WILD AT HEART: BEN ABERNATHY

[MattBrady]

by Chris Arrant

In sixteen years, WildStorm has gone from a single title to a studio to a stand-alone publisher and now an arm of the largest publisher of comics today. Founded by Jim Lee in 1992 with the title Wildc.a.t.s., the California-based publisher has been a bastion for ground-breaking mainstream superhero titles like The Authority as well as creator-owned titles such as Battlechasers, Planetary and Ex Machina. It's been the launch pad for the careers of major mainstream comics creators such as Warren Ellis, Bryan Hitch, Mark Millar, Frank Quitely, Humberto Ramos, Ed Brubaker and countless others, and now it again goes to renew itself in the universe-changing Number of the Beast miniseries and the upcoming World's End event.

As we round out our week-long spotlight on WildStorm's newest titles, we turn now to one of the key figures in the framework, Senior editor Ben Abernathy. We http://forum.newsarama.com/showthrea...93]interviewed him last month where he broke the news of the flurry of new and returning series as part of World's End, and we now return to the ten-year comics veteran (six at WildStorm) to get to the heart and soul of WildStorm Productions.

Newsarama: It's good to talk to you again, Ben. To start things off, I think it's important to discern the shape of what WildStorm is. While it's clear you handle the titles under the WildStorm imprint, you also edit a variety of other titles including The Spirit. What books is WildStorm responsible for?

Ben Abernathy: Sure! We handle all the WildStorm Universe books; that's Wildcats, The Authority, Stormwatch PHD, Number of the Beast, Midnighter, Dream War, Secret History of the Authority: Jack Hawksmoor, New Dynamix and Welcome to Tranquility. We also handle titles outside WS continuity such as Casey Blue: Beyond Tomorrow, Astro City, Ex Machina, The Programme and Storming Paradise. We also do a fair bit of licensed titles such as Supernatural: Rising Son, Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Raising Cain, World of Warcraft, Chuck, Lost Boys: Reign of Frogs, Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash, Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th and the recently announced series Prototype, Gears of War and X-Files.

NRAMA: The CMX crew also operates under WildStorm banner, correct?

BA: Yes, our CMX crew works tirelessly on a ton of new manga titles each month, as well as the current Batman: Death Mask miniseries.

NRAMA: Tell us about the offices of WildStorm. While you're under DC's banner, you operate out of offices in La Jolla, California. What's the offices like, and how many people do you have working there?

BA: The offices are great—terrific location and we have a really talented, enthusiastic staff. We have around 36 people on staff, which includes editorial (WildStorm and CMX), production, coloring, and the MMO artists.

NRAMA: The MMO – that's slipped from a lot of people's minds, namely mine. Can you tell us what that's comprised of?

BA: It’s comprised of seven artists, including Jim Lee, and they are the conceptual designers for the game universe and work closely with Sony Online Entertainment on the games development.

NRAMA: A lot of time and manpower looks to be going into that, so let us know when you have some results you can show us.

Let's switch back to the key part of WildStorm Productions – its universe. The WildStorm Universe is unique as it's probably the last great superhero universe created that's stood the test of time. Sure there's been new superhero titles come out since, but WildStorm's become a family of titles that have made it through the ages. What do you think makes it so strong and last so long with any Superman or Spider-man to be found?

BA: Well, I think like a Superman or Spider-Man it would be traced back to the creative minds behind the development—in this case, mainly Jim Lee. Jim’s a tremendously creative guy with lots of energy and enthusiasm for his craft and I think the material he created has weathered the test of time largely because of that. Another big factor are the creators who Jim collaborated with or brought aboard to help carry on the legacy after his involvement became more limited, keeping the material fresh and original—names like Brandon Choi, Alan Moore, J. Scott Campbell, Travis Charest, Warren Ellis, Bryan Hitch, Mark Millar, Tom Raney, Joe Casey, Chuck Dixon, Dustin Nguyen, Ed Brubaker, Christos Gage, Scott Beatty, Neil Googe, Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning, and so many more--just to name a few!

NRAMA: You mention Superman and Spider-Man, and that's arguably the key characters of DC and Marvel respectively. What would WildStorm's counterpart to that be – who's your key player in the WildStorm universe?

BA: I’d have to say Midnighter.

NRAMA: Interesting. With the WildStorm universe titles primarily being team books, nailing down just one hard. Spotlighting Midnighter brings us to my next question, though.

