MEGACON: CROSSGEN PANEL

At its panel at MegaCon in Orlando, Fla., on Saturday, CrossGen Entertainment announced Raven House, a six-issue gothic thriller by writer Chuck Dixon and artist Leonardo Manco that will launch in June.

"Featuring a gutsy young heroine, a tragic romance and dark deeds done at the crossroads, Raven House is a creepy gothic thriller in the grand tradition of the Brontes and Henry James," Dixon said.

"Summoned to England's wild Cornish coastline, beautiful Meredith Park arrives at the bleak and remote Raven House to serve as a governess for the son of the brooding and handsome Lord Dalamar. But the manor and all around it seems to lie under a curse ... and Meredith is compelled to uncover the many long-buried secrets she finds there. Perfectly cast for this type of story, Leonardo Manco is eating the setting up. Every panel drips with uneasiness and dread."

"Chuck's exception vision for Raven House includes an atmosphere and storytelling comparable to the best of Edgar Allen Poe's tales, such as The Fall of the House of Usher," Manco said. "Because the fantastic story goes beyond conventional comic-book limits, I'm striving to deliver a completely different and fascinating vision."

Dixon said that, like El Cazador, Raven House is an example of what CrossGen does best, exploring genres not often seen in comics.

"There's a great big world of fiction out there, and we want to reach audiences that may have been left behind but still crave these different types of stories," Dixon said.

In other news from the panel:

* Artist Paul Pelletier on working with writer Tony Bedard on Negation War: "We have a good idea what we want to do, but we're still open enough to fly by the seat of our pants."

* El Cazador #7 kicks off a new arc as, to find her family, Captain Sin must infilitrate an impenetrable Jesuit fortress.

"She ends up stealing something really valuable that will be a surprise to readers," Dixon said. "She keeps making enemies everywhere she goes."

Dixon said he has been pleasantly surprised with the performance of El Cazador in the comics market, and is eager for the title to reach the book market.

"In the book market, there's huge interest in nautical fiction," Dixon said.

Bill Rosemann on Sojourn #33: "If you like surprises, Sojourn #33 has one."

Rosemann said Travelers remain "a big part of our plans."