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| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Comic books |
| Founded | 1992; 33 years ago (1992) (original) February 16, 2017; 8 years ago (2017-02-16) (revival) |
| Founder | Jim Lee |
| Defunct | December 2010; 14 years ago (2010-12) (original) |
| Fate | Shut down (original) |
| Headquarters | La Jolla, California, U.S. |
Key people | |
| Parent | Image Comics (1992–1998) DC Comics (1998–present) |
Wildstorm Productions (stylized asWildStorm) is anAmerican comic book imprint. Originally founded as an independent company established byJim Lee under the name "Aegis Entertainment" and expanded in subsequent years by other creators, Wildstorm became a publishing imprint ofDC Comics in 1998.[1] Until it was shut down in 2010, the Wildstorm imprint remained editorially separate from DC Comics, with its main studio located inCalifornia. The imprint took its name from a portmanteau of the titles of theJim Lee comic seriesWildC.A.T.S. andStormwatch.[2]
Its main fictional universe, theWildstorm Universe, featuredcostumed heroes. Wildstorm maintained a number of its core titles from its early period, and continued to publish material expanding its core universe. Its main titles includedWildC.A.T.S,Stormwatch,Gen13,Wetworks, andThe Authority; it also produced single-character-oriented series likeDeathblow andMidnighter, and published secondary titles likeWelcome to Tranquility.
Wildstorm also published creator-owned material, and licensed properties from other companies, covering a wide variety ofgenres. Its creator-owned titles includedRed Menace,A God Somewhere, andEx Machina, while its licensed titles includedFriday the 13th,A Nightmare on Elm Street,The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,StarCraft, theDante's Inferno game,The X-Files, and theGod of War video game series.
DC shut down the Wildstorm imprint in December 2010.[3] In September 2011, the company relaunched its entire superhero line with a rebooted continuity in an initiative known asThe New 52, which included Wildstorm characters incorporated into that continuity with its long-standing DC characters.
In February 2017 Wildstorm was revived as a standalone universe withThe Wild Storm, by writerWarren Ellis. However, the characters were reintroduced to DC continuity in 2021.[4]
Wildstorm, founded byJim Lee andBrandon Choi, was one of the founding studios that formedImage Comics in 1992.[5] Wildstorm, originally known as Aegis Entertainment, grew out of Homage Studios, a workspace shared by Lee,Whilce Portacio,Scott Williams, and others in San Diego, California.[6]
Image was founded by Lee, Portacio,Erik Larsen,Rob Liefeld,Todd McFarlane,Marc Silvestri, andJim Valentino. All but Portacio became full partners in the new firm.[7]Silvestri joined Homage Studios shortly after the founding of Image Comics. Although he worked at the studio, his projects appeared under his ownTop Cow imprint.[7] Silvestri continued to work out of Homage Studios until 1994.[6]
In late 1993, Lee changed his venture's name to Wildstorm Productions. He explained: "As Aegis grew and the marketplace changed, I decided a new name would more accurately define the nature of the titles we produce". Former DC editor Bill Kaplan was brought in to oversee production and scheduling, in an effort to combat the studio's problems with erratic publication schedules.[8]
An Homage Studios talent search publicized inWildC.A.T.s issue 2 led to the hiring ofBrett Booth,J. Scott Campbell, Alex Garner, and others in 1993.[6]
Apart from McFarlane'sSpawn, Wildstorm produced the most consistently, commercially successful comics from Image. These included Lee's own titlesWildC.A.T.s and the teen-hero titleGen13, illustrated by J. Scott Campbell.[citation needed] Like many other Image titles, some of the WildStorm titles suffered from inconsistent completion and shipping, resulting in "monthly" comics coming out every few months.[citation needed] This era produced a number of titles of varying popularity includingGen13,WildC.A.T.s,Stormwatch,Deathblow,Cybernary, and Whilce Portacio'sWetworks.
His attempts to get the studio's characters into other media proved disappointing. A Saturday morning cartoon series ofWildC.A.T.s lasted only a single season (1994–1995), while a full-length animated version ofGen13 was produced but never released in the United States.Disney had acquired the domestic distribution rights, but shelved the product.Paramount had international distribution rights, and later released the film only in a few foreign markets.[9] Toys from both titles were less successful than those made by Todd McFarlane, partly due to poor marketing and partly because the McFarlane toys were targeted at a more mature audience.[citation needed] However, they had a big success copyingWizards of the Coast'sMagic: The Gathering with their introduction of the card game,Wildstorms: The Expandable Super-Hero Card Game produced between 1995 - 1997,[10] which was later spun off into acrossover set of cards with Marvel. The crossover was the swan song for the Wildstorm game as Marvel's merchandising clout succeeded in pushing Wildstorm's out of the spotlight.[citation needed] Although the timing was right for their card game, they were too early by a year with aPog game which used the WildC.A.T.s characters they released in 1993.[citation needed]
In 1995, Wildstorm created an imprint calledHomage Comics, centered on more writer-driven books.[citation needed] The imprint started withKurt Busiek'sAstro City andThe Wizard's Tale,James Robinson'sLeave It to Chance (with Paul Smith), andTerry Moore'sStrangers In Paradise. Subsequently, the imprint featured works bySam Kieth, includingThe Maxx,Zero Girl andFour Women, three ofWarren Ellis' pop-comics mini-series,Mek,Red, andReload, andJeff Mariotte's weird westernDesperadoes.
