Wildstorm Relaunch

isn't this like their 20th relaunch?

They'll never be able to bring back the luster to the Authority after the "Millar/Ellis" era. After the events of 9/11 nobody wanted to touch it with a 12feet pole. That's when I lost all respect for wildstorm, and no reboot will ever bring me back.

I wonder if Jim Lee is picking up any pointers from Morrison that he might be able to impart to Frank Miller on how an All-Star DC book ought to be done.

I don't know, if Spike's Scream Awards gave Miller best writer, he must be doing something right, right?

*crickets chirping*

I don't know how you would top what Ellis did on Stormwatch. He took a throw away, generic concept and made it one of the best books on the market. I think he killed more interesting characters in his run than others have created in their entire careers.

Also, I am certain that THIS relaunch of WildCATS will ignite the back issue market so that I can unload my multiple #1 issues for at least a $1. (okay, I'll take 50 cents. A quarter?)

I know ExMachina is printed under the Wildstorm label but clearly has nothing to do with the universe, thank god. I don't want anyone messing with my monthly reports on the dealings of the Mitch Hundred Administration.

On a related note: Planetary is wrapping up later this month, which kind of officially brings the Ellis-version of the Wildstorm universe to a close.

yeah, that's too bad.

Picked up the first issues of both Wildcats and Authority.

Wildcats: It looks like Morrison is prepping another attempt at a grand reinvention of the superhero and his world, but unless you have a solid grounding in the Wildstorm Universe (I don't), the whole experiment is going to be lost on you. I was frankly surprised that a in a first issue by a name creator (thus ensuring that people interested in his work, but not necessarily in the Wildcats concept as a whole, might well pick up the book), there would be absolutely NO exposition telling you who these people are or why you should care. But if you're just interested in seeing Jim Lee do a lot of early-90s hero poses, you'll probably be thrilled.

Authority: Probably the most decompressed comic since monkeys fucked in Powers. And the Authority doesn't even make an appearance. But the execution is good, and Ha's art is fantastic, so I'm in for the next issue. If there are any other Morrison obsessives out there: it looks like he's going to explore the idea of superheroes invading (and "curing") our world--a concept he introduced (but never fleshed out) in JLA Classified.

Wildstorm relaunch so far:

WorldStorm Preview Book - waste of money. Stomrwatch does seem like a neat reinvention though.

Gen 13 - I love Gail Simone but when I feel like the original Gen 13 mini was done (and looked) better....I won't be buying issue 2.

Wildcats - Action, Jim Lee art, Daemonites, the return of old-school villians, an an x-men reference. Oh and naked Voodoo in blurry infrared. Oooohhhh. For a Morrison book, nothing too special, I will pick it up for the rest of the first arc to see where it goes.

Authority - A russian sub with soem random guys for the whole issue. gene ha is a sweet artist though. I'll give it a shot....but you know the team actually might want to show up next issue...

Consensus: I miss Sleeper.

Yeah, this is one of the most poorly handled initiatives by one of the big two that I can remember. It's Liefeld-esque in its promise-to-delivery ratio.

Solicits for the Fall show that they're doing this 20 Years Later Post-Apocalyptic thing with the Wildstorm Relaunch books.

Honestly, a year and change into this event and it stinks all around.

Azz is doing decent on his Deathblow book, but outside of that...it's a shit sandwich.

I recently re-read all my Planetary issues from #1 up to #26... God, what a fantastic series. #3 is one of the best single-issue comics I've ever read. The one with the many interludes in pulp book-style pages is a joy to read and admire. Love it.

Back to the subject...

Casey's Wildcats 3.0 was grea-fuckin'-t (actually, Casey is a better write than he credits for; his last Iron Man mini-series and the two early-Avengers minis were really good) and the TPB pisses me off, but, w/e. As for this new relaunch, I have a soft spot in my heart for Maul so I'm happy they brought him back (although he was around for the Lobdell/Charest run). It's been more than a year since the last issue, though, right? Pfft. *almost hates DC*

The new Authority (all two issues of it) are enjoyable, but, really, nothing that blow my mind. Maybe if they'd hurry the fuck up I might get more excited. The fact that it takes place in our world is a neat slant.

I noticed no one has mentiond the Midnighter series. Well, I love the character, so it's no surprise I'm happy with how the book is going so far.

The biggest problem with the WS relaunch has been there flagship book being so far behind that it's a joke, and there other flagship book ending...it's really kind of sad.