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Wildstorm Comics Reading Order

So at various times over the last year I’ve been binge-reading Wildstorm comics (Jim Lee’s imprint at Image Comics, originally named Homage, and later sold to and continued at DC Comics). While I’ve been reading, I’ve been organizing them into a good, clear reading order that keeps series and stories together in chunks, but also tries to avoid spoiling anything.

This is where I’m at so far, which goes from the beginnings of the universe in 1992 to about when it was sold to (and began publishing as an imprint of) DC Comics in 1999.

1. Team One – Team One WildCats #1-2, Team One Stormwatch #1-2

2. WildCats – WildCats v1 #0-4, WildCats Special #1, WildCats Trilogy #1-3, WildCats v1 #5-6, Cyberforce v1 #2, WildCats v1 #7, Cyberforce v1 #3, WildCats v1 #8-9

3. Deathblow – Dark Angel Saga – Deathblow v1 #0, Darker Image #1 (Deathblow story), Deathblow v1 #1-12

4. Stormwatch – Stormwatch v1 #1-3, 0, 4-5, Stormwatch Special #1, Wildstorm Rarities #1 (Stormwatch story), Stormwatch v1 #6-8

5. Union – Union v1 #1-4, 0

6. The Kindred – Wildstorm Rarities #1 (Kindred story), The Kindred v1 #1-4

7. Gen13 – Gen13 v1 #1-5, Gen13 #1/2 (AKA Wildstorm Rarities #1 (Gen13 story)), Gen13 v2 #0-1

8. Deathblow v1 #13-15

9. WildCats solos – Warblade: Endangered Species #1-4, Wildstorm Rarities #1 (Maul story), Spartan: Warrior Spirit #1-4, Zealot #1-3

10. WildCats – Gateway – WildCats v1 #10-13, Wildstorm Chamber of Horrors, WildCats v1 #14, WildCats v1 Annual #1, Voodoo/Zealot: Skin Trade, Grifter One Shot

11. Wetworks v1 #1-7

12. Team Seven – Team Seven v1 #1-4, Team Seven v2 #1-3, Team Seven v3 #1-4

13. Spawn & WildCats #1-4

14. Stormwatch – Images of Tomorrow – Stormwatch v1 #9, 25 (yes read 25 after 9), 10-17

15. Wildstorm! #1-3

16. Deathblow & Wolverine #1-2

17. Backlash #1-7

18. Union v2 – Wildstorm Rarities #1 (Crusade story), Union v2 #1-3

19. Wildstorm Rising Prelude – WildCats v1 #15-16, Stormwatch v1 #18-20, Stormwatch Special #2, Stormwatch v1 #21, WildCats v1 #17-19

20. Wildstorm Rising – Wildstorm Rising #1, WildCats v1 #20, Union v2 #4, Gen13 v2 #2, Grifter v1 #1, Deathblow v1 #16, Wetworks v1 #8, Backlash v1 #8, Stormwatch v1 #22, Wildstorm Rising #2

21. Grifter v1 #2-10

22. Grifter & Badrock #1-2 (no conclusion)

23. Stormwatch v1 #23-27 (yes, read 25 again here)

24. Union v2 #5-9, Union: Final Vengeance one-shot

25. Deathblow #17-19

26. Cybernary – Deathblow v1 #1-4 (Cybernary backups), Cybernary v1 #1-5

27. Brass v1 #1-3

28. Gen13 – Lynch #1, Gen13 v2 #3-7, Gen13/The Maxx, Gen13: The Unreal World, Spider-Man/Gen13, Gen13: Ordinary Heroes #1-2, Gen13: Rave, Gen13 Zine

29. Wetworks v1 #9-15

30. Stormwatch v1 #28-34

31. WildCats v1 #21-28

32. Grifter v2 #1-7

33. Backlash v1 #9-14

34. Brothers-in-Arms – Deathblow v1 #20-21, Gen13 v1 #8-9, Deathblow v1 #22-23, Backlash v1 #15-18, Deathblow v1 #24-25

35. Fire From Heaven – Fire From Heaven #1/2, Sword of Damocles #1, Sigma #1, Deathblow v1 #26, Fire From Heaven #1, Backlash v1 #19, Gen13 v2 #10, Wetworks v1 #16, Stormwatch v1 #35, Sigma #2, WildCats v1 #29, Deathblow v1 #27, Gen13 v2 #11, Backlash v1 #20, Wetworks v1 #17, Stormwatch v1 #36, WildCats v1 #30, Sigma #3, Sword of Damocles #2, Fire From Heaven #2, Deathblow #28-29

