Alan Moore Wild Worlds

Alan Moore Wildstorm Collection #1

by Alan Moore, Travis Charest, Al Rio

Presents a take on WildStorm's characters, all of whom live in outlandish, exotic worlds.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction, Fantasy, Comic Book

320 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2007

About the author

Alan Moore is an English writer most famous for his influential work in comics, including the acclaimed graphic novels Watchmen, V for Vendetta and From Hell. He has also written a novel, Voice of the Fire, and performs "workings" (one-off performance art/spoken word pieces) with The Moon and Serpent Grand Egyptian Theatre of Marvels, some of which have been released on CD.

As a comics writer, Moore is notable for being one of the first writers to apply literary and formalist sensibilities to the mainstream of the medium. As well as including challenging subject matter and adult themes, he brings a wide range of influences to his work, from the literary–authors such as William S. Burroughs, Thomas Pynchon, Robert Anton Wilson and Iain Sinclair; New Wave science fiction writers such as Michael Moorcock; horror writers such as Clive Barker; to the cinematic–filmmakers such as Nicolas Roeg. Influences within comics include Will Eisner, Harvey Kurtzman, Jack Kirby and Bryan Talbot.

Reviews

[Variaciones Enrojo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reseña de Roberto Pastor para Fancueva:
http://www.fancueva.com/comic/wild-wo...


Los que piensen que voy a poner a parir a Alan Moore por primera vez en mi vida están muy equivocados. Sigo pensando que es un dios en la tierra y que pocos guionistas se pueden acercar a su nivel narrativo. Dicho esto matizaré que ‘Wild Worlds’ no es un mal tomo, simplemente es un compendio de historias que en su mayoría no están al nivel habitual del inglés.
La verdad es que es curioso. ‘Wild Worlds’ simplemente es un recopilatorio de historias que Moore guionizó durante su etapa en Wildstorm, eso sí, sin contar su magnífica etapa en WildC.A.T.S. (Norma ya se ha encargado de publicar ese otro recopilatorio). Así que en ‘Wild Words’ podemos encontrar un poco de todo del universo Wildstorm e Image, pero bastante alejado de la mística, atrayente y cautivadora atmósfera a la que Moore nos tiene acostumbrados. Pero mejor vayamos por partes y hojeemos esta obra.
Empezamos por ‘Spawn/WildC.A.T.S.’, sin duda, la historia más simple y convencional que he podido leer de Moore hasta la fecha. Si no llega a ser por las primeras páginas, en las que la reconocible prosa de Moore nos introduce de alguna manera en esta vanal trama, pensaría que estaba frente a un guión de Jim Lee. Resumiendo, Spawn irrumpe en el edificio Halo (cuartel y hogar de los WildC.A.T.S) buscando camorra con tal de vengarse de una supuesta humillación perpetrada por Grifter y Zealot. Tras la casi pelea inicial, se descubre que este accidente tiene más trasfondo del que aparenta, y Spawn deberá unir fuerzas con los chicos de Marlowe para combatir una amenaza mucho mayor.
Lo más gracioso es que leer ahora este ‘Spawn/WildC.A.T.S.’ carece de bastante sentido, debido a acontecimientos descubiertos posteriormente y que dan al garete con uno de los pilares de continuidad de este relato. Aún así, es una lectura afable, no muy pesada y que nos ventilaremos en un plis. Se agradece el dibujo de Scott Clark, habitual de la casa Wildstorm y que también dibujó el fantástico número de WildC.A.T.S. ‘Kera/Tierra’. Su arte no es muy detallista pero la mayoría de los dibujantes mainstream que surgió en los noventa pecaban de lo mismo.

De la segunda historia, ‘Wildstorm Spotlight: Majestic’, creo que no voy a comentar mucho. Más que nada porque ya lo hice dentro del especial decálogo de Alan Moore (nota mental, acabarlo de una puñetera vez). Si la pereza os puede y no queréis saltar a aquel post, os haré un resumen: Es fantástica y sin lugar a dudas lo mejor de este ‘Wild Words’.

