Wildcats #24

“The Protectorate 2 of 3: Inside Men” (No Spoilers)
I cannot believe how much story Beechen and Seeley pack into each issue. There is so much going on in these 22 pages I don’t know how they’re not making me feel cheated. But somehow, they’re doing it every month!
If there is one story that gets more screen time than the others, it’s Midnighter’s investigation of Zealot and her activities. During the parts of the issue that constitute Midnighter and Zealot’s story, we get a quick fight between Midnighter and someone (if you saw the preview you know who it is), we get to see Midnighter show some great emotion when he learns Zealot’s true plans, and finally we get a great cliffhanger which is going to set up an amazing fight next issue.

The Authority: The Lost Year #9

“Punch Drunk”
I am truly shocked but I actually thought this issue was okay. Last issue really frustrated me to no end and I dreaded picking this one up. But there were several factors that were different about this issue that I think slightly improved it from the last one.
First off, we get J.J. Kirby as the artist this time. I didn’t think David Williams and Kelsey Shannon’s art from last issue was horrible at all. In fact I stated in my review for that issue that I thought it was perfect especially with some of the facial expression they did. But I think Kirby’s art suited the story just that much more. I remember first seeing J.J. Kirby’s work in the Backlash series.

A god Somewhere

(SPOILERS, this one was too hard to write without them) I went back and forth whether or not to pick this up when I first saw it announced. The only exposure I ever had to writer John Arcudi was his run on Gen 13 Volume 1, and I just thought it was ok. The premise was intriguing but it wasn’t something I hadn’t read in other forms before. All of this coupled with the fact it was an original graphic novel with a $24.99 cover price, made me very hesitant to invest in it. I’m happy to say it was well worth the risk.

Wildcats #23

“The Protectorate 1 of 3: Groundwork”
This is the most solid I’ve seen Wildcats in a long time. We are five issues into this creative teams’ run and they continue to deliver each month. I have not walked away from a Wildcats issue of theirs yet and felt disappointed.

What are the strengths here? Well, first off, the debut arc was an all out three-issue battle. This left very little time for character moments and character development which is what some complained about. However, last issue gave us nothing BUT character moments with absolutely no action. It was a great “breather” issue. Here Beechen and Seeley start revving the engines to prepare us for more craziness.