Crossed Plus One Hundred General Background

Future Taylor design sketch by Gabriel Andrade

This is the only page where I’ve avoided spoilers. This page is designed to introduce readers to Crossed Plus One Hundred, the comic book series created by Alan Moore and Gabriel Andrade. (This page was mostly written when only CPOH 1 and 2 were out. Revisions coming someday soon.)

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THEMES

1. Science Fiction – CPOH takes place in 2108, so it is science fiction. It’s post-apocalyptic sci-fi, though. Starting in 2008, there was a massive Crossed (essentially-zombie) disease outbreak, so humankind’s numbers are depleted. Each CPOH issue is titled after a sci-fi book (CPOH1 after Hugo Gernsback’s Ralph 124c 41+ and CPOH2 after J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.) The main character, archivist Future Taylor, is into science fiction, which she calls “Wishful Fiction” or “wi-fi.” For the first two issues, AM contrasts the positivity (hopefulness, optimism, heroism) of 20th Century sci-fi with the bleakness of the post-apocalyptic CPOH world.
2. Ecology – The 2008 zombie outbreak reduced the human population dramatically, this ended big human-caused problems including global warming. With humans largely out of the picture, other species populations have expanded. These include plants, for example buddleia, shown “jungling” the decaying cities. These also include animals, some native wild animals (including butterflies and wolves) and some escaped zoo animals (including elephants and exotic birds.)
3. Language – The humans speak a broken-down slangy version of English. See my 2108-speak glossary page for more details.

INFLUENCES/INSPIRATIONS

1. Crossed Comics – AM and GA are riffing on the original Crossed mythos created by Garth Ennis and Jacen Burrows. The initial Crossed comic book came out in 2008; by 2108 the 2008 Crossed outbreak has come to be known as The Surprise. Ennis and Burrows are riffing on the zombie genre, but Crossed are a little different than zombies in a couple ways. Crossed are not as brain-dead as typical zombies are… they’re said to be “depraved” – to be full of sexual and violent urges. They eat people, but they also rape them, and more. They spread the Crossed infection through contact with infected bodily fluids.
   I found some CPOH influences/references in Crossed, Volume 1, details here.
2. MORE TO COME

RECURRING CHARACTERS (listed in order of appearance)

1. 

   Forward Dietrich

   Forward Dietrich – (kid in purple smock) nickname: ‘Ward. Forward Dietrich is “a young.” In the CPOH Taste Test sample script page AM says he is 14 years old. He is introduced in CPOH1. I think he kind of represents the foolishness of youth; he’s volatile, irresponsible, boisterous, loud. Robbie Greer tells him to mind the bus, but he wanders off exploring instead. His speech is even a bit slangier than the others in his crew.
   The younger characters all have non-traditional names that sort of represent attitudes about the future: Forward, Future, Hope, Cautious Optimism. According to AM (see quote below – under Future Taylor), these sort of names start being used around the 2070s when the first stable human settlements take hold, and humans begin to feel some optimism about the future.

2. 

   Future Taylor

   Future Taylor – nickname: Fewch. Future Taylor is an archivist. She’s very interested in “Wishful Fiction” which we today call science fiction. She’s the main voice of CPOH, writing in her journal to recap and analyze what is happening.
   She was born in “Chooga” the human settlement in Chattanooga, TN. She appears to be a person of color (maybe mixed race?); she has black hair and slightly darker skin than the rest of the crew. AM says that she’s about 30 years old. Seems like her last name might be a riff on tailor; she’s stitching the human race’s culture back together.
   From “Alan Moore on Future Taylor” from CPOH Taste Test promo:
   “Her name is Future Taylor, which is a name she doesn’t personally like. Because she’s about 30 and was born in 2077 or something like that. Like most children of her age, and she would have been born when the first of the sophisticated camps were first being put up or just after when people were starting to have children again, and most of them were naming their children something like “Future”, or “Hope”. It’s a world that is depleted of future, which is something that we make somewhat of an obsession for this character.”

3. 

   Robbie Greer

   Robbie Greer – Robbie Greer has a horribly disfigured burned face; he has burns on his arms and chest too. He tells the story that he received these burns rescuing his sister when Crossed were burning out his people’s “survivalers” compound.
   Greer arrived to in the early 2070s to become one of the founders of the Chooga human settlement. Based on P3 of CPOH2 he’s about 45 years old. He’s the run-boss of the Tennessee archiving expedition in CPOH1. He’s tough and stern, and seems to have somewhat of a loner streak. He seemingly never puts down his gun, and also carries a large knife-machete.

4. 

   Archie Keller

   Archie Keller – Archie Keller seems like the oldest character introduced so far. He has a traditional first name. I’d guess he’s 45-60 years old, assuming CPOH humans don’t age way faster than people today. He reads the maps, navigates for the crew, and spots stuff before others do. He seems pretty good at shooting guns. And he’s into wine-making.
   I am going to take a wild guess and (given AM’s love of comics) suggest that he’s based on Archie comics titular character Archie Andrews, all grown up now and serious. Keller might mean “killer,” so he’s sort of Archie all grown up and now a killer.

5. 

   Hope Giancoma

   Hope Giancoma – (woman with pony tail) nickname: Ho-Ho. She’s tough, good with fire-arms (I guess that applies to almost everybody surviving in 2108.) Giancoma seems to be just a bit older than Taylor, I’d guess 30-35 years old.
   In CPOH1, she’s the only character who seems remotely sexual; she mentions that she thought about “sexing” Forward Dietrich, “but ehhh.” In CPOH2, she bunks (and, off-panel, has sex) with Kriswyczki.

6. 

   Cautious Optimism Kriswyczki

   Cautious Optimism Kriswyczki – nicknames: Cautious, Caush. She doesn’t have a big role in CPOH1. I think that she’s also a young (teenager) though probably late teens? Keller calls her “a grown woman.” In CPOH2, she wants to have sex with Keller, but he declines her, so she bunks (has sex with) with Giancoma.
   She knows a lot about the Crunk movement (a Christian sect, popular with teens in 2108 Chooga) but remains skeptical of it.

ADDITIONAL/MINOR CHARACTERS MENTIONED (alphabetical order)

1. Laura Taylor – Mother of Future Taylor, lives at Chooga.
2. Oldwoman George – One of the leaders of human settlement at Chooga.
3. Oldwoman Rachel – Leader who preceded Oldwoman George.
4. 

   “Phil” is the name that Future Taylor gives this framed portrait

   “Phil” – Phil is the provisional name that Taylor makes up to call the person pictured in a framed photograph (with the letters PH) which the crew discovered at a mysterious altar in Jackson, TN in CPOH1. (See my notes on CPOH1, P23, p2-3-4-5 for my theories about this guy.)

5. Tomo – probably “Tomorrow Milovic?” – who is “one of the other youngs” and perhaps leader of Chooga’s Crunk movement.

>Go to CPOH Annotations Index
>Go to CPOH Language Glossary page