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WildC.A.T.s 3.0 #1-12
Wildcats: Version 3.0. Year One
WildStorm's top super-team retires the tights and starts saving the world from the vantage point of high-stakes corporate activity! Jack 'Spartan' Marlowe, the WildCats leader, decides that his team of superpowered allies can do more for the people of Earth by being responsible corporate citizens. He uses Void's god-like powers to access an alien dimension to create never-failing batteries and sets out to take over the world for the greater good. Meanwhile, others on the team aren't adjusting to the stuffy suit-and-tie lifestyle so well, as Grifter begins wishing he could go back to kicking butt.
288 pages, Paperback
First published September 21, 2010
About the author
Joe Casey
978 books91 followersLibrarian note: there is more than one author with this name
Joe Casey is an American comic book writer. He has worked on titles such as Wildcats 3.0, Uncanny X-Men, The Intimates, Adventures of Superman, and G.I. Joe: America's Elite among others. As part of the comics creator group Man of Action Studios, Casey is one of the creators of the animated series Ben 10.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Casey
Joe Casey is an American comic book writer. He has worked on titles such as Wildcats 3.0, Uncanny X-Men, The Intimates, Adventures of Superman, and G.I. Joe: America's Elite among others. As part of the comics creator group Man of Action Studios, Casey is one of the creators of the animated series Ben 10.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Casey
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
May 15, 2012
I understand that the changing face of Image necessitated a revamping of their brands, and that Jim Lee wanted to move Wildstorm into different waters, but WildCATS Year One sure as hell ain't Sleeper. It's a snoozefest for damn near half the book. You could skip every three pages and still get the whole story. There is just too much unnecessary trash to wade through that it makes it hard to love the things that were done right. The premise is great, very modern, Joe Casey does his best William Gibson impersonation and it is a rollercoaster of highs and lows throughout the entirety of the series. It's worth the read and has some damn good artwork, just don't expect to be blown away with all the lulls you'll encounter.
May 5, 2011
Not what I expected - actually better in many ways. The espionage angle is well-played, and the characters are actually interesting in that they are all a little dirty. The main thrust of the storyline - corporate global dominance - is definitely moving at a fast, curvy clip.
I was expecting more capes and powers out of this, and while I would've said this mostly-unpowered-human approach wasn't up my alley, the writing is definitely hooking me. It's hard to say what about it is attractive, because at times I still find myself more interested in puttering around the house than reading more of this book - so something's not quite right for me. But when I *do* pick it up I find myself reading a few chapters at a time.
I think what it is, is I find myself a teensy bit disappointed - the reputation this book, this run of WILDCats has gained in the years since its release made it out to be mind-blowing. And maybe it as at the time, who can say? It's darned good, but for any good student of Chomsky there's really nothing on the corporate criticism side that's fresh or eye-opening.
As book 2 progreses the mysteries deepen, and we start seeing the cracks in the perfectly-planned idea finally start to break down. As the plot escalates and people start getting drawn deeper into the intrigue it got better for me - Jack Marlowe isn't perfect, he doesn't have all the answers and as much of a control freak as he is, it's more interesting to see what happens when the human element mixes things up. The natural tension between Grifter and Marlowe isn't just necessary, it's great.
I'm also fascinated by the handling of the villainesss - the books's character synopsis made her sound unbeatable but seeing her fallibility is far more interesting.
I think the second half is where the long setup of the first half starts to shine - wondering whether the various people and actions will crap out (and how) is very satisfying reading.
I was expecting more capes and powers out of this, and while I would've said this mostly-unpowered-human approach wasn't up my alley, the writing is definitely hooking me. It's hard to say what about it is attractive, because at times I still find myself more interested in puttering around the house than reading more of this book - so something's not quite right for me. But when I *do* pick it up I find myself reading a few chapters at a time.
I think what it is, is I find myself a teensy bit disappointed - the reputation this book, this run of WILDCats has gained in the years since its release made it out to be mind-blowing. And maybe it as at the time, who can say? It's darned good, but for any good student of Chomsky there's really nothing on the corporate criticism side that's fresh or eye-opening.
