MidNighter #20 - WildStorm

In all reality, last issue was the last issue of this series. This issue is really nothing more than a wrap-up. It really wasn't needed, but it was nice to see some of these story-lines laid to rest. The whole book, really, came down to the discovery that it was Jenny that had initiated this whole Assassin-8 series of events. Apparently she foresaw that the Midnighter would make an attempt at a normal life, and this was her insurance, I guess in case he was successful, to draw him back in to the Authority. Also it served to remind him that even though he appears human . . he's not entirely so. So his attempted acclimation into normal human society . . even without Jenny's involvement, was doomed from the start. But really, all of that could've been added in to the last issue, and it would've been laid to rest there. But, I'm really not complaining. We did get one more issue out of this, and in this one . . we get to see what the Midnighter does best. He's like a detective, but instead of solving mysteries with intuition, problem solving skills and common sense . . he attempts to solve them with a hammer, a wrench and a saw. Sometimes, literally. So at the end of the issue he goes back to the Authority and back to home. At least he'll be there when they face the coming Armageddon. The best part of this last story-line, for me, was seeing the growth and evolving of Lee Garbett as an artist. He started out . . ok . . but ended up looking fantastic. He really came in to his own during these few issues. Also thanks to Keith Giffen for giving us a great story to leave on.

Midnighter #19 - WildStorm

This issue wraps up the Generation 8 story-line. Remember, a couple of issues ago, somebody . . or somebodies, sicked this rabid dog on the Authority. Or more specifically, the Midnighter. I guess they thought that he was the weak point in their security. He actually made it to the ship, but the rest of the team made pretty short work of him. He tried to take them out 1 at a time, but when he got to Jenny, she simply said "door", and he was back in the Midnighter's house. However, he wasn't dissuaded, because this is literally what he had been trained, and bred, for. But, as with most protagonists, they severely underestimated the Midnighters talents and resolve. They think of the Midnighter as an "anti-hero", a thug, a fighter. But what they don't realize is that he doesn't do any of that because he has to. To him, it's not his job. That's literally, who he is. It's his whole life. He doesn't think about it, because it's every cell of his being. To him, taking out an opponent is like breathing. It's as natural as sweating, or growing your hair. At the end, as he's got him on the ropes, he tells him "You forgot one thing. I live for this. It's who I am, what I do and I . . love it. You asked me if I'd thought this through. I always think it through. Consider my options. Doesn't mean I always opt for the quickest kill. Sometimes I'm in the mood to savor the process, wring every last bit of enjoyment out of it before ending it the only way it can ever end . . . just like this." But with that, his civilian identity in Harmony is pretty much kaput. And Midnighter walks off into the sunset with "gen-8" over his shoulder, and Mindy being left behind. I think there's one more issue, but that may be the end of this series. That's to bad. I felt that Keith Giffen was just hitting his stride. Also Lee Garbett was coming along as a pretty talented artist. I hope this isn't the end, but with everything else that's going on in the Wildstorm Universe, I think it may have to be . . for a while. Sad!

Midnighter #18 - WildStorm

We learn a little more about this operation this issue. Very little actually, but . . something is . . something. Right? Our 8th generation guy has beaten up the Midnighter, stolen his implant to operate the "doors", and gone to the Carrier in the Bleed. It turns out that Lucas . . the Midnighter's new alias in Harmony . . was just a means to an end. Which means that these guys had some pretty big cajones if this was their choice for infiltration. But, I guess . . he was accessible. Anyways, it seems that he's really after Jenny Quarx. As he works his way across the Carrier, he dispatches most of his obstacles pretty readily. He has a specific counter measure set up for each person. But, before he can get to Jenny, she opens up a door and sends him back to Harmony. "Door. Return to sender. Yeah, let's shut down Midnighter's door capability and while we're at it, mute his com implant. Huh. Not too embarrassing." But when he first got on the ship, and the Engineer mistook him for the real deal, he was in the room with the miniature solar system that powers the Carrier. So I'm betting that he's got some kind of booby-trap set up in there . . just in case things don't go as planned. At least, in my opinion, if he was a villain worth his salt, he would have contingency plans set up. It seems like he was nearly perfectly prepared for everything else. But now that he's back in Harmony, and face to face with Lucas . . . we'll just have to wait until next issue to see what's going to happen. I think Keith Giffen is doing a fantastic job with this story. But then, he always was a very adept scripter. I am also suitably impressed by Lee Garbett's pencils. He's not perfect . . yet. But he certainly shows potential. With the absence of a regular Authority book . . this one needs to step up to fill the void. So far . . so good.

