WildCATS #25 - WildStorm

The WildCATS, or . . I guess I should say . . the team as it exists right now, has a lot of stuff going on. On many different fronts. The Midnighter is in Zanzibar trying to stop Zealot from creating a new Coda army. Actually, he's not so much against that as he is the way she's doing it. She doing it with 'birthing camps'. She inseminates volunteers, then speeds up their pregnancies . . and also the growth of their babies, creating her army at an alarming speed. But also at the cost of many innocent women's lives. The pretty evenly matched so . . their fight is pretty much a stalemate. At which time Maul gets involved. In order not to be killed he has to shrink down to microscopic size. So right now . . his fate is in question. Meanwhile, in Salem Massachusetts, Jackson and Maxine have come into contact with another entity . . Aeon. Basically, he's like a watcher of worlds. But the reason for his involvement here is that he's noticed how much the mystical energies of Earth have gotten out of whack. Which is why Maxine and Jackson are out looking for the new Doctor . . the Earth Shaman. They take care of a problem in Salem and then head off to Egypt. But right now . . nobody really trusts this guy. Or, I guess I should say, as powerful as he is . . nobody trust his motivations, or goals. Everything they're getting from him is just to vague right now. The WildCATS also have an incident at a power-plant they're trying to bring back on line in Zambia. And Grunge has figured out the door technology. So now he can effectively spy on John Lynch and Team-7. But the human factor in this book came in when Midnighter and Zealot were fighting. Near the end, out of frustration, she throws Jenny in his face. One one hand it pissed him off enough that he fought Zealot to a stand-still. But it also brings up feelings and emotions that he's been trying to surpress. When he returns to SkyWatch, he's sullen and sad. Even for him. I thought it was a decent book by Adam Beechen and Tim Seeley. But again, I think they're just reacting to the problems. It doesn't really seem like there's a plan to get past all of this . . other than holing up the breaks in the dam. After all these months we still don't have much in the way of progress . . a plan for putting the Earth back together. That's what I'm waiting for.

WildCATS #24 - WildStorm

It's hard to call this team the WildCATS, per se. The same holds with the Authority, StormWatch and Gen 13. All the groups are a hodgepodge of characters, and the names, or titles, are really the only thing differentiating them. In this issue we find out the fate of a few things that these characters have brewing. First of all, Jackson and Voodoo are still out looking for the Earth's new Doctor. Which has led them, and their soldiers into some interesting situations. Such as Battalion and Ladytron who end up in Salem where they find a real witch. Unfortunately . . she's not the new Doctor. But she is more than willing to steal their life-force and use it as her own. That is until someone show up and blows her head off . . 'My name is Aeon. I have come to save your world.' Ok. Meanwhile Charise is still holding Majestros captive in his Mount Rushmore base. Well . . he's not really captive, so much as incapacitated participant. Since he was stabbed he's been unable to move or talk. Which Charise has used to her advantage as she's determined to have his baby. He's healing gradually. And in the meantime he's trying to figure out what's going on with Charise. It seems that someone is controlling her. Another group in Kenya are using Fuji's new mastery of his powers to rebuild the country. They've infused him with some of Eidolon's essence, and now he feels like he can do anything. The question is, is he, or anyone, going to be able to control it. And, they're being watched and hunted by a group that has already claimed sovereignty over this land. They aren't ready to confront them yet, but . . they will soon. And Midnighter has gone to check in on Savant. It seems that with Maul's help, breeding and growing Coda warrior's, she's attempting to rebuild her army . . one woman at a time. She's also recruited Petrified Girl and Cybernary to help her. Although, without her enhancements, she's just Katrina now. Anyways, Midnighter is disgusted by what Savant is doing to these women, and children. And by the end of the issue they decide that there's really only one way they can settle this . . a good old fashioned throw-down. I thought this was a decent book. It showed us most of the characters, and served to move most of the story-lines forward . . even if only a bit. But Midnighter was definitely the star of this book. This issue was written by Adam Beechen, and drawn by Tim Seeley. Some progress is good. But . . I wish we'd make more, or a little speedier.

