Wild At Heart - A Wild Cards Retrospective - Busted Flush

 ---Oh boy. I really was not looking forward to this one. Not because this is a bad novel but because with one exception every story is multiple parts. Furthermore, each of the stories is tightly interlinked, even more so than in the last book.  Which would be fine but there are three and four different plotlines intersecting and diverging throughout each of the stories. Which means that discussing them without SPOILERS is a headache and summarizing them concisely presents logistical nightmares I don't even want to think about. 

Never the less, I will soldier on  The previous book ended with a new generation of Aces forming the Committee, an Avengers /Justice League type organization backed by the UN. This book picks up from there, following the new team as they deal with several new problems and old enemies.

First,  the Committee's old foes, the fundamentalist Caliphate have begun invading neighboring countries including the Socialist People's Paradise of Africa. Next, a massive nuclear explosion devastates Texas and the cause appears to be a young ace with uncontrollable powers. Third, the group is asked to intervene in a conflict between Nigeria and the newly formed People's Paradise of Africa.  Finally, a massive hurricane is headed towards Louisiana and super-powered assistance is required for the evacuation. Even with an expanded roster, the Committee might have its hands full.

The stories are as follows:

Double Helix (by Melinda Snodgrass, starring Noel Mathews/Double Helix): One again, the job of connecting the plots goes to Noel Matthews, the ace spy codenamed Double Helix. Having infiltrated both the Committee and the Caliphate under different aliases, his triple life has already pushed him far past his limits. Will his orders to  kidnap a powerful young ace for the UK  government prove to be the straw that breaks the camel's back? This story presents a more in-depth look  at the ace know as Double Helix than the previous book did. There, he was an unpleasant amoral spy. He still that in this book but here we get a better sense of what drives him and why he does the things he does. Rating: 4/5.

Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda (by Caroline Spector, starring Michelle Pond/ The Amazing Bubbles): Michelle Pond, the Amazing Bubbles, is another character having trouble balancing her responsibilities with her personal life. While she does important work with the Committee, her relationship with her girlfriend has begun to fall apart. When she's sent to spearhead evacuation efforts in New Orleans, an encounter with the vigilante known as Hoodoo Mama opens the possibility for a new relationship. A story that's hard to discuss especially since it turns out to be central to the climax. If the first story shows more of Double Helix's good side, this story shows some of the darker aspects of Bubbles' personality which severe to round out the character. Rating: 4/5.

Just Cause (by Carrie Vaughn, staring Kathleen Brandt/ Curveball): Yet another founding Committee member, Curveball, didn't get her own story in the last book. This time around we see her take center stage as her career hits the big time. In theory, Curveball should have it all: Not only is she a beloved hero, but she's also dating John Fortune, the leader of the Committee. But the constant violence of that comes with her new life is taking a toll. Can she keep being part of the Committee, and if she can't what does the mean for her relationship with John?  Unfortunately, this story is one of the poorest served by the book's format. As a stand alone story, it might have been a decent effort but split up throughout the book as it is, it's hard to engage with the story on a meaningful level especially when the story "A Dirge in a Major Key" deals with many of the same themes. Rating: 3/5.

Political Science (by Ian Trigellis and Walton Simons, staring Niobe Winslow/ Genetrix and Drake Tomas/ Little Fat Boy): Niobe Winslow aka Genetrix has a particularly disturbing power. He ability birth to a litter of short-lived super powered offspring makes her a valuable research subject for the BICC (Biological Isolation Containment Center), a government organization dedicated to researching manifestations of the Wild Card virus. But the BICC have sinister intentions for Niobe --- and for Drake Thomas aka Little Fat Boy, a young ace who can cause nuclear explosions. Niobe and Drake go on the run but unfortunately the BICC isn't the only party looking for Drake. I have to give this story extra points for containing one of my favorite comic-book tropes: a supervillain prison break. I have to dock it points for its portrayal of recurring Wild Cards character, Carnifex. A lot of the character development for previous books is thrown out so he can serve as a government stooge in this story. Rating: 2.5/5.

