Brandon Choi

From The Beginning: WildStorm Universe – Savage Dragon #13 & WildCATs #14 (Image X Month)

November 17, 2016 by krisis

[Patreon-Nov16-Post-Bug][/Patreon-Nov16-Post-Bug]Stormwatch’s “Images of Tomorrow” wasn’t the only gimmick going around Image’s books in the summer of 1994. “Image X Month” saw all six image creators swapping flagship books with each other, with Jim Lee and Erik Larsen trading WildCATs #14 and Savage Dragon #13, respectively.

I couldn’t find another blogger who wanted to write you 100 posts this month, so I stuck with “Blog of Tomorrow” as the theme rather than “Blog X Month.” ;)

savage-dragon-013-lee The trade offers a fascinating glimpse into the minds (and work ethics) of a third of Image’s founders.

Lee delivers a beautifully penciled issues at Image with Savage Dragon #13 even with an army of finishers, but it’s effectively a Grifter one-shot guest-starring Savage Dragon.

Larsen tries hard to single-handedly give the WildCATs a lumpy but fun one-off adventure that shows off their entire team but also promotes his hapless Freak Force book, and mostly succeeds.

(Larsen would also later release his own version of Savage Dragon #13, wanting to maintain his unbroken streak of penciled issues.)

Savage Dragon #13 comes first, and though it doesn’t say so you really have to have read Kindred to make heads or tails of it.

That’s because Grifter is suddenly hanging out in a Chicago restaurant with a romantic interest Alicia (who presumably has plenty of free time if this happens after Gen13, since Lynch is AWOL).

We learn that Grifter grew up in Chicago and that he worked for “The Syndicate” (a mob network) from the casual opening scene. Unfortunately, the pair of lovebirds happen to be in the same place as Savage Dragon’s sting operation. Everything quickly goes south as Grifter inserts himself into a massive shootout that leaves both him and Dragon’s partner wounded.

The rest of the issue unravels just how Grifter is connected with a mob that’s being investigated by Savage Dragon and infiltrated by I.O.. Plus, the mob has a super-powered baddie trying to usurp the business.

Altogether it’s a little bit too much coincidence piled on top of itself, especially when we discover a family connection for Grifter. All of the interweaving effectively makes Savage Dragon a guest star in his own story. He periodically shows up to threaten Grifter and then acts as his muscle in a final fight.I t could have easily been avoided without adding the I.O. element, which is meant to give Alicia some agency in the story but just renders her a damsel in distress.

I get the sense that Lee and Choi didn’t study up on Savage Dragon as much as Larsen did WildCATs, but I’ll be damned if Dragon doesn’t look utterly awesome in every panel he appears.

WildCATs #14 follows (maybe directly – I’m not sure that any other WildCATs adventure fits between them, though it’s a handy gap for anything that includes this full original team.)

wildcats-v01-014 Larsen gives the WildCATs one thing they haven’t yet encountered – some frivolous fun. His lightweight tale has no big life or death stakes, but it shows the team confidently cutting loose both in battle and (briefly) in relaxation.

Larsen’s WildCATs are a rough-looking bunch in battle, although he does them the credit of showing them defeating a Daemonite right on the first page of the book – Void is even conscious, and Spartan in one piece! However, Voodoo has had enough of the constant Daemonite-hunting, and demands a break.

Larsen’s casual team is a much better-looking bunch as they prepare to hit the beach (with Larsen mocking Choi’s tendency to use every possible adjective and explain them all with editorial boxes). Just before their departure, Maul hears a news report about an old friend injured in a super-human rampage (one side of which was Freak Force member Mighty Man) and puts a hole in the wall of his room in his eagerness to check on her.

The teams clash until Savage Dragon arrives to break things up, and Larsen playfully teases the tropes of the book, affirming some (Maul being big and dumb, Spartan getting ripped to shreds, Warblade basically being John Patrick’s character from Terminator 2) and mocking or reversing others (Void actually being effective, Zealot getting sucker punched while monologuing about her training).

