History ComicBook / Deathmate

The advertisement for ''Deathmate'' said "Their love will end worlds!" While it was talking about Solar and Void, it could also be said to be true of Valiant and Image. This disastrous "pairing" did indeed destroy worlds: It helped [[UsefulNotes/TheGreatComicsCrashOf1996 destroyed the world]] where the comic book industry makes $500 million per year. [[CreatorKiller It destroyed]] the world where Valiant Comics so much as existed, much less was the third highest selling comic company. And it destroyed the world of small comic book shops, many of which went out of business.

In 2016, a new take on the ''[=DeathMate=]'' storyline was confirmed to be in the works - one that should hopefully avoid crashing the industry again.

''[[ComicBook/DoctorSolar Solar: Man of the Atom]]'', and ''ComicBook/WildCATs''' Void met, had sex, and this "begins to unravel the strands of time, creating an AlternateUniverse where Image and Valiant characters exist side by side".

Valiant's and Image's writers knew nothing about the other company's characters, resulting in a ton of CharacterDerailment. You see, Valiant (as a byproduct of its unique real-time continuity system) was super serious about shipping schedules and deadlines, and produced all its contributions on time. Image, on the other hand, was notorious for its ScheduleSlip, so, the Valiant half of ''Deathmate'' was produced on time, but the Image half was produced late. (Creator/RobLiefeld produced his issue, ''Deathmate Red'', a year late, and his contribution to the Valiant-published Prologue issue was completed only after Valiant editor-in-chief Bob Layton came to his house, [[TheThingThatWouldNotLeave refused to leave until it was done]] and inked it in a hotel room.)

By the time the Image half came out, interest in it had dried up, but shop owners had pre-ordered massive numbers of issues when the cross-over had started, and were now left with mountains of unsaleable comics. This, more than any other single event, contributed to the collapse of the comic industry in the '90s. ''Deathmate'' was also one of the events that lead to the fall of Valiant Comics, as it flooded the company with Image artists, and caused a fundamental shift in the way the company was run.

The advertisement for ''Deathmate'' said "Their love will end worlds!" While it was talking about Solar and Void, it could also be said to be true of Valiant and Image. This disastrous "pairing" did indeed destroy worlds: It destroyed the world where the comic book industry makes $500 million per year. [[CreatorKiller It destroyed]] the world where Valiant Comics so much as existed, much less was the third highest selling comic company. And it destroyed the world of small comic book shops, many of which went out of business.

* CrossOver: Of Image Comics and Valiant Comics.

Valiant's and Image's writers knew nothing about the other company's characters, resulting in a ton of CharacterDerailment. You see, Valiant (as a byproduct of its unique real-time continuity system) was super serious about shipping schedules and deadlines, and produced all its contributions on time. Image, on the other hand, was notorious for its ScheduleSlip, so, the Valiant half of ''Deathmate'' was produced on time, but the Image half was produced late. (Creator/RobLiefeld produced his issue, ''Deathmate Red'', a year late, and his contribution to the Valiant-published Prologue issue was completed only after Valiant editor-in-chief Bob Layton came to his house, refused to leave until it was done and inked it in a hotel room.)

So, having arranged the crossover, called ''Deathmate'', each company gets to work. Billed as "THE BIGGEST CROSS-OVER EVENT IN THE HISTORY OF COMICS!!" ''Deathmate'' was doomed from the start. Designated by color rather than issue numbers (namely Yellow, Blue, Black, and Red) plus two book-end issues, "Deathmate Prologue" and "Deathmate Epilogue", the four main issues were written so they (in theory) could be read in any order. In practice, however, they were a disjointed and [[ContinuitySnarl snarled]] mess, not at all helped by the Valiant side keeping a tight editorial leash, and the Image side letting the writers and artists do whatever they wanted.

The premise behind ''Deathmate'' was weak to begin with: ''[[ComicBook/DoctorSolar Solar: Man of the Atom]]'', and ''ComicBook/WildCATs''' Void met, had sex, and this "begins to unravel the strands of time, creating an AlternateUniverse where Image and Valiant characters exist side by side".

If the weak premise wasn't bad enough, Valiant's and Image's writers knew nothing about the other company's characters, resulting in a ton of CharacterDerailment, even though most of Image's side barely qualified as "characters" to begin with. The art, done in the over-the-top Image style, was disgusting to behold, and to top it all off, Deathmate may have been responsible for UsefulNotes/TheGreatComicsCrashOf1996.

