Wildcats: Street Smart - Volume 1

Bringing interplanetary war to the streets, Wildcats: Street Smart collects the first six issues of Volume 2, reconvening the team in the face of a new threat. Fans of the series will appreciate Travis Charest's take on the characters and his stunning, obsessive attention to detail. Readers unfamiliar with Volume 1 might want to backtrack first--the characters and machinations are complex and not easily synopsized. Writer Scott Lobdell launches the plot quickly and powerfully with little time for traditional superheroic narration. Lord Emp learns of evidence of a powerful weapon in the hands of his nemesis, Kenyan, and assembles our heroes to stop him from using it. The story arc combines small-scale interpersonal development, well-built tension and suspense, and, inevitably, the dramatic fighting and explosions we expect and love from our superheroes. An interesting new addition to the Wildcats is Noir, a mysterious French techie who seems to represent a fin-de- siècle trend in comics toward strong, nonstereotypical gay characters. His clever banter, representative of Lobdell's ear for dialogue, sets the pace of Street Smart and whets the reader's appetite for the next collection. --Rob Lightner