WildStorm means many things to many people – for some it’s the edgy publisher of The Authority, to being the publisher of classic Image-style comics like Wildcats and Gen13. Others see it as a long-time bastion of Alan Moore comics from the ABC line, while others view it as a prestige artist's studio. How would you describe the WildStorm brand?

BA: I’ve been asked that question a few times before and it’s a difficult one because there really isn’t a “set” answer. WildStorm has become so diverse in the material we produce that we can’t really be classified with any set description. On the one hand, we do produce edgier super-hero fare with the WildStorm Universe, on the another, we produce some of the more creatively challenging creator-driven material...and yet, on another, we’re working on some of the hottest licensed properties on the market. (And soon, there will be a slightly tweaked trade dress to reflect these three areas that we’re focusing on—WildStorm Universe, creator-driven, and licensed.) Looking at the publishing plan we have ahead of us, how would I describe the WildStorm brand? How about diverse and challenging material with top notch talent and production value?

NRAMA: Let's look at the current landscape of the WildStorm Universe. There's been a lot of changes in the WSU, and right now we're deep in a big shift with the Number of the Beast miniseries and the recently announced World's End titles. What brought on this new editorial direction, and where is it going?

BA: Well, honestly, this direction evolved following our WorldStorm launch a few years ago. Looking at the landscape of the industry, we realized we needed to move our universe in a different direction, something that the “Big Two” couldn’t, or wouldn’t, do for a long period of time. And we decided that direction should be toward a sci-fi/horror direction of a post-apocalyptic setting (to a degree, an almost logical extension to where the WSU has been headed for years). There have been “visions” of a devastated, bleak future in other mainstream super-hero books, but nothing with the lasting impact or direction that the World’s End books will be tackling. As to where it’s going...well, you’re going to have to read the books to find that out! Because there IS a long term plan for it all.

NRAMA: One thing that's impressed me but might've slipped over some peoples radar is the recent rash of on-time releases. With the news media's penchant for only reporting the bad, WildStorm's really stepped up to the plate with on-time releases for it's titles, including the recent twice-a-month releases of Armageddon, Revelations and now Number of the Beast. What'd it take to get this to work, and why is it so important?

BA: Just for the record, it’s not really a “rash of on-time releases”--for 2007, we did ship 96% of our titles on time and I believe we’re at 100% for this year.

NRAMA: OK, "rash" was an understatement.

BA: Keeping the bi-weekly schedule on three different mini-series was definitely not easy and required a lot of juggling, but with careful preparation and working with talented, reliable professionals we were able to pull it off. As for the larger issue of on-time shipping, it’s definitely one of the most important aspects of this job. It can make or break a publisher's credibility and has huge consequences on the business side when books become returnable, etc.

NRAMA: Some fans have been lamenting about the disappearance of Welcome to Tranquility and Stormwatch PHD from the shelves. It was previously revealed that Stormwatch PHD is returning with the World's End titles in August. What about Welcome to Tranquility?

There is definitely more in the works on both titles. Stormwatch PHD is picking up where the first arc left off, literally, with issue 13 in August and will begin shipping monthly. However, some time has passed since issue 12 and the WildStorm Armageddon TPB will shed some light on just what’s going on and give a hint to the new line-up.

Welcome to Tranquility: One Foot in the Grave is being worked on by Gail Simone and artist Horacio Domingues (who illustrated most of Tranquility: Armageddon and did the flashback sequences from Wildcats: Nemesis). It’s planned as a six-issue series to kick-off, but Gail has plenty of stories to tell in this fantastic world!

NRAMA: A big part of WildStorm's line is the creator-driven work like Ex Machina, Planetary and the recent Highwaymen miniseries. How do those fit into the larger WildStorm game plan?

BA: Creator-driven books have been a part of WildStorm’s DNA since it’s earliest days and they serve a real role in our publishing goals as it gives us an opportunity to work with creators on very unique projects. We’re wrapping up some projects now, but we’re putting a nice push behind Ex Machina this year with the release of the first over-sized hardcover and it IS an election year, so you might see some Ex Machina coverage out there soon. And 2009 is going to be a huge year for our creator-driven books and the material that we’re hard at work on is going to really surprise some people—announcements to come!

NRAMA: There's been a lot of twists and turns in recent WildStorm history – rewriting some stuff, and reinterpreting others. Is there a clear list of what's in and what's not at this point?

BA: We definitely have a working understanding of the “ins and outs” of the current universe. A lot of that falls to me as the editor on most all of the WildStorm universe books.

