The Wildstorm Universe lives again.
Warren Ellis is hardly the type of creator to revisit his greatest hits. If anything, Ellis has a frustrating habit of dabbling in new projects and leaving well before he's explored their full potential (or even finished them, as fans of Fell and Desolation Jones will attest). So the fact that Ellis is not only returning to his familiar stomping grounds in the Wildstorm Universe, but committing to at least a two year story spanning multiple comics, is cause for excitement. And true to form, The Wild Storm doesn't read like any Wildstorm comic that's come before.
Ellis' earlier Wildstorm projects like Stormwatch and The Authority helped shape the direction of the comics industry in the aftermath of the '90s implosion. Ellis and artist Bryan Hitch basically coined the term "widescreen comics" with their epic, cinematic approach. That's not really the approach Ellis and artist Jon Davis-Hunt take here. The Wild Storm doesn't even really come across as a superhero comic at all. It's more a sci-fi-flavored espionage book, one that takes a handful of familiar faces, remixes them and generally re-imagines the Wildstorm Universe to suit a more contemporary and jaded audience. Right away, it's fun seeing Ellis streamline this eclectic universe into a leaner, meaner whole.
Davis-Hunt's art style embodies that altered approach. His previous DC assignment wasn't a colorful superhero title, but rather the mature readers horror series Clean Room. That gives you some idea of the tone here. Davis-Hunt focuses on clean, orderly page layouts rather than massive widescreen panels. Occasionally his art opens up to reflect the bigger moments in the script, but in general the focus is much more confined and intimate than readers might be expecting. Not that Davis-Hunt's art doesn't reflect the general weirdness of the Wildstorm U in terms of architecture and tech designs, but clearly he and Ellis are interested in a more muted, subtle approach right now.
Regardless of your familiarity with the characters and concepts, this first issue is immediately inviting. So much of what makes Ellis' work appealing is immediately apparent - sardonic characters, futuristic concepts, dark conspiracies. There's black humor aplenty, which makes Davis-Hunt's shift from Clean Room to The Wildstorm feel all the more natural. Ellis doesn't attempt to flood the first issue with too many characters, but rather just enough faces to get a general feel for this re-imagined universe and the tone the creators are striving for. It's abundantly clear that there's plenty of room for spinoffs here, but it's just as well DC is starting out slow with this reboot rather than immediately flooding the market with new Wildstorm comics. We don't need a repeat of 2011.
The Verdict
DC's handling of the Wildstorm imprint has been lackluster for many years now, but it's should come as little surprise that Warren Ellis is able to right the ship. The Wild Storm #1 serves as an accessible and promising start to this ambitious reboot. It's clearly not trying to replicate the successes of the past, but rather find new ways merging high concept superhero storytelling with the post-modern world we live in.
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