Customer Reviews

WildC.A.T.S. Compendium (WildCATS Covert Action Teams)

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For better or worse, comics in the 1990's were influenced by one event more than any other - the founding of Image Comics. In an unprecedented move, the industry's hottest artists all left powerhouse publisher Marvel to launch a new company and their own creator-owned titles. One of the more popular of the bunch was Jim Lee's Wildcats. The first four issues of that title are collected in the Wildcats Compendium.

Wildcats was a pretty standard superhero team book, and the characters weren't that far removed from the X-Men or Avengers. Still, there was something that made them stand out in a way that Silvestri's Cyberforce and Liefeld's Youngblood characters never did. That's why, more than a decade later, most comics fans can identify characters like Grifter and Zealot. The plot was pretty straightforward - covert superhero team battles the forces of evil to prevent a catastrophic event (in this case, head baddie Helspont's acquisition and abuse of the magical Orb of power). It was definitely a story designed to introduce the main players and not much else.

The story may be weak, but it did lay the foundation for what would be known as the WildStorm Universe. Most importantly, we get our first glimpse of Jack Lynch and International Operations, the secret government agency that played such a huge role in later WildStorm titles.

If the story was less than impressive, the artwork was nothing short of amazing. Jim Lee was one of the most dynamic and influential artists in the late 80's and early 90's, and this is arguably his best work. It helped that Image's approach to coloring was pretty revolutionary and made most of Marvel and DC's titles seem dull and lifeless by comparison.

On it's own, the initial Wildcats run wasn't very memorable, but given what authors like James Robinson and Alan Moore would build from this title, as well as the larger success of the WildStorm Universe, it is an important book that any Jim Lee and/or WildStorm fan should own.

NOTE: Early editions of this trade paperback came polybagged with a limited edition Wildcats issue #0, drawn by Brett Boothe. This little stunt compelled a lot of us who had already bought the individual Wildcats issues to buy the trade paperback.

WildCats: Covert Action Teams was Jim Lee's first Creator owned projected published by Image Comics in 1993. The story centers on the formation of a new superhero team to doing covert missions against an evil alien race called the Demonites. Void is the spiritual, cosmic, time, lady of the lake Russian entity who finds the chosen one, Lord Emp. He is a short, homeless, drunk, White male who wines off the streets of New York city. Void tells him he is the chosen who will defend human life against the Demonites. At first he thought he was dreaming but then Viod takes him to his future and learns the Lord Emp will become a billionare and will have his own covert superhero team called "The WildCats". This introduces the whole bunch of new characters that started Wildstorm productions which is now at DC Comics. This introduces Spartan, the combat leader of the team, Maul, the big purple guy with muscles, Warblade, warrior that can longgate his figures and hands, Zealot, the barbarian female take no prisoners type warrior, and Grifter, the mystery man with the guns. This book started Wildstorm productions for Jim Lee and his publishing company , So if your fan of DC comics an never heard of Wildstorm, I recommend that you read this book! Buy it! Great Jim Lee artwork!