fubarthepanda wrote:
Yeah, but that was years after they didn't pick up any traction in the direct market.  Their initial strategy was based on the original Valiant model, but in 1998, after the market implosion, the direct market didn't have any appetite for a new super-hero universe (Marvel itself had entered bankruptcy).  A short while after their launch, CrossGen had trouble cracking the top 100 list in the direct market and shifted gears to alternative distribution models, mostly trying to follow the new paths that the manga companies were trailblazing.  Those didn't work for them, either.  With 20/20 hindsight, had they concentrated on a small amount of non-related titles, they probably would have had more long-term success.  But Alessi didn't want to be another Dark Horse -- he was more interested in being a latter day Stan Lee, bullpen and all, which was far too ambitious for an industry that had just entered a major recession.

I think the flaw in this is viewing CrossGen as a comic book company.

The comic book side of the endeavor was always considered a loss leader.

Alessi's business model (tho ultimately flawed) was somewhat forward-looking and reflective, I think, of Disney's attitude now towards Marvel.  The four color direct market was never meant to be the revenue generator, merely the "ideas factory". The plan was to use the material coming out of the comic side to then explode onto the secondary market in a variety of formats, varied digital formats, numerous dress trades, and of course, the hoped for penetration into animation and feature films and the resultant ancillary licensing.

CrossGen's make or break point was in the initial breakthrough into the trade paperback market, which is why he was willing to make such risky agreements with the bookstore chains. This failed and Alessi had not properly financed the company for such a failure.

I feel like giving up the rat race and just becoming a handsome millionaire.