You see, Valiant (as a byproduct of its unique real-time continuity system) was super serious about shipping schedules and deadlines, and produced all its contributions on time. Image, on the other hand, was notorious for its ScheduleSlip, so, the Valiant half of ''Deathmate'' was produced on time, but the Image half was produced late. (Creator/RobLiefeld produced his issue, ''Deathmate Red'', a year late, and his contribution to the Valiant-published Prologue issue was completed only after Valiant editor-in-chief Bob Layton came to his house, refused to leave until it was done and inked it in a hotel room.)

Not ever to be confused with ''Manga/DeathNote'', which thankfully had a set schedule, cohesion, and didn't end up crippling its own medium.

[[quoteright:299:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rh0222120014.png]]

[[quoteright:289:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/DeathMate.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:289:[-Oh, [[{{Pun}} this blood's for ME]]? I could have sworn it was someone else's. Silly me.-] ]]

-> '''Their love will end worlds!'''

[[caption-width-right:289:[-Oh, [[IncrediblyLamePun this blood's for ME]]? I could have sworn it was someone else's. Silly me-].]]

-->-- ''Death Mate'' advertisement; it proved [[CreatorKiller to be right in an]] [[HilariousInHindsight ironic way]].

So, having arranged the crossover, called "Deathmate", each company gets to work. Billed as "THE BIGGEST CROSS-OVER EVENT IN THE HISTORY OF COMICS!!" Deathmate was doomed from the start. Designated by color rather than issue numbers (namely Yellow, Blue, Black, and Red) plus two book-end issues, "Deathmate Prologue" and "Deathmate Epilogue", the four main issues were written so they (in theory) could be read in any order. In practice, however, they were a disjointed and [[ContinuitySnarl snarled]] mess, not at all helped by the Valiant side keeping a tight editorial leash, and the Image side letting the writers and artists do whatever they wanted.

The premise behind Deathmate was weak to begin with: ''[[ComicBook/DoctorSolar Solar: Man of the Atom]]'', and ''ComicBook/WildCATs''' Void met, had sex, and this "begins to unravel the strands of time, creating an AlternateUniverse where Image and Valiant characters exist side by side".

You see, Valiant (as a byproduct of its unique real-time continuity system) was super serious about shipping schedules and deadlines, and produced all its contributions on time. Image, on the other hand, was notorious for its ScheduleSlip, so, the Valiant half of Deathmate was produced on time, but the Image half was produced late. (Creator/RobLiefeld produced his issue, Deathmate Red, a year late, and his contribution to the Valiant-published Prologue issue was completed only after Valiant editor-in-chief Bob Layton came to his house, refused to leave until it was done and inked it in a hotel room.)

By the time the Image half came out, interest in it had dried up, but shop owners had pre-ordered massive numbers of issues when the cross-over had started, and were now left with mountains of unsellable comics. This, more than any other single event, contributed to the collapse of the comic industry in the '90s. Deathmate was also one of the events that lead to the fall of Valiant Comics, as it flooded the company with Image artists, and caused a fundamental shift in the way the company was run.

!!Tropes include:

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Many subplots are left unresolved such as Ivar and Adam going to the past to find the Geomancer of that era, or Magnus trying to kill Battlestone and overthrowing Toyo Harada. [[spoiler: The destruction of the combined universe means these plotlines will never be resolved.]]

* CanonWelding: Due to Doctor Solar and Void making out in Unreality, the Image Comics and Valiant Comics universe combine.
* CrossOver: Of Image Comics and Valiant Comics

* LegacyCharacter: The Geomancers
* PunnyName: Mother May I

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Many subplots are left unresolved such as Ivar and Adam going to the past to find the Geomancer of that era, Magnus trying to kill Battlestone and overthrowing Toyo Harada. [[spoiler: The destruction of the combined universe means these plotlines will never be resolved.]]

The premise behind Deathmate was weak to begin with: ''[[ComicBook/DoctorSolar Solar: Man of the Atom]]'', and ''ComicBook/WildCATs' '' Void met, had sex, and this "begins to unravel the strands of time, creating an AlternateUniverse where Image and Valiant characters exist side by side".

So, having arranged the crossover, called "Deathmate", each company gets to work. Billed as "THE BIGGEST CROSS-OVER EVENT IN THE HISTORY OF COMICS!!" Deathmate was doomed from the start. Designated by color rather than issue numbers (namely Yellow, Blue, Black, and Red) plus two book-end issues, "Deathmate Prologue" and "Deathmate Epilogue", the four main issues were written so they (In theory) could be read in any order. In practice, however, they were a disjointed and [[ContinuitySnarl snarled]] mess, not at all helped by the Valiant side keeping a tight editorial leash, and the Image side letting the writers and artists do whatever they wanted.

