. I set Homo Tortur around the early spring of 2009, based on dialogue and the weather depicted. The timelines are congruent enough to allow them to make it from Princeton, New Jersey to Homestead, Florida.

Having consumed god knows how much Crossed in the last week or two, I've had more than a thing or two to say about David Lapham on here. And...I won't repeat myself again. Let's just say that he is definitely no Si Spurrier. Not by a long shot.

However.

I will say that in reading his works, one can see a gradual, glacial improvement in his writing. Slowly but surely, the man is getting a grasp on how to tell proper Crossed tales.

Eh, fuck it. Let's just talk a bit. My inner critic is dying to let this out.

Psychopath is just absolutely miserable, even by Crossed standards. Just horror after horror with no levity. The only thing I liked was the introduction of Crossed tribes, which was new to the franchise and made a lasting impact. To his credit, Lapham has some of the best and most memorable Crossed tribes of the franchise. Unfortunately, we're stuck with by far the worst viewpoint character of all time with Harold Lorre. I understand the idea well enough, but jesuschristalmightydamn it was unpleasant.

Family Values was an improvement, with a much better lead character and a well-earned happy ending. However, the sheer amount of incest and gore makes it by far one of, if not the hardest to sit through.

3D is a perfectly serviceable story. It's interesting to see New York City, and the final scene is great. It just flies under the radar compared to other military-themed works by much better writers. Still, it works fine as long as you can survive the 3D eyesore.

I realize at this point that I'm actually listing these by the order I read them in, not the order they were published. Which renders this moot! Ah, well. Maybe it works better if you read it this way.

Yellow Belly is okay. It's a little fun, and interesting to see a small town handle the outbreak. The circus angle was at least unique. I just didn't get much from it.

The Livers is a massive improvement, with Amanda from Psychopath being the viewpoint character. The gore still remains, but takes a backseat to a genuinely interesting psychological study of our characters as they find bizarre ways to adapt to the unimaginable. For the first time, I was seriously invested in a Lapham story. The story also introduces a great new villain with the Rat King. The ending is nicely open to interpretation. Is it tragic that Amanda has succumbed to complete insanity, or weirdly heartwarming that she found something of a community? It's up to the reader.

Breakdown is a direct sequel to The Livers. And while it's not as memorable, Breakdown is a believable, albeit depressing, ending to Amanda's arc. The story has yet another great villain with the religious Crossed group. Say what you want about Lapham's writing, but he's damn good at creating Crossed tribes. This one is no exception. Unfortunately, they're not around for very long. Which is a shame, because their designs were amazing.

Land's End is Lapham's final story for Crossed, and he spared no expense. This, in my opinion, is his best work. Not only are we given a very strong main plotline with a very strong lead character, but we also get a fantastic military subplot about the U.S. Army trying to hold San Diego while the civilian population evacuates. It had a very Dunkirk feel to it that works extremely well. And the ending...well, I won't spoil it. Let's just say the ending is perfectly vague. Land's End is honestly one of the best Crossed storylines, which is weird because this post starts with one of the worst.

I would love to hear your opinions on Lapham's work!

Notice how the cross marks glow in infrared. This suggests the marked area is constantly inflamed, like some sort of open, infected, festering wound.