Advertise on Eye on Comics‘Wild’ Grant MorriStorm
Posted by Don MacPherson on October 20th, 2006
This week marked the release of not one but two new ongoing titles by noted comics writer Grant (Seven Soldiers, 52) Morrison. And it marked the release of not one but two new titles from DC’s Wildstorm Productions. And not one but two new titles in the Wildstorm “WorldStorm” line. Yeah, I’m talking about the same two comic books: The Authority #1 and Wildcats #1.
The Authority v.4 #1
“Utopian”
Writer: Grant Morrison
Artist: Gene Ha
Colors: Art Lyon
Letters: Comicraft
Cover artists: Gene Ha/Arthur Adams
Editor: Scott Dunbier
Price: $2.99 US/$4 CAN
My previous exposures to Wildstorm’s new “WorldStorm” revival event haven’t been all that satisfying, but then again, this was a title written by Grant Morrison. Disappointment couldn’t possibly be in the cards… could it? To my relief and entertainment, this Authority relaunch holds a lot of promise and a level of maturity and tension that’s in keeping with the talents of a writer such as Morrison.
This inaugural issue reads like an issue of Warren Ellis’s Planetary or Global Frequency, and if you’ve read either of those titles, you’d know that’s high praise. Still, this issue reads rather quickly. Information is sparse, and I can’t help but wonder if these 22 pages couldn’t have been condensed to eight, making room for more plot and more characters.
Gene Ha’s photorealistic artwork strives to achieve a cinematic tone, and it achieves it to a certain extent. Again, it reminds me of what we see in Planetary, courtesy of series artist John Cassaday. The scenes between super-secret spy guy Ken and his wife are immersed in dark grey and blue tones, and it runs contrary to the realistic, grounded tone for which I believe the creators are aiming in those sequences. 7/10
Wildcats v.4 #1
“A Halo ‘Round the World”
Writer: Grant Morrison
Pencils: Jim Lee
Inks: Scott Williams
Colors: Alex Sinclair
Letters: Comicraft
Cover artists: Lee & Williams/Todd McFarlane
Editor: Scott Dunbier
Price: $2.99 US/$4 CAN
Morrison takes a completely different tack with this relaunch. Whereas his take on The Authority boasts decompressed storytelling, the plotting is much denser in this relaunch. On the other hand, while the general effort in the Authority relaunch seems to be to do something new with the characters, Morrison’s Wildcats script is clearly trying to take the title characters back to basics. Still, he’s careful not to employ forced, regressive characterization to accomplish. These characters have changed, but more importantly, Morrison emphasizes that the world in which they live has changed… radically. What’s intriguing about this book are the economic, technological and social progress and changes that have taken root.
It’s a shame that a full page is dedicated to hot robot-on-stripper sex that contributes nothing to the plot. Furthermore, the Grifter subplot at the beginning and end of the book is rather cliched, playing out exactly as the reader expects (and I was hoping Morrison would toss such genre formulae out the window). I did find it interesting that some of the antagonists for this series stem from Warren Ellis’s original run on the first volume of The Authority. I hope there’s an effort to make some of the bad guys’ machinations against the heroes political in nature rather than the result of raw force and action.
Lee’s art is pretty much what one would expect it to be, but then again, this is a relaunch of his original Image Comics super-hero title of the early 1990s. Lee is at his most conventional here, and that ought to please his fans. His depiction of some of the sci-fi elements — notably Spartan’s corporate satellite headquarters — is sharp, but overall, I found the art to be rather standard fare. The colors for the infrared sex scene aren’t consistent at all, and that left me wondering why anyone bothered with the alternative scheme in the first place. 6/10
October 20th, 2006 at 1:40 am
Actually, Kaizen Gamorra was an antagonist in The Authority, but he was created in Wildcats. So it’s not so odd for him to be a Wildcats villain… he was a Wildcats villain first. Ellis didn’t create Gamorra for The Authority, he just made good use of an already-existent villain.
I also was put off by the weird coloring on the sex scene, wondering if it was done so that they didn’t have to slap a mature readers label on the book. But then a friend suggested there might be more to it, and that this might be a visual cue that Spartan and Voodoo are being watched, and that there might be more to this unusual color choice. I certainly hope that’s the case.
October 20th, 2006 at 1:50 am
I picked up on the notion that they might be under surveillance as well, but the coloring remains inconsistent. I think we’re agreed it’s meant to be some kind of infrared perception, yes?
October 20th, 2006 at 5:22 am
hmmmm……wildcats or the authority? decisions decisions decisions……somebody help me…..PLEASE!!! and please dont say BOTH! Thanks!
October 20th, 2006 at 8:23 am
If you have to pick only one, The Authority.