-->-- ''Death Mate'' advertisement; it proved to be right in an [[HilariousInHindsight ironic way]].

Here, ladies and gentlemen, is a tragic story. Once there were two friends who worked at two different comic companies. Steve Massarsky worked for ValiantComics, and Jim Lee worked for Creator/ImageComics. The two came up with an idea: why not initiate an IntercontinuityCrossover? After all, it's TheNineties and crossovers are all the rage!

The premise behind Deathmate was weak to begin with: [[DoctorSolar Solar: Man of the Atom]], and ''ComicBook/{{Wild CATs}}' '' Void met, had sex, and this "begins to unravel the strands of time, creating an AlternateUniverse where Image and Valiant characters exist side by side".

Tropes include:

* [[spoiler: DeusExMachina / EleventhHourSuperpower: Union somehow shields the two universes from the effects of Void and Solar kissing.]]

* Dystopia: Two of them: one ruled by the genocidal tyrant Toyo Harada and another controlled by Mother May I.

* Puppet King: The Council that supposedly rule along side Mother May I is actually controlled by the latter.

If the weak premise wasn't bad enough, Valiant's and Image's writers knew nothing about the other company's characters, resulting in a ton of CharacterDerailment, even though most of Image's side barely qualified as "characters" to begin with. The art, done in the over-the-top Image style, was disgusting to behold, and to top it all off, Deathmate may have been responsible for TheGreatComicsCrashOf1996.

----

-> ''Their love will end worlds!''

By the time the Image half came out, interest in it had dried up, but shop owners had pre-ordered massive numbers of issues when the cross-over had started, and were now left with mountains of unsellable comics. This, more than anything, contributed to the collapse of the comic industry in the '90s. Deathmate was also one of the events that lead to the fall of Valiant Comics, as it flooded the company with Image artists, and caused a fundamental shift in the way the company was run.

You see, Valiant (as a byproduct of its unique real-time continuity system) was super serious about shipping schedules and deadlines, and produced all its contributions on time. Image, on the other hand, was notorious for its ScheduleSlip, so, the Valiant half of Deathmate was produced on time, but the Image half was produced late. (Creator/RobLiefeld produced his contribution a year late, and only after the editor in chief of Valiant Comics came to his house, refused to leave until it was done and inked it in a hotel room.)

By the time the Image half came out, interest in it had dried up, but shop owners had pre-ordered massive numbers of issues when the cross-over had started, and were now left with mountains of unsellable comics. This, more than anything, contributed to the collapse of the comic industry in the 90's. Deathmate was also one of the events that lead to the fall of Valiant Comics, as it flooded the company with Image artists, and caused a fundamental shift in the way the company was run.

Not ever to be confused with ''Manga/DeathNote'', which thankfully had a set schedule, cohesion and didn't end up crippling its own medium.

You see, Valiant (as a byproduct of its unique real-time continuity system) was super serious about shipping schedules and deadlines, and produced all its contributions on time. Image on the other hand was notorious for its ScheduleSlip, so, the Valiant half of Deathmate was produced on time, but the Image half was produced late. (Creator/RobLiefeld produced his contribution a year late, and only after the editor in chief of Valiant Comics came to his house, refused to leave until it was done and inked it in a hotel room.)

So, having arranged the crossover, called "Deathmate", each company gets to work. Billed as "THE BIGGEST CROSS-OVER EVENT IN THE HISTORY OF COMICS!!" Deathmate was doomed from the start. Designated by color rather than issue numbers (namely Yellow, Blue, Black, and Red) plus two book-end issues, "Deathmate Prologue" and "Deathmate Epilogue", the four main issues were written so they (In theory) could be read in any order. In practice however they where a disjointed and [[ContinuitySnarl snarled]] mess, not at all helped by the Valiant side keeping a tight editoral leash, and the Image side letting the writers and artists do whatever they wanted.

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/DeathMate.jpg
[[caption-width:289:[-Oh, [[IncrediblyLamePun this blood's for ME]]? I could have sworn it was someone else's. Silly me-].]]

-->-- ''DeathMate'' advertisement; it proved to be right in an [[HilariousInHindsight ironic way]].