NRAMA: Let's talk about that. Will there be a clarification point on what is the current WildStorm universe, say in the way of a compendium, a Who's Who, or the old WildStorm Sourcebooks?

BA: I would love to do a sourcebook or primer to give the casually interested fan a quick guide to catch them up on the new world order. Stay tuned!

NRAMA: WildStorm's got 16 years under it's belt, and there's a lot of ground covered. In your personal opinion, what do you think is the most under-rated gem in the WildStorm library, from the beginning to now?

BA: Wow, that’s a real tough one. I don’t think I could nail it down to just one, so how about a couple? Ha! I think the Stormwatch run by Warren Ellis has never gotten the proper respect it deserved, as he was doing some terrific, incredibly original work in the pages of that book years before Planetary or Authority helped solidify his reputation with WildStorm. I think the Jet series by Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning and Dustin Nguyen is definitely an under-rated gem. Also, while it was a book I edited (so I’m biased), I think the Andy Diggle/Leinil Yu collaboration Silent Dragon falls into this category as well. Buy in trade, people!

NRAMA: What character or characters do you think have a lot of potential but haven't yet been realized?

BA: Well, I think the WildStorm Universe is populated with characters with immense potential and we’re looking at ways to expand upon them. In fact, that’s a big part of the reason we’re doing the back-up stories in the World’s End books—to touch upon characters that aren’t featured in the main books (or in some cases have been AWOL for many years), but have a voice that we’d like to be heard. In the first several months worth of books, we’ll see what most of the core Team 7 characters have been up to—Lynch, Dane, Marc “Backlash” Slayton, as well as old favs like Cybernary, Stormwatch: Team Achilles, Christine Blaze to name but a few.

NRAMA: It was with much acclaim two years ago that WildStorm announced a big push with Grant Morrison and Jim Lee on Wildcats and Grant Morrison and Gene Ha on The Authority. A couple issues came out, but the fans have been left wanting for quite some time. Once and for all, can you clear up what happened and if and when we might see more from those teams?

BA: I’d say the delays were the result of a “perfect storm” of the creators being way over-committed and just plain old “life”. And Grant and Jim are committed to wrapping up their Wildcats run in a planned six-issue arc and on the Authority front, we’ve enlisted Keith Giffen to work with Grant to wrap up his planned 12-issue Authority run. So for all the fans out there—the books are coming. We are planning to have all the work done in advance of our soliciting, so that you know it will be shipping, and on time. Please be patient!

NRAMA: With all the changes going on in the WildStorm Universe, some fans have said that they're turning into an "All-Star/Ultimate" style of outside-continuity, "best of" kind of thing. What would you say to that?

BA: I would say that’s not really accurate. While our approach with Jim and Grant’s Wildcats will be more of an “All Star” approach, we are working to maintain a sense of continuity even through the various events/changes.

NRAMA: You can't say WildStorm without thinking Jim Lee. As both its founder and Editorial Director, what's Jim role in the day-to-day operations of WildStorm?

BA: On the editorial/creative front, Jim does read and approve all new book proposals and has input on all the creative teams, so he’s definitely involved and embraced the direction the books are taking. He’s also been immersed in working on the upcoming DC massively multiplayer game with Sony, and of course, pencils All Star Batman & Robin.

NRAMA: Jim Lee operates his own artist studio. How does that work in relation to WildStorm?

BA: Actually, the artists are part of WildStorm—they’re just working on the game stuff we’re developing, but I wouldn’t classify it as a separate studio. In some cases, too, the artists work on titles for us (around their game deadlines)--like Carlos D’Anda on Deathblow and JJ Kirby on New Dynamix.

NRAMA: Ben, you've worked for Dark Horse, Marvel and the core DC Universe before. Now with your six years in to WildStorm, how would you differentiate it being that it was founded and still actively molded by such an influential artist and creative mind as Jim Lee?

BA: I think WildStorm being founded by a creative mind like Jim can be felt in nearly every way in comparison to the other companies I’ve worked for. The most defining difference, though, is easily the number of creators we actually have ON staff here. Beyond the MMO artists, we have nearly a half-dozen other staff artists and a full coloring department, maintaining the vision of what Jim created here so many years ago. The level of creativity and energy here is amazing and inspiring...and it’s pretty handy as an editor to have so many creative types right at one’s fingertips!