Midnighter #17 - WildStorm

This issue, really, was just a big fight scene between Midnighter and this generation eight guy. The Midnighter picked up on his arrival to town and decided to pay him a visit. The problem is though, while the Midnighter has all the "upgrades" that help him in a battle, it seems like the other guy learns rapidly. He puts up a little bit of a fight at first, but it seems like he gets better as he goes along. That or the Midnighter's getting slower. "A modified, carrier-immune nerve toxin disseminated via perspiration. Unregulated genetic research does have it's benefits. Your reputation precedes you. A double-edged sword, that. If it means anything, you should have gone down within thirty seconds of initial contact. Impressive . . . if futile." He then cuts the implant out of MidNighters kneck, puts it in his own, then dons his costume. Mindy's watching from outside. But, he knows that. He turns to give her a snide grin, then calls up a door to the Carrier. "That can't be good." A fantastic story by Keith Giffen and Lee Garbett. Lee's art was pretty good throughout the issue, but I gotta' tell you . . . I love that cover. The symbolism . . the irony . . the art . . all fantastic. It'll probably be one of my all-time favorite covers. I also like that Keith is shaking things up a bit. I'm a big fan of change. It promotes new ideas . . and new ways of looking at things. So bring it on Mr. Giffen. Let's see what you have in store for us next. Obviously, I thought it was a fantastic issue.

MidNighter #16 - WildStorm

I think this is a fantastic title. I've always been a huge Authority fan. And I really dig this character. But, since Keith Giffen has come on board as the scripter . . I really feel like the story-lines have become a lot more interesting. With this book, we get a look at an organization that is trying to infiltrate the Authority. But they're going to great lengths, not only to get there, but to cover up their tracks along the way. I think it has something to do with Anthem, but I'm not sure. It's not fully explained, but, what I think is happening is someone is creating these simulacrums, or something, that are going around and gathering up information. When one has reached it's potential, or gathered all that it was supposed to, the next one comes along, kills it, and absorbs what the previous one had. They then become the new generation. Right now they are on generation 8. So I imagine that they've gathered quite a lot of information, or experience. But now this 8th generation . . he calls himself Henry . . is coming right after MidNighter. He comes to Harmony at the end of this issue, and starts working his way around town. Also, Mindy, his computer geek, seems to be established as a regular character in this book now. Like I said, it just seems to me that Keith is making this book, and this character a lot more interesting.

Midnighter #15 - Wildstorm

Lucas Trent . . er . the Midnighter . . finally gets to beat up on Anthem this issue. And he . . . gives them something to think about. It turns out, this Lucas Trent identity, was who the Midnighter actually was in his previous life. You know. Before Henry Bendix and Jenny turned him in to who he is today. I guess Jenny thought it was to much of an ironic twist to pass up when he asked her for a new identity. So, now that he's had his say with Anthem, he has to decide what he's going to do with that identity. Anthem is still in business, but, now they're on a short leash of the Authority's making. Apollo and Jenny came down to Anthem's headquarters to assist with the negotiations between them and Lucas. Midnighter complains because he insists he didn't need the Authority's help. Jenny explains, "They did. They reached out to us." So now we have the Midnighter with a civilian identity on the side. I guess he's going to keep it. Plus he seems to have a new side-kick, his computer nerd girl Mindy. This is just turning in to a regular Batman & Robin, isn't it? Well . . not exactly. Actually, not at all. I really like what Keith Giffen has done with this book in the short time that he's been here. I'm hoping that he stays on board and continues with his imaginatory brilliance. I think this character is in the best hands now. Let's see what the future brings.

