Crux v. 1: Atlantis Rising [ILLUSTRATED] (Paperback)

~ Mark Waid (Author), Steve Epting (Author), Rick Magyar (Illustrator), Frank D'Armata (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

When the ancient Atlanteans ascended to a higher plane, a thousand of them stayed behind on Earth to guide the human race. But the shock wave caused by the ascension sunk Atlantis and caught the remaining Atlanteans in protective stasis for 100,000 years. When six of them are revived by a mysterious stranger, they discover that the humans of Earth have vanished and human colonists from other worlds have returned to turn Earth into a museum. But the Earth is now under attack by alien monsters called the Negation. This series follows the six Atlanteans' efforts to fight off the Negation, revive their fellow Atlanteans, and discover the fate of the humans of Earth. Waid, author of CrossGen's Ruse (LJ 9/1/02), turns in another fine work, full of compelling characters and situations, aided by excellent artwork by Steve Epting and Rick Magyar and CrossGen's usual fine production. The equally good second volume is due in November. This will appeal to teens and adults, especially fans of other fantasies from CrossGen, e.g., Barbara Kesel & others' Meridian (reviewed above) and Ron Marz's Sojourn (LJ 9/1/02).
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description

Millennia ago, the Atlanteans were the self-styled mentors to the newborn race known as homo-sapiens. But when a mysterious cataclysm plunged Atlantis and its people beneath the waves, six – and only six – awoke one thousand centuries later to find their island city forgotten and in ruins, their brothers and sisters caught in an unshakable slumber...and Earth devoid of all life. Now the one, simple question that drives them is this: Whatever happened to the human race? Cruz combines the most primal and exciting elements of super-hero comics with imaginative science fiction reminiscent of Isaac Asimov`s Foundation and Larry Niven`s Ringworld.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Cross Generation Comics; illustrated edition edition (May 22, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1931484147
• ISBN-13: 978-1931484145
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 6.6 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #298,601 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of Crossgen's Best..., March 26, 2003

By	D. Hill "dhill757" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A very under-rated book, while other Crossgen titles seem to get more press, this one truly delivers. Atlantis, long grist for any dreamer's mind, is given a fresh look here. This isn't the Submariner's Atlantis, blue-skinned people living in a fantastic underwater city in the depths of the ocean, but rather people actually dealing with the calamity that destroyed their island, as well as adjusting to life some 100,000 years in the future. Alright, it isn't very realistic, and the parts that deal with Atlantean society are, for me, anyway, the most interesting, but one has to keep in mind that it's a comic book. It would have been nice to see them awaken to this time, when opinion seems to be evenly divided whether Atlantis is fact or fiction, but setting it faroff in the future also gives it an ironic twist to it, where they are left wondering what kind of civilization we may have once had. Honestly, the book doesn't even need all it's superhero team trappings, it succeeds just on at it's terms of being a book about Atlantis and it's characters, but, being a comic, one has to realize that much of that comes with the territory. Mark Waid is a great writer who's words often seen in a comic book, and his characterizations are dead on, a very literate comic book writer. Steve Epting has long been one of the most under-rated artists in comics, in my view one of comics's best, and his work on the Avengers a few years ago was one of the high points of the industry during the nineties. Anyone sick of the current Japinese anime art style will love his work here, few artists can master actual human expressions as Steve Epting does. Anime may have some strengths, but expression certainly isn't one of them. As I said, I would have preferred a little more of Waid and Epting's take on Atlantis, Atlantis Rising is good enough that it doesn't need to cater to the typical comic book conventions, but it is an intelligent, well written book that should keep people hooked, not only to the mystery of what happened to Atlantis, but the rest of civilization.

3.0 out of 5 stars Graphic SF Reader, September 3, 2007

By	Blue Tyson "- http://freesf.blogspot.com" - See all my reviews

Part of the whole Cross-Gen stable, this story is about the Fall of Atlantis. Some protectors volunteer to stay behind, and are awakened far into the future. These people are endowed with superhuman abilities by a mysterious figure, and must search for what is actually going on, and what they can do about the cataclysm.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars CrossGen's superheroes (admit it, guys...), December 11, 2002

By	Blake Petit "Novelist, Comixtreme.com columni... (Ama, Louisiana United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Although CrossGen Comics has made a point of not doing any "superhero" comic books, Crux is definitely the book to give to your average superhero fan. It has all the elements of a superhero team -- a diverse group of people, each with a unique super power, thrust together into harrowing circumstances with the fate of the world resting on their shoulders.

Of course, like everything CrossGen does, this book has a twist. The "superheroes" in question are survivors of the lost city of Atlantis. Millennia ago, half of the Atlaneans underwent some great transformation while the rest went into cryogenic sleep on Earth to guide the developing race of humans. In the far future, seven Atlanteans are awakened to find Earth deserted, its final fate being some sort of galactic amusement park.

The question is, what happened to mankind, what happened to the other Atlanteans and what are these strange monsters called the Negation that attack the remnants of Earth?

As far as high-octane superhero mystery goes, you can't beat it. The characters are distinctive while never falling into stereotypes -- twins bicker but their powers are only strongest when together, the muscular "tough guy" of the group is really something of a pacifist. And as the title implies, this book seems to be where the keys to unlocking the mystery of the CrossGen universe lie. It also ties in very closely with another CrossGen book, "The Negation," which is also a spectacular read.