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  • Is there a Book Publisher in the house?

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  • Posted: March 23, 2014 10:38:36 am
  • I'm nearly finished writing my history/collector's guide on intercompany crossovers. I sent my first query letter to a publisher a couple of weeks ago and am on pins and needles waiting to hear back from them. I'm actually taking a break from my book to start this thread.

    This thread can be just for this particular book...or for ANYONE who is working on or has completed a book related to comic books.

    Is there a member or guest reading this that publishes or is involved with a publisher of this nature? If so...

    I’m Jerry Hopfer from Johnstown, PA. In 1995 I knew DC and Marvel and literally NOTHING else in the comic book world. I am now just a few months away from completing a history and collector’s guide to intercompany crossovers. Nothing online or in print is remotely close to the extent and accuracy I have sought and demanded for this work.

    An accurate history on the beginnings (through 1999) of intercompany crossovers is important for several different reasons. First, as mentioned above, an accurate history or listing of crossovers is yet to be published. The farther away we get from their origin and all of the crossovers that came out in the 1980’s and 1990’s (the crossover heyday), the more difficult it will be for someone to research for the sake of history.

    Another reason is that anyone who needs all appearances of a particular character will need a complete reference. There are some very obscure official appearances of characters in certain crossovers that are not mentioned online or in print (not even priceguides). There are huntreds, if not thousands of completists who need this reference.

    The working title is:
    Crossover Crazy!
    A Guide to Intercompany Comics,
    Cards, Posters and More


    As you can tell from the title, I don’t just cover comic books. I have also included intercompany crossover trading cards, promo cards, promo and retail posters AND miscellaneous collectables. How many collectors need to know about Superman/Madman cut out dolls, a Lobo/The Mask mask or Batman/Judge Dredd mobile? Anyone who collects memorabilia on those super heros or particular comics!

    Crossover Crazy covers the early 1970’s wannabe intercompany crossovers through the 1990’s crossover explosion in its first 22 chapters. Chapter 23 introduces the reader to the 21st Century with a list of crossovers, but not to the extent that pre-21st Century books, etc. are covered. For that reason, this book lays the groundwork for a second book.

    As far as the book list and covers sections go...there is NOTHING that is more extensive in any other work in a particular comic book genre. I have identified (again...20th century) 338 intercompany crossover comics, 220 crossover alternate covers, 23 trade paperbacks, 10 non-ashcan previews, 9 non-ashcan preview alternate covers, 10 ashcans, 2 ashcan alternate covers, 5 reprints, 2 paperbacks and 1 hardcover...620 intercompany crossover books altogether.

    No other list anywhere is remotely close to the list that I have assembled. The most extensive online list (Wiki) is filled with comics that are not truly intercompany crossovers. There are many intracompany books represented as intercompany. There are many, many intercompany crossovers that are outright...omitted. Also, Wiki doesn’t cover alternate covers, ashcans, previews, etc.

    For each title, I list the publisher and ALL publishers that have at least one character making an appearance in the comic. This is something never done before. Trivia...there were 35 different publishers who were represented by their characters in /Cyblade The Battle for Independents from 1995! Also, for each title I have an accurate lettering system for all alternate covers (based on print run when available), along with a description of the edition (i.e., Commemorative edition, Platinum, Gold, Silver, Fusion, Luxury edition, etc.) along with limited print run number (when available).

    There have been many comic book history books published with a cover "scans" section. These sections normally include just the main comic book itself. There are rarely, if ever, scans of alternate covers. Price guides are poorly lacking in this area as well. Overstreet’s doesn’t list more than one or two alternate covers in many instances. In many other cases...they list none at all. Online price guides are at the mercy of their membership who list comics from their personal collections on an online database. Many times, collectors will list a comic by an incorrect title. Very often there are errors on alternate covers. A typical example is the X-Men/WildC.A.T.s Dark Age alternate (Golden/Bennett) cover listing on comicspriceguide.com. Someone has posted poster artwork as the actual cover. That artwork is NOT the cover. It took me 14 years to locate the real Golden/Bennett cover.