WildCATS #23 - WildStorm

There's lots of stuff going on here, but . . it's mostly maintenance. With everything going on in the WildStorm Universe right now, and all of these books pretty much interconnected . . we get bits and pieces of several story-lines . Grunge is up in the WatchTower, and he's Spartan's second in command. He's been working on several projects, but the most important is that Spartan has tasked him with spying on John Lynch, and Team 7. Spartan doesn't trust them and is suspicious about the way they left. Anyways, Link has been working on recovering the door technology, but Grunge has some unique ideas for it's use. So he's taken over that project also. Voodoo, and the old Doctor that she took out of the Garden, are looking for the Earth's new Doctor. They're following up leads, and Battalion and Ladytron are doing the leg-work. Right now they're checking on that kid that can dream up anything. He was in the Authority books about a year ago. Anyways, for some reason they can't get a good read on him so Battalion and Ladytron need to go in for extraction. Long story short, he's not the Doctor and Battalion lobotomizes him. Meanwhile, Charis has Majestros' catatonic body and is intent on creating a child. She's turned the base in South Dakota into her own private love-den. Warblade is still trying to recuperate from his injuries . . and we find out the status of everyone else. No one has died . . yet. Link and Apollo are attempting to build a particle magnet. Basically, they want it to sweep the Earth and pull all of the harmful stuff out of the atmosphere. One of the results will be that Apollo will be able to return to Earth. And Zealot is trying to rebuild her own Coda army. Right now she's working with volunteers, but . . she's not very happy with the results. She's also got Maul doing some cloning with recovered Kheran medical samples and maternal volunteers. The problem is, they have to accelerate the gestation and the human body isn't made for that. They've already lost 6 volunteers. But Zealot doesn't really care. She just wants to get her army up and running. But it looks like Midnighter isn't to happy with her methods and goals. He's spying on her. So, like I said . . kind of a maintenance issue. There's lots of cool stuff going on, but were only getting bits and pieces right now. Adam Beechen is writing it, with Tim Seeley on the art. I think they did a pretty decent job, for what they had to work with. But I'm sure they have to coordinate everything that's going on here with the other books. It probably doesn't leave much room open for artistic license. That's the only problem with these big cross-overs, like this . . it starts to become more about all the various pieces fitting together than necessarily the story-line. But I'm holding out hope.

WildCATS #22 - WildStorm

This issue is a very dry read. Spartan and the rest of the heroes have set up base in SkyWatch. And since his robot body was damaged in the recent battle with the Red Blade, he's got himself hooked up into the systems of the satellite. Since he's linked up to the entire system, essentially . . he's the Weatherman. Anyways, Hadrian wants to take the opportunity that the world's been given to 'unite the world, eliminate borders, and create a cooperative planet-wide society.' But, not everybody is as optimistic as he is. Zealot is the first to voice her dissension, with Maul and a few others joining in pretty quick. Anyways, right now, the 'hows' and the 'why's' don't really matter. The point is that everybody, no matter what team they were previously on, are now going to fall under the banner of WildCATS. Hadrian is also not claiming to be the leader. He just wants to help coordinate everything so that maximum cooperation between groups can be obtained. Plus, he'd like the structure of the teams to be fluid. Since he's so adept at collating data, he wants to move people around so that their powers and experience best fit whatever situation that they're thrown into. Basically . . this goes on and on throughout the whole issue. A couple things of note, though . . Lynch and Team 7's ears seem to perk up when Spartan talks about all the I/O bases that Gen13 has found littered around the country. A strange female has taken Majestic to his Mount Rushmore base and seems to be trying to nurse him back to health. Also, Hadrian has picked Grunge to be his right-hand man. 'Eddie, it's time for you to stop denying your own intelligence. Your planet needs you. It's time to step up. It's time to grow up. And get to work.' Anyways, to me it seemed more like a rank and file type of issue. There's not a lot going on, so it's time to get the people and players into position for future story-lines. Plus they needed to define exactly how this group of people was going to work. I just thought it was a very dry read. Adam Beechen gave us a whole bunch of information, but most of it was just rattled off by Spartan. Tim Seeley does the art. I just hope that next issue we get back in to some action.