As book 2 progreses the mysteries deepen, and we start seeing the cracks in the perfectly-planned idea finally start to break down. As the plot escalates and people start getting drawn deeper into the intrigue it got better for me - Jack Marlowe isn't perfect, he doesn't have all the answers and as much of a control freak as he is, it's more interesting to see what happens when the human element mixes things up. The natural tension between Grifter and Marlowe isn't just necessary, it's great.
I'm also fascinated by the handling of the villainesss - the books's character synopsis made her sound unbeatable but seeing her fallibility is far more interesting.
I think the second half is where the long setup of the first half starts to shine - wondering whether the various people and actions will crap out (and how) is very satisfying reading.
September 28, 2010
I originally read this about 8 years ago and remember utterly loving it, so I wanted to give it a revisit. I'm happy to report it's still pretty damn great! The WildCATS, formerly a big, stupid superhero team, have decided to literally rebrand themselves, refocusing their considerable resources into the corporate space. Rather than beating up all the world's problems, they're out to solve them by subverting capitalism and releasing advanced alien energy sources at affordable prices for everyone.
Reading this feels years ahead of its time, as we're fully now in a world where renewable energy is a big part of the conversation. And the idea of a superhero team fully using business as a means to help people and take down corrupt competition, rather than superficially helping in individual situations, is truly genius. The fact that the Grifter and Wax storylines are full of action and suspense, while still feeling important to the overall plot, also keeps this from feeling too talk-y or lifeless. It's really exceptional.
A few things haven't aged perfectly. There's a weird subplot about Wax using his mind control powers on his boss's wife that feels pretty gross, and there are a couple of very minor characters who are openly racist as a personality trait. I know Casey isn't endorsing racism with these characters, but it just feels a little lazy and outdated to have characters behave that way.
Overall, though, this is a great read. The dialogue gets a lot done without ever feeling overtly expositional, Casey's characterizations are three-dimensional, and people on both sides operate in gray areas that keep you from ever feeling like you're 100% comfortable with anyone's actions, including the WildCATS. I'm excited to see how this thing wraps up in the next volume!
Reading this feels years ahead of its time, as we're fully now in a world where renewable energy is a big part of the conversation. And the idea of a superhero team fully using business as a means to help people and take down corrupt competition, rather than superficially helping in individual situations, is truly genius. The fact that the Grifter and Wax storylines are full of action and suspense, while still feeling important to the overall plot, also keeps this from feeling too talk-y or lifeless. It's really exceptional.
A few things haven't aged perfectly. There's a weird subplot about Wax using his mind control powers on his boss's wife that feels pretty gross, and there are a couple of very minor characters who are openly racist as a personality trait. I know Casey isn't endorsing racism with these characters, but it just feels a little lazy and outdated to have characters behave that way.
Overall, though, this is a great read. The dialogue gets a lot done without ever feeling overtly expositional, Casey's characterizations are three-dimensional, and people on both sides operate in gray areas that keep you from ever feeling like you're 100% comfortable with anyone's actions, including the WildCATS. I'm excited to see how this thing wraps up in the next volume!
Read
January 13, 2017There have been industrialist superheroes since the Golden Age, but Casey and Nguyen put a whole new twist on the idea when they had Jack Marlowe, the former Spartan - an android who'd been fighting an interstellar war, only to discover it had ended centuries earlier - realise that he could do more good for Earth with his Halo Corporation than he ever had by punching malefactors. Granted, it helped that he could teleport, was pretty much indestructible and had access to extraterrestrial technology which made affordable, everlasting batteries a viable product. But the most fantastical idea here remains that of such a thoroughly benevolent corporate overlord. The text is garnered with references showing Casey has done his research on the legal mistakes and deliberate power grabs which have left companies in such thorough control of the world, but it's noticeable that nowhere in this volume do we see much pushback from Halo's less altruistic, more real-world rivals - presumably that comes in Year Two. Such tension as there is comes largely from Spartan's remaining ties to his past life as costumed crimefighter, in particular the association with gun-toting malcontent Grifter, allowing for a degree of meta commentary on the genre: "It's true, there are tangents of our lives that - to the uninitiated - might seem a bit nonsensical. Perhaps they are, but so is humanity." Indeed, some of the most powerful drama comes when Grifter's plotline intersects the volume's surprising proliferation of badass accountants.