    I have gone strictly by the indicia for comic book title, issue and publication date. There are tons of misinformation within online price guides. Comics alternate covers are listed that never came out. There are MANY alternate covers that came out that are NOT listed in ANY price guide that I can find. As a result, the existing current, disjointed history on intercompany crossovers is in a shambles.

    Incidentally, I have not listed my collection on ANY online database, so as not to compromise the uniqueness of the material in the book.

    Crossover Crazy includes ALL 20th Century intercompany crossover comics, altnerate covers, trade paperbacks ashcans, ashcan alternate covers, non-ashcan previews, non ashcan preview alternate covers, reprints, paperbacks and hard cover books in its book list and in its scanned covers chapters (chapters 16-17). "CC" will also include a complete cross reference for each comic.

    At this writing I am working on chapter 18 (out of 24 chapters). In this chapter I am cross referencing all 340 intercompany crossover comics by character appearance. Yes, thats right. Search as you may, you will not find a character cross reference for intercompany crossovers anywhere else.

    Collectors will now be able to complete their collections by buying Crossover Crazy to learn in which intercompany crossovers their favorite characters have appeared!

    This ALL started for me with the DC Versus Marvel Showdown of the Century preview in 1995. Like winning a goldfish in a carnival...it ballooned out to this.

    If I sound overly excited, I am. The reason...many comic book shop owners and comic con dealers told me I was attempting the impossible. Many said they had NO idea how I was assembling such massive amounts of information when no one else was apparently researching in this area.

    About me. I’m 58, have a BA in Journalism. I have a book to my credit..sort of. I edited (and wrote the introduction to) My 75 Year Chess Career by Walter Muir. I’m a correspondence chess Master. For several years I was editor of King’s Korner, a correspondence chess magazine for the All Service Postal Chess Club. I’ve had a couple of regular chess columns for local newspapers in the past.

    Below is my working chapter list. Chapters 1-15 are prose with illustrations on many of the pages. These chapters cover the history of intercompany crossover comics. My current layout is 8½" x 11" pages. The left margin is 1" and top, right and bottom margins are 3/4". Font size for chapters 1-15 is 12 point. This will be the same font size for chapters 19-24. Chapters 16-18 are in 8 point type. Chapter headings in bold are completed chapters. The completed manuscript wil be approximately 350 pages.

    1) What is a Crossover?
    2) The 1st Intercompany Crossover...
    ...DC Vs Gold Key?
    3) Why Collect Crossovers?
    (A Delayed Introduction)
    4) Superman vs. Who???
    The Dawn of the Age of Crossovers
    5) Ooops...
    ...The Forgotten Crossovers!
    6) The 1980’s
    The Aardvark and Turtle Soup
    7) Into the 1990’s
    Batty over Crossovers
    Cool Deathmate
    The Birth of the Mega Crossovers
    9) A Woman Scorned!
    The Bad Girls
    10) Mid 1990’s
    A Snowball Downhill
    11) DC Versus Marvel
    The Crossover of the Century!
    12) The Avalanche!
    13) The Year of the Mega Crossover:
    1997
    14) And the Beat Goes On...
    ...Chris Yambar, King of the
    Small Indy Crossovers
    15) Bad Girls...Worse Girls
    Closing out the 20th Century
    16) 20th Century
    Intercompany Crossover List
    17) Crossover Cover Gallery
    1Cool Crossover Cross Reference
    19) Misc. Crossover Books and Mags
    20) Crossover Trading cards
    21) Poster Mania!
    22) Misc. Crossover Collectables
    23) Into the 21st Century
    24) “...if Hulk were dating Peppermint Patty”
    Ending This Book With A “Big Bang!”

    If you’re a publisher and interested...PLEASE let me know!

    Last edited March 25, 2014 3:53:36 pm
1 post • Page 1 of 1
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