The art on WildCATs #14 is beneath the typical Jim Lee par, but no one at the time compare with Lee’s slickness outside of his WildStorm protegés. Larsen’s rubbery action-figure fights and plain, expressive faces are effective, especially in the plain clothes scenes. It only goes to show how reliant WildCATs has been on the Lee factor to keep it moving, which should make the next arc a fascinating read.

Need the issues?

WildCATs #14 by Larsen is collected in The Savage Dragon, Vol. 4: Possessed (ISBN 978-1582400310) along with Larsen’s own version of Savage Dragon #13 (Amazon / eBay).

Savage Dragon #13 issue by Lee and Choi is collected in the 1998 trade paperback Savage Dragon: Team-Ups, ISBN 978-1582400471 (Amazon / eBay), but is not included in the later Savage Dragon Archives line, which includes’s Larsen’s #13 instead.

For single issues, Try eBay (WildCATs #14 / Savage Dragon #13) or Amazon (WildCATs #14 (alt link) / Savage Dragon #13). Since further WildCATs series reached #14, be on the lookout for this Larsen cover to make sure you get the right issue. And, remember, Larsen released his own, totally-different Savage Dragon #13 – and both versions are referred to as “#13a” in different places.

Here’s the schedule for the rest of this month’s WildStorm re-read – tomorrow we’re already back to Stormwatch with #14-16 as they edge inexorably closer to their grim end!

From The Beginning: WildStorm Universe – Deathblow (1993) #5-9

November 14, 2016 by krisis

[Patreon-Nov16-Post-Bug][/Patreon-Nov16-Post-Bug]Today we’re back to Deathblow, which I found to be wildly uneven on our last go-round. Now, Tim Sale has taken control of the artwork with Brandon Choi still scripting. Is the change enough to flip my opinion on the book?

Before we begin, a quick mea culpa: Lynch is still with IO in this arc, so this should’ve been read before Gen13. Oops! In fact, it might occur entirely between Gen13 #1 and #3 given the time that elapses and based on Lynch departing #9 directly for Gen13 #3. This arc also happens after Stormwatch #9, which means the arrival of the time traveller in Gen13 #1/2 misses Stormwatch #9 by at least a week.

deathblow_007 Deathblow is different than all of the other WildStorm books. It’s not just the desaturated colors or the religious overtones, but the small cast combined with sense that the plot is paramount. It feels as though the story might keep heaving onward even if Deathblow decided not to show up. At points in this arc it feels like he’s an anchor dragging behind the good versus evil aspects of the story, until the final pages of issue #9 manage to reel him in.

All of the plot points teased in issues #1-4 collapse into a single story here – Deathblow’s faith and his cancer, Travis’s untrustworthiness, the miracle boy in Philadelphia, the Black Angel, the Order of the Cross, and more. They felt like a lot of random information, but it turns out they’re all part of the same plot.

There’s an inherent tension between the scenes with Deathblow, terse and rippling with muscle, and the supernatural plot, which could be ripped straight from… well, Supernatural, to use a modern example. The sense that Deathblow himself isn’t of this paranormal world is tangible, even as we learn those closest to him have already been inducted.

Add to that the constant suspense of how Deathblow’s Gen-Active powers will present themselves (aside from being impervious to gun shots and stab wounds, that is), and this mystery has suddenly become almost as much as a page-turner as Stormwatch.

This leads me to marvel at the incredible powers of Brandon Choi, perhaps for the 15th day in a row. This man was plotting the entire WildStorm Universe, with each book wildly different in style than the last. Choi really settles in to the terse vibe of Deathblow here. It feels like it has its own voice moreso than the initial run.

Now the permanent artist (save for covers), Tim Sale imbues the book the sort of stark, crime noir look it’s needed all along. He deploys Lee’s style of fine detail only when warranted. While you’ll immediately be yearning for Jim Lee’s over-the-top version of Deathblow himself just because it looked so damned good, everything else about the book is a better fit for the story. Seen through a noir lens, it all makes more sense.

New with issue #6, colorist Linda Medley keeps the desaturated color palette but loses the sickly photo-negative greenish cast. This could be hindsight talking, but digital colors pull attention away from Tim Sale’s stately art. What I wouldn’t give to see a modern colorist like Matt Hollingsworth apply a vintage palette and lack of gradients to these issues. They deserve even plainer colors and starker contrast.

