''Meridian'' was a

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. ...

series published by CrossGen Comics. It was written by Barbara Kesel, and penciled by a number of artists including Joshua Middleton and

Steve McNiven Steven McNiven is a Canadian comic book artist. He first gained prominence on CrossGen's ''Meridian'', before moving onto books such as ''Ultimate Secret'', '' Marvel Knights 4'', '' New Avengers'' and ''Civil War''. Early life Steven McNiven is ...

. ''Meridian'' ran for 44 issues, from July of

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

to April of

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

Storyline details

Meridian, the series' namesake, is one of many island city-states upon the world of Demetria. At some point in the world's history, a great natural cataclysm threw massive chunks of earth into the sky, creating the current system of floating islands. The islands, as well as the airships crucial to trade and transport, defy gravity due to the mysterious properties of a certain 'ore' which is not named. Each island is headed by a Minister, who has more or less monarchic power over their respective island, and while many communities still survive on the surface, contact and trade between the surface and the islands is rare. The main character of the series is Sephie, the daughter of

Turos ''Meridian'' was a comic book series published by CrossGen Comics. It was written by Barbara Kesel, and penciled by a number of artists including Joshua Middleton and Steve McNiven. ''Meridian'' ran for 44 issues, from July of 2000 to April of 20 ...

, the Minister of Meridian. Her childhood friend Jad Takarty is in love with her. Her father dies at the beginning of the series, and Sephie becomes Minister of Meridian, acquiring at the same time a mysterious

Sigil A sigil () is a type of symbol used in magic. The term has usually referred to a pictorial signature of a deity or spirit. In modern usage, especially in the context of chaos magic, sigil refers to a symbolic representation of the practitio ...

, a mark upon her forehead, which grants her an array of powers. Gradually, she learns to use it to allow her to fly, to heal others, to repair things, and in a handful of other ways. However, her Uncle Ilahn, Minister of Cadador, another of the floating island city-states, has a Sigil as well, which allows him to destroy things and teleport. He attempts to use his powers, and his significant political influence, to seize Meridian from Sephie's control, and to create an economic and industrial empire, demanding tribute from other islands, if not conquering them outright. Sephie sets out to stop him. After learning more about her powers and her family's past, acquiring equipment and support, and meeting new friends and allies, she sets about perpetrating piracy upon her uncle's trade routes and fights him directly on a number of occasions. As with most of the core CrossGen titles, ''Meridian'' crosses over into the other titles to some extent, and into the underlying 'uberplot' that connects all the core titles together. While not fully central to the conflict between Sephie and her uncle Ilahn, there are appearances by members of The First who are the Gods of the CrossGen universe, as well as by Samandahl Rey, the main hero of the title ''

'', and others. In the end, Sephie and Ilahn join the heroes (and villains) of the other core titles to fight an enemy called "the Negation" in a limited series called ''

Negation War ''Negation War'' was a comic book series published by CrossGen Comics, and serving as a culmination of the metaplots of nearly all of CrossGen's other titles. It was cancelled after only two issues, in spring 2004, before the company declared ban ...

''. ''Negation War'' was left unfinished when CrossGen filed for bankruptcy in the middle of 2004. The background of the series is expanded upon in '' CrossGen Chronicles'' #3, which concerns the early life of Turos and Ilahn.

Collections

Four trade paperbacks compiling the story arcs of ''Meridian'' were released before the bankruptcy of

Crossgen Cross Generation Entertainment or CrossGen was an American comic book publisher and entertainment company that operated from 1998 to 2004. The company's assets were acquired by The Walt Disney Company in 2004, and designated to Disney Publishing ...

: *''Meridian Volume 1: Flying Solo'' - Collected issues #1-7 *''Meridian Volume 2: Going to Ground'' - Collected issues #8-14 *''Meridian Volume 3: Taking the Skies'' - Collected issues #15-20 *''Meridian Volume 4: Coming Home'' - Collected issues #21-26 The next three collections were solicited, but never published: *''Meridian Volume 5: Minister of Cadador'' - Issues #27-32 *''Meridian Volume 6: Changing Course'' - Issues #33-38 *''Meridian Volume 7: The Mystery of Sheristan'' There was also a small 5.5in x 8in "Traveller" edition of Volume 1 released. {{Marvel-comics-stub 2000 comics debuts CrossGen titles Fantasy comics