WetWorks #15 - WildStorm

Apparently, last issue, when Mother One gave herself up to Cassus, she did so out of heroism. She knew that Cassus was intrigued by her, and what her addition to his growing army would mean. But I think she also did it because she was intrigued. She knew that since she was a cyborg, that she most likely would be able to control her transformation better than most. Or, at the very least, would be able to retain her self awareness and a measure of her independence. But mostly, I think, she knew that her sacrifice would afford a respite for Colonel Dane, and he'd be allowed, or able, to leave the tunnels and return to the surface. Cassus wraps her up and displays her for all to see. Supposedly for the benefit of his sister Eleusis. But, I think, mostly for his own benefit. But Eleusis sees it for what it is. She immediately kills Cassus, and then orders the destruction of Mother One, before can become aware. But . . . it's to late. Rachel does indeed become aware, and in her burgeoning anger and appetite, proceeds to single handily wipe out everything that Cassus and Eleusis had built. Until it's just Rachel and Eleusis. Eleusis puts up a better fight than most, but, in the end, it's inevitable. Meanwhile, Queen Arin, the legitimate Queen, has already begun working with IO. She knows that should this war continue at it's current pace, even should her race survive, it would most likely be devastated. So she's chosen to become a peaceful enemy. Persephone, Red, even helps to broker the deal with the UN, and then becomes the Vampire Nation's ambassador to the United States. And in Rumania all that's left to do is clean up and rebuild. They get Mother One to Cyronic Pod, so they can take her back and study her, but not before she puts up a little fight. And like that, the Vampire threat is squelched. My only question is that in the WetWorks Armageddon book, Mother One is not only part of the current team, but also the team in the future. So either she gets better, or IO does something to fix her. But I guess that's a story for another time. Right now, it looks like this is the last issue for the foreseeable future. I've looked at the schedule for books up to June, and I don't see another issue of this title scheduled anywhere. That's too bad. I didn't necessarily like that Vampire stories, but I do like these characters and this team. But, I guess, the fact that in the Armageddon storyline the team is still together in the future, means that sooner or later they'll be resurfacing. Keith Giffen, JM DeMatteis and Joel Gomez have accomplished the impossible task of wrapping up this story line. They actually did it quite neatly too. Hopefully there'll be some new WildStorm titles coming out soon. Because, right now, they seem to be dropping like flies.

WetWorks - Armageddon #1 - WildStorm

Really, the only thing I don't like about this book is all these Vampire stories. Can't we do something different? Every once in a while? Anyways, this issue sports a nice Mike McKone cover, with Brandon Badeaux doing the interior pencils. Visually, the book is very solid. The story is ok also. We're really only getting bite sized pieces of this whole Armageddon thing. This issue Void comes to get Colonel Dane's help. We already have a great cast of characters here, but in the future, there's 2 or 3 more that are added that are pretty cool. This almost reminds me of that thing Image did, about 12 or so years ago, where every series they had out, no matter what issue number it was on, they published issue #25. You know, to give us a future look at where the team was going. Remember that? That's kind of the feel I get from these one shots when they bounce in to the future. I know it's not the same thing, but it just kind of has that feel to it. Anyways, we do find out, at the end of this issue, that Void doesn't seem to be gathering these hero's for the help to stop the future. It looks like what she wants more is for them to stop her. " . . oh Dane, you misunderstood. It wasn't the night tribes. They just took advantage of it. It's my fault. I need to be clearer next time . . . but . . I'm so weak . . . even worse in astral form. It's so hard to think . . so hard to do anything . . ." And it looks like somebody is trying to hold her hostage, but we don't know who yet. It's somebody who's familiar with her though, because they refer to her as Nikola. Hopefully, with Void's involvement, this is all a prelim to the return of the WildCATS. That would be nice. It's a shame to have such a great cast of characters running around in limbo out there. But, I guess we'll have to wait and see.

