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In 2020, Image Comics published Crossover, created by Donny Cates, Geoff Shaw, Dee Cunniffe and John J. Hill. The comic brought together superheroes from not just different realities, but different publishers - across thirteen issues, Crossover manages to convince nine entities to share IP. In our modern world of corporate competition, alliances like that are no small potatoes.

But this summer, Advent Comics is giving us the whole damn farm.

Live on Kickstarter now, Epiphany Engine is a multiverse-spanning story published by Advent and spearheaded by industry veterans Tony Kittrell and Joseph P Illidge. Featuring an all-Black creative team, Epiphany Engine brings together thirty-three indie comics publishers, uniting their heroes and villains against a cosmic threat.

Yes, you read that correctly. Characters across thirty-three comic publishers will unite for a single, non-fan-fiction venture.

To be fair, Epiphany Engine will need all the heroes it can get - according to Advent's press release, the characters (including Aceblade, Midnight Tiger, and more) will be going toe-to-toe with the mysterious Abzylom, a vicious being with godlike abilities and reality-shaping intent. (Is it too late to recruit even more superheroes?)

Whatever happens, the story is in the hands of revered Black creators who have worked across the industry. Names like Brandon Thomas (Hardware: Season One), Rodney Barnes (Killadelphia), and Colleen Douglas (Cthulhu Invades Wonderland), are all over the press release, which promises over 70 creators for the project.

"“This once-in-a-lifetime crossover," says publisher Kitrell, "has never been attempted on this scale within the Black comic book community. It became very evident that there was a need and desire for this type of project, so we’re excited to bring it to life."

Editor Illidge agrees. "Having started my career and life mission at the groundbreaking Milestone Comics 31 years ago," he says, "I knew it was cosmically fitting to work on Epiphany Engine, the ultimate crossover event of Black comic book publishers and creators to happen this year. I'm both proud and honored to be a member of the crew with the editorial duo of Brian J. Lambert and Marcus H. Roberts."

If you think about it, the appeal of multiverse storytelling is laregly due to its team-up aspects. Rather than stand out as solo acts, our heroes form a community, banded together with a single goal in mind. It's heartening to know that, in cases like Epihpany Engine, that community is happening not just on the page, but in the real world as well.

Epiphany Engine is on Kickstarter (and features a healthy heap of "original artwork, exclusive variants, boxed sets, and more") as of Juneteenth, June 19th, 2024. Check out images of villainous Abzylom, a couple of the heroes, a cover by Stanley Weaver Jr., LeBeau Underwood, & Chris Sotomayor, and a full list of publishers in the gallery above.

Let Popverse tell you all about this year's upcoming comics.