In 1997,Cliffhanger debuted a line ofcreator-owned comic books which included such popular works as: J. Scott Campbell'sDanger Girl, Joe Madureira'sBattle Chasers,Humberto Ramos'Crimson andOut There,Joe Kelly andChris Bachalo'sSteampunk,Kurt Busiek andCarlos Pacheco'sArrowsmith, Busiek'sAstro City andWarren Ellis'sTwo-Step andTokyo Storm Warning.
1997 also saw a revamp of all the Wildstorm Universe titles, including comic-books by writers such as:Alan Moore,Warren Ellis,Adam Warren,Sean Phillips, andJoe Casey. After this revamp the newWildcats series,Stormwatch andDV8 took the places of the most popular and most commercially successful comics of the Wildstorm Universe.[citation needed] Wildstorm also made a presentation toLucasfilm Ltd. in an attempt to obtain a license for the lucrativeStar Wars license,[11] but lost to the incumbentDark Horse Comics.
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Due to declining sales across the U.S. comics industry, and his view that his role as publisher and growing family demands interfered with his role as an artist, Lee leftImage Comics and sold WildStorm toDC Comics in late 1998,[12][13] enabling him to focus once again on art.[1][14] The deal went into effect in January 1999.[15] DC hailed the decision as one that would "strengthen both WildStorm's ability to expand its editorial goals and diversifying DC's output".[16] WildStorm was editorially separate from DC Comics, and the two companies maintained offices on opposite coasts: Wildstorm inCalifornia, and DC inNew York City. DC's acquisition of WildStorm allowed their respective universes to co-exist, and characters from either universe could appear in the titles of either imprint.[citation needed]
In 1999, WildStorm launched several new titles, includingThe Authority, a dark and violentsuperhero comic whose characters fought dirty and had little regard for the rights and lives of their opponents; their only goal was to make the world a better place.Warren Ellis createdThe Authority as a successor toStormwatch. He wrote its first twelve issues before handing the series over toMark Millar.The Authority fusedSilver Age superhero concepts with 1990s cynicism. In the 2004 Wildstorm crossover,Coup d'etat, the Authority takes control of the United States. Ellis and artistJohn Cassaday createdPlanetary, about "explorers of the strange", an experiment that merged pop culture, comic book history and literary characters.[citation needed]
WildStorm launched a new imprint titledAmerica's Best Comics as a showcase forAlan Moore. The line includes the titlesPromethea,The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen,Tomorrow Stories,Tom Strong andTop 10.[citation needed]
The studio launchedEye of the Storm in 2001 as an experiment.[further explanation needed] By this time, WildStorm had become largely a "mature readers" imprint. Joe Casey continued writingWildcats, retitling itWildcats 3.0 to reflect the shift in tone. The new version was penciled by Dustin Nguyen with inks by Richard Friend.Gen13 was relaunched with a new first issue, written by X-Men's Chris Claremont. AGen13 spinoff,21 Down, was written byJimmy Palmiotti andJustin Gray. After thePoint Blank mini-series,Ed Brubaker developed the same themes into the critically acclaimedSleeper,[17] set in the WildStorm universe.[citation needed]
In 2001Warren Ellis beganGlobal Frequency. The rights forGlobal Frequency were bought byWarner Bros. in 2004 and a pilot for a TV series forthe WB Network was made. The pilot never aired and was not picked up as a series, although the pilot was later leaked on the internet.[18]Stormwatch was relaunched asStormwatch: Team Achilles, about a team of normal soldiers who combat rogue superheroes.
Robbie Morrison wrote a one-shot featuring theAuthority characters, titled "Scorched Earth" (2003).[19] It was serialized as a back-up story in theEye of the Storm titles. A new ongoingAuthority series began the storyline of theCoup d'état crossover, which ran throughAuthority,Sleeper,Stormwatch: Team Achilles andWildcats 3.0.
