| "Wildstorm Rising" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Publisher | WildStorm | ||
| Publication date | May – Jun 1995 | ||
| Genre | |||
| |||
| Main character(s) | WildC.A.T.s, Stormwatch | ||
| Wildstorm Rising | ISBN 1-56389-588-9 | ||
"Wildstorm Rising" was a crossover event published by Image Comics/WildStorm that involved the entire line of titles published by WildStorm in 1995.
The 10-part crossover was published as a two-issue comic book limited series Wildstorm Rising that served as bookends of the story arc (cover dated May 1995-June 1995) while also running through these specific WildStorm titles. The chapters are as following:
Various comic book writers and artists who worked on this crossover event included: Jim Lee, Travis Charest, Ron Marz, Kevin Maguire and Barry Windsor-Smith (who co-wrote & illustrated Wildstorm Rising # 1, and illustrated all of the covers to tie-in issues).
Windsor-Smith later said that he was talked into illustrating Wildstorm Rising, and regretted participating it. He related that in reading the story and illustrating it, he could not understand the motivations of any of the characters, even when he read earlier Wildstorm books featuring the characters. He says he "mucked with the plot awfully" in order to improve it and his enthusiasm for it, saying, "After intense thinking, I realized what I was doing wrong: I was looking for characters! I know this sounds really glib as if I'm trying to build up to a funny line. But I’m really not. That was my problem: I was looking for characterization, and there was none. 'There is no characterization! That's what you’re doing wrong here, Barry!' They’re all ciphers!" Windsor-Smith later learned that writer James Robinson was not pleased with Windsor-Smith's alterations to the plot. [1]
Stormwatch and WildC.A.T.S teams end up at odds but have to stop fighting long enough to stop Helspont and Defile from collecting all the keys to unlock the Daemonite ship which could destroy Earth, ship buried on Earth since centuries.
This crossover was later collected as the trade paperback Wildstorm Rising (272 pages, Image Comics, June 1996, ISBN 1-887279-23-7, WildStorm, December 1998, ISBN 1-56389-588-9)
Wildstorm Productions is an American comic book imprint. Originally founded as an independent company established by Jim Lee under the name "Aegis Entertainment" and expanded in subsequent years by other creators, Wildstorm became a publishing imprint of DC Comics in 1998. Until it was shut down in 2010, the Wildstorm imprint remained editorially separate from DC Comics, with its main studio located in California. The imprint took its name from a portmanteau of the titles of the Jim Lee comic series WildC.A.T.S. and Stormwatch.
Wildcats, sometimes rendered WildCats or WildC.A.T.s, is a superhero team created by the American comic book artist Jim Lee and writer Brandon Choi.
Jim Lee is a Korean-American comic-book artist, writer, editor, and publisher. He is currently the President, Publisher and Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics. In recognition of his work, Lee has received a Harvey Award, Inkpot Award and three Wizard Fan Awards.
Barry Windsor-Smith is a British comic book illustrator and painter whose best-known work has been produced in the United States. He attained note working on Marvel Comics' Conan the Barbarian from 1970 to 1973, and for his work on the character Wolverine, particularly the 1991 "Weapon X" story arc. His other noted Marvel work included a 1984 "Thing" story in Marvel Fanfare, the "Lifedeath" and "Lifedeath II" stories with writer Chris Claremont that focused on the de-powered Storm in The Uncanny X-Men, as well as the 1984 Machine Man limited series with Herb Trimpe and Tom DeFalco.
Stormwatch is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by WildStorm, which later became an imprint of DC Comics. Created by Jim Lee, the team first appeared in Stormwatch #1. After the WildStorm imprint was retired and its universe was merged with the main DC Universe, the group was depicted as a secretive team of superheroes who tackle dangerous missions while remaining unknown to the larger superhero community.
The Authority is a superhero comic book series published by DC Comics under the Wildstorm imprint. It was created in 1999 by Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch, and follows the adventures of the Authority, a superhero team mainly composed of Ellis-created characters from Stormwatch.
Jeffery Scott Campbell is an American comic book artist. He was initially known professionally as Jeffery Scott, but is best known as J. Scott Campbell. He rose to fame as an artist for Wildstorm Comics, though he has since done work for Marvel Comics, and the video game industry.
Midnighter is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books first published by WildStorm and later DC Comics once it absorbed the former. The character was created by writer Warren Ellis and artist Bryan Hitch. The character made his first appearance in Stormwatch #4, titled "A Finer World ". He went on to appear in various Authority books and other series, as well as his own eponymous ongoing series.
Ron Marz is an American comic book writer, known for his work on titles such as Batman/Aliens, DC vs. Marvel, Green Lantern, Silver Surfer, and Witchblade.
Travis Charest is a Canadian comic book penciller, inker and painter, known for his work on such books as Darkstars, WildC.A.T.s, Grifter/Shi, WildC.A.T.s/X-Men: The Golden Age and The Metabarons. He is known for his detailed line work and muted color palette, and is a much sought-after cover artist, having done extensive cover work for many other books, such as various Star Wars series from Dark Horse Comics. His work has influenced artists such as Chrissie Zullo, Shelby Robertson, and David Marquez.
Douglas Mahnke is an American comic book artist, known for his work and penciling books including The Mask, JLA, Batman, Final Crisis, and Green Lantern.
Brandon Choi is an American comic book writer best known for his work for WildStorm Productions, in particular for the series WildC.A.T.s and Gen¹³ artist/publisher Jim Lee.
Steven T. Seagle is an American writer who works in the comic book, television, film, live theater, video game and animation industries.
Helspont is a fictional character and a former supervillain in Wildstorm's comics who was transplanted to the DC Universe. In addition to the WildC.A.T.s, he has also fought Team One, Gen¹³, Backlash, and when folded into the DC Universe, Superman.
"Fire From Heaven" was a company-wide comics crossover event story arc published by American company WildStorm in 1996. The story ran across at least one issue of most WildStorm titles at the time and several independent one-shots. The story tied into many events happening in the WildStorm universe and, unlike many major crossovers of the time, Fire From Heaven had a lasting impact on many of the characters involved.
WildC.A.T.S/Aliens was a one-shot comic book and intercompany crossover event, published by Wildstorm and Dark Horse Comics in 1998. The comic was written by Warren Ellis, pencilled by Chris Sprouse, with Kevin Nowlan inking and Laura Depuy as the colorist.
Stormwatch: Post Human Division is an American comic book published by Wildstorm comics. It is the fourth volume to bear the name Stormwatch. It was first published in November 2006 and was written by Christos Gage with art by Doug Mahnke.
The ThunderCats a superhero comic book series was based on the original television series of the same name. It was originally published by Marvel Comics through its Star Comics imprint in 1985, lasting for 3 years and 24 issues. During this time, a new series was published by Marvel UK consisting of 129 issues and was also published for three years. Beginning in 2002 Thundercats titles were published by Wildstorm Productions, and including 5 mini-series and several one-shots.
Midnighter is an American comic book series published by WildStorm, first issued in November 2006. It is a spin-off from The Authority, a superhero team comic book created by Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch, and follows the solo adventures of Midnighter, "the greatest tactician in the history of mankind". The first six issues were written by Garth Ennis, followed by three issues made by different writers; the last eleven final issues were written by Keith Giffen. Midnighter ended with its twentieth issue, followed by the limited series Number of the Beast. The series is also known as Midnighter to differentiate itself from the character's 12-issue latter series first published by DC Comics in 2015.
Zealot is a fictional comic book superhero who has appeared in books published by Wildstorm Productions and DC Comics. Created by artist Jim Lee and writer Brandon Choi, she first appeared in WildC.A.T.s #1, as a member of that titular superhero team, during the period when Wildstorm and its properties were owned by Jim Lee.