WetWorks #14 - WildStorm

I want to like this book. The problem I have though, is two-fold. First of all, it bothers me that Whilce Portatio is no longer involved in the creative process. To be brutally honest, he's the reason I came back to this book in the first place. Without his direct involvement, I just kind of feel like I'm reading . . . a fake. I'm not trying to be mean. It's just how I feel. Secondly, I'm really, really tired of this whole vampire thing. It's just goes on, and on, and on, and on, and on. Get it over with already. Ok. I understand that it's something that's just always going to be there. Even if they win a battle, the war's not over. But it doesn't have to be the central theme of every issue. The issues when we were exploring Ab-Death's world were interesting, because they were different. And I understand that the first story-arc, the one involving Thea Mater, was really the spark that reignited the human/vampire war on our Earth. I understand all that. But Dane and Mother One aren't the only members of this team. Aren't the rest of them out there working on something else? Isn't there any other emergencies anywhere else in the world? Or does the whole world revolve around Yugoslavia right now? I'd really like to see the hint of some other story-lines evolving out of something . . somewhere. I'd like to stick with this book. But, if it stays on this track . . . if it's dragged out for much longer . . . I'm just going to have to spend my $3 on something that gives me more pleasure. Like maybe boxes or backing boards. The art is ok. Frank Gomez is doing a decent job. I just need to be stimulated, intellectually, a little more. Please!

WetWorks #13 - WildStorm

I truly do like this book. I'm just not a huge fan of vampire stories. And truly, that seems like all we've been dealing with, with these characters. Now they're trying to fight all the vampires that have come to our world from Thea Mater. Remember? They had that big prison break. Well, they've joined up with the undead from our world, and have just served to make their number stronger. There's also a big part in here where Persephone . . or Red . . . has been talking to the current king of the vampires, Raithan. I'm not really sure what she's up to, but she's trying to get the woman, Eleusis, who claims she's the queen off the throne. Since Savoy died . . . permanently . . . she's been the pretender to the throne. And Red is afraid, " . . . the vampire nation is coming apart at the seams." Red is actually part of the royal blood-line, but she wants nothing to do with it. But I'm thinking she may be manipulated in to assuming that post. If nothing else, so whoever sets her up, knows where she is when they come to kill her. But that's just my guess. But Raithan has a surprise for Red. He's got Ab-Death down her with them, and he seems to be teaching, or tutoring some woman who he claims " . . is the key to the world's salvation." Meanwhile the vampires from Thea Mater have attacked the city where Dane, Mother One, and the military are. They lead them there, and now the whole city is a trap. I really do like these characters. And even with this . . undead . . story, I still like the book. I just wish they would hurry up and get past it all.

Wetworks #12 - WildStorm

Don't ask me why, because I really don't know, but this one just kind of left me . . dry. I don't know how else to describe it. It was an ok story. We seem to be in the mode where were taking the individual issues to bring us all back up to speed on the characters. That's really what this issue was all about. It was kind of reintroducing us to Persephone. Well not actually to her. She has this author that she's been having a tryst with. He writes horror books. So a lot of this story is done in the reference to one of his stories. His character is called Cassiopeia. But since he's fallen in love with Persephone, a lot of his story is based on her character. I'm sorry, let me get this straight, he doesn't know who or what she is. But since he's fallen in love with her, and she loves his books, he feels that he's doing Cassiopeia as if Persephone were a Vampire. Yes, I know she is. But he doesn't. So he's playing "what if?" for a situation that actually "is" and not "if". Get it? Anyways, it works in the story. It's actually a nice kind of story. Rather touching. Shows us a human side of Persephone. But that's what IO is scared of. They need her to be a monster, and not human. So the idea of her letting her guard down every once in a while when she's with this author, kind of scares them. So they put a stop to it. I guess Joel Gomez is going to be our regular artist on this series now. I don't see Whilce anywhere in sight. But with JMDeMatteis doing the writing, they make a nice little team. I would still like to see Whilce, but, we can't always get what we want.

Wetworks #11 - WildStorm

Well this book brings our team all back together again. But how can that be, when the book starts out with Rachel/Mother One's funeral? Well, it turns out that, like everyone, Rachel's soul has ended up in Deadworld. Actually, this time, it was taken their by the alien symbiote that use to be attached to her. It had been to Deadworld before. After seeing how it worked, it realized that it could come there, start it's own nation, and within a matter of time take the whole place over. The problem is, it got greedy. It also realized that with Rachel's soul, there would be nothing there that could stop it. What it didn't count on was Abdeath also coming there looking for her. It calls Abdeath the dustwalker, because he can travel between the 2 worlds. Now since Abdeath is not really alive, it can't absorb him like it would other beings. It can only do it with his consent. So they talk, and the symbiote realizes that with Abdeath's abilities, once it took over Deadworld, there would be nothing to stop it from coming back to ours. So Abdeath talks it into trading Rachel for him. On her way to the higher level, she realizes what's going on and comes back for him. But Abdeath is already starting to exert his influence. In Deadworld if you can dream it, it becomes reality. Well that's the symbiote's weakness, he can't dream. And since Abdeath can walk between the 2 worlds, he's probably the most powerful being there. Long story short, he ends up destroying the symbiote and the nation he's created, Rachel comes bursting out of her grave site, as Dane's sitting over it thinking. And within a short period of time Abdeath also rises from the ground nearby. So now, 12 issues later, the team is all officially back together. Well . . . all except Wilce Portacio. He's on the cover, but he's nowhere around on the interiors. I know he's doing some other projects for WildStorm and DC. But I thought this book was like, near and dear to him. JM DeMatteis is still on the scripting chores. But Joel Gomez does the art. It's ok. Really it is. It would just be nicer to see Whilce here. But we can't have everything. Right?

