At its best, Wildstorm was a tremendously flexible setting for superheroism. The Authority is the big fish, of course, the one whose influence (especially Bryan Hitch’s widescreen action) continues to echo through cape comics today. Sean Phillips and Ed Brubaker‘s Sleeper is committedly bleak supervillainy-as-spycraft storytelling. And Dustin Nguyen and Joe Casey’s Wildcats Version 3.0 is, while fundamentally unfinished, a fascinating shot at pushing the formal boundaries of superhero comic storytelling.
With Wildstorm’s 30th anniversary looming, DC is giving the line’s characters and feel a welcome push (a New 52-era attempt to integrate the characters into the main DC universe and a revival of the line proper by disgraced author Warren Ellis both ultimately failed). Later this month, DC Black Label will launch Waller vs. Wildstorm, a miniseries that looks set to pick up the “superheroes-as-vehicle-for-studying-geopolitics-and-their-fallout-through-spy-fiction” baton from Wildstorm’s earlier incarnations and run with it. And this week, penciler Steven Segovia, colorist Elmer Santos, letterer Ferran Delgado and writer Matthew Rosenberg (who previously penned a quite-good Grifter story in Batman: Urban Legends) are taking another shot at telling a set-in-the-DC-universe story with WildC.A.T.s # 1.
In his Batman: Urban Legends Grifter story, Rosenberg revealed that the HALO Corporation and its head, the short-tempered Jacob Marlowe, were backing a secret squad of superheroes (a Covert Action Team if you will, though Halo marketing had other ideas) as part of a long-game mission. WildC.A.T.s picks up with the crew on the job, as they raid a H.I.V.E. base in search of a particular scientist.
The raid does not go well. Never mind that neither hardline ideologues nor here-for-the-paycheck faceless goons are likely to be convinced by a spur-of-the-moment story about the secret alien war that’s shaped human history, seeking the services of a scientist who’d willingly work for one of the DCU’s many sinister secret organizations is a great way to end up face to face with a rotten person.
Cole “Grifter” Cash, WildC.A.T.s # 1’s primary POV character, is professionally ruthless. And while his ego might be bigger than his skillset, he is a legitimately very skilled operator. For all that, there are lines he will not cross.
As Segovia and Rosenberg trace the fallout of the team’s raid on H.I.V.E., WildC.A.T.s‘ shape becomes clear. Marlowe has a plan, a plan he needs both the public HALO and his secret team to pull off. The trouble is that the DCU is not the classic Wildstorm universe. There is not a secret war being waged by shadowy operatives, there are numerous secret wars being waged by a gaggle of cloak-and-dagger outfits—and that’s before factoring in the vast superheroic community.
Consequently, WildC.A.T.s # 1 is quite funny. Rosenberg’s a talented comic writer. Marlowe’s exasperation and Grifter’s exasperation (while often caused by the other man) read distinctly from one another. The ensemble’s banter is snappy without falling into a rut. And, once the issue moves into its second heist, the escalation of its action is a thing of beauty. Together, Rosenberg and Segovia spike a firefight from tense to chaotic to well-and-truly-oh-god-now–what. It’s a treat to read, and amidst the absurdity, the creative team maintains a firm hand on the scale of its stakes. WildC.A.T.s # 1 is not a bleak book, but its action has a welcome sense of danger.
Segovia and Rosenberg’s character work further boosts the tension of their action scenes. While Grifter gets the most page time in this first issue, the team and their voices each get at least a solid introduction. Their chemistry is genuine, even when they’re at odds. And Segovia’s body language is fantastic, whether it’s the smarmy confidence of the evil scientist Grifter blows away, Marlowe’s fist-shaking anger, or Grifter’s own disguised-by-bravado-weariness. It’s strong work, work that makes me excited to see where WildC.A.T.s will take its cast.
Where WildC.A.T.s‘ inagural issue struggles is its big picture storytelling. Marlowe’s plan (and how the team and their missions contribute to it) is, at this stage, vague to the point of frustration. What is his long-term goal? Why is he driven to make the plays he’s making? The complete specifics don’t need to be revealed immediately, but more detail would better shape WildC.A.T.s and give it focus. Likewise, while the book’s digging into the ways a secret team of covert operatives might bounce off of more conventional superheroes is a ton of fun, it runs the risk of stripping away WildC.A.T.s‘ unique identity and reducing it to a revolving door of cameos.
With that said, WildC.A.T.s #1 is a solid start. I’m looking forward to seeing where Segovia and Rosenberg take things.
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