Crossgen founder Mark Alessi died on March 30, 2019 at the age of 65, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
Alessi joined the comic industry in 1998 with the launch of CrossGen Comics. Alessi, who had become a millionaiire entrepreneur in the early 1990s with the tech start-up Technical Resource Connection (TRC), joined the comic book business with similar goals. After two years of development (which included hiring many Big Two writers and artists to exclusive contracts to work in its Florida offices), CrossGen debuted in 2000 with CrossGenesis. With a tight overarching universe, Crossgen expanded quickly with ongoing titles such as Sigil, Mystic, Scion, Meridian, and The First by the end of 2000.
With a public goal of competing directly with DC and Marvel, Alessi and CrossGen was one of the first major publishers to attempt digital comics. Alongside that, the publisher continued to launch new titles, as well as branch-out into publishing creator-owned projects such as The Red Star.
In 2003, reports indicated that the company was in dire financial straits, with several freelancers and exclusive creators working as staff speaking out and, in some cases, quiting the company. In a 2016 interview on the Dollar Bin podcast, Alessi said that his start-up capital – stock in Perot Systems, which he obtained when he sold TRC to them – had dropped significantly on the stock market, affecting cash flow. On Alessi’s LinkedIn page, the Crossgen founder attributed it to delays in planned adaptations of CrossGen projects by DreamWorks.
CrossGen halted operations and filed for bankruptcy in June 2004, and in November the Walt Disney Company announced it had acquired the company for $1 million.
Following that, Alessi returned to the tech industry.