The Tears of Nepthys (by Kevin Andrew Williams, staring Ellen Allworth/ Cameo): The first story in this book to feature an old school Wild Cards hero. The Wild Card universe's medium, Cameo, has been around since Book Eleven and appeared  a supporting character in several subsequent stories.  Now finally, it's her turn to be the main character. Emerging from an enforced retirement, Cameo joins the Committee, which sends her to help the evacuation in New Orleans. There, she becomes involved in the quest to find Hoodoo Mama while starting a new relationship with Committee member Johnathan Hive. Unfortunately, both Hive and Cameo also have feelings for two of the deceased aces that Cameo can channel, quickly leading to a strange polyamorous grouping. It's this relationship that is the most interesting aspect of this story. Quirky, volatile, more than a little sad, it give the story a complicated emotional center. Rating: 3/5.

Volunteers of America / Won't Get Fooled Again/ A Hard Rain is Going to Fall (by Victor Milan, starring Tom Weathers/ The Radical): Way back in 1995, Wild Cards XIX : Black Trump ended with  Captin Trips, a character who had been in the series from Book One, permanently subsumed by his alter-ego, the incredibly powerful Radical. Busted Flush published thirteen years pick up that plot thread with the Radical having become the champion of the People's Paradise of Africa, a fictional socialist nation. When the People's Paradise becomes involved in a border dispute with Nigeria, the Committee sends in a strike force of Aces to monitor the situation and provide assistance to the PPA if necessary. Unfortunately, as the story progresses it quickly becomes clear that the Radical has changed since we last saw him and not necessarily for the better. A fun story --- but only if you're an old time fan of the series. Milan wisely tells the story from the perspective of multiple characters so the reveal of the Radical's dark secret is a slow burn. Unfortunately, the impact of that reveal will only mater if you are familiar with the character. A first time reader will likely find the story confusing. Rating: 2.5/5.

Dirge in a Major Key (by S.L. Frerrell, starring Michael Vogall / Drummer Boy): Drummer Boy has always been a reluctant hero. His work as a member of the Committee is increasingly in conflict with his career as a rock musician and he's beginning to have reservations about the violence that comes with the job. When a moral line is crossed during a mission, tensions come to a head and Drummer Boy make his choice about his place on the team. This story is a vast improvement on Drummer Boy's story in the previous volume Inside Straight. In that book, the writer wants us to believe that there is more to Drummer Boy than the unpleasant facade he presents to the world, but ultimately does vey little to give the character depth. This go around, we get to see more of Drummer Boy's s positive traits and shows that  some valid criticisms of his fellow Committee members,  allowing the character to be more than just the team jerk.  Rating: 4/5.

Mortality's Strong Hand (by John Jos. Miller, starring  Billy Ray/Carnifex): Another OG Wild Card character return's for a story: Billy Ray, aka Carnifex, freshly promoted to the director of SCARE, the US Government's Ace strikeforce. Unfortunately, his personal life is going down the tubes: He's broken up with fellow SCARE member, Midnight Angel, and, worse, his healing factor seems to be fading with age. Which is a problem when he's sent to round up the rogue Aces accidentally unleashed from the BICC by Genetrix and Little Fat Boy. The story allows John Jos. Miller to showcase the more human aspects of Billy Ray's character,  aspects that are sadly absent when the charter appears in the other stories in this book. It's kind of jarring to see the development that Carnifex has undergone over the history of Wild Cards get jettisoned every time he's written by someone other than his original creator.  Ultimately, however, that's a mark against the other stories in this book, not this particular story. Rating: 4.5/5.

As you can see fee from these reviews, this book had a lot going on. The multiple plotlines create a sense of tension and urgency that gives the book a quick pace--- but it's hard not to think that some of them could have been cut. In particular, the whole subplot about the hurricanes in Louisiana feels superfluous. The fact that all the threads come together in the end to make for a relatively coherent finale is nothing short of a minor miracle. However, it's still not enough to elevate the book beyond a 3/5.

