Wildcats Version 3.0 Vol. 1: Brand Building

Written by Joe Casey
Art by Dustin Nguyen and Richard Friend

It wasn't until later in the run that I started to read what has to be the best approach ever taken to a creation of Jim Lee's.

Casey completely shed the 'Action Teams' aspect of the WildCATs, although he did sort of keep the 'Covert', instead taking only a few of the characters from the original team, and re-purposing them as industrial barons on a mission to improve the world through aggressive capitalism. These were superheroes for the new millennium, although parts of Casey's first few issues read as much like an article by Naomi Klein as Larry Hama.

This volume does a great job of introducing some new characters: Dolby, the accountant, and CC Rendozzo, the information broker are two memorable individuals. Casey did not completely break with the main characters' pasts, he just made them largely irrelevant to the business at hand.

Nguyen's art is crisp and enjoyable, as he plays around a little with lay-outs and provides some interesting ads. The covers, by Nguyen but with the guidance of Rian Hughes, are often the best part of the comic, and the comic is damn good. I think it's time perhaps to re-read Volume 2, and then dig through the single issues that make up the bulk of this run (which has not been collected yet).