Wildstorm was founded by Jim Lee in 1992, and helped to form Image Comics. DC bought Wildstorm in 1999. Wildstorm mainly publishes superhero comics with different sort of vibe than mainstream superhero comics. They also publish titles not set in any continuity, stand-alone stories, or movie tie-ins like Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street. They also published a Supernatural prequel miniseries.
But I only get one title from Wildstorm.
Ex Machina - This is a stand alone series written by Brian K. Vaughn. The premise is that the only superhero in the world, after successfully saving one of the towers of the World Trade Center on September 11th, runs for mayor of New York City. And wins.The hero is called The Great Machine and he has an awesome superpower. He can talk to machines. He can tell a gun to misfire, he can tell a video camera to shut off, and he can tell a plane to land on a freeway. But as mayor of New York, he's not a superhero anymore.
The book takes place during his term as mayor, but we get glimpses of his past as a superhero which helps him to make his decisions as mayor in the present. So yes, this book is mainly about politics, less about superheroes, and I love it. It's also a mature title so it's got all the profanity and violence and nudity one desires but it doesn't go overboard with it.
This is a smart book by one of my favorite writers with great artwork, and one I could easily recommend to a non-comic book reader.
That's it for Wildstorm. Hey, I said this would be short. On to Vertigo!
Vertigo Comics is DC Comics' mature-title imprint. It's also the imprint that published both V for Vendetta and Watchmen. There used to be a couple of titles set in the main DC universe, like Animal Man and Swamp Thing, but that is not the case anymore.
Y: The Last Man - I get this series in trade paperback format, only because I jumped into this series late and it fits nicely on my bookshelf. This series is also written by Brian K. Vaughn (love that guy!) and is about a man and his monkey. Seriously. Okay there's a lot more to it than that. Basically, something caused the male gender of every mammal on Earth to die, except for a man named Yorick and his pet monkey, Ampersand. What's a guy to do? Not what you expect, to be sure, and that's why I love this book.
Yorick wants to find his fiancee. But the world is an unsafe place for the last man on Earth. So the government, in the shape it's in right now, assigns Agent 355 to protect him, as they search for a way to save the human race.
This is another smart book that poses a lot of questions and brings up a lot of issues, just like Ex Machina. I could give the first trade to just about anyone and they'll be intrigued. Actually, the last issue is due to come out soon, bringing an end to a magnificent story.
DMZ - This comic takes place in the near future, during a civil war between the United States and the Free States of America, with Manhattan Island as a DMZ. It follows a young photojournalist as he documents the story unfolding between the front lines. This is a book that comments on the current state of the union, and the world, and the press, and terrorism. It's pretty depressing, but a good read.
Army @ Love - This is a satire book. Like, extreme satire. In the near future, the US Military is having trouble recruiting troops for their various wars across the globe. So they turn to the cooperations, and they decide to rebrand the war as a thrilling, sexy, adrenaline-filled experience for young people. It works. Recruitment is at an all-time high, but discipline is at an all-time low.
I'm on the fence about this book. It's funny, but for all the wrong reasons. Sex during a firefight? The military holding orgies to boost morale? I'm all for war being satired, but I'm not too sure what to make of this. I'll stick with it, just to see how far they go.
That's it for now. Next time, Marvel Comics!
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