Addenda: We find out that the Committee has expanded since we last saw it. New members include characters that appear in previous book like the Gardner and Toad Man  We also meet completely new characters like the Translator (later Babel), Snowblind, and the Llama.  Some of these guys will get their own stories later.

Wild At Heart: A Wild Cards Retrospective- Inside Straight

 The iBooks revival of Wild Cards was short lived. Only two books were published and the series went into dormancy again. This time, however, the dormancy would be short lived. Only two years later, Tor Books would begin publishing the series, this time with Inside Straight, the first book in what would come to be known as the Committee triad.

This time, however, the new start would bring a soft reboot of the series. Unlike the previous book Death Draws Five, which also tried to reintroduce the series but also focused on established characters and resolving old plotlines, Inside Straight (for the most part) chose to focus on a cast of completely new characters. The old characters are still around and while several of them cameo, this book entirely belongs to the new characters with the exception of John Fortune, who gets a POV story for the first time here.

There are two main intersecting plotlines throughout this book. First, long-time Wild Cards villain, the Noor al-Allah, has conquered most of the Middle East, placing  it under the iron heel of his Caliphate. Things get worse when the Noor gets assassinated, causing to his mentally unstable son to ascend the throne and order the massacre of all Jokers in Egypt, an act which lead to civil war.

Meanwhile, back in America, a new reality show has just launched. Young Aces from all over the country come together to compete on American Hero, a reality show for aspiring super-heroes. This plot thread primarily serves to introduce all the new characters and give them a reason for interaction. Of course, as the story progresses,  the events of American Hero begin to connect with the events in Egypt in unexpected ways.

Discussing Inside Straight presents some headaches. The stories in this book proceed fairly linearly with many stories being more or less  direct continuations of proceeding story. I am going to try to avoid spoilers but no promises.

The story begins with:

Jonathan Hive (by Daniel Abraham, starring Jonathan Tipton-Clarke/ Jonathan Hive): The main interstitial story for this book. Jonathan Tipton-Clark, aka Johnathan Hive, aka Bugsy is an aspiring journalist who also the ability to transform into a swarm of bugs. Looking for the inside scoop on American Hero, and not averse to making himself part of the story, he auditions for the show not knowing that it will change his life forever. The story is hard to judge on its own, more so than other interstitial stories. Because the book the stories in the book are tied together more tightly than in other Wild Cards novels, Johnathan Hive has the thankless task of providing connective tissue, a sort of transition from one story to the next. It helps that Bugsy has enough good points his corrupt journalist act coming off as charmingly sleazy rather than unlikable. Rating: 3/5.

Dark of the Moon (by Melinda Snodgrass, starring Lilith): This is the story that kicks off the main plot. Lilith, an Ace assassin with the power to teleport, sneaks into the Caliphate to carry out the assassination of the Noor Al-allah. The story is a good thriller and Lilith is an intriguing enigma of a character who's alignment remains murky. It's a bit of a shame to see the Noor go out like this. It always seemed like such a long-term villain deserved a better sendoff, but on the other hand, he was a cliched character who had perhaps outstayed his welcome. A good start to the book. Rating: 4/5.

From the Desk of Rebecca Leiberman: This isn't technically a story, but is include here for completions sake. Nominally, an in-universe broadsheet of promotional material for the American Hero reality show, its real function is to serve as a cast list introducing the contestants on the show and their powers. Other than that not much to say about this one. Rating: NA.

Chosen Ones (by Carrie Vaughn, starring Ana Cortez/ Earth Witch): Anna Cortez is in over her her head. An Ace with the ability to control dirt and rocks, she didn't expect to make the show when her younger brother cajoled her into applying for American Hero. Now, the newly-dubbed "Earth Witch" finds herself using her in front of millions of people. Forced to work together with her cast-mates on the show to complete various challenges, she quickly discovers that working as a team present more challenges than she ever expected. This is the first story where we get to see a lot of the new cast in action. As a result, it's given over to character development and establishing relationships.  It's a nice slow story before the action starts. Rating: 4/5.