Previously:

Wild at Heart: Neil Googe

Wild at Heart: Scott Beatty

Wild at Heart: Andy Lanning

Wild at Heart: Simon Coleby

Wild at Heart: Leandro Fernandez

[kombayn]

FIRST POST!

[Dallas Bar]

Thank you for your contribution...

I would love to see trades from older series that got the axe... A second trade from The Monarchy, Stormwatch: Team achilles volume three, Wildcats 3.0, The Establishment. These series need to get the respect they deserve.

[Tomwaitsfan]

Originally Posted by kombayn

FIRST POST!

But is that your opinion really?
Glad to hear Morrisons Wildcats and Authority are still going to be in continuity. They had too much potential.

[J.Williamson]

Great interview, Ben!

Ben is totally right, Ellis run on Stormwatch was pure genius and it really laid the foundation for the Authority and Planetary. I'm glad they are going back to that story and referencing it in the Number of the Beast series, which has been great. Gotta love that Chris Sprouse artwork. Makes me miss Tom Strong.

I'm really looking forward to the future of Wildstorm!

[K-DoG7p7]

Kinda weird that i'm more exited about the Tiny bit of MMO news then anything else :P

[Hunter]

Originally Posted by MattBrady

NRAMA: You mention Superman and Spider-Man, and that's arguably the key characters of DC and Marvel respectively. What would WildStorm's counterpart to that be – who's your key player in the WildStorm universe?

BA: I’d have to say Midnighter.

Really? Midnighter?
Don't get me wrong, I love the character, but that seems an odd choice to me. I'd have said Grifter or Zealot or Caitlyn Fairchild before Midnighter.

Mike

[CaptainAmerica]

I'm a huge fan of the Wildstorm characters, and hope this new direction will do well. I really hope the work on the MMO is done soon. A lot of talented artists are tied up with that and would love to see them working on some Wildstorm books soon. I'd really love to see some more Team 7 stories too.

[Steve Magnum]

Originally Posted by Hunter

Really? Midnighter?
Don't get me wrong, I love the character, but that seems an odd choice to me. I'd have said Grifter or Zealot or Caitlyn Fairchild before Midnighter.

Mike

My thoughts exactly.

As for the MMO, I really couldn't care less and I wish the creators would get back to making good comics.

I also echo CaptainAmerica's sentiment regarding Team 7. I would love to see another mini-series about them (especially if it's written by Dixon).

[Statham]

Originally Posted by Hunter

Really? Midnighter?
Don't get me wrong, I love the character, but that seems an odd choice to me. I'd have said Grifter or Zealot or Caitlyn Fairchild before Midnighter.

Mike

Personally, I'dve said Jenny Sparks. She might be dead, but she is, to me, the Universe's definitive character.

I'm actually quite excited for some of the new stuff, especially Wildcats. Lee and Morrison's run never grabbed me with their ideas, and I'm loving the previews of Googe's work.

[Starbird]

Now...if we can just get the latest issues of WildCats...life would be pretty decent.

The series should be at about issue 5 by now...right?

[ziza9]

Originally Posted by Hunter

Really? Midnighter?
Don't get me wrong, I love the character, but that seems an odd choice to me. I'd have said Grifter or Zealot or Caitlyn Fairchild before Midnighter.

Mike

I agree. For me that identifiable character would be Grifter. To me that's an iconic Wildstorm character.

[Burnt Frog]

I completely disagree with almost everything this guy says. Not because I hate him personally or love to rant, but because I know WildStorm can be so much better, and it hurts to see them come to this. So I will post my opinions but tone them down.

NRAMA: You mention Superman and Spider-Man, and that's arguably the key characters of DC and Marvel respectively. What would WildStorm's counterpart to that be – who's your key player in the WildStorm universe?

BA: I’d have to say Midnighter.

Really? He's an one-dimensional Batman knock-off whose only character attribute is he's gay. This smacks of blatant pandering to DC fanboys who can only accept or handle DC rip-off icons with no substance or originality.

A better choice would be Grifter or Zealot or Jack Marlowe. Actually Jenny Sparks is the best choice even though she's dead. (Gods, I hope she stays that way).

BA: Well, honestly, this direction evolved following our WorldStorm launch a few years ago. Looking at the landscape of the industry, we realized we needed to move our universe in a different direction, something that the “Big Two” couldn’t, or wouldn’t, do for a long period of time. And we decided that direction should be toward a sci-fi/horror direction of a post-apocalyptic setting (to a degree, an almost logical extension to where the WSU has been headed for years). There have been “visions” of a devastated, bleak future in other mainstream super-hero books, but nothing with the lasting impact or direction that the World’s End books will be tackling. As to where it’s going...well, you’re going to have to read the books to find that out! Because there IS a long term plan for it all.