Sigamos con nuestro recorrido que el tiempo es oro. ‘Voodoo: Bailando en la oscuridad’ es una historia corta de cuatro números que simplemente queda en una curiosa mezcla de género policíaco y artes vudú, aderezado levemente con el exotismo de Moore y protagonizado por el impresionante cuerpo (al menos es lo que más se ve) de Voodoo, miembro de los WildC.A.T.S que compite con Zealot en ser la que levanta más… eso. Al Rio (‘Rising Stars’, ‘Gen 13’), y la escueta colaboración de Michael Lopez (‘Deadpool’,‘Penthouse Comix’), aportan poco, simplemente cumplen, aunque la verdad es que las páginas de Lopez contrastan de una manera brutal con las de Rio. De las portadas de Adam Hughes mejor no hablamos, que no es cuestión de calentar al personal con las sugerentes ilustraciones de este magnífico artista.

‘Deathblow: Byblos’ sin duda me parece la peor trama que acoge ‘Wild Worlds’. Nunca he tenido aprecio por Deathblow realmente, así que quizás ha sido la apatía la que ha impedido meterme en esta lectura más de lo simplemente necesario para pasar las páginas rápidamente. De nuevo aquí está el Moore desganado, el que no demuestra pasión por lo que escribe y no arriesga nada. Es posible que Moore sintiera también apatía por Deathblow y eso le llevara a esforzarse lo mínimo posible. Jim Baikie (‘Tomorrow Stories’,‘Juez Dredd’) tampoco es que se se lo curre mucho y a pesar de que realiza buenas composiciones de página, intenta trabajar lo más mínimo obviando los fondos en cuanto tiene ocasión.

Y para terminar tenemos la segunda y última joya de este ‘Wild Worlds’, la unión de un genio del guión con un genio del lápiz, Alan Moore con Travis Charest, pero hay que reconocer que este último le gana la partida al primero. ‘WildC.A.T.S.: Reencarnación’ es realmente la puntilla al primer arco argumental que Moore guionizó para WildC.A.T.S, cuando Majestic y compañía se unió al equipo, pero he aquí que Moore cogió con ganas esta historia y se nota en los mordaces, ácidos y dinámicos diálogos que escribe, los cuales decoran una historia, más bien una escena, que de quedar desnuda hubiera sido completamente aséptica. Travis Charest (‘WildC.A.T.S/X-Men’) simplemente hace gala de su enorme arte con el lápiz y deja con la boca abierta a cualquiera que pose los ojos sobre sus páginas, un auténtico mago.

Este ha sido el análisis individual de cada una de las historias que componen ‘Wild Words’, y para evaluar el conjunto tenemos que hacer media. Resultado, ‘Wild Words’ sólo es aconsejable para los fans más aférrimos de Alan Moore, aquellos que deseen tener toda la bibliografía del autor de Northampton, tanto lo bueno como lo malo. Pero aprovecho para recomendar ‘Wildstorm Spotlight: Majestic’ y ‘WildC.A.T.S.’ como obras indispensables. Buscad bien en vuestras tiendas de cómics y si encontráis alguna de estas maravillas, sentiros muy afortunados y agenciároslas.

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

So after being less than impressed with wildcats I thought Id read this collection anyway as I'd already borrowed it from the library. It was a collection of different short stories set in the wildcats universe. The first story was ABYSMAL. Ok there were some nice Alan Moore turns of phrase, but it was a spawn crossover and was really the WORST representation of comics I've seen in a LONG time. This was the reason that most women don't read comics. Ok, so I'm bisexual and can appreciate a finely drawn woman in comics. I have read and enjoyed Moore and Gibbie's porn efforts in this regard. But the sexualisation of the women characters in the first collection in this book was just so high as to be truly absurd! First of all the women's superhero costumes was a G-string! There were so many shots of women's butts with little triangles it was absurd! Next the women had huge FAKE breasts! They were large and obviously copied from implants and not real boobs cause real boobs don't look like that!!! Next even the old crippled superhero sitting in a wheelchair wearing a blanket, wore the blanet only to the tops of her thighs to show off her shapely hips and that she wasn't wearing trousers! I can't believe Alan worked with this artist.

