Sunday, March 20

Crashed

First it was Questor. And now, I’ve heard from hearsay that the mega-popular Culture Crash comics/manga-zine has closed down, and that the latest issue (which came out months ago) was the last one. Correct me if I’m wrong, people.
Now THIS is a pity, since I have heard from Vin that issues of CC regularly sell very well. The quality of the art and production has remained pretty much constant throughout, and the story was JUST getting to the meaty parts (which was long in the coming since the series had 15 or so issues already out). But then, the publishing and selling of comics as a business is a very complex and unpredictable road, so no one is really immune to problems. While indie guys like me, or Oliver Pulumbarit and others can release books every now and then, supporting an actual company with regular employees isn't the easiest thing to do. Still, it would be a pity if CC was gone, considering that they would leave their stories and characters drifting.

So far, after 15 issues, the state of the CC stories are as follows…

Pasig
A major confrontation between hero Dante and a group of enemies has been resolved (I think). Nothing developed between him and the female lead. No development on any overall plot. Nothing really revealed of the characters’ feelings for one another, if any. No sign of where this is going.

One Day, Isang Diwa
We are introduced to the guys and gals at a high school where fairies and mystical creatures also wander about. Recently, the Lead guy puts himself in the hot seat after kissing lead female (an event which actually rocked the boat and made this more interesting). This led to a fight between the Lead Guy and Other Lead Guy, which had no real resolution. Nothing has been resolved. The fairy angle has also been downplayed, and no resolution or development on that end.

Cat’s Trail
JUST getting to the meaty part of a big battle between royal guards, the heroes and a sexy ninja chick. Nothing resolved.

Kubori Kikiam
I have no clue what’s going on here…

If I had released 15 issues of Angel Ace, her story would be DONE by then. I’d have moved on to other characters. But CC… after all this time, they are barely getting their characters introduced. I would be incredibly disappointed if they suddenly disappeared (well, they have… question is, will they stay that way?), leaving so much undone. I pretty much know at least some of them are still doing work with Seven Seas Publishing, but aside from that… will CC release another local issue? Well, that’s all up to their Big Boss, James Palabay, who is their producer and driving force. Perhaps when they get their issues straight, we’ll see.

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