Wildcats 3.0 #19
Originally presented at Comixtreme.com on March 20, 2004
Quick Rating: Average
Title: The Shot Heard (Coda War Part One)
Zealot faces off against Boba Fett! Um… that is, The Grand Sarin.
Writer: Joe Casey
Pencils: Pascal Ferry
Inks: Sandra Hope
Colors: Randy Mayor & Wendy Broome
Letters: Jared K. Fletcher
Editor: Ben Abernathy
Cover Art: Dustin Nguyen & Rian Hughes
Publisher: DC Comics/Wildstorm
Review: This is going to be a relatively short review, because there isn’t much to say. This issue is basically one extended chase/fight sequence that starts off with an invincible man in black style good and segues into a bloody, nasty fight between Zealot and a man in big, ugly armor that looks mysteriously similar to something out of a George Lucas movie.
While I have no doubt that my appreciation for this issue was stemmed because I haven’t read Wildcats in a long time, this is one of those comics that is simply crippled by inacessability. There’s nothing to tell you who any of the characters are, why they’re fighting or why the chase is going on. There’s actually a scene where one character shouts, “Remember me, B-----?” And I just thought, “No. I don’t.”
Unless you’re a religious follower of the book, the only way to appreciate this issue is for the sheer visceral thrill of the chase and fight, and Pascal Ferry handles that pretty well. You get a great sense of speed and adrenalin out of his pencils, as well as some nice splatter effects in scenes where people lose limbs, heads, etc.
This is a comic book that looks good, but doesn’t read well if you haven’t been there before. I guess I’m just going to have to keep singing the same song - if you’re going to make a comic like this, a “previously” page isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity.
Rating: 5/10