36. WildCats v1 #31-36

37. Grifter v2 #8-14

38. WildCats v1 #37-50

39. Voodoo – Dancing in the Dark #1-4

40. Savant Garde #1-7, WildCats: Savant Garde Fan Edition #1-3

41. Gen12 #1-5

42. Allegra #1-4

43. Hazard #1-7

44. Black Ops #1-5

45. Grifter/Shi #1-2

46. Grifter and the Mask #1-2

47. Shattered Image #1-4

48. WildCats/X-Men: The Golden Age, WildCats/X-Men: The Silver Age, WildCats/X-Men: The Modern Age, WildCats/X-Men: The Dark Age, JLA/WildCats

49. Wildstorm Spotlight #1-3

50. Stormwatch – Change or Die – Wildstorm! #4, Stormwatch v1 #37-47, Wildstorm Spotlight #4, Stormwatch v1 #48-50

51. Gen13 v2 #12, 13A-13C, 14-15, Wildstorm Halloween: Trilogy of Terror #1

52. Wetworks v1 #18-35

53. DV8 v1 #1-4, ½, 5-8, DV8: Rave

54. DV8 vs. Black Ops #1-3

55. DV8 v1 #9-13

56. Gen13 Interactive #1-3

57. Gen13 Bootleg – Gen13/Generation X, Gen13 Bootleg #1-18, Generation X/Gen13, Gen13 Yearbook 1997

58. Gen13 v2 #16-17, Gen13 3D Special #1, Gen13 v2 #18-25, Gen13 Bootleg Annual #1, Gen13 Bootleg #20

59. Gen13/Monkeyman & O’Brien #1-2

60. Backlash v1 #21-24, Backlash & Spider-Man #1-2, Backlash v1 #25-32

61. Wildcore – Wildcore Preview, Wildcore v1 #1-10

62. Phantom Guard #0-6

63. Wetworks v1 #36-43

64. DV8 – DV8 Annual 1998, DV8 Preview, DV8 v1 #14-23

65. Gen13 v2 #26-29, Gen13 Bootleg #19, Gen13 v2 #30-35

66. Slipstream – DV8 v1 #24-25, Gen13 Annual #2, DV8 Annual 1999

67. Gen13 v2 #36-41

68. DV8 v1 #0, 26-32

69. Stormwatch v2 #1-10, WildCats/Aliens #1, Stormwatch v2 #11

30 years ago today was "the day the Avengers die." (Avengers 400)

#comic books #avengers #marvel comics #marvel #mike wieringo #mark waid

The issues of Mr. Majestic with the Ed McGuinness art are some of my favorite comics ever. I just love his art so much. Pure comic book fun.

This shit is just so cool. The first issue has Mr. Majestic restructuring the entire solar system to save it from a Galactus type monster.

Mr. Majestic is my favorite Supermanalog (of which there are so very many).

Maybe the most fun issue is #3, where Maj goes for a night on the town with Maxine Manchester, who would have been a great and fun character to integrate more into the DCU when they did the New 52.

Deep thoughts about AI and "artificial life" that are probably more relevant than ever. How long before the Church of Gort is a real thing?

This last line from Maj is just my intoverted ass every time I get dragged out of the house. (and I left in the panel above because it's just funny).

I've seen a lot of these video game covers lately. Did Mr. Majestic do it first?

The plot of issue 5 involves this orange-skinned monster who wants to take over the world with a nonsense-filled speech and the most unbelievable part of it now is that the audience sees right through it and laughs at him, because the speech itself is just the normal stuff the orange-skinned monster who currently thinks he rules the world says and that people applaud him for.

Seriously. Ed McGuinness was born to draw this kind of character.

Surprised we didn't get an Ultravixens spin-off series. 5 years earlier they absolutely would have warranted a mini.

Sadly, Ed McGuinness leaves to draw Superman properly after issue 6, and issues 7-9 do not appeal to me nearly as much artistically but also they do the first 3-part story when all the other ones have been single parters and it is not very good (YMMV).

#comic books #wildstorm #majestic #mr. majestic #ed mcguinness

Batman/Planetary: Night on Earth is probably one of the best comics ever. I've never been the biggest Batman fan, and even less when I read it the first time, and I still loved it.

Gotham City! Basically not suitable for human habitation!