WildCATS #21 - WildStorm

Well . . this issue finally wraps up the war on Earth. Spartan and his crew have finally defeated the Red Blade. But . . it's at no small sacrifice to the heroes of Earth. Spartan, using his last robot body, has been chopped in half. I'm sure he'll make himself a new body, but . . it may be a while with the Earth's resources so depleted right now. Majestros has sustained a serious injury at the end of a Kheran blade. However, someone has come along and gathered him up. We don't know who right now, because he's hooded. 'I have a ship near here . . I'll take you to your old home . . we'll see if we can't make you well . . and then we'll have a nice, long talk.' So as far as everyone else is concerned . . he's MIA. Voodoo goes on a mission into the sacred garden to ask the ancestral Doctors for help with their fight. They refuse, and they're mad at Voodoo for even having the gall to enter their sacred home uninvited. But in the process Voodoo learns that they also haven't been able to locate the next Doctor. Spartan sends Redeemer, Disperse, Dingo, HERB and Geek on a suicide mission. Which they don't return from, but . . it is the deciding factor in this battle. Basically, they go on board the Red Flag's ship and take the bridge. From there they were planning on detonating the ship, but . . they don't have enough time. Plus, when Spartan had Link teleport the Kheran terraforming machines right into the hull of the ship . . it's seriously damaged and is about to crash. So what they do is . . they open up every door they can beneath the ship and try to merge them all together. That way when the ship falls, it'll fall right into the Bleed. And since they're damaged beyond repair . . they won't be able to come back. And that's pretty much what wraps up the battle. Also, besides their suicide squad, Spartan also has Warblade and Fahrenheit seriously injured, and they may lose GQ, Diva, Morning Glory and Crane. However, all things considered . . that really isn't to bad. Especially considering that in the process they saved the remaining 650 million people remaining on Earth. They have to celebrate their loses as losing heroes. And then they have to start the hard part . . rebuilding. This story was brought to us by Adam Beechen and Tim Seeley. It seems that Adam and Tim will be handling the creative chores for the foreseeable future. Overall I enjoyed the story. But, I'm also glad that it's finally wrapped up and we're ready to move on to the next chapter.

WildCATS #20 - WildStorm

I really hate to say this . . because this story has only been going on for a couple of months between WildCATS, the Authority and Gen13, but . . I think I'm starting to get bored with it already. The 'heroes' that have remained on Earth are pretty much all gathered in London now fighting the incursion of the Kheran force . . the Red Blade. During their invasion, another world decided that it also wanted to lay siege to Earth . . the forces of Sliding Albion. So the Kheran's decided to delay their invasion while the completely decimate the Sliding Albion fleet. But now . . now they've completed that task and have again focused their aggression on Earth and it's protectors. As much as these guys like to fight, that's now really what they're here for. They've decided to terraform Earth and make it into a new Khera. I think the resistance is just sport . . and something to keep them busy while the terraforming engines go about their business. The problem we have is . . with all these heroes on this WildStorm Earth . . they still don't hardly stand a chance against this Red Blade. However, by the end of the issue, Majestic has decided to join the fight. So maybe . . things are looking up. Also, Voodoo is trying to figure out who the Earth's next Doctor is so that she, and he, can go to the ancestral garden and find out what all the previous Doctor's are planning on doing to help fix things. And right now . . those are really Earth's only 2 hopes of success. And . . other than those 2 interesting plot-lines . . the whole rest of the issue was pretty much just one big fight scene. If that's why you buy comics, then . . you're really gonna love this book. However, if you're looking for a little more substance . . I think you'll agree with me that this one is kind of boring. Don't get me wrong. I think Adam Beechen did a decent job with the story. But . . there was probably only so much leeway he was allowed because everything has to fit together with the events of the other 2 books. I'm sure there's an ultimate conclusion that's already been decided here. And everything that happens between now and then has to progress towards that goal. That's fine, and all, but . . it doesn't give the writers a lot of freedom to express themselves through their characters. They're just filling in dialogue for the events that have already been planned out. Anyways, Tim Seeley does the art. For the most part . . it looks ok. However, there were also some parts that looked rather rushed. I like this book, and I enjoy the WildStorm Universe. I just wasn't thrilled with this particular issue. It just seems like things have gone from bad to worse ever since the Number of the Beast. Things have got to start looking up sooner or later. Right?