Wetworks #10 - Wildstorm

Ok, here we are on issue #10, and already Whilce is nowhere to be found. Except for the cover. Isn't this what happened with the last incarnation? I was really looking forward to seeing him on this book. And now he's gone again. Now we got JM DeMatteis on the scripts, and Joel Gomez on the pencils. The books actually has an ok look to it. But . . . without Whilce . . . it's just not the same. So our team is looking in to what's going on with Mother One. She's having some kind of inner conflict that's causing her systems to shut down. Ab Death looks in to it, and figures out that when she died, a little piece of her Rachel Rhodes soul didn't make it back in when she was resurrected. With a little piece of Ab Death's soul, a spark if you will, Mother One is functional enough to travel to the Deadworld with Ab Death and Dane. They're trying to find the missing piece of her soul. Everytime we have a story with Ab Death, we learn a little bit more about this Deadworld. But then, so does he. Long story short, they find the piece that's missing. And it is the Rachel Rhodes part, as we suspected. But the choice has to be Mother One's, as far as which way they travel from here. She can either absorb the soul, and go back to the real-world. Or go with it, and on the wings of an angel, literally, take the trip to the next plane. She decides for the latter. The last page is exactly the same as the first, except we see Rachel instead of Mother One. Same conflict. Same hopes and dreams. But rather than it ending with her death by confusion and tearing herself apart, it ends with someone or something else grabbing ahold of her and taking control of her voyage from here. So basically what this is telling us is that Mother One's story is nowhere near done. Like I said, the book actually looks ok. Some frames are nice. And some frames seem kind of . . . . basic. Or maybe simple's a better word. But I guess we'll just have to go along for the ride and see where we go from here.

Wetworks #9 - Wildstorm

This issue actually wraps up the Thea Mater storyline. But at the same time it opens up another. Vascar has assembled his stand on the exact spot, in our world, where the prison stands in his. His plans are to spill Det. Ashe's blood there, opening a gate through the bleed, and then releasing in to our world, all the inmates from their prison cells. The rest of Dane's team finally joins him this issue. As does AbDeath and Red. So everyone's back together for the final stand. Red ends up distracting Vascar away from the Det., so he can't finish his job. But then, between Red and Dane, they end up killing Vascar. Which unfortunately, completes his plan. He didn't really care who died on the spot . . . just that somebody had to. There had to be blood spilled here. And it has. So to everyone's amazement, the cliff walls open up, and thousands of inmates come spilling through. "We've got ourselves a war on , people.", says Dane. To which one of his guys replies, "A war? These are just criminals." But Dane tells him, "War's the best word I can come up with. We've got to round up these bastards, and I think it's going to get ugly. You'd better decide now if you're in or out." Well of course they're all in. As is Det. Ashe. He's resigned his post on Thea Mater, and has decided to come here to fight with Dane. After all . . . he does feel responsible for most of it. Great story by Mike Carey. And pretty good art by Dave Taylor. He's no Whilce Portacio. But . . . he'll do. Hopefully we'll see Whilce back here sometime soon. But if not . . . the art chores are in capable hands.