A Crisis on Infinite Earths reference!

All these different versions of Batman!

Bat-Female-Villain-Repellent!

Just great comics, and a master class by John Cassaday.

#comic books #wildstorm #planetary #batman #john cassaday

Planetary is one of the definitive Wildstorm series but also probably the easiest one to separate from the rest of the Wildstorm universe, save for brief mentions of Jenny Sparks, The Authority, and Daemonites.

this is what i say now when people ask why i live in Canada

Issue 1 of Planetary establishes the characters but issue 2 does a much better job of nailing the mood and premise.

Issue 4 is one of my faves. They could have done a whole-ass spinoff series about the guy who got chosen to Captain this shiftship (no coincidence that his design is reminiscent of one of comics' Captains Marvel).

I always thought this was supposed to literally show Jack Carter, a parody of John Constantine, becoming Spider Jerusalem (from Ellis's Transmetropolitan), but I realize now it was always supposed to be symbolic. The issue is about Carter's death, and his funeral being attended by parodies of all of the Alan Moore and Grant Morrison characters from the big '80s and early '90s Vertigo books. Then, at the end, it is revealed that Carter, representative of those books, isn't dead, he is just going to change into something new, representative of the big late '90s/early '00s Vertigo books. The commentary is that those weird books aren't gone, they've just changed, which is in line with Planetary's core message of "It's a weird world. Let's keep it that way."

I fucking love the solid coloring on these flashback panels of Elijah's past.

The other thing Ellis establishes more in Planetary, which is a throughline in his Wildstorm work, is this century baby concept - all of the super beings born on January 1, 1900, who were basically ageless after a point and existed to protect the world. It's such a fun and brilliant concept, because it creates a whole wealth of characters who are all essentially like Wolverine - 100 years old with mysterious pasts full of potential stories. Even with as much as creators did with it over a decade + of Wildstorm comics, I still feel like there was a ton of untapped stories there.

#comic books #wildstorm #planetary #john cassaday

not much i love in the 2nd arc of Authority, but I was always a sucker for Ellis's comics about space exploration and travel, so I wish they had done more with this era of Jenny Sparks.

But then I suppose we have Orbiter and Ocean and Anna Mercury and Ignition City and so many other Ellis comics that probably do the same thing.

#comic books #wildstorm #authority #bryan hitch #jenny sparks

Time for some very self-aware Gen 13 comics!

Most specifically - Gen 13: Magical Drama Queen Roxy by the amazing Adam Warren (and with some variant covers that are quite something, apparently).

The whole thing is just a parody dream sequence, poking fun at the larger pop culture world of the time but also the Gen 13 comics themselves. I love that this gets called out here. Grunge is her dream guy. Grunge. Seriously. "'Loser' encoded in the strands of his DNA!"

It really struck me how culturally relevant this comic still was 25 years later. Change "P.C. Queen" to "Woke Queen" and you could basically put out the same comic now, for good or for ill. And I don't think Warren is saying it's particular bad to fight the phobias and the isms here - to be "P.C." as they would say at the time. Just that some people can take it a little too far and make it their whole loud personality and try to weaponize it against others.

This is the correct response to anyone who refers to the movies of Kevin Smith as an "oeuvre."

#comic books #wildstorm #gen 13 #adam warren

In my heart of hearts, I know Jim Lee's Divine Right: The Adventures of Max Faraday isn't really a good comic, but I love it so.

Max's sister spends half the series running around in this shiny silver dress. Why is it shiny and silver? Who cares! Comics!

Max's love interest and motivation for everything he does in the series? A virginal college internet girlfriend LITERALLY named "Chaste."

And if you were around in the late 90s/early 00s when this series came out, you will recognize it is full of ALL of the cliches and terrible jokes of the time, deftly inserted no matter how much the moment could be played seriously instead.

This guy makes me think of Hawkman. Would love to have seen Jim Lee draw a proper Hawkman story.

Again, ALL of the cliches and tropes of its time.

Especially including that good comics cheesecake art that they just don't do in mainstream books anymore. I've said before that I think a big part of the success of the original Image Comics revolution came from making comics for teenage boys at a time when nothing else really catered to them. TV shows, movies, cartoons, and Marvel and DC comics were either for kids or adults, and video games were starting to embrace the market but not nearly at the level they would 10 years later. A lot of these Wildstorm books especially embraced the humour, horniness, and kind of action that a hormonal teen wanted at the time.

