Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Jim Lee; Scott Williams; Alex Sinclair; & Comicraft
Cover Art by Jim Lee & Scott Williams
SUMMARY:
Published by WildStorm Productions for December 2006, the issue is entitled “A Halo Around the World.” In the near-future, it has been years since the WildCats dissembled. Earth’s present is bleak a month before ‘The Worldstorm.’ In the Tropic of Capricorn, a young boy desperately seeks boozy derelict Cole “Grifter” Cash’s help from inhuman gangster Machado and his vicious thugs.
Aboard Halo Solutions’ orbiting space station, Priscilla “Voodoo” Kitaen contemplates a tempting offer reuniting her with multi-billionaire entrepreneur Hadrian. In deep space, Kaizen has been resurrected and is assembling new alien minions at his command. On Khera, a bloodied Zealot and her warriors battle Daemonites, only to meet a corrupted Majestic. The Grifter resurfaces.
Note: There’s an alternate cover by Todd McFarlane and Jim Lee (image not available).
REVIEW:
Echoing Alan Moore’s Watchmen, this grim storyline likely requires at least some prior knowledge of Jim Lee’s WildCats saga. It’ll help grasping where and why pivotal players, i.e. Voodoo; Grifter; Hadrian; Zealot; and Majestic, have been placed to set up this reboot. In fairness, this storyline doesn’t flat-out rip off Watchmen or even the 1986 Aliens movie, but elements evoking both make for an intriguing read.
Even if this issue’s plot doesn’t score originality points, Jim Lee’s impressive penciling is worth the price of admission itself. The same applies to the entire art team. The artwork’s visual package (especially Alex Sinclair’s flawless coloring) is stellar, to say the least.
As a parental advisory, however, this issue depicts a full-page sex/post-sex scene. Though its dialogue spells out Hadrian’s plan to reunite the Wildcats, Voodoo’s gratuitous frontal nudity is colored by the artistic use of infrared-like imaging. Its heavy violence quotient (i.e. destroying Daemonites) aside, WildStorm/DC neglected to place a ‘mature’ label on this comic due to this explicit (and frankly unnecessary) Voodoo-Hadrian sequence.
ADDITIONAL CONTENT:
Jim Lee offers a single-page “Storm Front” column.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 7 Stars
