Crossed Swords came from my obsession with Dungeons & Dragons. I had played the game from the mid 1970's and found it to be one of the best games ever made. But there really was no comic books that captured the feel of Dungeons & Dragons. There was Conan, but that was one man versus monsters, instead of a group. I felt there was a market for it and I really wanted to do it.
But it was not enough to just do a Dungeons & Dragons type comic book. I felt to really make it stand out, there should be a dungeon included that the readers could then play to really get a feel for the story. I also felt that was a unique enough gimmick to get people to try the book. Well, I must have been on to something as the sales for the first issue were very good. It exceeded 10,000 copies and the preorders for issues #2 and #3 actually went up. The numbers for #2 went up by over 500 copies and #3 went up by another 500+ copies. It was the only book that had the orders going up each issue.
But despite the interest in the comic book, there was only one issue. With Glenwood and Sunrise both going under, that would have cut the orders in half. And since they both owed us for issue #1 as well as Unicorn Kings #1 and Colt #3 and #4, there was not enough money to make any more issues.
Out of all the comics I published, this is the one that I am most proud of. I really felt that Andrew's artwork was at its best and the story was quite good. While the dungeon wasn't great, it was pretty good. And it was the one comic that received the most fan mail. Even years after it was published, I would receive letters asking for another issue.
Later on, other companies picked up the idea of adding a game with a comic book. I think it was a good idea and wish I could have completed the dungeon. Maybe I will finish it on this website. I do plan on finishing the story, even if only in prose form.