October 20th, 2006 at 12:31 pm
Whereas I’d say pick Wildcats. But I think my Comic Pants compadres Nick Budd and David Martindale side with Don, so I may be in the minority on this one.
October 20th, 2006 at 12:32 pm
Yeah, I think it’s an attempt at showing infrared perception. But I’m definitely agreeing that it doesn’t work, and just comes off looking weird and essentially wasting the page.
October 20th, 2006 at 1:39 pm
I thought Morrison flipped the script brilliantly in The Authority. Take the fascist heroes and bring them low, center the story on a mundane problem that can’t be solved by killing massive amounts of people.
The problem with The Authority was that it was an anti-fascist tract written by a guy who, whether he noticed it or not (I tend to lead toward “or not”), was an Manichean, idelogical fascist himself. Then it was just a parody of comics written by a guy who finds way too much amusement in the superhero genre. And then… Well, did anyone read the thing during R. Morrison and Brubaker’s runs.
G. Morrison has gone around the bend with it, and should be commended for it.
WildCats, on the other hand…
October 21st, 2006 at 10:04 am
after hours and hours of decision making,i just bought wildcats instead, it was kinda…. eh. nice art but…. eh. now im thinking abot buying the authority……oh well, i guess i should have bought both instead.
October 21st, 2006 at 12:15 pm
PilapZ… told you so.
October 21st, 2006 at 11:10 pm
I pref’d Wildcats to Authority. I like Authority fine, but it was way too decompressed for my taste. Wildcats hit me in the same fun, over the top way that Godland does.
My take on the sex scene with Spartan and Voodoo was more along the lines of some kind of virtual/psychedelic thing with Halo technology. Not sure what use an android, especially one in an “adult super hero” comic, would have for physical sex.
October 21st, 2006 at 11:52 pm
Marc, we’re agreed about The Authority unnecessary decompression, and Wildcats does have a certain energy to it.
As for your assumptions about the sex scene, I think you’re making quite a leap. Spartan certainly seems… flirtatious with Voodoo from the start. To state that this fiction’s version of an android would have no need or desire for sex would require some cue in the script or art, I’d say.
October 22nd, 2006 at 1:31 am
I enjoyed Wildcats #1. Morrison wasn’t as trippy as he could have been, but it was still a decent read. And Lee’s art looked a bit rushed. But this comic was still lightyears ahead of the bland new issues of Wetworks and Gen 13, so I still have some faith in Wildstorm.
October 22nd, 2006 at 5:44 pm
Man, everyone liked WildCats but me! I’ve become Phill Collins!
October 22nd, 2006 at 6:48 pm
Dan, I would categorize my reaction to Wildcats as middling. You’re not completely alone.
(cue the weepy music) …
October 22nd, 2006 at 10:56 pm
i should have listened to you Don, i really should have listened. (sigh) WILDCATS for me is just……..eh.
October 23rd, 2006 at 4:01 am
With that scene between Spartan and Pris, you know the S E X scene, well it just didn’t fit with current characterisation. Yes, I know this is a reboot, but perhaps I’m a bit more cycnical. Perhaps, Spartan/Jack is just using Pris to get her back on the team, which would be more in line with Joe Casey’s run.
I did hate the snivelling kid who was with Cash. It was cliched, and would have been more effective if those panels were removed and just showing Cash drinking himself into oblivion, trying to convince himself that it was ok.
October 23rd, 2006 at 4:03 am
At the weekend, I reread Joe Casey’s run, and then read Grant’s issue. Guess which I preferred?
October 23rd, 2006 at 12:15 pm
I began wistfully thinking of Casey, which is ironic since Casey’s career is built on emulating at different turns Morrison, Howard Chaykin, and Mike Baron.
October 23rd, 2006 at 4:08 pm
Hmm, maybe I need to read Casey’s run on Wildcats. Something tells me DC/Wildstorm hasn’t collected it, though.
October 23rd, 2006 at 4:15 pm
I think Casey’s run was collected – everything except the last arc (I think).
Don – dumb website compliment digression. Thanks for having links at the top AND bottom that take you to the next and previous entry. Many sites don’t have those links AT ALL (I am looking at you Comic Pants!!).
And I heart wordpress.
back on topic – I opted to get neither book! Authority never tickled my fancy – and I only liked Wildcats during Casey’s large depature from super-heroics.
October 23rd, 2006 at 4:22 pm
Kevhines wrote:
Don – dumb website compliment digression. Thanks for having links at the top AND bottom that take you to the next and previous entry. Many sites don’t have those links AT ALL (I am looking at you Comic Pants!!).
The choice wasn’t an intentional one on my part. Just sort of happened when I installed a particular WordPress theme. But thanks for the kind words!
October 23rd, 2006 at 9:38 pm
Only the first twelve issues of Wildcats Version 3.0 were collected.