Read
July 15, 2026I enjoyed the first year more than the second, but it’s a lot of promise that as I eventually learned doesn’t really pay off. Casey also sidelines the female characters from his work in the previous volume (Pris, Ladytron, Zealot), and doesn’t really replace them in the same way until later, so there’s a disappointing male dominance for a while. I really enjoy Rendozzo when she appears though, especially because her narrative is initially presented as a classic kidnapping then revealed to be a violent custody battle between her, a spy turned crime lord, and her FBI spy husband where the FBI are the antagonists and her tween son is a psycho assassin in training. I also loved the Nuclear Family of FBI killers, such a superhero style way of satirizing this essentially state mandated social structure.
The themes are still strong, lots of parent-son or brother relationships, and the corporation both as family and as superhero. Casey takes what the original Superman comics explored metaphorically, and all good superhero comics have riffed on since then, power used with responsibility, and confronts it with the real world. With the ways in which corporations have manipulated the government to grant them more rights and power than mere citizens, companies have become more than human, and thus the CEOs who control them superhuman. The book asks what if one of those powerful CEOs finally decided to prioritize helping the world as opposed to their own personal greed. It’s for sure a a neoliberal fantasy, ignoring the many workers Jack fires in his acquisitions to focus on his energy innovations, but I really enjoyed how this forces the reader to see institutional socio-economic power as akin to superpowers that can be wielded heroically or villainously. While in our world we only have villains, Wildcats promises to create the first corporate hero.
It doesn’t fully deliver, but it’s the first time I’ve seen that subject really broached, despite the fact that characters like Iron Man, Batman, or the Fantastic Four all have the material to do so. Instead, the classic cape comics opt for fisticuff based narratives, which Casey discusses through Jack and Grifter’s core conflict, which Dolby gets caught in the middle of. Manipulation and personal conflicts vs violent action represent Casey’s own struggle to break this DC owned comic out of the norm, and he seems to posit that the only way things will really change is if the corporation itself makes the decision.
Power and responsibility remain central, and despite the pretty simplistic dismissals of communism last volume, Casey views corporations with plenty of suspicion (although that Lincoln quote is fake). While Marlowe basically sets about solving the energy crisis with his vast corporate power, his mission sees two of his employees become a murderer and rapist respectively (both while stuck in traffic), the murderer kept out of jail by Marlowe’s corporate power. Not only that, but it’s Sam, who never leaves the world of the office, who lacks any regret over the murder he commits, whereas Dolby, who leaves the office briefly for some covert action, is racked by guilt and nightmares for a murder he commits in self defense.
The rapes are probably the part of this book I found the most distasteful, as it’s a classic case of harming a female character in order to advance the narrative of two men. It also felt surprisingly out of place both in terms of the sudden inexplicable motivation of the character who does it and how crudely, almost comedically, it’s executed. It’s disappointing that Casey resorts to this harmful cliche while claiming he’s pushing forward the superhero medium, especially after he skirted this trope last volume with Pris’ story.
Art’s fantastic even though I thought I wouldn’t like it, Nguyen really knows how to tell a story. And an all time series of covers, I wish the interiors incorporated more of these design elements.
The themes are still strong, lots of parent-son or brother relationships, and the corporation both as family and as superhero. Casey takes what the original Superman comics explored metaphorically, and all good superhero comics have riffed on since then, power used with responsibility, and confronts it with the real world. With the ways in which corporations have manipulated the government to grant them more rights and power than mere citizens, companies have become more than human, and thus the CEOs who control them superhuman. The book asks what if one of those powerful CEOs finally decided to prioritize helping the world as opposed to their own personal greed. It’s for sure a a neoliberal fantasy, ignoring the many workers Jack fires in his acquisitions to focus on his energy innovations, but I really enjoyed how this forces the reader to see institutional socio-economic power as akin to superpowers that can be wielded heroically or villainously. While in our world we only have villains, Wildcats promises to create the first corporate hero.