Looking for Jetboy (by Michael Cassutt, starring Jamal Norwood/Stuntman): Jamal Norwood, the regenerating Ace called Stuntman, has never had much luck with his career choices. An aspiring athlete turned failed actor turned Hollywood stuntman, his newly discovered powers have finally given him a chance for success when he appears on American Hero.  As the game ramps up, Stuntman will find himself crossing ethical lines to make sure that he is the last hero standing. Stuntman is in some was one of the more subversive Wild Cards characters. Wild Card's protagonists are often flawed and selfish people who are often capable of great heroism when the moment calls for it. Stuntman, on the other hand, is a narcissistic jerk with daddy issues who when the chips are down stays a narcissistic jerk with daddy issues. Michael Cassutt has generally been the writer who seems least interested in the superhero aspects of Wild Cards so it's interesting that he chooses to make his most conventional superhero character deliberately unlikable. It's a choice that pays off as the character becomes a contrast to the other new heroes around him. Rating: 4/5.

Metagames (by Caroline Spector, staring Michell Pond/ The Amazing Bubbles): Michelle Pond, the Amazing Bubbles, is easy to underestimate. Her powers are designed to feed her insecurities: She can absorb any force used against her, converting it into mass, then converting that mass into a stream of energy bubbles that she can use against her opponents, literally gaining and loosing weight as she uses her powers. Not the most popular competitor on American Hero, she enters into an alliance with her new crush, the ace Tiffani. But on a show where there can only be one winner, how much is such an alliance worth?  Another strong story in this collection, this one introducing more characters but with a stronger focus on the dark side of reality shows: mainly, how the contestant to manipulate in each other in unethical fashion in order to win. I found Bubbles to be a likable character which gave some suspense to the relatively low stakes reality show setting. Rating: 4/5.

Star Power (by Melinda Snodgrass, starring Noel Matthews): Around this portion of the book, the reality shoe and the Middle East subplots begin to intertwine.  Noel Matthews is a celebrity magician and Ace who conceals his exact power from the general public. He's also a British intelligence operative who is deliberately causing the unrest in the Middle East. When making a guest appearance on American Hero, he discovers that one of the contestants had a family connection that may disrupt his plans. Noel isn't my favorite character among the new additions.  He's cruel and calculating and, in this story, at least, there's not much more to him than that. However, the story is necessary in that it provides the books two plot threads with some much need connective tissue and with that it get the job done. Rating: 4/5.

Wake the Lion (by John Jos. Miller, starring John Fortune): After losing his powers in the last book, John Fortune had been reduced to working as a PA on the set of American Hero. Jumping at a chance to regain his powers, John finds himself the host of the symbiotic Joker/Ace known as Sekhmet. Now John has to decide if he will do  as Sekhmet asked and use his newly regained powers to intervene in Egypt. Yet another strong story. I will admit that I do not find John Fortune as compelling a character as others in this book. He's another young person trying to prove that he's a hero and unfortunately, that describes a lot of the other characters in the book. Rating: 3/5.

Crusader (by George RR Martin, starring Klaus Hauser/ Lohengrin): The last story George RR Martin has written to date for Wild Cards. When John Fortune decided to help stop the massacre in Egypt, he drags Bugsy and Lohengrin, a German ace, appearing as celebrity guest on American Hero, with him. Obsessed with chivalry and the idea of heroism, Lohengrin has the ability to literally transform himself into a knight in shining armor, creating medieval weaponry with the power of his mind. But will a man who is quite literally a German crusader make a volatile situation better or worse? Another character out to prove himself a hero but this time with a little more depth. There's a sense her that, while Lohengrin's heart is in the right place, he is naive and his desire to play hero might endanger the very people he wants to help. Some of this story definitely hasn't aged well: Martin inadvertently gave Lohengrin a catchphrase that is actually used by hate groups in the real world (which is why it never appears again after this story). Still, it's a good last story from the writer who started it all. Rating: 4/5.