MidNighter #14 - WildStorm

Well, the Midnighter is still in Harmony fighting it's controlling force . . . Anthem. Actually, he's in Harmony because he's trying to lead a normal life. At least on the outside. But when he got there, he found Anthem's rugged boot-heel on everyone's throat. So he decided to try to figure out what they're all about. In a mistake on their part, they keep him alive and bring him in. They're hoping, I guess, to turn him. But we all know that's not going to happen. And he uses their mistake to break out. Well . . at least out of custody. It might be a bit trickier to actually make it out of their fortress, or stronghold, or whatever you want to call it. But what I think this story is really all about is finding out who the Midnighter was, before he was the Midnighter. And Jenny did a little manipulating to help push that effort forward. Whether the Midnighter wanted to know or not. I'm thinking, this Lucas Trent, the identity he adopted before coming to Harmony, I think that's his real identity. I was wondering why some of the townsfolk seemed to be treating him like a soldier returning from the war. How could they have memories of him if he didn't really exist. And I'm thinking that Lucas' inexperience with normal human contact is the reason he didn't pick up on this when he first came to town. But now Jenny has told the little chick that Midnighter has working for him, and she's going to have to be the one to try to break the news to him slowly. That is of course if he comes out of the current predicament unscathed. We'll have to wait and see what happens there. I really like the direction that Keith Giffen has decided to take this book, and I think that Jon Landry is a good fit, artistically, for this book. I just hope it sticks around long enough to play this story angle out.

MidNighter #13 - WildStorm

This is one of those books that I feel is getting better. I liked the first story arc, but really, it was just the kind of thing I'd expect from the MidNighter. Now that Keith Giffen has taken over on the stories, we're getting some new ideas, and fresh perspectives. I think that there's a lot of room for this character to grow. And I think Keith will take us on that journey. This issue Jon Landry is on pencils, and I gotta say . . I'm kind of diggin' it. He's almost got a little J Scott Campbell style to him. Especially on his women. Anthem sends one of their response teams, Liberty One, after the MidNighter this issue. Actually, he went to their door to ask some questions, but it gave them the perfect opportunity to make it look like he attacked them. Anyways, there's a couple of girls on the team, and when Jon draws them, you'd swear they came right out of a Danger Girls comic. The MidNighter starts doing some digging this issue, and finds out that there were other towns, besides Harmony, that were basically obliterated by some post-humans. That's when Anthem swoops in, offers the town protection, and then puts them under their thumb. It seems like a classic protection scam, but on an amped up scale. And they're really good at playing the media. They have their own post-human teams. But in the media, nobody questions that. They only see that they're taking down proposed post-human threats. Which thereby legitimizes and escalates the value of the services they offer. They're building their own media hype. So to end this issue, MidNighter is taken in to Anthem custody, and in the sewers, where Mindy the tech-geek provides him with intell, a Bellweather shows up and shoots her. It seems like this op has really gone in to the crap-bin now. But that just gives him more to work with next issue.

MidNighter - Armageddon #1 - WildStorm

Basically what's going on here is, Void shows up and takes MidNighter in to the future to show him what is happening. We don't really find out how far it is in the future, but I'm guessing, at most, it's a couple of months to a year. Two things are happening actually. First there seems to be a mental breakdown of all the supers on Earth. Void has given him the task of finding out what happened, so that he can try to prevent it. It doesn't take long for him to run in to a bunch of supers. And of course they hit first and ask questions later. But he does finally talk one down and calms her enough to ask some questions. " . . . Armageddon, the survivors are calling it. The sky crackling with energy. Post-Humans fighting each other, taking out whole cities." She also talks about "norms" disappearing, and the Carrier crashing in to London. He eventually makes it on to the Carrier, and finds out that they've tried to gather up all the "norms" they could, and are trying to keep them safe on the upper levels. The levels that are actually higher than the Earth's atmosphere. But eventually post-humans that don't have to breathe make it up there, so they have to stay on board to protect them. The Carrier crashed because of something to do with the containment field around the baby-universe the powers the ship. Jenny got to it and transported it somewhere, but it still took down their ship. Before he can find out much else, Void shows back up and takes him home. I'm really not sure what's going on yet. I know that this story-line is going to cross over in to all of the WildStorm books. I'm guessing that we're not going to get to much information with each issue. I think Void is trying to put it all together, but she's going to utilize different resources to do so. But it's going to leave a bunch of heroes with a pretty grim outlook for their future. Tranquility is the next installment, and I think WetWorks after that. Hopefully, by that time, we'll have a better idea of what the overall agenda is supposed to be. I'll be sure to let you know . . . as I know. What else can I do?

