Coup D'etat Afterward #1
Originally Presented at Comixtreme.com on March 9, 2004
Quick Rating: Good
Title: Wetworks Volume Two & Sleeper Season Two Preludes
Where does the Wildstorm universe stand after the Coup D’etat? Find out here.
Writers: Mike Carey& Ed Brubaker
Pencils: Whilce Portacio
Inks: Trevor Scott & Sean Philips
Colors: Wendy Broome
Letters: Jared K. Fletcher
Editor: Ben Abernathy, Alex Sinclair & Scott Dunbier
Cover Art: While Portacio
Publisher: DC Comics/Wildstorm
Review: The title of this book is Coup D’etat Afterword, but it could have just as easily been titled Wildstorm Secret Files, because it is in essentially the same format as that DC Universe series of books - two short stories setting up future titles and lots of profile pages on nearly every Wildstorm title.
It’s a good, quick read that helps get you up-to-date on where things stand now that The Authority has set themselves up as defacto rulers of the United States. Lucifer and My Faith in Frankie scribe Mike Carey is poised to resurrect Wetworks, a very different title from what he’s known for, as a techno-thriller with hints of superhero comics and military action. He tells a good set-up story that will lead fans into the new series quite easily.
Whilce Portacio, who created Wetworks for Image comics once upon a time, returns with some great artwork in this issue. Sometimes dismissed as a Jim Lee clone, Portacio proves here that he has a really good style and knows how to tell a comic book story.
The Sleeper story doesn’t feature Holden Carver at all, but instead shows the reawakened John Lynch pondering the fate of his former operative who has “gone native” in a supervillain underground. This story serves as good recap for the first season - if you didn’t read Sleeper before but want to start, this story will tell you everything you know.
While I wasn’t a fan of Sean Philips’ art in this week’s issue of JSA, he does a much better job in this short story. Taking place mostly in a snow-covered cemetery, he creates a very bleak and bitter mood, making Lynch seem like a force to be reckoned with. The real prize in this issue for Sleeper fans, however, comes with the confirmation that Season Two will begin in June.
The profile pages in this book are also a real gem. In addition to showing the current states of Wildcats, Stormwatch, Wetworks and The Authority, the book also includes profiles of each of these teams in their earliest incarnations. The changes each title has undergone are pretty striking when viewed in this fashion, and it makes you realize how long the Wildstorm Universe has really been around.
Rating: 7/10