This past week, DC announced that their Wildstorm imprint was officially going away. While recently Wildstorm has been on a bit of a downturn, it still had produced some remarkably great books. It was the home of books that came from the mind of luminaries like Warren Ellis, Alan Moore, Ed Brubaker, Brian Wood, Brian K. Vaughan and a whole lot more.
In short, the Wildstorm is dead. Long the live the Wildstorm.
To commemorate it going away, today, Matt and I worked out what our combined top 10 Wildstorm titles ever are. Check it out after the jump and let us know what your top books are (were?) in the comments.
5. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Who made it: Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill
What was it: A book that Moore originally called “the Justice League of Victorian England” that eventually started to weave characters from the era’s literature into a tapestry of dramatic intrigue. It stars characters like Mr. Hyde, Allan Quartermain, and Mina Harker, and doesn’t do so in a way that it would be considered a gimmick but as a legitimate dramatic device.
Why was it awesome: Well, it’s Alan Moore doing what he does: take big concepts that would be sprawling and out of control with other writers and make them focused and powerful thanks to his keen sense of character throughout. Conceptually, it soars, but the execution is all the better (although I’m still not convinced The Black Dossier was good at all).
Kevin O’Neill’s art is a perfect fit for the literary backdrop and the character types he is given, and the level of detail he embeds on each and every page makes this book a joy on re-read.
4. Sleeper
Who made it: Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips
What was it: Spinning out of Wildcats (sort of) and Point Blank, this book is similar to Bru and Phillips’ title Criminal (which more of you are likely familiar with) except it adds the wrinkle of superpowers into the equation. It’s about Holden Carver, a man who has been given powers that makes him impervious to pain and able to dish any pain he does receive back out (as well as a healing factor) but unable to really feel anything, who is in deep cover for International Operations with a crime lord named TAO – except his primary contact is in a coma and no one else knows he didn’t go rogue.
Oops.
Why was it awesome: If you’ve ever read any of the deadly duo’s other collaborations, you know why this book could be great: they are just a dream team who’s styles blend incredibly well together. It’s part noir, part superhero book, part crime book, but all awesome. Brubaker comes up with some of the most deliciously evil characters ever in this book, and I love the concept of a central organization that covertly runs the world and the one man who is trying to take them down.
It’s dark, dirty and just incalculably awesome.
Phillips provides his standard exceptional work, telling a mean story with his pretty and gritty imagery. The man is one of the most talented artists in the industry, and his collaborations with Brubaker are far and away the highlights of his career. Sleeper is no different, and perhaps one of the most underrated books in modern history.
3. The Authority
Who made it (when we loved it): Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch/Mark Millar and Frank Quitely
What was it: This book was an offshoot of Warren Ellis’ run on Stormwatch that focused on a superhero team that had an uncompromising grasp on right and wrong, and one that had no problem at all making you realize it when you were the latter (at the pain of death).
Continued belowWhy was it awesome: Touted as the book that introduced “widescreen comics,” The Authority both in the Ellis/Hitch run and Millar/Quitely run both boiled the superhero genre down to its very core while also taking it in new directions thanks to their usage of decompression. While the stories themselves ran slower, they were remarkably effective, entertaining and devastating. Ellis seemed to have as much fun as he ever did with this book, turning characters like The Midnighter and Jenny Sparks into massive hits with his readership and ushering in a new era of superhero comics.
Then, Millar took over and took the book in a whole new direction that focused more on the team asserting their control on the world and using their powers for more political gain, and that worked like a charm as well.
It’s hard for me to decide which artist I enjoyed the most, Quitely or Hitch, but I will say that when I first read The Authority Hitch blew my mind. His work was just at a scale that I had never seen before, and I had a hell of a time drinking in the images he created. The level of detail he would put into things like The Authority’s ship The Carrier was remarkable, and something I had never experienced before.
Deep down, I think the reason why it falls in at number three overall though is that it is massively entertaining, but not a book that connects on a deep personal and emotional level like numbers one and two. Still, in this race, number three is a hell of a thing.
2. Ex-Machina
Who made it: Brian K. Vaughan and Tony Harris
What was it: Mitchell Hundred is two things: a former superhero named The Great Machine and the mayor of New York City. How he reconciles these two things and the incident that gave him his powers (the ability to verbally control electronic equipment) forms the backbone of the plot, but it’s his relationships with those around him that forms the heart of the story (and what eventually makes the finale so gut wrenching).
Why was it awesome: When Brian K. Vaughan is on, he can tell a story that bridges genre fiction with straight up great dramatic storytelling and brilliant character work. He’s at his best here, putting together a 50 issue run that is intense, intelligent, funny, scary, and occasionally meta. While its greatness isn’t as immediate as Y the Last Man’s, it is every bit as rewarding when you’re all said and done.
Tony Harris provides an able partner to BKV, as his photo referencing art makes this one of the best and most unique books from a visual standpoint. Any book is better when it has the same writer and artist throughout the entirety of its run, but with this book there was just no other option: they were a dream team.
1. Planetary
Who made it: Warren Ellis and John Cassaday
What was it: A group that calls themselves the “Archaeologists of the Impossible,” The Planetary Group is one that is fronted by a field team of Jakita Wagner, The Drummer and new recruit Elijah Snow. While they spend most of their time scouring the globe for strange phenomena, the biggest mysteries of the series are: who is their mysterious benefactor “The Fourth Man,” how will they get their former Third Man Ambrose Chase back, and how will they stop their enemies named The Four?
Why was it awesome: The thing that makes this the best of Wildstorm’s long list of titles is the fact that it is perhaps the most creative and fully realized work Ellis ever put together. The “Archaeologists of the Unknown” idea springs to life in his hands, finding its foundation in superhero adventure comics, but often having science fiction, pulp, and literary archetypes leak into its pages.
Perhaps nothing explains the series better than the cover to the 26th issue, depicting Snow (comprised of puzzle pieces) holding his own final piece. The fun in this series stems from slowly but surely figuring out the mysteries and the brilliant ways Ellis brings them all together, and it really is an example of one of the best in the industry putting together his career best work.
Continued belowSpeaking of that, John Cassaday puts out some of his best work ever here, especially with Laura Martin taking his art to a whole new level. While I love all of his work, Cassaday is given the opportunity to really expand his horizons by realizing the remarkable things that come into the head of ELlis. Whether it’s the huge and unexplainable like Island Zero or the small and powerful like the ghost cop the team runs into in Hong Kong, Cassaday gives us some of the finest and most iconic examples of art in the history of comics.
With a formula like that, it’s hard to imagine any other comic topping Planetary on this list. Which is why no one did, I suppose.
Full Top 10 List
10. Red
9. Stormwatch: PHD
8. Welcome to Tranquility
7. DV8: Gods and Monsters
6. Tom Strong
5. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
4. Sleeper
3. The Authority
2. Ex-Machina
1. Planetary
David’s Top 10 List
10. Strangers in Paradise
9. Tom Strong
8. Stormwatch PHD
7. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
6. Welcome to Tranquility
5. Sleeper
4. Top 10
3. The Authority
2. Planetary
1. Ex-Machina
Matt’s Top 10 List
10. Point Blank
9. Stormwatch
8. Red
7. Tom Strong
6. DV8 relaunch
5. Sleeper
4. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
3. Ex-Machina
2. The Authority
1. Planetary