Midnighter #12 - WildStorm

This MidNighter has dropped himself in to the middle of another mystery. But this time he's just as much a part of it, as what he's investigating. Recently he'd adopted a secret identity. He thought he needed someplace that he could unwind. So, he takes the identity, and moves to a little town called Harmony. There he runs in to a type of security agency called Anthem. I guess, basically, their self given purpose is to protect normal people from meta-human activities. Specifically the collateral damage that can come from such skirmishes. But, in order to keep the people safe, they have some very strict rules and policies. The selling point is that . . yes they may infringe on your rights, but wouldn't you rather give up some of your rights than your safety. Now, how is MidNighter involved in all of this? Well it appears that Anthem is instigating meta-human activity, for the sole purpose of causing panic and then outrage as some meta-human is pulled in to the fracas, and then blamed for the damage. That someone in this case happens to be the MidNighter. The problem being, it's going to keep happening unless he can get ahead of the game and figure out what they're up to, and where they're going to strike next. This is a neat new direction scripted by Keith Giffen. This issue's art is done by Rafael Sandoval. Overall the issue is ok. But it seems like they're trying to bring the character down a notch or two from his intensity when he's with the Authority. Maybe not. But that's the way I see it. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how this all plays out.

MidNighter #11 - WildStorm

Well, it looks like MidNighter has gotten himself knee deep in to another situation. Basically, he wanted to get himself a normal life. Well . . not entirely. He just wanted someplace that he could go to, to unwind. A place that he could call home. A place where he could get away from things. No? Ok, maybe I don't buy it either. But I do think he wants a place to get away from the rest of the Authority. I don't know why though. We haven't seen much of them lately. Hint! Hint! So anyways, he assumes the identity of one Lucas Trent. A real boring guy. A guy from Harmony Indiana. Population 2420. A real honest to goodness small town. Except . . . this town seems to have a secret. First of all they're really protective. When he gets to town, he has to go to the town courthouse and register with some company, or other, that protects them. Goes by the name of Anthem. Anthem Security, I guess. Anyways, he checks out clean because . . . well . . his identity was fabricated for him. So they let him stay. But he soon finds these guys around town that seem to wear a flag for a face. Last issue I thought they were just being symbolic. But . . I guess that's what they actually look like. They're called Bellwether. His new buddy, Dorsett, kind of fills him in. "He's a Bellwether. It's "Yes sir! No sir! Have a nice day sir!" . . . period." Well whoever they are, they've determined that the MidNighter is in their little hamlet. So I guess they want to put him to a test. They bring in a woman meta to force a confrontation, and then when Anthem shows up, he takes a door out of town. But the mystery is just beginning. As he's standing on the outskirts of town, he's thinking "They weren't surprised to find me here. Most definitely . . not good!" Keith Giffen is at the writing helm of this book now. And it looks like Chriscross will be doing the pencils. If nothing else, it should be an interesting ride.