By the end of the arc, all of our characters (including a nun cop, the angel of death, and Director Lynch!) converge on a convent outside of Philadelphia for a bloody battle that entirely alters the course of Deathblow’s life – and definitely his comic book!

I’m not sure if I should recommend this book to you or not! Choi and Sale have made a remarkable turnaround with this arc, but I won’t be sure it was worth the ride until we see how it begins to be resolved.

Need the issues? Deathblow #5-9 (and on through #12) were collected in a 1999 TPB titled “Sinners and Saints.” DC issued a revised, expanded, and re-ordered HC and TPB of #0-12 that both are still readily available. For single issues try eBay (#5-9) or Amazon (#5, 6, 7, 8, 9) – and note that Amazon offers these issues digitally(!) through Comixology.

Here’s the schedule for the rest of this month’s WildStorm re-read – tomorrow we’re back to Stormwatch (already!) with #11-13.

From The Beginning: WildStorm Universe – Gen13 #1-5 & 1/2

November 13, 2016 by krisis

[Patreon-Nov16-Post-Bug][/Patreon-Nov16-Post-Bug]Gen13 was a massive bombshell when it struck in 1994, a comic about college-aged kids that actually looked and felt like it was about real college-aged kids because it was being drawn by one while also revealing a ton of backstory and connective tissue about the two-year-old WildStorm Universe.

And you know what? It’s still every bit as great today – even moreso after spending the past two weeks reading all of the comics that lead up to it.

gen13-1994-001 The cast of Gen13 were some of Jim Lee’s final creations in the early years of WildStorm. In an interview in Gen13 #1/2, he discusses being motivated to move away from the gear-laden extreme look (and the violence that accompanies it) that many classic characters at Marvel and DC were moving towards. (The irony of the entire team wielding guns on the cover from Lee is not lost on me). He also intentionally created Caitlin Fairchild as a literal strong female who was also super-smart – an obvious choice to lead the team.

It’s Lee’s focus on creating a different book rather than an imitation of something familiar that makes Gen13 so memorable. Caitlin Fairchild may not yet be a Tony Stark level genius, but her hairpin turn from ingénue to terrorist and leader never seems rushed given the breadth of her intellect and depth of her drive. It’s the same way almost all of Marvel’s original generation of male heroes are depicted as super-brains of some sort to explain their mastery of all things. Marvel has scant women who fit the same mold (at the time, just Mockingbird and Kitty Pryde), and none who also lead a team.

(Lee also included a buff, masculine, hyper-sexual Asian male with Grunge (a rarity even today) and an indigenous woman with Rainmaker who… well, we’ll get to that later.)

If we’re going to talk about the unique touches that make this book stand out, we have to discuss artist J. Scott Campbell. Campbell was discovered at age 19 in the talent search advertised in WildC.A.T.s #2! Prior to Gen13, his only published comics work was portions of Stormwatch #0, Deathmate Black, and pin-ups.

That’s it!

To go from obscurity to co-creating one of the most popular mini-series of the 90s is unbelievable. His achievement is made more incredible by the fact that he’s not specifically aping any single Image founder. Campbell draws distended, hyper-tall figures like Liefeld, he details muscles and clothes like Lee, and he has the fussy sketch lines of Silvestri. Campbell’s characters are all visually distinct and exciting as regular people wearing clothes, and his backgrounds and buildings are bristling with detail.

To have a 19-year-old designing 19-year-olds is part of the kinetic magic of Gen13. In fact, Lee reveals that Campbell designed Roxy AKA Freefall, who is by far the most visually distinct of all the Gen13 kids. Yes, Campbell errs on the side of some egregious T&A at points, but he’s seemingly just as eager to show nearly-nude men as he is women – he’s a kid who just wants to draw hot kids being hot. Also, the present-day fashion aspect of his pencils is powerful – Roxy the club kid, Caitlin’s mousy Princeton get-up, Bliss’s S&M dresses, Grunge’s early-90s flannels.