I keep complaining that Jim Lee, in his role as publisher at DC Comics, has not made them release a giant Absolute Edition of this, his finest work. But at the same time, a new pass on the dialogue might not hurt it on re-release, because some of this is very cringe.

Max and Fairchild look more like siblings (especially on this cover) than Max and Jenny do.

No notes. Peak 90s cover.

Great use of repeated panels to suggest the passage, or lack thereof, of time. You can read this page in a second, but your mind interprets that a long time passed with nothing happening. This is something you really can't do in any other form of media.

Lee just does so much cool and epic stuff in this series, but he focuses on the more personal story of Max and Susanna, so a lot of this other stuff just feels forgettable in the end. Which is a shame, because I think doing more with The Fallen (the team of warriors on Max's side), exploring their characters and backgrounds and showing their adventures would have been really cool.

He's got a giant snake-monster between his legs. Get it?

lmao the good old days when online password security was non-existent.

a lot of times i'll make jokes about the art representing someone's very specific fetish but i hope that is not true in this instance. like i get being into bondage but i really hope jim lee isn't into this full on vacuum-sealed suit stuff

how you can tell Jim had sold Wildstorm to DC by issue 7

the right response to when some chud asks "what is a woman" as some kind of anti-woke gotcha is now "one who steals men's hearts and crushes their wills beneath her stilettos"

This 4-page spread that is split between the last 2-pages of issue 8 and the first 2-pages of issue 9 is incredible and I would very much like to see it reprinted in an absolute edition all together so more people could fully appreciate it

Series could have totally ended with issue 9 and the walk into the sunset, but we still have 3 more issues and two specials left.

sometimes in comics you get the best lines of dialogue coming from the dumbest looking characters

oh, there's also the Wizard 1/2 issue, which is just some dream Max has about being in a dungeons & dragons type world/situation. fantasy Suze looking good though.

The neat thing about this is the writer was just some fan who won a contest and Jim Lee drew his story. I know contests (especially art ones) get frowned on nowadays as just an attempt to solicit unpaid labour, and also companies are afraid of the legal ownership arguments, but I still think it's cool.

#comic books #wildstorm #wildcats #jim lee #divine right #gen 13

The first 6 issues of Wildcats volume 2 have characters ask each other where Warblade is a couple of times, so in the 7th we get a recap on him.

Turns out after the Wildcats broke up he went to spend time with his gf and she was immediately fridged by Pike, so Warblade got better, hunted him down, and then killed him by spreading his liquid metal under Pike's skin and then tearing it out (kinda like Magneto did to Wolverine that one time).

I don't know if Pike ever shows up again. Be kinda weird that they had this Deathstroke-like bad guy and never got into his background or any solo stories if he doesn't.

#comic books #wildstorm #wildcats #warblade

Wildcats volume 2 being one of the pioneers of the whole "too many variant covers" trend.

They're all pretty great though. GOAT artists.

#comic books #wildstorm #wildcats

So I've decided to get into my Wildstorm comics re-read again, and I'm hoping posting about it keeps me from getting distracted by something else. Since twitter isn't a thing anymore, I'm just gonna post my random shit here instead.

I have previously read up to the end of what I think of as "Phase 3," which is all of the first volume of WildCATs and the first 2 volumes of Stormwatch and all of the Marvel crossovers and a bunch of Gen13 and DV8 and Backlash and whatever. You can find a reading order for all of this in my pinned post, and I'll edit it when I finish this next chunk of books, which I see as "Phase 4." It's the period when Jim Lee sold Wildstorm to DC and the comics get weirder and more experimental and less traditional superhero.

And, of course, that starts with the launch of Wildstorm's most famous series - The Authority (as a WildCATs diehard it kills me to say that, but it's true).

I think part of what helps the Authority work is it's not a 1:1 parody of an existing superteam, as many of these things so often are. Yeah, they have Superman and Batman analogs, but you can't really fit anyone else on the team into one of the big 7 Avengers/JLA member roles too easily.

All the worst Batman fans you know think Midnighter is the coolest but I hate having to read this speech every time he shows up. Insufferable.

Relatable mood, but I've started looking at statements like this and realizing how many people fool themselves into thinking the reverse must therefore be true (in this case "I'm hurting people badly, so I must be working for a better world") in order to justify their actions.

This is actually a great way to end the 1st Authority story because that final sentence - "You are not alone" - can be seen as comforting or threatening depending on the listener.

#wildstorm #comic books #the authority #midnighter