WildCATS #19 - WildStorm

Well . . the battle has begun. And Earth is under siege by . . well, everybody it would seem. Last issue the Carrier took off for parts unknown. It was powered up by some kind of beam and then pulled away like it was on a homing signal. That took a lot of Earth's forces with them. The ones left behind are stuck facing the Red Blade, Kheran's elite fighting force. They've conquered more galaxies than there's probably people left on Earth. The heroes that are left don't really stand much of a chance. That is until the Earth is also invaded by a fighting force from Sliding Albion. Although their arrival is not fortuitous for Earth, it is a distraction for the Kheran forces. Basically, Sebastian, the leader of the Kheran's, doesn't want anyone else to mess up their battle plans . . or their terraforming ones. Yes that's right. Red Flag wants to defeat the forces of Earth so that they can terraform it into New Kheran. While their up fighting the Sliding Albion forces, Spartan tries to rally the forces that they have . . and remove as many civilians as possible. Soon more forces begin to arrive, starting with the Paladins. But not much progress is made before Red Flag defeats Albion, and decides to come back down and finish what they started. Things do not look good for the people left on Earth. They really need to pull something out of their ass for this one. Maybe if Tao or Max were still around. Midnighter tells Spartan, 'I've played the battle to come a million times in my mind already . . in five of them I come out alive.' Adam Beechen wrote this, with Tim Seeley doing the pencils. It's an interesting book. But there doesn't seem to be much of a future left. I have a feeling it's going to be a heck of a year for the WildStorm Universe.

WildCATS #18 - WildStorm

It finally happens this issue . . with the combined might of the WildCATS, Team 7 . . with some StormWatch and WetWorks thrown in . . they've finally been able to beat Tao. Well . . maybe defeat is a little strong. It's more like they talked him down from the edge of the mountain, and he's returned everybody's powers, for the most part. So he's no longer a demi-god, but . . he's still the same old bastard he always was. But he has decided to leave everybody alone . . for now. And, despite this huge gathering of heroes, it's actually Max Farraday's wife and Void that talk Tao off of the precipice. That's right . . they didn't fight him, or hit him with any magical powers. They just confronted him with dialogue, and . . the truth. 'I have to compliment you. For amateurs, you did a fair job of attempting to manipulate me. And using only the truth to do it . . interesting stratagem. I'll have to try that more often.' But then Grifter blows off the top of his head. Tao retreats . . I'm sure he can heal himself. But as he does so, he gives everyone most of their powers back. And, rather that use his powers to fix the world, Max decides that he's going to take his billions of survivors to the Hollow Realm. There he'll use the majority of his powers protecting them. As he leaves, he gives them a parting gift . . he puts everyone back in their old uniforms. Well . . he did make a few tweaks here and there, but . . he wants them to represent themselves as heroes . . to give the people of the world hope. This leads us right into the cross-over with all the team books . . WildCATS, StormWatch, Team 7 and WetWorks. I'm sure the Authority will be off doing thier own thing. They don't play well with others. Anyways, all the teams are going to work together and they're going to try to remake the world. Or at least give it their best shot. This is Chris Gage's last book as writer. Next issue Adam Beechen takes over those duties. Also, Shawn Moll provides the pencils. But again, next issue we'll have a new artist with Tim Seeley. And now . . the fun begins. We'll see if they can put this world back together, and how different it'll be from the old WildStorm Universe. It appears that 2010 is going to be the year of change. Hopefully . . it's for the better.

WildCATS #17 - WildStorm

It's about to be the end of the world, or . . the beginning of the new one. The one that Tao creates. Last issue Max gave Tao what he wanted by whispering the Creation Equation into his ear. But Ladytron made a little gamble. 'When Max was whispering the secret formula to you, I pirated it. Picked up what he said on my directional mike. And beamed it into all our ears. So yer a god, huh? Welcome to the friggin' club!' Everyone that's gathered her to fight Tao has been given a piece of the creation equation. But Tao has been doing this longer than any of them . . he's more experienced. So he takes them all to the Hallow Realm. It's kind of a psychic dimension . . a dimension of the mind, the soul. There he gives each of his enemies their worst fears and hatreds to fight. Each time one of them loses, he gathers up their power making him stronger, and intensifying his focus on the others. The only ones to slip under the radar here are Void, and Susanna Faraday . . Max's wife. She also has a bit of the creation power. Anyways, the 2 of them watch what's going on and try to find the pattern. For the most part, it all seems to be about tearing apart families and loved ones. They think it may have to do with the fact that he was a clone . . a genetic experiment. He never had parents or a family. And then Susanne is talking about her work with special needs children, and it hits here. She knows what this is all about and how to beat him. The issue ends with Void and Susanne confronting Tao. He thinks he's just going to snatch the Creation Energy from them, but . . the girls have a different idea. 'We know what you are. You claim you want to tear our world down. You poor, poor man. We're about to tear down yours.' It's about time they took this guy down a peg. Christos Gage is doing a great job with this book. And overall I think the guy has dramatically improved since entering into this profession. Next issue, hopefully, he'll wrap up this story-line and we can move on to the WildCATS figuring out what to do about the scorched Earth. Also fantastic art by Shawn Moll. Not to mention the great covers by Ryan Sook. I really like this book and these characters. I'm glad they've made such a strong come-back.

