Ever since Matthew Rosenberg and Ryan Benjamin’s Grifter story in the first stages of Batman: Urban Legends, I’ve been itching for DC to turn to WildC.A.T.s again. Between the team’s history and the aforementioned creative team’s handling of the main character, my expectations were sky-high for WildC.A.T.s #1.
Ultimately, it was solid. My expectations were a bit loftier, but that may be on me. And in the end, there was one component of WildC.A.T.s #1 that created more issues for me than anything else.
DC Comics
Written by: Matthew Rosenberg
Art by: Stephen Segovia
Colors by: Elmer Santos
Letters by: Ferran Delgado
Again, Rosenberg has shown great command of Grifter. That hasn’t changed, and that’s so important when writing this team. As for the rest of the team, there wasn’t anything overwhelming, but there weren’t issues, either.
The art is what felt a bit off for me at times. But, it’s not due to an issue of quality. Stephen Segovia has been doing some great work on The Scorched with Sean Lewis. His action sequences are top notch, too. Some of the in-between moments on the busier pages seem a bit rushed, but that’s a small matter. In the end, the colors were distracting. Nothing at all to do with the quality of Elmer Santos’ work. Things just felt too glossy throughout WildC.A.T.s #1.
And I’ve seen Segovia’s work get that kind of finish a fair amount. Maybe that’s the aesthetic that comes with his line work, but this felt like a bit much. Also, it takes some of the edge away from Grifter and company. Everything feels too clean. Not something that’s going to deter me from reading the next issue, but it’s something that I thought about too often while reading WildC.A.T.s #1.
In the end, it’s not often readers get to spend time with Grifter anymore. Outside of this, it’s only been Batman: Urban Legends and his recent appearance in DC vs. Vampires. Plus, this is just a limited series. I’m more than happy to see if the colors become a non-issue for me over the next couple issues while taking in a strong line artist and a writer who handles the main character so well.
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