Grifter / MidNighter #6 - WildStorm

This issue wraps up the mini-series. Grifter and the MidNighter actually make a pretty good team. Cole, for some reason, seems to be the only one that can remember the restart of the WildStorm universe. So when they land on mars, with no oxygen, he gets pissed when the MidNighter revives him. "I died again?" Anyways, they find the alien queen. She's frozen in a huge chunk of ice. But before they can do anything, the male comes along and start unfreezing her. Our 2 anti-heroes are caught in the backwash of the glacier and can't do much. But when they finally settle down, they have a front row seat to an alien mating match. It doesn't do much for either one of them though. MidNighter jumps in head first, literally, and does his best to take out the male. But it's the spawn of the female that's the real threat. Cole does the mind-meld thing with MidNighter while he's underwater. It's not something he likes to do, or even enjoys, but this situation warrants it. Zee shows up soon, also, to see how her boys are doing. So now they're having a 3-way mind thing. Cole gets a headache and pissed off. "I gotta end this now. Everyone out of the water . . . it's a little something I've been holding back. Semtex, spent Plutonium . . . and a little Kherubim magic. Quick, nasty and effective." The story pretty much ends up the way you expect it to. But, the real magic of this story was the interaction between Grifter and MidNighter. It was fantastic. These 2 really are opposite sides of the same coin. I'd like to see them team-up again some time.

MidNighter #10 - WildStorm

Well it looks like Keith Giffen is coming on board, as of this issue, as the scripter. That's cool. He comes up with some pretty neat ideas. It'll be interesting to see what he does with this character. This issue, the MidNighter has decided that he needs to come up with a secret identity. Who he was, before he was changed, is completely lost. So he needs to start completely from scratch. He finds this computer geek to do it for him. Somebody he has no connection with, and nobody knows. And, since he's a pedophile, when he's done . . . he can kill him. His new name is Lucas Trent, and he lives in Harmony Indiana. Now what MidNighter doesn't know, is that there's something screwy in the state of Harmony. I don't know what the whole extent of it is yet, but they seem to have a Stepford Wives thing going on here. Not exactly like that. But everyone seems to be living in fear. They have a nice quiet town, and it appears they'll do whatever they have to to keep it that way. Well, MidNighter, I mean Trent, opens a door and steps out right outside the city limits. He wants to try to establish his new life. But I think he's going to be in for a surprise when he gets in to town. Like I said, Keith imbues his writing with neat concepts and ideas. And it looks like he's starting out with some right out of the gate. It should prove to be interesting.

Grifter / MidNighter #5 - WildStorm

Ok, this is what I think is going on. The story is a bit confusing. And what information we do get, is coming from Zee. So I think she's trying to keep it confusing on purpose. These aliens came to earth millions of years ago. There was no life or atmosphere at the time, so they went in to hibernation. Now for some reason, they're waking up out of that hibernation. But, what we've seen so far, are the males. There's a Queen someplace, but the males haven't been able to find it so far. So Zee takes our dynamic duo from Paris to Las Vegas, where she thinks a Queen is holed up. But, as Grifter points out, if she can teleport them around the world, how come she could get closer to the destination than a four hour car ride? So anyways, they find the hole, only to find out that it's another male down there. And one that's been long dead. But, someone was there before them, because they drilled holes in the ground to get down to the nest. And apparently those people are still around because while our trio is underground, they kill the guy whom they got a ride from, topside. They get in to a big gunfight, of course, and during the course of which one of them implies that Zee is not whom or what she claims to be. She immediately jumps through another port, with our guys in hot pursuit, but our guys end up alone on Mars. MidNighters nanites kick in to keep him alive. But Grifter dies immediately. So the issue ends with MidNighter carrying Grifter across the barren Mars desert. Well hopefully this story all comes together next issue, the last. Because right now, I'm a bit confused. Don't get me wrong, I think Chuck Dixon crafts a good story. I just think he's keeping us confused on purpose right now. It'll all sort out next issue. And I really love Ryan Benjamin's interiors.