To me, this whole deal stinks of unoriginality. Laziness, even. To go from the amazing, convention-challenging heyday of Planetary, WildCats 3.0, Sleeper, Global Frequency, Ex Machina et al....... to a miserable tired old "post-apocalyptic" world. Like the New Universe' War? Or the AOA? Marvel 2099? Counter-Earth? Days of Future Past? Camelot Falls? Kamandi?

It's been done hundreds of times at DC and Marvel. It is as cliche as you can possibly get. And call me cynical, but I believe that's precisely why DC are pushing this to happen. Not only do the titles tie-in with that creepy pseudo-religious obsession DC has (Trinity, Kingdom Come, Final Crisis = Armageddon, Number of Beast, World's End etc), it also gives DC the opportunity to portray these uppity, dangerous, new-thinking modern heroes as incompetents who failed to save the world.

Logical progression? Yeah right. Because the WSU was always headed right in this direction, directly because of stories like the asylum granted to refugees on the Carrier and the everlasting car-batteries of the Halo Corporation. It was always inevitable, so why should the fans even bother hoping for imaginative stories?

NRAMA: A big part of WildStorm's line is the creator-driven work like Ex Machina, Planetary and the recent Highwaymen miniseries. How do those fit into the larger WildStorm game plan?

This is news to me. Is Planetary now retroactively being claimed as creator-owned to lessen the possibility of any serious progress in the WSU? I would greatly appreciate some clarification on this. I hope this is a typo.

NRAMA: WildStorm's got 16 years under it's belt, and there's a lot of ground covered. In your personal opinion, what do you think is the most under-rated gem in the WildStorm library, from the beginning to now?

BA: Wow, that’s a real tough one. I don’t think I could nail it down to just one, so how about a couple? Ha! I think the Stormwatch run by Warren Ellis has never gotten the proper respect it deserved, as he was doing some terrific, incredibly original work in the pages of that book years before Planetary or Authority helped solidify his reputation with WildStorm. I think the Jet series by Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning and Dustin Nguyen is definitely an under-rated gem. Also, while it was a book I edited (so I’m biased), I think the Andy Diggle/Leinil Yu collaboration Silent Dragon falls into this category as well. Buy in trade, people!

Again I have to politely disagree with this. As nice as Ellis' StormWatch was, there is a lot better stuff from WildStorm. Jet is standard DC-style legacy-character nonsense, so avoid.

The really good universe stuff is the first 12 issues of the Authority, Planetary, Adam Warren's Gen13 run, the first Kev specials, WildCats version 3.0, Sleeper (with the Point Blank prologue), and StormWatch: Team Achilles. I really recommend reading these over the ones mentioned above.

Global Frequency, Ocean, Desolation Jones and Ex Machina are all very solid creator-owned titles as well.

Originally Posted by Dallas Bar
I would love to see trades from older series that got the axe... A second trade from The Monarchy, Stormwatch: Team achilles volume three, Wildcats 3.0, The Establishment. These series need to get the respect they deserve.

Monarchy and the Establishment are a bit too "Authority-lite" for me, and Team Achilles will probably never be reprinted since Micah's lies were uncovered... but I would be totally down for vols 3 and 4 of WildCats version 3.0, plus reprints of the first two trades with a better marketing push than they originally got. Personally I'd much prefer to see an Absolute of version 3.0 than the Image Jim Lee drawn issues. I feel that version 3.0 could have been to the 00s what Swamp Thing was the 80s. (Surely, DC's cancellation of Casey's run has got to rank up there with their all-time biggest mistakes, going right back to when they screwed over Moore and Veitch on Swampy.)

Originally Posted by Steve Magnum
As for the MMO, I really couldn't care less and I wish the creators would get back to making good comics.

I see your point, and totally agree with it in principle. But at this point, too much time, money and rep has been put into the MMO. If goes down as unsuccessful DC loses face, and will probably then use the WildStorm studio as a scapegoat.

So what we need is for the MMO to be finished well, be a success so DC is happy about 5/6 years have been spent on it, and then for WildStorm to stop doing so much Crisisland-related material.

[jthuconn]

"(And soon, there will be a slightly tweaked trade dress to reflect these three areas that we’re focusing on—WildStorm Universe, creator-driven, and licensed.)"