Wetworks #8 - Wildstorm

First of all, I just gotta say, Darrick Robertson seems to be everywhere this month. We got a little while until his next issue of the Boys come out, so I guess he's keeping himself busy by filling in all over the place in the meantime. Nothing wrong with that. And I like his work so . . . no down side. Anyways, Mike Carey is getting closer to wrapping up this storyline. Our team has gone to see John Savoy, the king of the earth vampires, but it's seems that it was a setup. But really, our team pretty much knew that going in. I mean they're some pretty heavy hitters themselves, so . . . I think they just wanted to go in gun blazing and see what they're up against. What they find is a bunch of human vampires that have been transformed through Thea Mater magics. Meanwhile, Ab Death and Red are talking to the physical manifestation of the Blood Box over in Deadworld. As much as Simon Vascar wants to bring Thea Mater's magics and such over to our world, the Blood Box, filled with the souls of 30 years of vampire executions, also wants to be the king of his world. In our world he's nothing but a lifeless box of silver, but in the Deadworld, because of all the souls that inhabit him, he is pretty powerful. And he may reign supreme. But if Ab Death and Red can stop him here, then Simon won't be able to use it's magics to infect our world. And right now Simon is at the sight of Bromion Ground, the prison on Thea Mater. Or at least the Mesa where it would be if it were on our world. And this is where Simon is going to make his stand. Simon and John Savoy are here with the hostages they have gathered. And Dane and his crew have followed him here to try to thwart his plans. Also the Blood Box had been summoned by Simon so it is here. And Ab Death and Red, following the trail of the Blood Box, are on their way. So . . . next issue we'll find out what Simon's ultimate plans are, and how this is all going to come together. Or . . . come apart. But overall, a very engrossing story.

Wetworks #7 - Wildstorm

This issue was interesting. I wasn't overly thrilled with the art. And I thought the story was a bit sluggish. But, we did get to see some of the old group. Not in full gear yet, but . . . they're on their way. They've been called in to duty . . . as it were. We just don't make a whole lot of headway with this Simon Vascar. The team is up to speed on his conquest though. He's basically taken over the Vampire kingdom here on earth. Since he see's this team as his only real threat, he tries to get them to come to him, since they're currently unaware of his acquisition. I think he thinks that they'll just come running, with their guard down. He'll swoop in, take them out, and he's on to bigger and better things. But never . . ever . . . underestimate this WetWorks team. They've been in a lot of scraps. And they're very determined. So they're not just gonna roll over like a drunk prom date. Meanwhile Red and AbDeath are in Deadworld. AbDeath is trying to explain his existence, a bit, to Red, but she has nothing to compare it to and is finding the whole thing a bit hard to swallow. Until she sees the wraths. They're trying to stay away from some Soul-Eater, that's got them running scared. But AbDeath offers to help them if they'll take him to this Soul-Eater. But, come to find out, that's a trap also, because the Wraiths are actually servants of the Soul-Eater. So basically they're offering Red and AbDeath in exchange for their continued existence. And back on Thea Mater, something is about to happen at the prison. A massive jail break maybe? We'll just have to wait and see. And on the final page, Longforth Air Force base is about to be invaded by a large swarm of Vascar's human/Thea Mater hybrid vampires. Right now it doesn't look particularly optimistic for this team on any front. It seems like Simon is 2 steps ahead of them in all directions. Darick Robertson does the finished art, but I just don't think it's his best stuff. Maybe because he's actually doing the finishes over Peter Gross' layouts. But, maybe not. Like I said, I just wasn't overly thrilled with it. But it's still an ok book. And I'll continue to buy it. I just hope it gets better.

Wetworks #6 - Wildstorm

Mike Carey and Whilce Portacio are really stringing together a nice story for us here. Basically we have a war brewing between the Vampires and the Sons of Adam, the humans. Actually, it's spilling over from another world, Thea Mater, in which the Vampires already won. But, one of their most ruthless, Vascar, I think, has gotten bored and is looking for new worlds to conquer. So he's requested an audience with our world's Vampire King, Johnny Savoy, and is trying to explain to them how they truly can become Kings of the world. On another front, we have Dane, Jackson and Theresa on the other world, Thea Mater, trying to formulate a plan on how to defeat Vascar, and either kill him or send him back to this world. They are being help by Detective Ashe and his Captain. And finally we have Red, Ab Death and Bethell looking into , " . . . the portal. The world between. Death's ante-chamber." Ab Death found it when, in San Fransisco, he stepped in to Deadworld . . to escape Vascar. He thinks that inside this portal, may be their answer to defeating Vascar. Whatever comes out of it, it looks as if Vascar and Johnny Savoy's people, are in for one hell of a fight. And knowing the reputation of Wetworks, it's not going to be pretty for either side. Let the games begin.

