Today's entry details a comic title that came from a publishing imprint that achieved more infamy than... er... famey. That's not to say their titles weren't best-sellers, but the creative minds behind the titles were better known for NOT keeping regular schedules than for lasting runs. You could almost say today's entry was the blue-print for the prima donna schedule some comic creators keep, to this very day. And this title was such a victim of that lackluster scheduling, the book still remains in limbo after nine issues... of which were published in the span of FOUR YEARS. Cue credits for...
Cliffhanger Comics
Joe Maduerira's
"Battle Chasers"
A small history lesson on Cliffhanger Comics. It was a Wildstorm imprint launched in 1998 by Joe, J. Scott Campbell, and Humberto Ramos. The three launch-ish titles, since they were statted out in release schedules, were Campbell's "Danger Girl", Ramos' "Crimson", and Maduerira's "Battle Chasers". Out of those three launch titles, only "Crimson" came out on a regular monthly schedule, and EVEN reached the double-digit issue numbers. I believe Campbell is still irregularly publishing "Danger Girl", and "Crimson" had a definitive ending, but "Battle Chasers" may as well have been an island stowaway for it's irregular communications and unknown fate.
"Battle Chasers" details the story of a gathering team of questing heroes of varying moralities. Included in our cast of reluctant world savers are:
- Garrison: A fallen into disgrace knight who possesses a magical sword, but after his wife dies, is left destitute and directionless. Until he is recruited for a special mission by...
- Red Monika: Pirate. Rogue. Cheap comic book cheesecake displaying plenty of T&A. But she does hold a pedigree for participating in part of Garrison's training.
- Gully: Orphan searching for her missing father, possessing one familial link in the MASSIVELY oversized magical gauntlets her father left her with, which grants Gully with enhanced abilities and a certain magical prowess.
- Knolan: Every Fantasy setting needs a sage mage to help form the grounding element for our team of would-be saviors, and thus is Knolan.
- Calibretto: If it's hinging on the 2000's, and you're a comic that has some basis in current Japanese role playing games, you MUST have a giant robot inexplicably be part of your questing team. Built by Knolan, and bonded to Gully, Calibretto is kind of our not-Red Tornado/Vision of the team.
Now what manages to bring all these individuals together? Well, for Monika and Garrison, they've formed a partnership to spring three prisoners from imprisonment. The only issue is while Monika is paid handsomely for her task, she doesn't realize the three prisoners are GENUINELY bad news to set free, and only finds out that fact as events play out. After being stalked by generic were-beasts, Gully, Knolan and Calibretto cross paths with our two rogues, and the entire group gathers to do battle with the three villains. ... And don't ask me who their names are, because the eternal source of internet wisdom, Wikipedia, doesn't give a rat's bottom about who the villains are. Thusly, I won't exactly be pouring over tomes to figure out that fact for myself. I do know one earned a cover page, as you'll see from the guy who's dark blue with gold highlights. I ALSO remember there is a threat being developed by a corrupt monarchy, but alas... You know as much as I do about that plot development.
"Battle Chasers" was a book that hit me JUST at the right time of my life. In high school, one of my impetuses for regular literary reading was Fantasy novels. I can clearly recall my first fiction series was the "Dragonlance Chronicles" trilogy by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. A combination of this trilogy, and the burgeoning JRPG culture in America with the release of "Final Fantasy VII" helped me grow interested in fantastic settings, imperfect heroes, and world-spanning quests. I first happened upon "Battle Chasers" with single issues my best friend collected, and I browsed through. I was well-aware of Joe Maduerira through his work on the first "Deadpool" limited series, a run on "Uncanny X-Men", and the "Age of Apocalypse: Astonishing X-Men" series. Joe's blending of traditional Western comics art with a Manga influence just PULLED in a young man, like myself, who was gaining an appreciation for the Japanese animated and comic styles. However, the key difference between those books and "Battle Chasers" was that Joe was not tackling the writing and art chores, and he had a STRICT company publishing schedule to stick with. But when he became a "superstar" artist, and was wooed to help form Cliffhanger, that's when the wheels of professionalism started to fall off the cart.
I want you to remember that between four years of semi-regular publishing, there was only NINE issues of one comic published. But during this time period of comics, if a creator was considered "hot" enough by the buying public, they would grouse and grouch about why a new issue would come along as often as Halley's Comet... but still make that title a massive sales success. (And if you think that publishing mentality is a thing of the past... I'll talk about these examples in detail later on, but I'll just make reference to Frank Miller and Jim Lee's "All-Star Batman and Robin" and Kevin Smith's "Batman: Widening Gyre".) And J. Scott Campbell, himself, had this style of infrequent publishing mastered to an ART with "Danger Girl". I remember reading an issue of Wizard Magazine around the time "Danger Girl" was being published, and while the magazine called Campbell out on his publishing schedule, they were STILL managing to lay chapsticked lips upon his buttocks because the product was "so excellent". Such was the case with "Battle Chasers", as well. And I had to take Wikipedia's word that even NINE issues were published, because I was only ever able to buy a hardcover trade collecting the first five issues of the series, and the sixth and seventh issues were singles.
After Maduerira put "Battle Chasers" on hold, he helped found a video game design studio. ... Of which I KNOW he participated in the design of two games, "Darksiders 1 and 2", but what's interesting is that while he supposedly started game design in 2003, the known products of his design work didn't arrive until six to seven years AFTER his studio was founded! But eventually Maduerira did return to comics, with the... ugh... infamous Marvel "Ultimates 3". (I'll discuss the three "Ultimates" runs in a later article, but let's just say Joe's return to Marvel comics, coupled with a VERY off story by Jeph Loeb, was as welcome as a rash around your anus.) I do know Joe was quoted as regretting to put "Battle Chasers" on hold, and he wished to return to the title, time allowing. The question you then have to ask is... WHAT'S HOLDING HIS SCHEDULE UP? It can't be because of the occasional variant cover or pinup he designs for certain issues. I realize Joe may be a wonderful person, in real life, and he could be a charmer... but on a professional level, I can't help but think of all the creators in comics that were able to product monthly content ON TIME, and then compare it to Campbell and Maduerira, who seemingly just pulled issues out of their bums whenever they were "in the mood".
As for the experience of reading "Battle Chasers", I find it sad that the book was left in creative limbo. It wasn't going to be a book that would be ranked alongside "Fables" or "Sandman" for Fantasy creations of the ages. BUT it was a fun Fantasy romp that was very stylish. It was just the victim of a creator left to his own devices, and those devices led to stagnation and abandonment. And it's not because it was from lack of success. I read that even though issue 10 was never published, the pre-orders for said issue were at around 60,000 copies. Do you realize how many companies would LOVE to sell issues around that many copies, these days? Creative "superstars" and their creations may be well-adored at the time, but if they don't produce at a regular pace, then maybe it's only deserved that those creations are lost to the collective mists of time. As if that wasn't enough, tomorrow I'll detail another creator's product that WAS regularly published, but because of his "star" status, his return to a property led to VERY mixed results because of his changed styles. I'll give you a hint: I name-dropped him in today's entry!
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