They tried this a few years ago- WS Universe, WS Signature and WS respectively. Gonna stick this time around?


"In the first several months worth of books, we’ll see what most of the core Team 7 characters have been up to—Lynch, Dane, Marc “Backlash” Slayton, as well as old favs like Cybernary, Stormwatch: Team Achilles, Christine Blaze to name but a few."


SUPER pumped about revisiting Team Achilles.

[ziza9]

Working on the MMO probably pays a lot more than working on a monthly comic project. I understand why so many artists do work in the game industry and why so many Wildstorm artists would want to be involved with the MMO. Bills need to be paid. Foosd needs to be put on the table. I'd love it if all these guys did were comics, specifically comics I love. But, the reality is there is better dough out there in other fields.

[ElijahSnowFan]

while i've got nothing against Midnighter, i agree with those, and anybody else, who says that Wildstorm's most iconic character is The Grifter.

hey, he was there from Day 1. The Authority's had some great stories told with it, but The Grifter's woven through a ton of what Wildstorm's had going on, highs and lows.

[MR2525]

I miss Talent Caldwell on a Wildstorm book. He did awesome Wildcats renditions.

[Hunter]

Originally Posted by Burnt Frog

Again I have to politely disagree with this. As nice as Ellis' StormWatch was, there is a lot better stuff from WildStorm.

And I have to politely disagree with you. I thought Ellis' StormWatch was some of the best stuff that Wildstorm has produced, then or now, and it was a great lead-up to the Authority. Plus, the interview does talk about under-rated gems, and Wildcats 3.0, Planetary, the Authority and the others you mentioned have all been highly rated and got a lot of attention (if maybe not enough, in some cases).

Anything that gets people reading, though!

Mike

[Derek Ruiz]

Originally Posted by MR2525

I miss Talent Caldwell on a Wildstorm book. He did awesome Wildcats renditions.

Yeah I liked Wildcats: Nemesis a lot as well.

[ziza9]

Originally Posted by Derek Ruiz

Yeah I liked Wildcats: Nemesis a lot as well.

That was probably the one thing "Wildcats" I just never liked.

[Derek Ruiz]

Originally Posted by ziza9

That was probably the one thing "Wildcats" I just never liked.

It was fun. I like fun comics.

[C_Striker]

Great, great stuff, I'm stoked for the end of Number of the Beast to see the Begining of World's End

[C_Striker]

Originally Posted by MattBrady

BA: Just for the record, it’s not really a “rash of on-time releases”--for 2007, we did ship 96% of our titles on time and I believe we’re at 100% for this year.

I'm glad Ben brought this up...I got tired people assuming that all WS titles were late based on two titles only being late.

Originally Posted by MattBrady

BA: I’d say the delays were the result of a “perfect storm” of the creators being way over-committed and just plain old “life”. And Grant and Jim are committed to wrapping up their Wildcats run in a planned six-issue arc and on the Authority front, we’ve enlisted Keith Giffen to work with Grant to wrap up his planned 12-issue Authority run. So for all the fans out there—the books are coming. We are planning to have all the work done in advance of our soliciting, so that you know it will be shipping, and on time. Please be patient!

I thought this bit was wierd, They're going to complete the 12 issue run of GM Authority...I'm on the fence about it.

[Cray_ws]

I agree with what you're saying Striker, there was/is definitely a huge misconception about Wildstorm's shipping ever since the delay of Morrison penned titles. Nobody seem to notice that Wetworks, Gen13, Welcome to Tranquility, Deathblow, and Midnighter all shipped fairly regular, including their non-WSU titles. So it goes to show the publisher how much lateness on a high-profile title(s) can hurt the rest of the line. It's obvious from Ben Abernathy's commentary that getting the books finished before soliciting is a greater priority now.

Shame on Ben for choosing Midnighter as WSU's key player. The most iconic WSU character is Grifter and the second being Caitlin Fairchild. Grifter is equivilant to Wolverine and Batman, In the sense that Grifter is WSU's poster child for badassery like Wolverine and he's got that detective/resourcefulness like Batman. Fairchild is equivilant to Superman and Spider-man. Caitlin has Spidey's teen angst/nerdy drama, she's got Superman's strength and altruistic personality.

[Dallas Bar]

Originally Posted by Derek Ruiz

It was fun. I like fun comics.

Hear hear, it was an entertaining series.