Gen¹³ : Starting Over The Deluxe Edition

Gen¹³ #Deluxe

by Brandon Choi, Jim Lee, J. Scott Campbell (Illustrator)

From the Wildstorm Universe, the creative minds of Jim Lee, Brandon Choi, and J. Scott Campbell deliver this hardcover deluxe version of Gen 13: Starting Over.

Under the leadership of their mentor Lynch, the super-powered teenagers of Gen 13 live a life of fighting evil, saving the world, and partying hard. Featuring strong characterization and wacky humor, this trade paperback presents the offbeat adventures of Fairchild, Burnout, Freefall, Grunge, and Rainmaker as they deal with typical teenage problems while combating violent villains and would-be world conquerors. Rebellious and headstrong, this atypical collection of heroes trots the globe in search of adventures and excitement.

Collects: Gen13 #1-5, Gen13 #1/2, Gen13 #0-5, and Wildstorm Universe Sourcebook #1.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Superheroes

360 pages, Hardcover

First published January 25, 2022

About the author

Brandon Choi is an American comic book writer who wrote several titles for Wildstorm Comics with his friend Jim Lee.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a neat premise, but poor execution. Gen 13 are the children of Team 7, a covert ops team that gained superpowers. They passed on their powers to their children. Now a government agency wants to activate those powers and use them as agents. I did like the Pitt appearance. He always had a cool look. The writing however, isn't very good. The dialogue can be especially hokey. The book is 90's to the Nth degree.

[Diz · Rating 1 out of 5]

This series did not age well. It feels as if it were written by a junior high schooler. There are a lot of bad jokes, grimacing faces, and uncomfortable sexual innuendos. The art is uneven at best, and downright breaks the laws of anatomy in many cases. If you wanted to experience what reading Image comes was like in the 90s, this would do it. Overall, it was not a pleasant read. I'm glad that we've moved on from comics like this.

[Niche · Rating 2 out of 5]

90s risqué X-Men knockoff

The 90s was a special time in that I can never tell whether something is intended to be corny or awesome. Cheesy banter and cheesecake outfits make up the bulk of the content. It was tolerable enough, but I found the character Grunge incredibly annoying.

[Joel Jenkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This covers the miniseries and the original 0-5 issue run. I like that it plunges immediately into the Wildstorm mythology, referencing the Kherubim/Daemonite war, Team 7, and even pulls in issues involving the warrior race of women known as the Coda.

Apparently, the secret to their immortality is a blood ritual that involves them drinking the blood of their Majestrix (who looks like Zealot from WildCATS but is never identified as such). Also, it appears that the secret to perpetuating their race is that they take outsider males and breed with them before sacrificing them. In this case, Grunge could have sired four or five Coda babies. Presumably, all Coda babies are female or the male ones are sacrificed? This isn't delved into too deeply.

The Campbell artwork is the classic Jim Lee style of ultra-long legs. It's excellent artwork but in some frames, the ridiculous length of the characters' legs is extremely obvious. The downside to the collection is the author's love of innuendo, but he cleverly weaves the Gen 13 books into the Wildstorm mythology and makes it look effortless.

[Crazed8J8 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This run captures the best of the typical 90s tropes... and it's a lot of fun to boot! I think this is what put JSC on the map.i live his artwork, and this is very typical at for him. The stories are okay, the characters are fun, but not too deep, and overall it's an easy read. Leggy gals, over-buff guys, and uniforms that fall apart all the time...90's cheese everywhere.

[Highland G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun book, very much of its time and full of references an homages to existing big characters. Was is completely original, not by a long shot. Was it fun and fresh, hell yes.

[Nik · Rating 4 out of 5]

J Scott Campbell is one of my favorite comic book artists, and it was really interesting to see how his art improves over time from first to the latest issues.
There’s one or two issues that didn’t make much sense or move the story forward, but overall, it was a very decent read with some stunning artwork.

[Wenerd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would you like this book if you didn’t grow up in the 90s? Probably not but it is fun the see Campbell doing interior art and while it may not be the most exciting or original story you still get a good sense of the characters and their dynamics.

[Zachary King · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cheesecakey 90s fun.

[Oliver Belmonte · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s lovingly fun to reminisce my favorite 90’s comic book series from Image now in Omnibus format.