I'm sure that everyone has heard the story of blind men trying to describe an elephant. Sensing only pieces of the whole, they can't fully grasp what it all looks like. That's the way I feel about Wildcats 3.0 after reading the first trade paperback. Reading this book in single issues supports it financially, but it's like the blind man trying to describe the elephant... it's only when you can see all of it put together that you start to get a real sense of what the whole thing is about. Casey mixes a lot of corporate politics in with interpersonal relationships and violence reminiscent of Quentin Tarantino and John Woo, all with a dash of high-tech science-fiction that has its roots in the super-hero genre, and it's clear that the transformation of WildC.A.T.s (90s super-hero book) into Wildcats 3.0 (postmodern, post-super-hero book) is complete with this trade. Even more pleasing and surprising is how artists Dustin Nguyen, Richard Friend and the colorists of Wildstorm FX have taken over from artist extraordinaire Sean Phillips and managed to meet or exceed the level of quality he brought to the second volume of this book.
Casey's approach is one that is focused on the individual, not the team. Which is ironic, given that the book is really about a monolithic corporate entity that is intent on transforming the world. But really, while the moves that Jack Marlowe is making to reshape Halo and transform the world are interesting, it's the way the other characters are reacting to this change in the status quo that is really engaging. This volume brings about a fairly major status quo change for Grifter, as he goes from booze-soaked burnout to corporate enforcer without losing the cynical, bitter edge that makes him so likable. Ditto for Agent Wax, whose uncertain loyalties and questionable morality make him a good replacement for the sleazy criminal Noir who met his fate in volume two of the series, and who makes a nice counterpart to Grifter.
Probably the most fun I have with this book, though, is when Casey brings in the new characters. Edwin Dolby, the accountant-slash-business genius who becomes very important to Marlowe even as this volume closes out, is a great character. He's a moral man in the midst of a shady moral business, able to function because he sees the greater good, and an interesting human counterpart to the almost programmed idealism that defines Jack Marlowe. And though they are but guest stars, I love the foul-mouthed, gun-toting professional killer CIA family that is hosting Agent Orange, a neat little idea that Casey uses to great effect, introducing Orange back into the fold and also making a pretty big change in Grifter's lifestyle and role as a result.
Though this isn't a humor book, there is a darkly humorous streak that runs through it. Casey's approach is subversive, poking at the fears that most of us have about the giant megacorporation while also positing the idea that one of those corporations could be a great force for good if it had a more idealistic bent. That it takes a robot freed of human moral constraints to do the right thing and to orchestrate this kind of grand social change, while the human element threatens to ruin his plans, is certainly an unusual twist on the concept. Casey's grasp on the realities of corporations, whether it's the duties of accounting firms or the realities of why sweatshop labor is used or even how marketing really works, sometimes seems a little shaky, but it's solid enough in the realm of the fictional genre that he's exploring to work. Certainly anyone who can buy teleporting robots, gun-toting child assassins and hynotic-powered secret agents will have no trouble skimming over the business and legal irregularities that pop up in the plot.
I know that words like corporate maneuvering, interpersonal conflict and subversive social commentary probably don't sound too sexy, so let me assure readers: There's plenty of ass-kicking going on too. Nguyen, Friend and Wildstorm FX deliver spectacular, bloody and detailed gunfights, complete with the sort of realistically-rendered technology and backdrops that Travis Charest established during his memorable tenure on the Wildcats book. Their talents also extend beyond the action into phenomenally rendered people, places and things, and the artwork both sets the tone for the book and follows the tone of the story perfectly. There's also a lovely design sense at work on the book, which can be seen in the covers to the trades and the issues and in the sketchbook section that closes out the trade, a clever mixture of digital media, traditional ink-and-paint and graphics elements that fits the slick corporate nature of the main character in the book. That character being the Halo corporation, of course.
Like much of the "Eye of the Storm" line, this is a great book that is being criminally overlooked, and it's something that almost everyone should have brought home in their stack of comics this week. If you didn't, it's a trade... there's still time to pick it up at the shop next time you go back. Freed of Wildstorm continuity and with an approach that is reminiscent of a more action-heavy Vertigo imprint, this is in my opinion the best work these creators have done in their careers, and certainly the best use these characters have ever been put to. And I include the work of Alan Moore and James Robinson, who set the stage for this revision of character purpose, in that statement.