Yet, great art alone does not make for a good Image title – or else I’d be head over heels in love with WildCATs instead of constantly dissing it. The script here is wonderful. Brandon Choi was great on Stormwatch, but he was never better on early Image than on this initial run of Gen13 collaborating with Campbell (who picks up a story credit by the third issue). Characters all have distinct voices, details make sense, and each issue has its own rising and falling action. Caitlin Fairchild as our point-of-view character is so analytical that it makes perfect sense for her to issue a recap via narration at the beginning of each issue.

gen13-1994-005 It’s not just the Gen13 kids who make this story interesting, but I.O director John Lynch finally being fleshed out into a dynamic character instead of just a conniving government villain. If you’ve read any WildStorm up to this point, he hasn’t exactly been a sympathetic character (except for maybe in WildCATs #2 when he doesn’t arrest the team). That’s especially true coming from reading Kindred, where he seemed as hugely unsympathetic as ever!

Here we see another side of him. It’s not a sudden turn, but a transformation that makes sense for his character. For all of his heartless decisions over the years, he does have regrets – chief amongst them the raw deal many of his Team 7 teammates got if they didn’t go underground or let I.O. control their lives. That guilt means he cannot in good conscience support a renewed Genesis program – especially one that preys on the children of his teammates!

As I re-read this mini-series, I repeatedly asked myself: Are you seeing this through rose-colored glasses? Is this the joy of nostalgia talking?

I’ll admit a little buzz of returning to these characters, but given the sheer volume of comics I read, I don’t think my delight in Gen13 can be purely attributed to huffing the fumes of the 90s.

This is a good comic book that’s a perfect artifact of the times – even the gratuitous mid-mini-series guest appearance by Pitt.

Want the play-by-play? Keep reading for an extensive summary of this book, a major influence on me and an early inspiration to my 8th Grade version of Krisis. Here’s the schedule for the rest of this month’s WildStorm re-read. Tomorrow we’ll finally make it back around to Deathblow, now with Tim Sale in control of art duties. Will I like it better this time around?

Need the issues? Gen13 was such a massive, game-changing hit that it’s the rare WildStorm book that’s been through several reprints. Here are the three you should focus on:

The 1998 Gen13 Archives (ISBN 978-1887279918) is a great, comprehensive collection that includes all of these issues and pushes through #13 of their ongoing series and isn’t too hard to track down all these years later (Amazon / eBay).
Gen13: Who They Are and How They Came to Be (978-1401211493) is a 1996 collection of just this mini-series (not including #1/2) (Amazon / eBay). If you go that route, also pick up Gen13 Backlist (ISBN 1-887279-41-5), which includes #1/2 and some other one-shots (Amazon / eBay).
A Gen13: Complete Collection is due in spring of 2017 that covers through #7 of the ongoing, but includes the special Gen13: Rave issue not in Archives (Amazon pre-order).

Alternately, you can purchase single issues – try eBay (#1-5 & 1/2, AKA #-1) or Amazon (#1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1/2 AKA #-1 and alternative search #1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1/2 AKA #-1) – and note that Amazon offers these issues digitally(!) through Comixology.

Keep in mind that as a key issue #1 can be pricey on its own but there were plenty of these printed, so you’ll probably be better served buying a lot of the entire mini-series. Since several future Gen13 series hit these same issue numbers, be sure to match your purchase to the images in this post (note that #5 has two different covers). The Gen13 #1 with 13 different covers is not this #1 – it’s the first issue of their subsequent ongoing. [Read more…] about From The Beginning: WildStorm Universe – Gen13 #1-5 & 1/2

From The Beginning: WildStorm Universe – WildCATs #8-9

November 8, 2016 by krisis

[Patreon-Nov16-Post-Bug][/Patreon-Nov16-Post-Bug] WildCATs #8-9 represent a two-issue breather after two substantial arcs (or, at least, substantial for the pre-writing for-trade 90s). The pair of issues are both extra-long, with a full-length Brandon Choi / Jim Lee A-story plus a substantial backup with art from Travis Charest (#8 is written by Steve Seagle and #9 by Jeff Mariotte).

wildcats-v01-0009 Issue #8 slams the breaks on all the action so we can finally see these characters’ personalities develop. It’s not too effective considering they break into the obvious chunks – the already awesome Grifter/Zealot, the boring as dirt Warblade/Maul, and the slightly interesting Spartan/Voodoo AKA what if Cyclops was more of an unfeeling automaton and really did get with Psylocke.