TwoWinter Special anthologies also came out.[further explanation needed] Most of the line, exceptSleeper, were canceled two years after their introduction.[citation needed]
In2004, WildStorm revamped its array of sub-imprints. The core titles were grouped into the "WildStorm Universe" imprint, the creator-owned properties became the "WildStorm Signature Series" imprint, and all the licensed properties remained under the "WildStorm" imprint.[citation needed]
FollowingEye of the Storm, WildStorm published fewer WildStorm Universe titles, includingMajestic andWildcats: Nemesis;Majestic was based on a character that had appeared in DC Comics Superman titles. In August2006, WildStorm simplified its "brand" by returning all content to a single WildStorm imprint, and discarding the "Universe" and "Signature Series" imprints. In2007, the WildStorm fictional universe became "Earth-50", part of theDC Comics Multiverse.[citation needed]
In April2008,Ben Abernathy announced that the events ofWildstorm: Revelations,Wildstorm: Armageddon andNumber of the Beast would segue intoWildstorm: World's End, apost-apocalyptic direction for the line.[20] In July of the same year,Christos Gage andNeil Googe published a newWildCats: World's End #1. There followed, in August 2008, a newAuthority: World's End #1 byDan Abnett andAndy Lanning with art bySimon Coleby,Gen13 #21 byScott Beatty with art byMike Huddleson, andStormwatch: PHD #13 byIan Edginton with art byLeandro Fernández andFrancisco Paronzini.
That same year, DC releaseld thecrossoverlimited seriesDC/Wildstorm: DreamWar one of the earliest times where DC and WildStorm characters would appear together. The six-issue comic book limited series was written byKeith Giffen, drawn byLee Garbett, and published byDC Comics.[citation needed]
TheStormwatch: PHD title ended in November 2009. The remaining series each received another creative-team shake-up as 2010 began: February'sThe Authority #18 byMarc Bernardin and Adam Freeman with art byAl Barrionuevo,Wildcats #19 byAdam Beechen with art byTim Seeley andRyan Winn, and April'sGen13 #35 byPhil Hester and art byCruddie Torian.[citation needed]
WildStorm varied its publishing with licensed properties, such as:A Nightmare on Elm Street,Friday the 13th,The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,Mirror's Edge,World of Warcraft,The X-Files,Dante's Inferno, andGod of War. WildStorm has also published original graphic novels from writersKevin J. Anderson,John Ridley andDavid Brin.[citation needed]
The imprint was shut down in December 2010, withWildcats (vol. 5) #30 as its last issue, although DC Comics announced that the characters would reappear some time in the future.[3][21]
DC Comicsrelaunched its DC Universe imprint in September 2011, which included the integration of the WildStorm characters into the DC Universe. The initial wave of relaunched titles included:Voodoo andGrifter solo series, a revivedStormwatch title featuringJack Hawksmoor,Midnighter,Apollo, theEngineer, andJenny Quantum,[22][23][24] and a revived version ofTeam 7 with non-WildStorm charactersDeathstroke,Amanda Waller andBlack Canary. TheTeen Titans spin-off titleThe Ravagers featuredCaitlin Fairchild andWarblade as part of the cast,[25][26] whileWildC.A.T.s villainHelspont appeared inSuperman #7 and #8,[27][28]Grunge appeared inSuperboy #8,[29]Zealot appeared inDeathstroke #9,[30] andSpartan appeared inTeam 7 #5.[31] Midnighter was a recurring character inGrayson, before spinning off into his own ongoing series. Midnighter and Apollo also appeared in a 6-issue miniseries,Midnighter and Apollo.
On February 16, 2017, Wildstorm was officially revived withThe Wild Storm #1 byWarren Ellis andJon Davis-Hunt, a 24 issue series that re-imagined the Wildstorm Universe. On October 11, 2017, Wildstorm launched a second series underThe Wild Storm banner with the 12 issue mini-seriesThe Wild Storm: Michael Cray byBryan Hill. Following the conclusion ofThe Wild Storm DC Comics announced that a newWildcats six issue mini-series was to debut August 28, 2019, again penned by Ellis with art by Ramon Villalobos, but was cancelled in 2019.[32][33]
Grifter, Apollo, and The Midnighter appeared in the alternate future timeline seriesFuture State: Dark Detective in 2021.[34] The Wildstorm characters were then officially reintroduced into DC Universe continuity later that year inBatman: Urban Legends #5[4] andSuperman and The Authority.[35][36] The new Authority team then appeared as supporting characters in the Superman crossover story arcWarworld Saga.[37]
A 12 issueWildC.A.T.S series by Matthew Rosenberg and Stephen Segovia ran from 2022 to 2023.[38][39] The 2023 seriesBirds of Prey features WildC.A.T.S member Zealot, and the newOutsiders series relaunches the Wildstorm titlePlanetary with a new version of the character The Drummer as well as the Authority's sentient home The Carrier.[39][40] The 2023DC Black Label mini-seriesWaller vs. Wildstorm featured Wildstorm characters such asTeam 7 andStormwatch.[41]
In 2023,James Gunn ofDC Studios announced thata film based onThe Authority was in development and would help form the basis of the newDCU.[42] In November 2023,María Gabriela De Faría was cast to play The Engineer, a member of The Authority, in the forthcomingSuperman film ahead ofThe Authority film.[43]
In a landmark deal, DC purchased Jim Lee's WildStorm imprint, gaining another super hero universe.
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