It doesn’t fully deliver, but it’s the first time I’ve seen that subject really broached, despite the fact that characters like Iron Man, Batman, or the Fantastic Four all have the material to do so. Instead, the classic cape comics opt for fisticuff based narratives, which Casey discusses through Jack and Grifter’s core conflict, which Dolby gets caught in the middle of. Manipulation and personal conflicts vs violent action represent Casey’s own struggle to break this DC owned comic out of the norm, and he seems to posit that the only way things will really change is if the corporation itself makes the decision.
Power and responsibility remain central, and despite the pretty simplistic dismissals of communism last volume, Casey views corporations with plenty of suspicion (although that Lincoln quote is fake). While Marlowe basically sets about solving the energy crisis with his vast corporate power, his mission sees two of his employees become a murderer and rapist respectively (both while stuck in traffic), the murderer kept out of jail by Marlowe’s corporate power. Not only that, but it’s Sam, who never leaves the world of the office, who lacks any regret over the murder he commits, whereas Dolby, who leaves the office briefly for some covert action, is racked by guilt and nightmares for a murder he commits in self defense.
The rapes are probably the part of this book I found the most distasteful, as it’s a classic case of harming a female character in order to advance the narrative of two men. It also felt surprisingly out of place both in terms of the sudden inexplicable motivation of the character who does it and how crudely, almost comedically, it’s executed. It’s disappointing that Casey resorts to this harmful cliche while claiming he’s pushing forward the superhero medium, especially after he skirted this trope last volume with Pris’ story.
Art’s fantastic even though I thought I wouldn’t like it, Nguyen really knows how to tell a story. And an all time series of covers, I wish the interiors incorporated more of these design elements.
August 7, 2017
If nothing else, this first year of Wildcats 3.0 got me to think about the corporation (or other organization) as a superpower, and for that I am thankful.
Joe Casey's story interrogates both our view of corporations and of superheroes, all under the clandestine blanket of WildCATs weird little milieu. Spartan shows off how efficient and unnerving the idea of an AI running an organization can be. Grifter is more unlikable than usual, but some of that may be him wrestling with being unable to affect the world in his usual manner - one bullet at a time. That these two are the whole of the "superheroes" we meet and that only Grifter spends any time in a mask tells you a lot about how far afield from superhero comics we've drifted.
I feel like any one of these plotlines in this series would have made an interesting project, but the way they mix together produces a mixed bag, where sometimes it's really interesting and sometimes it's just jarring. Additionally, I found the character of Agent Wax to be needlessly off-putting: he exists primarily to ferret out exposition, and his personal peccadilloes are bothersome, to say the least.
If you're as interested as I am in the intersection of organizational and personal power in a superheroic world, you'll enjoy 85% of this book. If not, you'll probably be better served elsewhere.
Joe Casey's story interrogates both our view of corporations and of superheroes, all under the clandestine blanket of WildCATs weird little milieu. Spartan shows off how efficient and unnerving the idea of an AI running an organization can be. Grifter is more unlikable than usual, but some of that may be him wrestling with being unable to affect the world in his usual manner - one bullet at a time. That these two are the whole of the "superheroes" we meet and that only Grifter spends any time in a mask tells you a lot about how far afield from superhero comics we've drifted.
I feel like any one of these plotlines in this series would have made an interesting project, but the way they mix together produces a mixed bag, where sometimes it's really interesting and sometimes it's just jarring. Additionally, I found the character of Agent Wax to be needlessly off-putting: he exists primarily to ferret out exposition, and his personal peccadilloes are bothersome, to say the least.
If you're as interested as I am in the intersection of organizational and personal power in a superheroic world, you'll enjoy 85% of this book. If not, you'll probably be better served elsewhere.
April 5, 2018
No caveats to my enjoyment of this one - it's just terrific. Casey's exploring the possibilities of a multinational conglomerate as a superheroic force for good, though he weaves in plenty of action and sex to keep things spicy. Damn shame this series never got the conclusion Casey intended - it's very smart, very hip, and well done. And Dustin Nguyen's art is just icing on the cake - the excellent splash pages (think Eisner for the 21st century), strong designs and crisp storytelling.
Definitely recommended.
Definitely recommended.
June 6, 2021
Really good stuff…and for a comic of 2002-2003, it feels a bit prophetic at times, now that otherwordly androids like Bezos and Musk are having such an impact on the world with their growing conglomerates.
