Proto-MCU
The Marvel Cinematic Universe would not have succeeded without Wildstorm’s output of the 1990’s. Superheroes are at a saturation point I never thought possible. Artist Bryan Hitch and writer Mark Millar’s superhero opus “The Ultimates” was the blueprint. That comic would not exist without Hitch and writer Warren Ellis’s The Authority published by Jim Lee’s Wildstorm publishing studio. Hitch, in particular, does not get his due. Visualizing how all to make Kirby’s cosmic madness work in the real physical world for contemporary audiences was no simple feat. Folks were trying to crack that code for years.
Towards the tail end of it’s relationship with Image and then early in it’s run with DC, Lee and Wildstorm commissioned forward thinking comics that the entire genre benefits from to this day. It was R&D for superheroes. There was risk, failure and great pulp comics.
In my mind, there are 5 key Wildstorm comics:
Authority/StormWatch
Planetary
WildCats
Sleeper
America’s Best Comics
There are a number of fantastic fleetingly brilliant ones, I’ll get into later (Tomm Coker’s Gen 13/Maxx one shot and Eric Canete’s Cybernary 2.0 come to mind). I’ve been thinking about my bookshelf these days. I sold my collection a few years ago. It was out of order and beat to hell. I’m trying to be more mindful about my space and curating my bookshelf is fun. My Wildstorm section is pretty random (see photo above) so I’m going to build it back out. Tom Spurgeon wrote thoughtfully about Wildstorm here. (Man, I miss that guy already.)
Who were your favs?
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Originally posted 11/17/19