As far as comic book universes go, I think the Wildstorm one might be my non-DC and Marvel favorite. Gen 13 was my gateway into Wildstorm back in the day. #14 was my first issue (with Roxy going to school on the cover) and I was hooked immediately. I didn't really branch out into other Wildstorm books for a long time, but I was really impressed with how historic this new comic book universe felt even back then. Gen 13 were the kids of guys in a group called Team 7, whose members were on all kinds of other teams or hanging out in their own solo books (Grifter, Backlash, Lynch, Deathblow, etc.). I didn't really know what all was going on, but I was super intrigued. So intrigued that I bought a few other books like a Team 7 mini that came out and whatnot, but not a ton of books.
I completely dodged the initial Image onslaught of comics when the boom hit, which I'm still thankful for, but I did wind up with some random issues here and there thanks to various grab bags I picked up over the years. I also watched the Wildcats cartoon when it was on, because, at the time, I'd watch ANYTHING comic book related. So, with all that I had a basic idea of what was going on in their universe and it all seemed really cool. A big part of that has to do with the artists working on these books. Man, they looked slick and definitely appealed to me as a kid, but I was also into the "super powered kids on the run from adults" story that came along with Gen 13 as it was my first exposure to such a concept. Oh yeah, I also remember Sarah from the Real World Miami being a Wildstorm editor. On the very first episode they showed her getting kicked out of her place after a big party. If memory serves (which it probably doesn't) her roommates were J. Scott Campbell and another notable who I can't remember. Her desk in the RW house was also surrounded by comic book pictures, which totally geeked me out back when no one on TV ever talked about comic books.
Skip ahead a bunch of years, I've dropped Gen 13 from my list because of Claremont's relaunch (yeesh) and not really interested in Wildstorm anymore, but I'm hearing a lot about this book called The Authority. I eventually score an internship at Wizard where Rickey recommends I read Warren Ellis' Stormwatch which leads directly into The Authority. I did and dug it and then read Authority and got less and less impressed as it went on. So recently, I re-read all five Stormwatch trades and they're really good. Ellis does a surprisingly good job playing in a super hero universe that doesn't have as many rules as DC or Marvel. I'm looking forward to reading his Authority again soon in the next few weeks too. Ellis' Planetary is also a lot of fun, but I want the last trade dag nabbit!
Once I started working for Wizard full time I jumped back into the Wildstorm pool and was surprised to see some names that I wouldn't necessarily associate with the company like James Robinson and Alan Moore who both did stints on Wildcats. I can't remember how far I got, but I started with Wildcats #1 and read through Moore's stuff (which includes Robinson's run). Both Robinson and Moore's arcs are pretty fantastic (especially Moore's, no big surprise there). Like with Ellis, it was great to see Moore coming in and picking up elements from previous Wildcats stories and running with them. Moore did a bunch of other stories here and there that have been collected in one big trade that's definitely out there, but still a lot of fun.
I also read Ed Brubaker's Point Blank which lead into his Sleeper series with Sean Phillips. Man, this story blew me away. It could have very easily been it's own stand alone story of espionage and intrigue, but Brubaker set it squarely in the WU, with references to Alan Moore's Wildcats and plenty of other goings on. It's a great series and one I recommend to anyone who loves dark and dirty comics.
From there I jumped into more modern Wildstorm as they shook up their universe with the Wold Storm event. Even now I'm not really sure what the deal was. Things were predicated by the Will Pfeifer-written Captain Atom: Armageddon mini which placed Cap in the Wildstorm U. He blew up and so did the WU, but it reformed in similar and different ways after that. I got to talk to most of the creators for the big relaunch (this is when Grant Morrison was announced to be writing both Wildcats and Authority) which was a lot of fun, but as a fan of the existing Wildstorm U, I was left mostly confused. Unlike Crisis on Infinite Earths there wasn't a "we're completely starting over" vibe as some teams seemed to be unchanged (Stormwatch PHD which was a great book seemed to be exactly in line with previous Stormwatch stuff) while others were way different (my beloved Gen 13). There were a few stumbling blocks as Wildcats and Authority have only put out one and two issues respectively, but overall Stormwatch PHD, Deathblow and Midnighter were all pretty solid books and Gail Simone added a whole new element with her Welcome to Tranquility series.
But the changes weren't over as Wildstorm geared up for another big shake up with their trilogy of stories: Wildstorm: Armageddon, Wildstorm: Revelations and Number of the Beast which I liked for the most part though I wish Number of the Beast would have picked up more elements from Revelations. Anyway, now you've got the Wildstorm U in a kind of post-apocalyptic Mad Max-like world where everything's turned on it's ear and all these familiar heroes are fighting just to keep humanity going.
It's not an easy universe to break into with over a decade's worth of stories, but I've had a great time exploring the good and the bad of the Wildstorm U, which is a lot more intricate and detailed than you might think at first. If you're looking to get in, I'd recommend Sleeper, Moore's Wildcats, the upcoming James Robinson Wildcats trade, Warren Ellis' Stormwatch and Authority and Stormwatch PHD. I'm really curious to see where they go with this new path and I can't wait to see what they do and what new creators and characters will pop up in the future.
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