5 out of 5

If you have expectations for a series, it can be somewhat damning to read too much into a preview book.  While I don’t live and breathe Alan Moore, I do absolutely follow his writing, faithful that it will at least be worth a read, if not – very often – something noteworthy.  And Crossed has gotten bumpier post the amazing opening chapters scripted by Garth, but it’s due to those opening chapters that it’s been proven as a concept with a lot of potential for the right writer.  Combine those, and I definitely had expectations for Alan Moore’s take on Crossed.  …I just wasn’t sure what those expectations were.  So I wanted to wait to weigh in on this preview until I had a better
grasp on Moore’s aims with his arc.

That being said, the only thing wrong with this preview book is the 2.99 price tag for 16 pages.  But supposed regular Avatar books are 3.99… maybe it’s right.  Regardless… man, this is what a preview book should be.  A rambling 2 page explanation of the motivation for and evolution of writing the story as detailed by *the author* – as in: not an editor, not random publicity text; a detailed write-up of a main character, again by the author; original script pages with matching pencil to ink comparison pages; and some remaining penciled pages.  Script pages aren’t always impressive, but Moore is an exceedingly detailed script-writer, so it’s fascinating to see the
changes that took place from word to page.  The remaining penciled pages might similarly be filler in other preview books, but with the setup of the Moore script, the looser pencils act appropriately as a teaser in comparison: images without context.

So, yes, the preview consists of, perhaps, the usual, but benefits from Moore’s involvement.  However, that’s the give and take with preview books – and if you don’t have someone like Moore at the helm, then you need to do a little bit more to actually get us excited.

Blah de blah, perhaps the most straight forward thing I can say about this is that it still feels completely worthwhile even after owning the following issues.