The next story set in a dying universe was ok but so far removed from reality that it just didn't make any sort of impression.

The third story however was one I actually really enjoyed. It was about the character from the old team that I liked the most. The one who was part demon who left the team because of their racism and decided to go back to being a stripper, "because the costumes are less demeaning and people treat you with more respect". And yes indeed the issues about the strippers were much less demeaning than the ones about the female superheros! It was a wonderful story about her returning to New Orleans and hanging out with the legba (if that's the right word) without realising what they were. It was about letting go to do the right thing. It was still quite action-y trying to stop a monstrous man from killing strippers and bringing back the dead. But it was done in a really nice sorta spooky and sorta funny way and I really enjoyed it. It made me want to look into just getting the comics for this story, even though I'm sure it'd be cheaper to buy a copy of the graphic novel.

The last two stories after that I just didn't much care for even though one had maxine, she was just drawn too weired and the plot felt like a cliche.

[Brian Stillman · Rating 1 out of 5]

As bad as bad movies can be (Nic Cage's The Wicker Man comes to mind), bad comics are always more of a let down. I think Moore needed money to get those funky magician rings he always wears nowadays. This is the dreck he knowingly produced in order to get the ring money.

Trying to imagine this collection being recommended as part of the "After Watchmen" promotion. I mean if you wanted to turn someone off of comics altogether.

The Violator mini-series Moore penned was bad enough, but this is indescribably unwholesome, an incoherent, utter waste of trees and shelf space. Anything Jim Shooter ever wrote is a symphony compared to this compilation of smelly wattbusters. Secret Wars II, Star Brand, effing brilliant in comparison to Spawn and the WildC.A.T.S. go forward in time for some reason that's still completely unclear by page 73.

[Eamonn Murphy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of five stories by Alan Moore featuring various characters from Wildstorm comics.

The first story, ‘SPAWN/WILDC.A.T.S: DEVILS DAY’ starts with creatures outside space and time toying with our universe. Cut to our world where Spawn attacks the Wildcats because two of them attacked him. It turns out that it was not present day Wildcats but rather two from the future who came back to kill him. They turn up again and inform our heroes that in the future the world has been conquered by an evil demon called the Ipsissimus who used to be Spawn. By killing Spawn they hope to stop his terrible metamorphosis. The story is good but the ending is a bit weak. Spawn is pretty unique but the Wildcats struck me as X-Men clones. However, I am not familiar enough with the characters to make a final judgement.


The second story ‘WINDSTORM SPOTLIGHT #1 MAJESTIC: THE BIG CHILL’ features the end of the universe as entropy advances. The story follows the last days of a few god-like beings, doomed themselves and aware of it. There is some good invention here from the ever-inventive Alan and although the ending was predictable, retrospectively, I certainly didn’t predict it.

The third is ‘VOODOO: DANCING IN THE DARK’ a four-part story about an exotic dancer who gets mixed up with Gods in New Orleans. It was pretty good. The theme again was of celestial beings interfering in human affairs. I believe Moore fancies himself as a magician nowadays (like Dr Strange, not Tommy Cooper) so this sort of thing is his metier.

The fourth is ‘DEATHBLOW: BYBLOWS’ in which a young lady wakes up naked in a womb-like spacecraft, cuts the umbilical and is attacked by a tiger which she kills with a big thorn. Its coat makes a nice off the shoulder garment just big enough to cover her nakedness but still show a bit of leg and cleavage. Genevieve Cray is her name, according to a dog tag around her neck. She wanders off and meets many other new-born Crays on this strange world. Most of them want to kill her. She is strong and silent and good at fighting. The denouement reveals that Moore is the Phillip K. Dick of comics, always questioning the nature of reality. Maybe it’s the drugs.

The fifth and last is ‘WILDCATS #50: REINCARNATION’ which had some old villain becoming one with their building and attacking them. It was okay.

Overall it was an interesting collection of stories. The art is good but I was struck by the fact that the men have more muscles than even the most rigorous exercise could achieve and the women have bodies beyond the wildest dreams of a porn director. It’s fantasy on more than one level.

