I wouldn't fit in with the Wildsiderz audience. I was never a Danger Girl or Gen13 fan, so I don't have the interest in J. Scott Campbell's career. I'm in my 30s, so I'm too damn old for this sort of fare. I'll admit there were a couple of elements in this first issue that I enjoyed, and that surprised me. But too many of the characters are one-dimensional or distasteful, and the T&A factor is so amped up that all of it just can't be ignored. There's a lot of energy and fun inherent in the ideas, but there's little in the way of freshness. Wildsiderz will appeal to younger readers and to the crowd that enjoys Gatchaman and other Japanese teen super-hero concepts, as well as those enamored of Campbell's work, but that's about it. Of course, that's not too small a crowd, as far as I can gather, so this title may prove to be a hit for DC/Wildstorm and the creative team.
Derek Styler isn't the most popular guy at school, either with the other students or with the teachers, but despite his lackluster academic performance, he's actually quite the brilliant young man. That's how he landed an intersnship at a prestigious scientific research foundation where he's helped a world-famous scientist develop her solid-light hologram matrix into a performance-enhancing device. And now Styler's ready to show off his ideas, and among those who witness his new abilities are the school's top handsome hunk, a beefy jock, a rebellious hot chick and the cute brainy girl with a crush on the young inventor.
I think the visual element in this issue that impressed me the most was the fact that these earlier version of the hologram technology that Styler employs doesn't look quite as slick and polished as it will later on. The character designs leave a little to be desired. The shapely curves of every female character is more than a little obvious. Dr. Mirra Martin's legs are ridoculously well toned despite the fact that she doesn't appear to have the use of them, and even the supposed bookish Jess is a knockout. Why is this titillation necessary to back up the adventure and action that serve as the foundation of this property?
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the villain, Dr. Spydre. Like several other characters, his name is ridiculous, obvious and laughable, but in his case, the creators acknowledge it. The bad guy is played up for laughs, mocked for the stereotype he represents. His arrogance is matched only by his apparent incompetence. He is the one element in this over-the-top book that's treated as being over the top, and his goofiness is genuinely entertaining, even for a reader such as myself whose interest in the property is minimal.
I also enjoyed the overall character of Styler. He's part nerd, part punk, and by combining the two archetypes, there's a hint of something new to the character. It doesn't make a lot of sense that someone as brilliant as he is would still be toiling away in high school, and I don't get how he's agile and daring early on in the book and awkward later on.
The other members of the title team are high-school archetypes, but they're so one-dimensional that they come off as stereotypes. Furthermore, the notion that Styler would invite them into the fold by the issue's end makes no sense. The book demands the team be formed, but it should at least make sense. Styler doesn't even seem to a couple of these guys, so why give them the chance of a lifetime to become heroes or even just play around with some super-cool tech? 5/10
