Crossed, Vol. 1

Ennis is one of the best writers in contemporary comics. This is a fact. He has an original, concise, and realistic way of expressing the thought patterns of common, more realistic characters. Not super heroes, or heroes at all for that matter. If you are sensitive or easily offended by extreme violence, gore, horror, sexual violence, language, or overall pessimism, you will definitely not like this comic. Instead of admitting a sensitivity to art with these aspects, some might just give the book a poor review. This is not how to review art. For the genre, Crossed is an absolute masterpiece. And the art of Jacen Burrows is beautiful (yes even the violent parts). If you like extreme horror movies, books, or comics, you should love the Crossed series. I mean no disrespect for people who are sensitive to sexual violence etc. Indeed I am in favor of warnings of graphic material, so if you bother to read reviews (which you should), consider this your warning. Crossed is the most twisted comic I have ever read and I love gorey arthouse horror. The first volume is especially good because it is the only volume in the entire Crossed series (which now has well over 20 volumes including multiple variants) that is entirely written and inked by Garth Ennis and Jacen Burrows. The power duo do return for a few small arcs in the later volumes. The other writers are good; although, one thing you can always count on with Crossed is magnificent art. Every volume is bursting with color and beautiful depiction of animals, nature, and human anatomy. Bottom line: of you have a strong stomach and consider yourself a devoted fan of horror or zombie genres then Crossed is the highest of the high, the most brutal of the brutal.

Man...this story was insane from the first page. I'm not sure how to put my thoughts together cohesively. First off, I'm just finding my way back into comics. I'm a huge horror fan. Crossed was an exhausting ride of awesome. I felt so uncomfortable the entire time, which is exactly how you're meant to feel. What it gives you in brutality, it circles back to lay on the human emotion and trauma. The art of balancing these two was so well done in the story telling. The art is breathtaking, mesmerizing, and nightmare fuel. I mean that as a compliment. I was invested in these characters and I found myself really engaged the entire read. I look forward to checking out some of the other installments. This story is not for the faint of heart; but the pay off is stunning.

If you are an Ennis fan then stop reading this review and buy the book. If you do not know anything about Garth Ennis, back away from CROSSED and go buy The Boys, Preacher or his run on Punisher MAX. IF you enjoy it and don't walk away in disgust come back and buy Crossed. Otherwise you might be biting off way more than you can chew. I have never been disturbed by a comic before. I have never been kept up at night by a comic before. I have read a lot of comics that call themselves 'horror' genre comics, none of them have filled me with horror. Crossed changed all of that. This is a very straight-forward, simple story that gets to the heart of what horror (and humanity) is all about, people are capable of truly terrible things. No one is coming to save you. Something terrible is coming and you cannot beat it, you can only hope to outrun it. This is horror. I don't know if beautiful is the right word for the artwork, but you have never seen such well-drawn entrails, looks of anguish or expressions of madness. This is Ennis at his unrestrained best. Highly recommended.

The blurb says it all. It's Ennis...at his most depraved. This book was so disturbing that at times I wanted to put it down, but my interest in the characters compelled me to keep reading through rape - of men and women(while they wer mutilated in one case), chidren mutilated and dismembered unto death, and every other sordid nearly (and sometimes certainly) pornographic act of violence in this collection. In short, if extreme gore and violence depicted beautifully isn't your thing stay away. If you love Garth Ennis, and can handle comic book violence in the extreme, you'll enjoy this read. I give it four stars, because as I have stated at least twice already, it is Garth Ennis - and if you have read his work then you know that alone should make it a five, but, because some of it was so gonzo that I just felt Ennis was like a little kid eating worms, seeing if he could make you throw up in your mouth a little, I left one off. If you haven't read the boys then you are missing a great series, although it has started to digress a little needlessly, and it needs to pick up. I highly recommend The Boys and Preacher.

I saw the price at 19 and obviously I couldn’t pass on the chance on getting a Crossed comic this cheap and when it arrived I was expecting it to be in a slight bad shape but to my surprise it was pretty good. It’s my first time ever getting a physical copy, can’t wait to read it.

I hate this comic. After I 'm done reading it, I'm going to create a pine box, place this comic inside, and set it on fire. It has literally destroyed a piece of my psyche. And for all that, it deserves 5 STARS. This comic has helped mint a new term for my friends and I; "Not as bad as Ennis." That this book has actually scarred me, scared me, and disgusted me is a triumph to the author, and artist. I've read short stories that made me "re-up" my christian card after reading the depictions of hell. This makes me want to go to those authors' versions of hell to avoid "The Crossed." In all honesty I couldn't recommend this book to anyone that has a sliver of love or compassion in their heart, and I wouldn't recommend it to someone who doesn't. If you buy this comic, know that you pay with a piece of yourself with the purchase. If you enjoy this comic, do humanity a favor, and find a high bridge and jump. If you get sick after reading this comic, don't worry, in a couple of days the shakes will wear off. For those about to crack the cover, good luck with tender moments, and affection for a while.

Goriest comic ever.

I was a bit apprehensive coming into Crossed, knowing Ennis' work and the current glut of zombie apocolypse books out right now. I was in for a pleasant surprise...Ennis work here is his best yet, perfectly complimented by Jacen Burrows strong, clean lines and emotive, evocative panels. This is Eisner-level stuff folks, right up there with Kirkman, Morrison, and Waid, storytelling of the highest order. The grandmaster, Mr. Alan Moore, once commented that "the industry doesn't have a top tier, or even second or third level of talent today"...I think books like Crossed prove that there is no validity to that statement. Today's books are oftentimes explicit, bold, and audacious, and Crossed embodies all these attributes and makes a strong arguement that yes, in fact, comics today are of a higher quality than at any other time in history, don't miss this...

Ho acquistato questo volume perché era da un po' che non leggevo niente di Garth Ennis che ho sempre trovato un allegro buzzuro dalla penna frizzante e perché mi sembrava potesse essere un' interessante rivisitazione del tema Apocalisse Zombie. Buuuuuuuuuu!!!!! L' idea poteva anche essere buona ma la sensazione è che Ennis abbia scritto questo volume per coprire debiti di gioco e nessun altro motivo. La violenza è parecchio gratuita, i personaggi inutili e la trama… Trama? Quale trama? Mi sono ritrovata a saltare interi ballon di dialogo, cosa che mai mi sarei aspettata da un fumetto di Ennis. Sembra scritto da un adolescente ignorante con un evidenziatore. Non è neanche abbastanza brutto da meritarsi una stella sola. Crisi di mezza età?

On commencez à saturé avec tous ces comics de zombie! Ici l'enfer c'est les autres! Mais surtout ceux qui sont infectés et marqués d'une croix sur le visage! Un comics a ne pas mettre entre les mains de tout le monde...

Llego en buenas condiciones, el empastado es duro y las impresiones son de excelente calidad ya que es PANINI. Ya pude completar la colección hasta ahora

Una gran serie de comics que recomiendo para los amantes de los futuros apocalípticos. Es muy duro en algunos puntos, pero te mantiene en tensión constante. La serie es larga y a mi me tiene enganchado.

O fator choque está mais presente nas primeiras edições (primeiras 4 para ser mais exato), após isso, Ennis foca mais em desenvolvimento de personagem e do mundo de Crossed. Então se vc espera carnificina e bizarrice em todo capitulo, não é exatamente isso que vc vai ganhar. Achei um bom equilíbrio entre chocante e survivor, e gostei o suficiente para querer as próximas edições, mais curioso ainda para ler o spin-off escrito por Alan Moore.