Crossovers

[kryptondude]

Hi, i am new to the comic world as i explained on my first post, the question i am seeking a answer to is to do with crossovers.

i am slightly confused by this i would say, i know none have happened yet but i am aware of them and im sure they will sooner or later lol.

im just wondering say im reading aquaman, would a crossover be for instance if superman came into his story for a couple of issues?.

would this then mean i would need to read both sets of comics while they are working together to know what is going on?

Also when i put my subscription in they asked if i wanted annuals, what does this mean?

im sorry if these questions seem stupid but like i said i am new to comics and any help will be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[AaronStC]

A crossover happens when issues from two or more series are necessary to get the whole story. In your example
If Superman is in Aquaman and you need to pick up the next issue of Superman for the next part, that is a crossover.
If Superman shows up for a story in Aquaman and it is only in the Aquaman issues it is just a guest appearance.

[glennsim]

As mentioned above, a "crossover" is generally used to mean any time you have characters from different books meeting and you have to buy books from more than one series to get the full story. The crossover could take place in the main monthly books, or it could take place in a special mini-series, or both.

An "Annual" is an extra issue of a series that is published once a year. It's usually larger than a normal issue. In most cases (but not always) you don't have to read the annual to get a complete story. Sometimes they will continue a story into the annual though. If you can afford to get the annual, I would recommend it.

[Raye]

Well, there are different types of crossover stories. DC seems to have a few types coming up...

They've already had a bunch of guest appearances, which is a minor type of crossover, where a character from one book or team shows up in another book. They've had Green Lantern in Voodoo, Green Arrow in Grifter, Superboy in Teen Titans (though he will eventually join the team, so not sure how much that counts) Superman has shown up in Swamp Thing and Supergirl, Dove has shown up in Justice League Dark, Batman has shown up in a few books, Midnighter will be showing up in Grifter soon, Nightwing has appeared in both Batman and Batgirl, Batgirl has shown up in Nightwing, etc. These can usually be ignored if you don't want to read the book the character is appearing in. They're more just to let you know that all the characters are living in a shared universe, and sometimes run into each other.

Then we have something like OMAC and Frankenstein's upcoming crossover. The story is shared across both books, reading both will provide a fuller picture of what's going on, but DC insists you don't NEED to read both halves to understand what is going on, it's not like you finish reading OMAC then a blurb saying 'pick up Frankenstein to find out what happens next!' which does sometimes happen with crossovers. It's the same story, told from different perspectives. DC has said that this is the type of crossover they are aiming for, for the most part, the kind that doesn't tell you you need to pick up a book you normally would not read in order to follow the story. I hear the Swamp Thing/Animal Man crossover will be similar in this regard, not the different perspectives thing, but Scott Snyder and Jeff Lemire say you can read one or the other and not be confused, but reading both will provide a fuller experience

But the above typically only involves 2 books, they're pretty small scale. Then there's something like the Daemonite invasion, which is a line wide thing. Apparently it will span Superman, Grifter, Voodoo, Stormwatch, Blackhawks, Demon Knights, possibly more. Whether it's an event that happens and then each book has it's own take which you can read on it's own, or you need to buy Superman to follow what's happening in Grifter remains to be seen. Though, as mentioned, DC has said they intend to do away with making you buy a book you normally would not in order to follow the story.

[Chiasm]

Then we have something like OMAC and Frankenstein's upcoming crossover. The story is shared across both books, reading both will provide a fuller picture of what's going on, but DC insists you don't NEED to read both halves to understand what is going on, it's not like you finish reading OMAC then a blurb saying 'pick up Frankenstein to find out what happens next!' which does sometimes happen with crossovers. It's the same story, told from different perspectives. DC has said that this is the type of crossover they are aiming for, for the most part, the kind that doesn't tell you you need to pick up a book you normally would not read in order to follow the story. I hear the Swamp Thing/Animal Man crossover will be similar in this regard, not the different perspectives thing, but Scott Snyder and Jeff Lemire say you can read one or the other and not be confused, but reading both will provide a fuller experience



That is an utterly awesome thing for DC to do. I absolutely hate being forced to pick up a book I don't read just to get a whole story.