The sad truth this arc brings to light is that WildCATs simply isn’t stocked with the right characters for good chemistry. I’d suggest that maybe I’m just not in the right mindset to appreciate early Image, except Choi is killing it on Stormwatch issue after issue!

The difference is all down to archetypes and how they are balanced.

Stormwatch certainly has them (the strong female 2nd-in-command, the huge and cheerful foreign tank, the taciturn Russian), but it also has the decidedly non-stereotypical Battalion as a point-of-view-character and relies on real-world intrigue blended with its fantasy. There are not one, but five bland, energy-projecting dudes that I cannot always tell apart, but they exist in the service of the story.

WildCats is a team that’s as deliberately-balanced as a football squad when it comes to powers (energy projection, psychic, strength, sharp bleedy things, guns). In terms of personality archetypes, there’s hardly anything to work with as we hit issue #8 (#12, if we count Trilogy and Special).

We have a lot of information about the complex relationship between Zealot and Grifter, and a hint of tension between Voodoo and Spartan, but little else to go on. The book continues to flatline whenever Grifter and Zealot aren’t on panel (and these issues give up Grifter in the opening pages so he can star in Kindred). The Spartan romance subplot is especially clunky because the book does such a bad job of defining just how sentient Spartan truly is.

What does work here is the streamlined plot – a single villain with a singular beef with Jacob Marlowe. Choi writes Lord Entropy like rogue fencepost that a tree grew around, where that tree is the modern world. He’s not the most interesting antagonist, but his actions raise the question – where are all the other pureblood Kherubim that didn’t wind up Coda like Zealot? Lord Entropy is one, and he’s got a twisted history with our Jacob Marlowe AKA Lord Emp. We’ve yet to meet any others, but even if they definitively lost the war there are bound to be a few.

The back-up tales in each book are a welcome chance to add depth and breadth to Voodoo and Warblade, respectively. Voodoo’s tale comes off more as a continuity-fix on her changing costume and attitude towards entering the fray. Warblade’s story does less plot heavy-lifting, but accomplishes more as a character piece.

Unless you are going all-in on a WildCATs re-read, I don’t think you need to pick up these issues. Perhaps I’ll be proven wrong later if Lord Entropy becomes a bigger plot point, but it seems like you could simply skip to the next arc or substitute The Kindred here.

Want the full details? Keep reading for a deeper breakdown of the plot. Here’s the schedule for the rest of this month’s WildStorm re-read. Though Grifter departs here for Kindred, before we get there we’ll read Union #1-4 and 0 tomorrow.

Need the issues? These issues have never before been collected! For single issues – try eBay (#6-8) or Amazon (#8 & 9 or 8 & 9 (try both)). Since further WildCATs series hit these same issue numbers, be sure to match your purchase to the cover images in this post.

From The Beginning: WildStorm Universe – Killer Instinct (WildCATS #5-7 & Cyberforce, Vol. 2 #1-3)

November 6, 2016 by krisis

wildcats-v01-0005 [Patreon-Nov16-Post-Bug][/Patreon-Nov16-Post-Bug]Jim Lee and Marc Silvestri made slightly different decisions about the continuations of their flagship properties, but both roads led to Image’s first major inter-imprint crossover, Killer Instinct.

On the WildStorm side, over half a year had elapsed since the release of WildCATs #4, which was supposed to be the back half of WildCATs #3, which came out another three months prior.

Sure, Lee and company had filled the void with Trilogy and Special #1, but a big part of the draw of WildCATs was Lee himself and he had been absent from both affairs. That was surely a motivator to continue the numbering with #5 rather than risk confusion of a third WildCATs #1 issue solicited in the same six months.

(Although, in his introduction Lee says the continued numbering was mostly for “psychological reasons” of not having to do another #1 issue – if only Marvel 2016 would re-read that memo!)