Clearly comics have moved on from ‘Bam! Pow!’ etc and fans are forever trying to get them accepted as ‘adult’, but that doesn‘t have to mean violent and pornographic. Moore has gone a long way in grown-up directions and the stories here are pretty good too. Not brilliant but no writer turns out brilliance all the time, not even the hairy wonder man of Norfolk. Worth a look though.

[Aaron · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one's a bit of a head scratcher. For some reason, DC Comics decided to take all of Alan Moore's one-off stories from the Wildstorm universe and collect them into one book. The problem: they already collected almost all of this in the far superior DC Universe: The Stories of Alan Moore. That book contains his seminal Superman story "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow," as well as several standout Batman and Green Lantern stories, as well as the (substantially weaker) stuff found here. So, I recommend just reading that other book instead if you really want to check out Moore's contributions to the wacky, often inane Wildstorm continuity.

The only story in this collection that you won't find in the other book is Spawn/WildCATs, which is the first story in this volume, and it is a real clunker. In what feels like a sheer cash grab, Moore collides the central WildCATs team with Spawn, then throws them into a post-apocalyptic future where they have to stop an out-of-control, evil version of Spawn (and some minions, of course). What follows is a hacky, been-there-done-that-bought-the-t-shirt-one-million-times time travel superhero story, but without even featuring any of Moore's typically solid dialogue or dramatic flare. The only interesting idea in the whole thing (involving time loops and paradoxes) comes very late in the story, and isn't anywhere near enough to salvage it.

So, I feel pretty comfortable telling people to skip this one altogether. It's a novelty at best, boring at worst, and not even remotely a fair depiction of Moore's work as a writer.

[Todd Glaeser · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is definitely not Alan Moore at his best. The Spawn crossover is perhaps a good idea but the dialogue’s simplistic and the artist, while good at pinups, can’t accomplish the “show don’t tell” that Moore’s better collaborators can accomplish .

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe 3.5

[Zyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

https://www.instagram.com/p/B7DqKE9Ivk4/

[Michael Emond · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a cliche but it needs to be said - even bad Alan Moore is still good comic. Reading the other reviews I had low expectations going into this book and maybe that's a factor in why I enjoyed it so much. Alan Moore's best are classic paradigm changing comics - this is Alan at his B game but still some wonderful ideas in here. Yes, a few stories are weak and MY biggest complaint is I have no idea who most of these characters are since I didn't follow these comics. I'll break it down:
WildCATS vs Spawn: A typical "The future is F'd up so we need our heroes from the past to come to the future to help out". Okay, the premise makes no sense - why not prevent the future instead of going to a messed up future? But one thing I'll give Alan full marks for is how he begins the story. A Sci Fi throw away idea that there are beings beyond the Space and time of our expanding Universe and one of them gets bored and decides to stir things up leading to "Evil Spawn". The rest of the story is nothing great but still fun.
Majestic: As another viewer rightly pointed out this is a modification of an old Asimov short story of the end of the Universe but again Alan puts his creative spin on it and we get some interesting characters there at the end watching the Universe's flame burn out.
Voodoo: I feel like this is a character who has more of a history than what I saw here but this seems as if it could stand alone. This was my fav set of stories and reminds me of a warm up to Promethea. In Promethea Moore geeked out over the Kabbalah and here he gives us a wonderful treatment of Voodoo lore. the one complaint is Voodoo herself is a passive hero indeed but it was still a fun read.
Deathblow: Interesting but the ending made no sense.
Wildcats: Loved the art but the biggest problem is - it refers to a whole story line from WildCATS so it does not work as a stand alone story. Not sure why it is here.
Not Moore's best but I still enjoyed it.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mixed bag of Alan Moore stories from the Wildstorm universe. Back when Wildstorm and Image were the new kid on the comic industry block, their muddled and often delayed output of titles were always promising new work from fan favourite authors. Alan Moore's offerings were often not what the reader was expecting and of wildly varying quality. The Wildcats/Spawn team-up is pretty poor but fairly typical of the series.
The Majestic one shot is quite decent - a nice sci-fi idea about a bunch of immortals facing the final end of the universe.
The Voodoo mini-series Dancing in the Dark is probably the most cohesive of Moore's work here, with some nice art by Al Rio and Michael Lopez, though it steps over the exploitation line a few times too many. It also got released on its own not long after this collection surfaced.
Deathblow - Byblows is not bad either. It sneakily sidesteps having to use any recognisable character from Deathblow and delivers an imaginative tale that wouldn't have been out of place among Moore's 2000ad work.
I don't know why Wildcats Reincarnation was included here as it had already had a printing in the full Moore Wildcats book.
On the whole this collection isn't anywhere near an Alan Moore on top of his game but far from being as bad as some folk would make out.

