Vertigo publications generally did not take place in a shared universe. However, several of the early series which had begun as part of the main DC Universe had a "crossover" in 1993-1994: "The Children's Crusade". The event—"did not yield smashing results" or garner many positive reviews, in large part due to its "gimmicky" nature, which ran counter to Vertigo's quirky, non-mainstream appeal and customer-base. The event was defended as "no marketing ploy" by one of the event's editors, Lou Stathis, who wrote of his dislike of the often "crass manipulation" of crossover events, defending "The Children's Crusade" as having come not from marketing, but the writers' minds, and therefore being "story-driven" rather than manipulative. The crossover did not become an annual event, however—indeed, "annuals" linked to Vertigo series rarely reappeared after this event.