Wetworks #5 - Wildstorm

I like this book, I really do. But I'm just having a hard time getting in to it. Mike Carey writes it, and Whilce Portacio does the art. Since Whilce was one of the original creators, I'm sure he also contributes on the ideas side of things also. In their own rights, both of these guys are fantastic creators. Basically, we have a world, on the other side of the bleed, that's been infested and taken over by vampires. But, just like every other race, there's good ones and bad ones. One of the good ones came over to our world to try to warn us. We didn't believe him, so he had to take our team over to show them what was really going on. Some of the ideas that these guys created for this other world are just fantastic. Anyways, it looks like at the end of this issue that one of the bad ones has also come to our world, and is trying to seduce our current vampire king. "I am Johannes Savoy, the king of earth's vampire nations. Now tell me . . . . what did you mean when you said that I could rule over the human race as well?" So it looks like things are gonna' get dicey before they get better. I really do like the story. It's just hard for me to get in to it. It's just one of those stories, that when I first pick it up, I have a hard time remembering what went on with the previous issue. Maybe it's just me. I'll just have to wait to see what future issues hold.

Wetworks #4 - Wildstorm

Dane and Mother one have gone to Thea Mater. It's a planet on the other side of the Bleed that's similar to ours. But not similar too. On this world the Vampires and Werewolves and night creatures thrived. Eventually all but wiping out the human race. The only reason some did survive is because the Werewolves and some of the Demons sided with them. The one that came to Dane's world and started slaughtering people, Vascar, came from this world. Apparently he was bored here, or maybe the refrigerator was becoming empty, so somehow he crossed the bleed to come to this world. Well one of the Detectives came to our world in search of him, and that is how Dane and Mother One came to this world, with his help. Next we get the whole background story on Vascar. And it's a scary brutal story. They find out that the 56 fingers, 6 hearts, 20 eyeballs, 6 tongues and 6 ears all sewn together, that they found last issue in the subway, is actually their equivalent to a computer. So that's what Vascar was assembling. Creepy! So, now that they know what he's capable of, and where he comes from, they just have to figure out a way to take him down. Sure! Easier said than done. Mike Carey has brought a great feel to this book. And of course it's always great to have our original artist, Whilce Portacio, back. Back at the book he helped create. This has a great feel to it, and it's good to have them all back, including the characters.

Wetworks #3 - Wildstorm

Ok, so far Colonel Dane only has Persephone, a vampire and an excellent fighter, and AB-Death. They're chasing after the Blood Box. Apparently some scientists were doing some experiments, trying to fish through the bleed into other dimensions. They came upon a place called Thea Mater. A dimension not unlike our own, but apparently overrun with Vampires and Demons. That's where the Blood Box, and Vascar came from. Vascar is some kind of hybrid Vampire who is trying to do the Blood Box's bidding. And right now it's asking for body parts. Lots of them. Dane was also trying to get Rachel Rhodes, the Mother One Cyborb, rebooted to help him out. He failed, but after he left, she got herself rebooted, and did her own repairs. Talk about determination. We don't really know what Blood Box and Vascar are up to, yet, but, they're doing a lot of killing and dismembering in the process. When it just about looks like Vascar is about to take out Dane and his team, Rachel and Detective Ashe, also from Thea Mater, apparently, show up to chase him off. But he was going to leave soon anyways. Whatever it was that he needed to make the Blood Box happy, I guess he got enough of it. At the end of the book, Ashe takes everyone to Thea Mater to show them what's really going on. Great start to a new book. But with Mike Carey writing, I knew I'd like it. Also Whilce Portacio has jumped right back in. Great looking pages.

Wetworks #2 - Wildstorm

Wetworks is finally back. And Whilce Portacio is finally back on pencils. I'm sorry for all the hardships that have happened to him in his personal life, he's had a rough couple of years, but I'm glad he's back into the steady stream of work. It's good to have you back Whilce! And, with Mike Carey writing, they should be able to accomplish some amazing stuff with this book. The action is already non-stop, right from page 1 of book #1. And it's good to see all the old characters gradually coming back into the limelight. Add to that some Vampires, and we're definitely going to be in for a thrill ride. I don't want to say to much to spoil the story right now. Some books are better, I feel, if picked up and experienced visually for yourself.

Wetworks #1 - Wildstorm

The beginning of "World Storm", the big Wildstorm event where they're going to reingnite their whole universe, starts here. And with Mike Carey and Whilce Portacio at the helm, it couldn't be in more capable hands. It looks like the usual band of characters, that we all became attached to, are back in the saddle. Dane is in charge again, and he is going around and hand picking his team. The Vampires are back also. And a Werewolf too. This first book was riveting. I don't want to give too much away, because everybody needs to be on board for this big event. Suffice it to say, you will not be dissapointed. If this is the standard of quality that will be in all the reimmersions, then we're in for a "Wild" ride. Pun intended. So pick up a copy, buckle in, and get ready for the next one . . . . . WildCATS. By none other than Jim Lee.