[Michael · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh, Alan Moore, did you really need a paycheck this badly in the mid-90s?

The Spawn/WildCATS crossover is as cliche as you can imagine, with terrible "90s Image" art by Clark. The one-shot Mr. Majestic issue, with D'Anda on art, is pretty solid, a look at the Superman-archetype as a traveler and humanitarian at the end of the universe. The four-issue Voodoo story is just kind of dull and listless, offering (extremely) slight teases of mythologizing Moore would later explore (to much, much better effect) in Promethea. Lopez and Rio provide not-awful, but not-great exploitative art. The Deathblow arc seems designed only to give Jim Baikie an excuse to draw cool alien landscapes, which means that it has some small virtue, which is more than the two long stories prior to it can claim. Charest's art on the WildCATS #50 short story is good, but the story itself is riddled with references to Moore's WildCATS run and doesn't mean anything unless (I assume, because I haven't read Moore's WildCATS) you've read Moore's WildCATS.

[Phillip Goodman · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing collection of disparate stories, each wildly astonishing in the bravery of its novelty and innovation. my favorite by far is majestic: the big chill, an extraordinarily flippant title for such a beautiful story, its just 24 pages long, but it packs a punch that stays with you longer than a novel, my mind keeps drifting back to it, i think its one of the most extraordinary stories i've ever read, and is hands down my favourite alan moore story, and this is the writer of 'watchmen' and 'the league of extraordinary gentlemen' we're talking about. even if that was the only good story in it, it'd still be worth the purchase price, and more.........though having said that i got my copy from the library.

[Adam Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not of the most profound Alan Moore stuff written. This collection is actually mediocre in about every facet a story can attain absolute mediocrity in. I really wanted to like it too because I'm a fan. I haven't read all of Alan Moore's stuff but this was more of a impulse buy (much like Crisis on Infinite Earths's was).
I don't recommend. At least not right out of the gate. Read some of the more celebrated Alan Moore first, then, when you're ready to get back into normal gear to read whatever big event the big two are doing to outsell each other, read this.
It'll make you very appreciative.

[Robert Wright · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, if you needed proof that, no matter how talented, writers are not perfect, this is it.

I can't muster the energy to slag something that was generally such a waste of time and paper.

The only thing that drags this up even to a 2-star level is the Majestic story. It reads like something Moore actually took time to write. Some of the art is nice in that super-distorted, 1990s, Image style, if you like that sort of thing on occasion. Some nice Hughes pin-up/covers for the Voodoo story.

Other than that, it's disappointing all around.

So, the next time a a fanboy starts feeding you a line about Moore's "genius" and "artistic integrity," point to this. And laugh.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's nice to have this collection of all things Moore, but there's certainly a mix of the sublime and the mediocre--and unfortunately the mediocre wins out by pure page count.
Spawn/Wildcats: An enjoyable time-spanning tale that features both stars to good effect [6/10]. Wildstorm Spotlight: A beautiful look at the end of everything [9/10]. Voodoo: Nice characters and nice theming, but ultimately too confusing and with too much happening TO Voodoo, rather than happening because of her to be very enjoyable. [5/10]. Deathblow: Byblows: A neat story, beautifully told, though some of the mystery will be gone in rereads: [8/10]. Wildcats 50: A nice coda to the Alan Moore series."

