So, What Kind Of Person Am I?
If there are two kinds of people in the world -- DC Comics people and Marvel Comics people -- what kind am I?
Well, to be honest... I'm a Wildstorm kinda guy.
In the interest of full and fair disclosure, I write for Wildstorm. But even if I didn't, I'd love what they do.
No, seriously, I'd love their stuff.
Wildstorm is what you'd call a boutique publisher, a relatively small operation that puts out just a handful of titles. Their marquee hero group is called The Authority -- "good-guy" superhumans who take the job of saving the planet literally and set themselves up as benevolent dictators: "Hey, rouge nation, you want to start a war? Get set for an invasion from The Authority." I can't say the allegory to any current political situation is direct, but it does the job of answering the question: What would happen if superheroes became more proactive rather than reactive, and does might really make right?
The other Wildstorm title you have to check out is Planetary. The best, most simple way to describe this amazingly written Warren Ellis/John Cassaday series is calling it a super-powered X-Files -- heroes taking on myths and legends of the world. Except that the series takes some kind of turn and something happens and to this day I'm not exactly sure what except that it's brilliant. Planetary only ran for about 26 issues with a few specials, but ask your local comic shop dealer about it. They can hook you up.
Throw in other titles like Astro City and Stormwatch, and bottom line, Wildstorm's got some of the most creative talent and best editors working today.
By the way, a few years back Wildstorm was bought by DC Comics, though DC seems, for the most part, to have done an admirable job of leaving editorial control to the Wildstorm folks. So, truth be told, maybe that does make me a DC person at heart.
12:58 PM ET | 07-16-2008 | permalink