Silvestri had his own schedule struggle with Top Cow’s Cyberforce. The initial four-issue mini-series took ten months to complete – a year if you tack on the subsequent #0 issue. Maybe starting a new series could also be good for psychological reasons – Cyberforce would maintain a roughly bi-monthly schedule for the remainder of Silvestri’s run on pencils.

But, enough about calendars – what about the comics?

I was in my comic-buying prime when Killer Instinct hit the stands, and there was nothing that looked anywhere near as good coming from any publisher. That’s not all down to Lee and Silvestri, with Scott Williams on inks for both. I give a huge amount of credit to colorist Joe Chiodo and his team of separators.

These colors are over 20 years old and I’d still say they’re as good as high-gloss superhero comics get. From the metallic reds on Zealot’s boots to the greenery in Velocity’s training session to the pink energy discharge in Spartan and Heatwave’s faceoff, they all pop off the page without the sickly skin-tone gradients of modern books. He makes the comics look like a million bucks.

Killer Instinct’s story is slightly less sparkling. The concept of a shared past between claw-handed Warblade and Ripclaw has legs, as does their damaged love triangle with the conniving psychic Misery. The mistaken identity plus some psychic misdirection that brings the teams into conflict is tried and true comics manipulation to get heroes to fight each other.

cyberforce-v02-0001-cover The crossover has a firm set-up across two prelude issues and its initial pair of WildCATs #6 and Cyberforce #2, but then the final two issues are a muddle of unevenly-paced fighting. Misery never develops as a character and just gets shriller and more conflicted, and Warblade’s super power seems to be more about coming back from a good thrashing than having sharp, pointy fingers.

Lee and Choi seem to have a better handle on their team at the start of this outing than they did before, including playing up smaller personal moments amidst the carnage. The prelude to the crossover in issue #5 is by far their best issue yet, while #6 sinks back to the typical kinetic action sans relationships and #7 barely hangs together. It’s incredible to think Choi was scripting such a sure title on Stormwatch while swinging so ham-handedly here.

With Voodoo taken off the field early on and Grifter and Zealot fading into the background, there’s not much team for Choi to write. Spartan is still a boy scout, Maul still has a single line about getting bigger that he delivers repeatedly, and Warblade takes center stage.

Warblade gains a bit of depth from the exercise, but you probably won’t come away feeling differently about him than you did at the start. There is such a thing as leaning on Wolverine too much (there’s one memo Marvel actually read), and giving Warblade and Ripclaw a shared SpecOps backstory when we’re getting the same thing for Grifter and Deathblow is a little much.

Silvestri (with co-scripter brother Eric) nails the double duty of a debut issue that’s also a crossover prelude. I’ll admit, I think there’s a certain tackiness to crossing over so early in the life of the title, but marketing is marketing. Despite the tale being framed with a personal story about Ripclaw that serves the crossover, we get introductions and context for everyone else on the team save for Impact. With a strong mini-series behind them, the Silvestris…

that looks so weird as plural, I think we’re going to go with the singular…

…The Silvestri have room to introduce everyone without dropping us into action.

The Silvestri also effortlessly handle a thankless flashback issue in #2 by intertwining Misery’s history with the team’s own defection from CyberData. It’s crafted in such a way that you could have missed WildCATs and the story would still make sense coming from #1. While none of their characters wind up with much time in the spotlight, they all get things to do that are well-matched to their motivations.

The inconsistencies of a speedy wrap-up in #3 can be forgiven, especially since they come with so many interesting little moments, like Velocity’s struggle with taking a life.

Want the play-by-play? Keep reading for a summary of these two teams going head to head. Here’s the schedule for the rest of this month’s WildStorm re-read – tomorrow we’ll read Stormwatch #6-8, which occurs simultaneous to this story.

Need the issues? This is the rare early WildStorm story that’s been collected in full, in a 2004 DC-issued TPB! Good luck finding it – on Amazon it goes for too-high prices, but it goes for cover on eBay. Or, you can pick up single issues – try eBay (Cyberforce & WildCATs) or Amazon (Cyberforce #1, 2, 3 & WildCATs #5, 6, 7, alt WildCATs #5, 6, 7). If you’re picking up singles of Cyberforce, be careful not to buy the preceding limited series by mistake!