WildCATS #16 - WildStorm

How does the saying go? 'It's always darkest before the dawn'? Well this one should read . .'It's always lightest before the fall' Zealot and Savant have gone to Hawaii to enlist Majestic's help. That's why this issue is called Family Meeting. Anyways, they reveal to him that because Tao was tapped into Void's power, he was able to manipulate people everywhere. Majestros included. This seriously pisses him off. So he takes off straight for Max Faraday's island. At the time it looks as if Tao and his forces are going to be to much for all the heroes assembled here. That is until Majestros shows up. He informs Tao that the blades that he's wielding, Nemesis' blades, were forged of the creation engine. 'They can cut through anything. Even what you've become.' When he stabs them both through his chest, he basically switches off his powers. The plan then is to drain his powers. Hadrian figures that he and Max and Void should be able to contain it all. However . . Tao has one more ace up his sleeve. One of his soldiers puts a gun to Max's wife's head. She only lives if they remove the swords. Which Max gladly does. Then . . then he asks Max . . 'One more thing. The Creation Equation. The formula that gave you your powers. Tell it to me.' Everyone is screaming for him to stop, but Max decides that he can't not tell him. The issue ends with Tao floating in the air, looking like he's wielding more power than he ever has. How can they possibly get out of this? This issue was much more exciting than that Gen13 issue that I just read. Christos Gage is doing a fantastic job with this title. I also really enjoyed Shawn Moll's pencils. Besides the Authority, this is probably my favorite WildStorm title. Plus, who can complain about those gorgeous Ryan Sook covers? All around, it was a good book.

WildCATS #15 - WildStorm

This issue the WildCATS finally hook up with Max Farraday. Unfortunately . . it looks like they may have brought Tao along with them. Last issue they found Max's island where he's reliving his honeymoon . . day after day after day after day . . and then he brings them to St Louis where he's created a kind of pocket dimension. He wants to show them that in it he's placed millions of people that he's gathered from around the globe after the recent conflagration. They ask him why he didn't use his powers to stop Armageddon . . or try to rebuild the world. It's basically because of all the 'supers'. He was hoping that if he left the outside world as it was that the 'supers' would have nothing to do but fight amongst themselves and eventually wipe themselves out. All he had to do was sit and wait. But now the WildCATS have inadvertantly brought him into the mix, because even as they speak Tao is attacking his island. Max has no recourse but to intercede as that's where his entire family is. Although, because of that distraction, it doesn't seem that all of his power, combined with the backing of the WildCATS, is going to be enough to defeat Tao. At best they just seem to be delaying the inevitable. So Spartan decides to send Savant and Zealot to Hawaii to recruit Majestros help. 'That may be our salvation. Or our death.' I think it's great that Max is back. But I have a feeling that his family is going to die and he's going to go over the edge again. I don't know which is worse . . Tao, or a whacked out Max. Plus, we don't know what Kaizen Gamorra has been up to during all of this. He may be just sitting back and waiting to pick up all the pieces. Anyways, I thought it was a good story by Christos Gage and Shawn Moll. And I love that Ryan Sook cover. This has been one of my favorite WildStorm books for a long time now. I'm glad that it's as strong as it is currently. This is a great cast of characters.

WildCATS #14 - WildStorm

Alright, finally . . Max Faraday is back. Spartan and the rest of the WildCATS tried to take on Tao last issue. They weren't very successful. That is until Spartan took on most of Void's powers, again, and became Jack Marlowe. But really all he could do was distract Tao for a bit, while Lynch came up with another plan. He ends up getting all of them out of there, reasonably intact, but Providence has to give up her life to do so. Now they're in North Dakota. With Lynch's knowledge and Marlowe's powers, it's pretty easy for them to find Max . . when they put their minds to it. He finds Max hidden in his own reality . . a reality of endless beaches, and an endless honeymoon. He's in a resort with his wife, sister and brother-in-law. They don't even know that Armageddon has happened. And we find out that Max is beating himself up because . . when Armageddon happened, he tried to save as many people as he could. "But you don't know what it's like. How many people there are in the world. How many lives. How many souls. Big, sweeping gestures are easy. It's the small stuff that's hard. I couldn't stop it. I couldn't save everyone." So he shows them St Louis. A city that's untouched by Armageddon, and housing all of the people he could gather. Marlowe asks, "Can there really be this many people in such a small space?" Max tells him, "Sure, if you can warp space. But guys . . this is just the beginning." Whatever that means. And Tao is watching their every move. "We'll most definitely have to do something about that." I enjoyed Christos Gages story. Like I said, it was good to see Max back. Also Shawn Moll did a great job on the art. Right now this is probably my favorite WildStorm book. I love these characters. Ok . . 19 books later and I'm finally on the last of the DC books this week. And I didn't really think it was that heavy of a week. Whodathunkit? Oh well . . now I just have my 15 Marvel titles to go. Time to dig in.

