Last year, WildStorm did something bold: the heroes full-on lost, the world was destroyed, the population decimated, and every book set in that universe had to drastically change. The pro-active teams and heroes of this slightly more “extreme” world suddenly had to fall back and play the protection game. Some of them were killed, and worse, some were simply taken out of commission (How can you be a King of Cities if there are no Cities left?).
There were a couple of stumbles and missteps with the relaunches of the core books, but now that things are running smoothly, the folks at WildStorm have created a story that runs seamlessly between Gen 13, Stormwatch: PHD, Authority, and Wildcats.
That’s not to say the story is constantly moving back and forth between every issue of every book. The fine line between a cohesive universe and annoyingly disjointed stories has been walked nearly perfectly here. You can read any one of the four books and have a full story. You’ll be lucky, as well, because DnA, Chris Gage, Edgington, Beatty, and Utley are telling some very cool post-apocalyptic stories individually. The way they weave together is sometimes subtle, like a single location or character being mentioned in two or more books, and sometimes elaborate, with entire scenes replaying across more than one book. This is done sparingly, so it doesn’t induce any rip-off feelings, just a sense of cool.
The world hasn’t magically snapped back into place, the internal conflicts amongst each team are much more dire (if they can’t trust/rely on each other, they’re screwed), and it’s making for a truly new world, new dynamics, and new stories.
The other nice way they’re tying the stories together is through four part backups that run in each of the four books. Now for this, yes, you need to get all four for the complete story, but its not essential stuff. It does, however, further grow the universe and the other characters that live in it, and set up stories for later. A nice bonus to include, and while they’re at varying levels of excitement, they still make the whole post-apocalyptic world feel much larger and more devastating.
In an industry where continuity between characters (or even between a single character and himself) can get quite confusing, what WildStorm has done here isn’t just a successful experiment or a breath of fresh air, it’s a truly cool project that excites this Non-Jaded Comic Fan. Stories that stand-alone, issues that provide large looks at the characters involved while also adding to a larger tapestry, and the strongest inter-book continuity out there makes for some great reading.
March 10th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
Thanks for the write-up. WildStorm has always featured more quality per volume than either Marvel or DC’s main lines and reading this makes me want to jump back in. Others should feel the same way, considering that WildStorm’s apparent strengths are a welcome antidote to DC and Marvel’s biggest problems.
More progressive comics that fully realize the change their events bring about instead of a constant resetting in order to maintain status quo… character interaction that means something rather than arbitrary arguments… a fluid, cohesive narrative that marries a core group of titles instead of a jumbled, poorly communicated mega-story that’s designed to destroy your wallet? These are the things we’ve all been claiming we want, right? They are for me, anyway.
March 10th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
Yeah, I’m only reading the Authority right now, but it’s been really good. I wish more people would give the WSU another look.
March 10th, 2009 at 2:09 pm
Thanks for the positive write-up about Wildstorm. I’ve said it many times, but it bears repeating. It has been an uphill battle for us fans to promote WS since the 2006 “soft reboot” tanked and left many fans jaded.
But with the new World’s End storyline they not only promised us major change, but they delivered AND the issues have been on time without fail for about a year and half now. Hopefully when the trades start coming out this summer, more people will give this new direction for WS a try.
March 10th, 2009 at 3:20 pm
Great write up on the current WSU. I loved the fact that they gave us an event that actually changed things and we see the characters deal with the aftermath. I wish more people gave it a chance instead of writing it off as another “reboot” or punishing the Worlds End storyline for the sins of Grant Morrison’s Authority & Wildcats mess.
March 10th, 2009 at 9:31 pm
Too bad seeing The Authority, a series which used to carry weight, die out like this…
March 11th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
Nice to see the WSU’s new lease of life getting some attention. It’s been an uphill struggle for the imprint since the relaunch problems a couple of years ago, but they’ve learned from those mistakes in spades. They’re delivering something unique in the industry and taking a creative risk at a highly risk-averse time; surely this ought to be applauded?
Re the last post… the Authority is 8 issues into a well-received new run, every one out on time, with a single creative team, several more solicits in the bag and clear indications in conference talks and interviews that it’s not going anywhere any time soon. That wouldn’t be my first definition of dying out.
March 11th, 2009 at 10:41 pm
Wildstorm definitely has some good talent on these books–Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, and Christos Gage my favorite among them. These are the books I look forward to the most every month. And, although I don’t know what it is exactly about them, the back-up stories just make reading each book “fun” for me. Maybe it’s the surprise of not knowing exactly what kind of story is waiting for me. I dunno. But, I really like these books.