February 18, 2017
Read for my series on WildStorm at Birth.Movies.Death.
This first year is some of the finest and most daring superhero storytelling I've read.
This first year is some of the finest and most daring superhero storytelling I've read.
December 11, 2022
It's strange calling this a superhero story (maybe more a noir/spy series with heavy sci-fi elements), but I nevertheless think a case could be made (maybe has been, for all I know) it paved the way for so much of the generation of superhero comics following its run; from Morrison's Batman Incorporated to Hickman's F4/Future Foundation. Combining inspired design choices, pointed criticism of the global hall of mirrors that capitalism has made our world into, & thorny choices like you'd find in a great novel or the very best of prestige television. If you otherwise read nothing else of Joe Casey's 4 years on WildCATs, make it these 12 issues.
July 14, 2015
Joe Casey's reboot of the Wildcats franchise is an excellent execution of a premise that modern comic book fans are probably at least a little familiar with: what if super-heroes stopped spending their time punching each other in the face and tried to actually make the world a better place.
In Year One, Jack Marlowe and Grifter, of the original team, along with newcomer Agent Wax, put together the Halo Corporation, which promises to fix what ails the world. More specifically, they're selling batteries. That never run out of energy.
This volume sets up a strong foundation for future stories as Casey introduces a varied cast of characters and sets up their conflicts. In this capes meets corporate world, alliances are tenuous and it's never completely clear who has ulterior motives and what they might be.
For fans looking for a story that goes beyond the usual "heroes foiling a bad guy's plan by kicking his brain in" routine, this offers a nice transition. Plenty of old-school action layered on top of a political/business thriller makes this a solid read.
In Year One, Jack Marlowe and Grifter, of the original team, along with newcomer Agent Wax, put together the Halo Corporation, which promises to fix what ails the world. More specifically, they're selling batteries. That never run out of energy.
This volume sets up a strong foundation for future stories as Casey introduces a varied cast of characters and sets up their conflicts. In this capes meets corporate world, alliances are tenuous and it's never completely clear who has ulterior motives and what they might be.
For fans looking for a story that goes beyond the usual "heroes foiling a bad guy's plan by kicking his brain in" routine, this offers a nice transition. Plenty of old-school action layered on top of a political/business thriller makes this a solid read.
July 12, 2013
I was somewhat offput by this book at the start. It's a pretty big change even from Casey's V2 of the Wildcats, with superheroic hijinks almost entirely put aside for corporate doings, character drama, and the chance to change the world. I'm still not entirely sure that Casey is successful as the volume never totally grabs me, but my interest increased as the book went on, and by the time I was done, I wanted to know more about the characters.
April 24, 2015
"Tell me something . . . . Have you ever heard of Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad?" - Agent Wax
What? Yes. 1000x yes. This is the greatest comic ever, right?
But then that same Agent Wax uses his superpowers to force his boss's wife to have sex with him. And the book is pretty clear that the only reason why this is troubling is because Agent Wax might get caught. That misogyny is so unpalatable as to basically ruin the whole thing.
Yuck.
What? Yes. 1000x yes. This is the greatest comic ever, right?
But then that same Agent Wax uses his superpowers to force his boss's wife to have sex with him. And the book is pretty clear that the only reason why this is troubling is because Agent Wax might get caught. That misogyny is so unpalatable as to basically ruin the whole thing.
Yuck.
August 29, 2013
Not bad. Great idea, but it lost me around half way with too much complication. Great art though and it maintains the high art standard through out from start to finish. Well worth a read to see something newish.
August 5, 2014
The best thing ever done with these characters
August 7, 2017
overall I liked it. I was unsure how much I'd get into it without any previous knowledge of the characters, but that wasn't really an issue. I liked the art, early Dustin nguyen, and especially dug the variety and creativity of the covers and title pages. my favorite character was the ceo android, equal parts Vision and Ozymandais. yes, I liked it all, except the hypnosis-rape perpetrated by mr. wax. that threw me right out of the book and made me stop reading it for a couple weeks. I'm going to read the next trade and hope it gets dealt with, but if not then I don't think I'll be able to keep this book, cool androids be damned. sigh.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews