this entry covers the first issue of the second volume of “Gen13”
Oh yeah, I finally get to talk about “Gen13” one of my favorite books! For a long time, “Gen13” was the only mainstream comic on my pull list. I’d pick up “WildC.A.T.s” when I could, and mostly would wait and scoop up other assorted WildStorm books from quarter bins, but I never wanted to miss “Gen13” even when I was reading a lot more small press black and white comics. I guess mostly because it was a fun book, and even at its darkest, it made some kind of weird connection to me. It helped that I was a teenage boy and there were lots of sexy ladies, but if that’s all it had going for it, I woulda dropped it quick. “Gen13” was more than just for ogling, it had a well-rounded cast of likable characters, and I liked visiting these crazy kids in SoCal while I felt trapped in the MidWest.
So, anyway, yeah, “Gen13” and their latest issue 1. Grunge pisses off Roxy because he can’t handle that he sucks at video games. Fairchild worries about the team. Sarah prances around naked. Roxy gets in trouble at a dance club with a host of no-good-niks. The rest of the Gen13 kids save her. Roxy comes home with a new pet. Only “Gen13” can take such a simple plot and make it a fun read. It’s hard for me to do any kind of review here because the book is really all about hanging out with these characters.
Plot summaries won’t do too terribly much for this issue, and several of the early issues because there’s not much to go on. Every time I start typing I feel like it’s the kind of story that ends with me laughing and saying “well, I guess you had to be there!” I think that speaks to the power of the relatability of these characters. Choi and Campbell had something really special going here, and it was great to see that catch on with other comic readers.
Coming into this issue you didn’t need to know much about the greater WildStorm Universe. It was refreshing in the ’90s not to see a book not be part of a multi-part crossover. Before you say “Hey, wasn’t the next issue part of “WildStorm Rising”?” I’ll point out, that, eh, it could pretty much drop right out of that story, and you wouldn’t miss it, as well as being a pretty stand-alone story on its own. So, yeah, that’s the first issue of “Gen13” volume 2!
Continuity Corner :
- When looking around the house in La Jolla, Fairchild comes across an old photo of Lynch, with a captured creature in a net. We’ll meet this creature, Helmut, in the next issue, and we’ll get the full story in later on in the “Lynch” one shot.
- This issue is the first time we’ll meet both Trance and the four bounty hunters. Trance will pop back up in the next issue and then become a real threat it “Gen13” issue #8. We’ll see the bounty hunters, as well as find out where they came from much later in “Sword of Damacles” issue #1 and the whole “Fire from Heaven” cross over.
- Oh yeah, we also are introduced to the newest teammate/mascot, Qeelocke, the little green kinda-cat like creature, who takes a real shine to Roxy. I’ll admit, it took me until my re-read a few years ago to get that too-on-the-nose name. Qeelocke. Key lock. It opens dimensional rifts… duh!
- When this book was originally published it had 13 different covers. Read all about it in this edition of “Gimmicks of Yesteryear.” I picked up the standard one, the “Pulp Fiction” parody and the blank one. I’m sure those comics are all still someplace at my parent’s house, I just wish I lived close enough to go snag them now!
Where to find this story:
- the “Gen13: Starting Over” trade paperback
- the “Gen13: Backlist” trade paperback
- the “Gen13 Archives” trade paperback, printed in black & white
NEXT : “Deathblow” issues 13 & 14 by Brandon Choi, Trevor Scott, and Tim Sale
weathering wildstorm 