Wildcats, Vol. 3: Serial Boxes

Wildcats, Volume II #3

by Joe Casey, Sean Phillips

A young serial killer named Slaughterhouse Smith sets out on a vendetta against Jacob Marlowe and anyone who shares his name, leading a bloody path toward Halo Industries in Los Angeles. A Graphic Novel. Original.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Crime, Fiction, Comic Book

144 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2001

About the author

Librarian 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

Reviews

[Brad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still feels like Casey and Phillips are trying to turn a toxic asset, incomprehensible superheroes, into something readable. The stories are fine, the art's good, but it's hard to figure out what the purpose of all these random former alien hunters is. Nice to see Voodoo and Maul (not that either are ever called that by the others in the book) reunite with Spartan and Grifter (who also go by their given name), and go after a common enemy. Still, I'm not sure where it's going, but I'll keep reading.

[47Time · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spartan has negotiations to expand the Halo Corporation into China. He unknowingly becomes the target of the grandchild of a former mob boss who just found out that Emp killed his grandfather. His grandfather had superpowers that the young man inherited. He is now gunning for anybody named Marlowe. The National Park Service is working on catching him.

The serial killer goes through 30 women before tracking down the next Marlowe - Pris who has been using a Halo credit card. His lover boy technique gets him close to Pris. Jeremy Stone figures out how to reconstruct Pris's DNA, but putting her back together is going to be a challenge after the serial killer almost dismembers her. Both Jeremy and Pris end up in hospital.

The National Park Service joins them and informs Spartan - who is using the name Jack Marlowe - that he may be the next target of the superpowered serial killer. Spartan brings in Cole to lure the serial killer into a trap. Their fight is one-sided in Spartan's favor. The National Park Service arrive only after the serial killer is already dead and the good guys teleport away, but they will likely keep an eye out for this group of superpowered beings.

[Aidan]

By golly, this fella Joe Casey is makin me care about the WildCATs as people. Ladytron is kinda annoying, but that pays off, and I really have no clue what Spartan is doing with the company so it’s always a bit of a snooze when it cuts to him, but I like how Pris’ attack confronts him the emotions he so often denies exist within his AI mind. The way Pris’ attack moves all the other male characters in interesting directions could be a weakness of the book rooted in fridging, but Pris is such a full character, and the core WildCATs are generally portrayed as so indestructible, that to see her seemingly permanently maimed raises her to being one of the most interesting characters. It’s another example of this book exploring superhero and genre storytelling tropes but undercutting them through a commitment to character.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is where the book starts to really cook;

Lord Emp/Jacob Marlowe has ascended, and now Spartan inherits the mantle and fortune to change the world. He starts utilizing Halo as a Super-Corporation. Capitalism being the engine of the 21-century.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Continues to have good characterization and to tell surprising stories (here, surprisingly brutal), but this volume is just a bit too decompressed to carry the same high level of excitement as Casey's first offering. (I liked it better after a second read and wasn't as troubled by the decompression.)