WildCATS #13 - WildStorm

Ok, the WildCATS have taken most of the refugees out to the forests in Nevada. You remember, they had an adventure there a few issues ago. But the main focus of this story is that the WildCATS are teaming up with Team 7 to go after Tao. We also see the reintroduction of Void and Max Faraday this issue. We don't actually see Max, but . . they are talking about him and his powers. I think he's one of those things they were talking about in the preview . . he's an 'out', in case they want to have a 'reset' for this whole Armageddon business. It's also nice to see Jodi reunited with her dad again. Anyways, their plan is to strike at Tao at his compound in Utah. Right now, though, Tao is near omnipotent. He's been siphoning off Void's, and Providence's energy. But he's doing it slowly . . so it doesn't drive him mad. The team ends up there, and doesn't have to much of a problem with Tao's men, but . . Kenesha jumps the gun and trys to take on Tao herself . . mano-e-mano, as it were. She doesn't really stand much of a chance. However, before he can mess he up to badly, Lynch and company show up, and Spartan reacquaints himself with his old friend . . actually, he's more familiar with the powers than the person . . Void. So Lynch and company pool their resources to strike at Tao, and while they do . . Spartan again absorbs Void and her powers. "Not Spartan. Not anymore. Call me Jack Marlowe." That's an interesting development. This has been one of my favorite WildStorm books for quite a while now. Actually, ever since Jim Lee created them. But . . you have to admit, there were a few flat years in the middle there. However, I feel like we're finally starting to get back on track here. I'm really enjoying these issues, and looking forward to every one. Christos Gage is doing a great job with the story, and the characters. And I really enjoyed the new art team of Shawn Moll and Drew Geraci. They really gave the book a neat feel. Plus . . look at the awesome cover by Ryan Sook. For the $3 cover charge . . . what more could you ask for?

WildCATS #12 - WildStorm

This is the WildCats that I've come to know and love over the years. Yes the teams a bit more eclectic right now, but . . that's ok. There's a lot of great characters in this book. And when Defile and Majestros go at it this issue . . well, that was classic. I do have a bit of sad news though . . this is Neil Googe's last issue. I liked his work on this book, although I think he was a little more experimental on Tranquility. The guys got a ton of potential, I'm just wondering where he'll turn up next. Ramon Perez does the last couple pages of this book. And next issue, Shawn Moll and Drew Geraci take over the book. This issue, to take out Defile, and hopefully Majestros, Hadrian accesses the universe where he got the power for his Halo batteries. It used to be an easy jump when he had Void's powers. This time it almost wipes him out trying to do it. But . . he's got people to save. So he opens up a small access window and hopefully sucks the two fighters into it. Of course it also takes out the Halo building in the process. "Gentlemen, and lady. I hereby announce the closing of the Halo Corporation. Thank you for your patronage." So now the team gets to start anew. It looks like they're going to start out in the forests of Nevada. Oh, and by the way, in case you were wondering . . Majestros did survive the blast. But did you ever think otherwise? This was a good issue by Christos Gage. I'm interested to see how the book is going to change next issue.

WildCats #11 - WildStorm

At the end of last issue Ladytron, Maxine Manchester, left alone in the Halo building, charged with protecting the innocent refugees that are staying there, realized that their building was being overrun by an army of Daemonites. Recently their leader, and lord, Lord Defile had entered into a truce with the WildCATS. It was decided that in order for them both to survive . . as a species, then there needed to be some ground rules set up. However, in the WildCATS absence . . they've gone to Hawaii to confront Majestros, they've decided to forget that agreement and take what they want. Maxine actually puts up a valiant struggle, but in the end she's simply overpowered, both by numbers and by Lord Defile. In the end it appears as if he's about the end her existence as he's also about to take advantage of Spartan's Gateway to the Otherspace. He wants to access the energy that powers the famous Halo batteries. However, at that same time, the WildCATS are on their way back to LA. Nemesis tries to kill Majestros this issue. I don't think that she actually felt that she would be successful, but . . she had to buy the team time to escape with Backlash and Savant. But in doing so, she throws him and herself into an active volcano. In the end, it appears that her only accomplishment was in killing herself. Which only serves to make Majestros even madder because he loved her so. As the WildCATS approach LA . . they can see it on the horizon, it doesn't appear that they're going to make it because Majestros is hot on their tail. All in all, I thought it was a pretty decent story by Christos Gage and Neil Googe. I'm really enjoying Neil's art. I actually read the Deathblow back-up in this book. He's one of my favorite characters. It's a story that takes place before Armageddon and Jackson King reveals to him that when he was exposed to the Gen-Factor he did actually obtain a power . . " . . the most incredible power of all. Michael . . you can't die." I was wondering how he could pop back up in the StormWatch series, when we saw him die at the end of his own. Now we know. Overall I enjoyed the issue, but then . . this is easily my favorite WildStorm series right now.

WildCATS #10 - WildStorm

We finally get to see Majestros and Hadrian go at it this issue. Well . . kind of. In the long run, Hadrian knows he doesn't have a chance against Majestros power, but . . he has to stall him for as long as he can. In Hawaii, Zealot has discovered that Savant is being held prisoner. She also finds out that it's because wants to create a royal family . . an heir. But Savant is his daughter? "Not like that. A test tube thing. My egg, his sperm. Inbreeding's not unheard of among Kheran royalty." Zealot also finds out that she wasn't his first choice, he offered the same thing to Nemesis and Backlash, but they turned him down. So, Hadrian is trying to keep Majestros busy in Beijing, but . . he's heard the alarms when Zealot releases Savant. And he's pissed. The WildCATS try to get all the women off island, but . . they don't get very far before Majestros returns. He makes pretty short work of their heavy hitters. He's approaching the ship of women, and Grifter, as the issue ends. Meanwhile Maxine, back at the Halo tower, realizes that the whole building is about to be over-run by Daemonites. It looks like she's going to be in for the fight of her life. I believe that Christos Gage is becoming more adept with his handling of these characters. I like what I'm seeing. I still think he needs to get everyone more involved though. But, it looks like it's improving. And I'm a huge fan of Neal Googe's art. I'd just like to see him open up a little more. I've seen it in the past. Take some artistic license. When he does, it looks fantastic. Overall, I think this book is heading in the right direction.

WildCATS #9 - WildStorm

Is that cover cool, or what? Majestros is truly the master of his domain. And this issue the WildCATs finally go out to Hawaii to see what's really going on. Plus, they got kind of a cryptic warning from Nemesis and Backlash. Anyways, they travel out there and find the island virtually unscathed by the recent global events. This really has Hadrian confused. "I don't understand. How is Hawaii so . . unaffected I mean, Earth was moved off it's axis." To which Majestros simply replies, "I know. I put it back." Then he goes on to say how he's dealt with all the tidal waves, volcanic eruptions, storms, etc that would've occurred because of that. But he can't worry about the rest of the world because he feels they have a precarious position here. As it is he just got done fighting Argos who wanted to take over his little paradise. "Imagine if I'd been in, say, Dubai when Argos showed up. In the minutes it would've taken me to return, he could have killed everyone. I can only do so much. My life is now an endless succession of hard choices." So Hadrian begins to push a little bit, "Tomorrow, you and I will head for Asia. See what we can do. The WildCATs will protect Hawaii. What are you afraid of?" Plus, he wants go give Zealot and Grifter a chance to talk to Nemesis and Backlash to see if they can find out what's going on. It turns out that they're hanging around because they're trying to protect someone that is Majestros' prisoner. Zealot goes to investigate and finds her daughter, Savant, in a cell in the basement of the Palace. Needless to say, this should be an interesting confrontation between Zealot and Majestros next issue. I like the work that Christos Gage and Neal Googe are doing on this book. I think that they've really set this book apart from the rest of the WildStorm Universe. My only complaint is that Christos tends to focus on the characters that are most important to the story. The rest of them are left just kind of hanging around. I think he could show more interaction and character development in his stories. Maybe that's just me . . I'm just sayin'. Other than that . . I like it.

WildCATS #8 - WildStorm

Christos Gage and Pete Woods turn in another fantastic issue here. Pete's art was pretty impressive. He does something a little different here . . I can't put my finger on it, but . . it works. This issue came off looking really unique. I also like the WildCATS series because they aren't crossing over with the Authority or Stormwatch. At least not yet. They're kind of a self-contained entity right now. Those other 2 titles are working together, and in my opinion . . it's a complete mess. However, I think the team is going to be going to Hawaii pretty soon to find out what's going on with Majestic. Meanwhile in this issue, Maxine has decided to roam the city on her own . . she's tired of all the 'human' drama back at the Halo Building. And she's found a hidden population of robots. With most of the humans wiped out, their basic programming has become moot. Until Maxine comes along . . they're just waiting for the end. They're constantly being harassed by the 'humans' who either want spare parts or their power cores. But they can't really do anything about it because most of thier primary rules state that they're never to harm a human. But with all the Daemonites roaming around . . some looking for humans for food, Maxine gets an idea. She strikes a bargain between the 2 cultures. The robots will protect the humans from the Daemonites . . they have no rules as to what they can't do to them . . and the humans will help to take care of the Robots. They'll clean them, polish them, and tend to their basic needs. And with the co-existence the robots will have a renewed purpose. I thought it was pretty ingenious actually. Especially for Maxine. Anyways, all in all I thought it was a pretty decent issue. They have a fantastic variety of characters to work with here. Christos seems to be trying to use all of them. It'll be interesting to see what'll happen in Hawaii.

WildCATS #7 - WildStorm

Well, the group faces its first real challenge this issue . . the Daemonites. And I have to say, as a group, I thought they handled themselves pretty well. But in the end, they win with diplomacy . . not force. Voodoo offers a compromise. "What Los Angeles has become . . it's as close as anything gets to a Daemonite's natural habitat. I'm suggesting a treaty. That we can coexist here. You can subsist on carrion . . the one resource there's plenty of. But the moment you hurt a living person, the pact is broken. It's war between us." The High Lord agrees and the Daemonites turn and leave. Overall the group is pretty happy about the outcome, but they know that sooner of later the Daemonites will try something. So they need to start making plans and training. However, Hadrian doesn't feel up to being the leader right now, so instead they all unanimously pick . . Voodoo. But, at the same time Backlash and Nemesis announce that they're leaving to go join Majestic in Hawaii. This issue finally felt like some of the old WildCat stories. They were working together, fighting a common enemy, and . . it seems like they're finally making some progress as a group. As far as Backlash and Nemesis? I say . . let 'em go. They've got Zealot and Cole. What else do they need. I'm hoping that what were seeing here is that Christos Gage is finally getting on track, or getting a feeling for this group. This then should be the beginning of some more defined stories. I hope. I still enjoy Neil Googe's art. It's not perfect, but he has his own unique style. And I like it. I feel like this book is finally heading in the right direction.

WildCATS #6 - WildStorm

For my money . . this is the best series of the three . . . the Authority, StormWatch and WildCATS. I actually like the Authority characters better, but . . I just think this book is better written and drawn. I absolutely love Neil Googe's art. I think he's a great artist and he just gets better and better with every book that he does. I also think that Christos Gage is a talent that just seems to be growing by leaps and bounds. This issue our heroes come across Defile, Decadence and the army of Daemonites that they've assembled. Of course our group jumps right into the fray . . fists flailing and guns blazing . . . they can stop and ask questions later, but what they don't realize is that Decadence has possessed Nemesis. Considering her powers, and her sword . . that's a pretty big weapon to be holding against them. Never mind the hundreds of Daemonites that seem to have them all surrounded. But at least this issue we do get to see Maul in action, and . . . Warblade is finally back. Yippee! All of this is going on while they're dealing with all the drama and such that they have transpiring back at their Halo headquarters. I think that's what I like so much about this group. They seem more 'real'. Their problems and dramas are the same as the rest of us. They just happen to be dealing with it . . and powers, also. Plus, like I said, I think Neil has given this book a great feel. In the backup, I think we're getting introduced to each of the members of Team7 separately. This chapter is about Lynch and Christie Blaze. Phil Noto does the art. After a few years, I'm glad that this book is finally back. And it seems to be in more than capable hands.