Crossed: Wish You Were Here Vol. 1 [Paperback]

Crossed Wish you were here; is the first ongoing series in Avatars Crossed franchise. The other three soon to be four volumes have all been stand alone tales. Crossed Wish you were here is set in a world where a disease has infected most of earths human population turning them into deranged amoral psychopaths, called the Crossed; because of the cross shaped rash that appears on their faces. Once infected it takes seconds for you to change, and you become a raping, murdering monster, taking joy in pain, and causing pain. The crossed are very similar to the sufferers of Rage in 28 Days later; only way more destructive and showing a sick destructive glee in the sometimes quite creative misery they sow.

The first series got itself a reputation as one of the sickest comics ever, and it was well deserved. This volume is a little more reserved in its tone. Although it does have a few standout sick moments, on the first page alone there is a member of the crossed raping a Dolphins Blow hole.

Wish you were here, is about what it's like to survive in this post apocalyptic world. The characters are no longer running; they are holed up on a small Scottish island. Every now and again they meet random crossed that wash up on shore, and we get flashbacks of the main characters journey to the island after the fall of society, this serves to give you your quota of violence and mayhem. While the rest of it is devoted to character development and island politics. Concentrating mainly on exposing the failings of the main characters, making it the most nihilistic and misanthropic title in a franchise that has already embraced these theme's wholeheartedly. This is because Wish you Where here is an ongoing series, meaning that there is more time build up the characters; rather than trying to get an explanation of who they are out there, in the open, in the first few pages.

By the end of this book you can clearly see where the title is going, but that's not to say it's predictable. I won't say to much because I don't want to ruin it for you but. Wish you were here spends it's time building up to a mystery that I can't wait to see answered. If you're getting tired of The Walking Dead, and aren't easily offended then I think this will be a good place for you to get your post apocalyptic kicks. If not give the tamer 28 Days later comic a go.

This is the latest stand-alone work set in Garth Ennis' "Crossed" setting, where humans are all succumbing to a plague that turns them into sadistic psychopaths. Written by a British writer and set on a remote Scottish island this title has a different flavour than the other works and appears closer to Ennis' original vision.

It is actually a print version of the free webcomic that appears weekly at Crossedcomic.com. This open-ended format allows it to take a much more leisurely pace, similar to that of Walking Dead or the original 10 issue Crossed. It can sometimes meander or change direction unexpectedly as Spurrier re-plots on the fly but there is a definite goal in mind that we are heading towards.

The art is by Javier Barreno who illustrated Crossed: Psychopath and whose work appears almost identical to the original Jacen Burrows style. It is very detailed with no skimping on the backgrounds or faces. When there is a lot of text it appears on a solid black panel which does not overtax the artist or slow down the pace. There are a lot of tonal variations used for flashbacks, memories and daydreams helping to keep the narrative clear and distinct. The nocturnal scenes are dark but not murky too.

The isolated setting is good, the flashbacks to London falling are nice to see and a British writer penning dialogue for British characters makes a world of difference. The slow pace allows for a lot of musing on the nature of humanity and civilisation. There are some wonderfully subtle references that will make the UK reader smile too. The Crossed are used sparingly but after so many volumes they have lost their terror for the long-term reader unfortunately. That doesn't mean the humans can't provide some dramatic shocks however.

This is a very good offering, closer to the original genius than any of the other spin-offs has been. There is an afterword by the author and a rundown of the people on the island as journal entries by the protagonist with accompanying art. A Thumbs Up!