MidNighter #9 - WildStorm

First of all a great story by Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti. These two have turned in to a really nice writing team. I guess Jimmy had to find a new partner since Joe Quesada is so involved with all things Marvel-ous right now. But they really have been doing a great job. All over the DC Universe. We finally get some interior artwork by Brian Stelfreeze this issue. Brian does a lot of cover work. A lot! But occasionally we get graced by a book with his interiors. This just happens to be one of them. Thanks Brian! Anyways, this story, MidNighter is recruited for what he does best . . . cleaning up a perfectly mucked up situation. He's been recruited by a Jennifer Norton. He's been told that there's a virus, Hercules, that has broken out on a research station in space. So he supposed to go look for survivors, allow the virus to enter his system so he can bring it back with him, and stop the space station from crashing to earth. If that happens, the virus would be let loose, and the population would be destroyed in less that 3 days. Well . . . this is the MidNighter we're dealing with. He doesn't trust anybody, and nobody trusts him. So the whole story he's been fed is a lie. Well . . . most of it. There is a virus. And the surviving scientist was supposed to inject him with it so that his nanite immune system would develop an antidote. Once that was done, it could be used as a WMD. But the scientist has experienced a dose of remorse. Even though she developed it, she can't in good conscious, release it on the Earth. And even though she has repented, MidNighter can't forgive her for her original involvement. So he injects her with it, so she can feel the torture, before he kills her. He also finds out that it can only be transmitted through injection . . or maybe sex. It's not airborne. So his final part of the mission is to bring the station back to Earth, and down on Agent Norton's head. Literally. It's the best way he can think of to get some justice for the way he's been used. Since we don't have a regular Authority title right now, it's nice to see these characters someplace. Apollo pops up this issue, as we would expect with this being his lover. And some of the other's have shown up in other issues. I just really wish we could somehow get the regular title back on track. I was really getting excited when I saw that Gene Ha was going to be the illustrator. But now that we haven't seen 2 issues in the last 9 months, my hopes are diminishing rapidly.

Grifter / Midnighter #4 - Wildstorm

Finally! Finally, four issues in to it, and we finally learn what is going on. Well . . . not all of it. But, most of it. It seems our alien attackers are animals that were taken from their own ecosystem, it sounds like thousands of years ago, and bred and trained to be weapons. Due to their size and subterfuge, they were almost unstoppable. But, when they took the aliens, they took all males. So eventually, they would all die off. When they went back to the planet to get more, they found that the planet had disappeared. Well . . . not so much disappeared as crumbled in to pieces. This was in our galaxy . . . or close to it. Some of those pieces, I guess, drifted to our planet. Apparently a female, or her eggs, were on one of them. So now this alien race is trying to find it, so that it can resume it's rampage across the universe. This woman, Zee, who is helping them, is somehow connected to it. When one of the aliens shows up to take out the Grifter, he calls her a traitor. So . . . either she's one of them, or she has something to do with them. Either way I think she's bad news for the boys. Grifter and MidNighter end up saving each other's life this issue, plus they have a mutual enemy . . . so now they're friends. This should be interesting.

Midnighter #8 - Wildstorm

I really like this book. First of all the MidNighter is just such an awesome character. Yes I know he's a rip-off, sort of, of the Batman. But he's different. First of all . . . he's more ruthless. Not that the Batman isn't ruthless . . but this guy brags about it. Then there's the relationship with him and Apollo. Imagine Batman and Superman . . . dating. It would be pretty much the same thing. Then of course there's the fact that the MidNighters talents come largely from his "enhancements". Which makes him a bit more reckless, because he knows that coming out of most situations, he'll be able to be "fixed". Now, on top of that, Christos Gage is just doing a fabulous job with these stories. I really feel that he has a handle on the character, and each issue he seems to be exploring a facet of MidNighter's personality. But, he doesn't loose the essence of the character in the process. We still see the same sadistic, nihilistic, overbearing chap. His personality is just starting to expand a bit. This issue Jean Paul Leon fills in on pencils. At first I really didn't like his take on the character. But I think he got more in to it by the end of the book. I don't think he's a good replacement artist on this book. His artwork is fantastic. I just don't think it's right for this one. Anyways, since we seem to be having a problem getting a regular Authority book on the stands, at least we get to see the MidNighter, and sometimes some of the other team members, in this one. Which, for now, I guess we'll have to be happy with. Until they can figure out what's going on with the regular book.

