"Beyond The Mistgates" #1 published in April of 1994. It was at least in part a response to their competitors' efforts to bring in older readers with more mature content and sophisticated storytelling. The intent was to focus on Nightmist and the various extradimensional entities and characters that had showed up in her titles over the years.
The title was published as a bimonthly 48-page prestige format book with minimal advertising, a 24-page Nightmist story and then two shorter back-up stories. The problem was that Nightmist was already featured heavily in Darkwatch and Tome of the Bizarre, and keeping the stories in continuity while connecting them as a complex narrative proved to be too much. By issue 9, Nightmist was relegated to the back-up stories, with the main story being taken up by a rotating set of plots, some derived from the backup tiles. There were four main stories:
1. The Vagabond - In each story, some villainous but generally mundane character would get their supernatural comeuppance, with the strong implication that it was caused by, or put into motion by a mysterious character calling itself the Vagabond. The stories often had a close connection to some of the Golden Age horror tales, but with new twists and art that, while still distinctly pulpy, was overall cleaner and more precise.
2. The Olde Curiosity Shoppe - Set in Rook City, the Shoppe and its employees handled mystical artifacts that brought great power, but at great price. The characters were nicely drawn and the plots well-handled, but in the end the only gimmick was a "gadget of the week" that would not have been out of place in a Silver Age title and fan reaction was lackluster.
3. Jackdaw's Fury - Purportedly the tale of a British-born Native American taking supernatural vengeance on the "white man," the story was praised and hated in equal measure by people who found the title to either be a more sophisticated take on the extreme violence in the mainline of Sentinels Comics, or a pretentious and mawkish take on the same.
4. Purgatory - Part crime drama, part fairy tale, part teenage angst, Purgatory told the story of a trio of disparate characters and unlikely allies teaming up against a variety of supernatural forces in a town in the suburbs of Philadelphia.
The Olde Curiosity Shoppe lasted three issues for being discontinued, and The Vagabond was spun off into its own title, the first under the Mistgate imprint. The writer of Jackdaw's Fury quit the title and moved over to the esteemed competition in a snit that I don't think we have the space to elucidate completely. Purgatory effectively took over the title by issue 18 in 1997, and the comic was retitled for issue 21, when the number returned to 1 as well. There were still back-up stories, but those faded as well, and by issue 25 the title was now a monthly comic of standard length, and ran that way for 22 more issues before cancellation.
The writing team, Sheila and Greg Arp, were incensed by the cancellation, claiming that editorial had told them they would be able to see their planned fifty issue through to the end. Fans, most of whom admitted that the quality of the art and writing faded as the series wore on, were likewise annoyed, and it wouldn't be until 2011 that the Arps would make a deal with Sentinel Comics to publish a four-issue limited series that wrapped up the plot.
The Vagabond showed up briefly in the OblivAeon event in a massive attack against Borr the Unstable and appeared to have been killed in that fight, although that would hardly be the first time they'd been "killed."
The Jackdaw ran through 2005, to diminishing returns, and the character continues to show up in various books, usually as a hyperviolent x-factor that complicates a hero's fight against a foe, including a brief stint when Jackdaw was trained as a ninja assassin by The Operative, a time that even fans of the characters often pretend never happen.
None of the cast of Purgatory ever found real mainstream success, although Reckoning has teamed up with Fanatic from time to time and shown up in some supernatural comics, and it's at least implied that one of the TAs at Pauline Parson's university is Tantrum, grown up and with considerable control over her powers. A character named Tantrum also appeared as a recurring villain in a Visionary limited series, but given the difference in costume, personality and power set, it's generally held that this is a different character entirely.
Kaj is currently in continuity flux - in the events of OblivAeon, she's one of many nature spirits that were depicted as destroyed by the actions of his Scions, however she showed up again in the final fight. Whether this was an otherdimensional version of the character, or whether she'd once again resurrected herself is unclear at this time. With the recent announcement of an Akash'Thriya solo series, fans of the character are hopeful that she'll emerge in a mainstream title soon.