[izaiahdb. · Rating 1 out of 5]

it's convenient that all of alan moore's worst work is collected in one handily flammable collection. prior to reading "spawn/wildc.a.t.s." i never would have believed the words "alan moore" and "inept" could fit so cozily in a single sentence. at least the artists for these stories are so amateurish and awful that it draws some of the reader's inevitable disgust away from moore. this collection would have been more enjoyable if it had been 300 blurry, black and white photocopies of moore's paycheck and the majestic story (which i would gushingly praise as adequate).

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Part of the fault for this 2 star rating definitely lies with me, as I was almost entirely unfamiliar with most of the characters (I met Spawn briefly via that awful bloody movie) in this collection when I picked it up. As such I thought it was very much hit and miss, with the Voodoo stand-alone being really the only part I really enjoyed (even if I did feel a little like a pervy teenage boy thanks to some of those drawings).

I'll definitely give Alan Moore another go as I've heard such wonderful things, but this really didn't deliver on all that promise for me.

[Daniel Etherington · Rating 2 out of 5]

A long way from classic Moore. This is paying-the-bills Moore. License-to-indulge-his-cosmic-sex-and-magic interests Moore. Some of it's okay, but boy oh boy the story 'Spawn/WildCATs: Devil's Day' is hard going. It could have been a kind of WildStorm Age of Apocalypse, but the story is basic, and the artwork by Scott Clark (pencils) and Sal Regla (inks) is terrible, dated. Sure, superhero comics are no stranger to absurdly proportioned women, but these guys take the cake; I was embarassed to read it.

[Craig Crecelius · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't even make it through the first story. Definitely not anywhere near Moore's best work. It had moments of prose that reminded you that his name was on the cover, but besides that it felt like a very forgettable super hero team story which felt forced and forgettable. I suppose I could have stuck with it and slogged through some more pages, but what is the point when there are so many more worthy comics out there. Unless you are a kool aid drinking Moore stan I'd steer clear of this one.

[Sean · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up because it was written by Alan Moore. It is a collection of stories that he did for a specific publisher. Overall the story lines within it are very interesting but it is let down by the artwork which is reminiscent of early comic styles. I also do not know many of the characters within the stories so did not find them as engaging and I think this book will suit someone who is familiar with the Wildstorm pantheon.

[Ruz El · Rating 3 out of 5]

It gets 2.5 stars for the Majestic story. The rest was shit. WILDC.A.T.S Spawn was some of the laziest work for hire I think Moores ever done. You get the sense he's doing his best with the VOODOO story, but the magic stripper idea is so basely retarded it's hard to do anything with it. The other strip was just dull. Maybe it helps to be a fan of this universe, but as it stands, this is crap.

[Fugo Feedback]

Me parece que de este tomo llevo leídos sólo el especial de Majestic (excelente) y la primera mitad de la miniserie de Voodoo (que está bastante bien pero me parecía un poco estirada). Cuando lo tenga a mano espero poder leérmelo completo de una buena vez.

[Hillingdon Libraries]

Find this book at Hillingdon Libraries

[Roman Stadtler · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two stars because of the Voodoo story, which was great, for the reasons reviewer Mel stated below. That story is the only time any writer has made me care a whit about any Wildcats team member. If it wasn't for that story, this would be one star, at best.

[Guido · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cosas sueltas de Moore que casi que arman su propia continuidad, incluyendo crossovers que retroactivamente cruzan universos.
Incluye historias de Spawn con los Wildcats, Voodo, Mr. Majestic, Deathblow (clones varios) y más.

[Aaron · Rating 2 out of 5]

Alan Moore so obviously phoned these stories in that if you actually hold this collection to your ear, you can hear a dial tone.

[Tony]

[ Tedious; no stars ]

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth reading for WildC.A.T.s fans.

[Hamish · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok, I let the WildC.A.T.S. thing slide, but this is not acceptable.

[Dony Grayman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lindo tomo antológico del Barbas en Wildstorm. Tengo que revisar bien qué material de este recopilatorio tengo en otras ediciones. La mini de Voodoo y el Spotlight de Majestic, seguro.