Grifter / Midnighter #3 - Wildstorm

This is a pretty cool series. First of all we have two fantastic characters, hence the name . . . Grifter / MidNighter. Then we have Chuck Dixon doing the story. So you just know it's going to be action packed. Well . . . it has to be with these two guys in the lead. And then Ryan Benjamin is doing the pencils. And they are fantastic. He obviously has a firm grasp on this type of book and action. The way his panels flow are incredible. And look at that cover. It's a thing of beauty. I'm still a little confused about what it is exactly that these guys are being brought together to fight. Before the MidNighter could see his nemesis, Grifter was getting visions and dreams of them. Either that or somehow he was attuning to their particular dimensional shift. Not sure how he was doing it, but . . . until other's could see them, he thought he was going crazy. Also it appears that there is a woman, isn't there always, who is purposely trying to bring these two together. Almost as if they are her chosen knights. They just don't know it yet. But I think they're starting to get the gist. She also has to play the referee because these two . . . . will never play nice. All she says at the end is that they have a planet to save. Their own? Someone else's? Hers? We just don't know yet. Hell it's taken us 3 issues just to get these 2 close enough to be able to carry on a conversation without trying to blow each other's head off. I can't wait to see how they can save a world, without killing each other. Should be a blast.

Midnighter #7 - Wildstorm

This book had me confused at first. Basically the MidNighter is trying to take out this eco-terrorist group that claims it's trying to save the world by turning all the crude on the planet in to water. Well . . . all except the stash that they have of course. Which they'll then profit from. Isn't that the way it always is? Anyways, all through the story, he keeps talking about how he already knows the outcome before he starts a fight. "See, I'm one of those jerks who always skips ahead to the last page of a book before he reads it. I find a closing scene I love, then I work my way back to the beginning to figure out exactly how it all went down. It's the same way my crazy brain processes every possible outcome for a battle before the first punch is even thrown." I mean we all know that, I just wasn't sure why he kept reemphasizing it. And the storyline was a bit confusing. Kind of jumbled and out of sequence. I guess. So then I get all the way to the last page and it dawns on me, if I read this book from back to front, it'll actually make sense. And it does. So my guess is that the whole point of this exercise was to show us how the MidNighter sees a story. And actually, it was very effective. A very good story by Brian K Vaughan. You know, from Ex-Machina fame. And another book drawn by Darick Robertson this month. This guy must be trying to get some serious overtime. Anyways, loved the book. But I gotta ask, when will we see more Authority or WildCats books. WildCats has only had 1 issue come out. And the Authority has only had 2. What's the deal? If we could get them, we'd buy them. Kind of like the Field of Dreams thing. Just wanted to let you know that we're patiently waiting. Please?

Grifter / Midnighter #2 - Wildstorm

Our story starts to heat up a little bit this issue. It seems as if Grifter and the MidNighter, although they fight on the same side, the side of the angels, have been co-opted by their organizations, to be on opposite sides of the current op. Grifter is supposed to kill this prince, and MidNighter is supposed to protect him. Since both sides probably knew who was going to be working for the other, you have to think that they were hoping that the two would eliminate each other. Well . . . that's not how it worked out. Mainly because the prince turned out to be some kind of shape-shifter. And somehow this all plays in to the vision that the MidNighter has been having. It turns out that this shape-shifter is holding the real prince captive, and took his place as an indulgence of sorts. I really think he did it to get Grifter and the MidNighter on board for whatever his real purpose is. I say he, but we don't really know if the shape-shifter is a he or a she. But anyways, Grifter is ready to take off and go after the real prince, the mission he was hired for, but before he can do so the 3 of them are attacked by some kind of aliens. I really like the way Chuck Dixon just gives us bits and pieces of information as the story unfolds. I don't like to be spoon fed stuff. And Chuck definitely doesn't do that. He'll start to wrap it up for us in issue 5 or 6, but in the meantime, we kind of have to figure it out for ourselves, and come up with our own assumptions. Just the way I like it. I also enjoyed Ryan Benjamin's pencils on this issue. He does the cover also, which is incredible. Overall a nice book, and it should play out to be quite a yarn by the time all is said and done.