The Tin Man's Lament (by Ian Tregellis, starring Wally Gunderson/ Rustbelt): Rustbelt's experience on  American Hero has not been anything to write home about. Thanks to a dirty trick by a fellow competitor, he's been falsely smeared in the national new media as a racist. But that's not the only thing that's bothering the metallic joker-ace. He's beginning to believe that he should be using his powers for more than just chasing celebrity especially as he see more news stories about the massacre in Egypt. Soon, Rustbelt will take a step  that will change the Wild Card Universe forever. Yet another story hero featuring an aspiring new hero but this one is refreshing in how it doesn't try to be anything more that that. While the other characters in this book want to be heroes for a complex series of motivations, Rustbelt's motivation is simply --- he's a really good person who wants to do good in the world. That kind of simplicity of motivation is kind of refreshing in Wild Cards where even the more noble characters tend to have trauma based motivations. Plus, this was the point in the book where I realized where the story was going. I'll talk more about it later but for a long time superhero fan like me, it was about time Wild Cards tried a story like this and it was a great entrance for new readers. Rating: 4.5/5.

Incidental Music for Heroes (by SL Ferrell, starring Michael Vogali/ Drummer Boy): Drummer Boy is another character who had a bad time on American Hero. A famous musician, he only participated for the celebrity exposure and the only thing he has to show for it is a failed romance with fellow contestant Curveball. However, when Rustbelt lead a group of American hero losers to help in Egypt, Drummer Boy takes the opportunity to win back the girl and possibly save the day in the process.  This story contains the climax of the story but its marred by the fact that Drummer Boy isn't a terribly likable character. We keep getting hints that he has a shred of decency but we aren't actually shown much of that. In this book, whatever good deeds he does are motivated entirely by his (self-inflicted) girl problems. Still, as a climax to the overarching narrative, this story works well enough. Rating: 3.5/5.

Blood on the Sun (by Melinda Snodgrass, starring Bahir): This final story focuses on Bahir, an Ace in the service of the Caliphate. However, he's not quite the loyal servant he presents himself as he has an agenda all of his own. This story is difficult to talk about without spoiling one of the larger plot twists in the book so I will refrain from going into further detail. I will say however, that it is a twist that a) caught me off guard and b) makes sense when you go back and reread the stories in this book. What more can you ask from a surprise ending? Rating: 4/5.

This book was the shot in the arm the series needed. With the last attempt to relaunch the series fizzling out, a break with the past was just what the doctor ordered. With the largely new cast  and setting, Inside Straight allowed new readers to jump in without having to know anything  anything about the setting and characters. 

The rest of my thoughts on the book are hard to discuss without SPOILERS which I will present now. The end of the book sees the newly introduced characters (except Stuntman) forming the Committee, a UN backed strike force of Aces designed to intervene in foreign affairs. Essentially, this is Wild Cards version of the Justice League or the Avengers. In a world based on superheroes, it always struck me as a little odd that there wasn't a group like this so it was cool to see that vacuum filled. This book was, in the end m n excellent new beginning for the series.

Addenda: In addition to the new heroes who form the Committee, this book introduces several side characters who will be important in later volumes. Several of the contestants of American Hero including Wild Fox, the Candle, Jade Blossom, the Gardener and Pop Tart would have expanded roles in their own stories (some of them eventually going on to join the Committee).

Wild At Heart: A Wild Cards Retrospective- Death Draws Five

This was the book that was supposed to relaunch the series. It had been almost ten years since the last Wild Cards novel back in 1995. (Deuces Down had come out just a few years earlier but that was a straight up  anthology). Death Draws Five had the unenviable task of reintroducing the series and its universe as well as moving the story forward while remaining as accessible as possible to new fans.  

Unfortunately, it would never have a chance to succeed. The  series' publisher at the time, iBooks, would  fold leaving the series without a home. Ultimately, Wild Cards wouldn't truly be relaunched until 2008.

However, Death Draws Five is a milestone in another way. It is the last of the three Wild Cards novels that is written by a solo writer. This time it is John Jos. Miller, handling the writing duties. Whereas previous solo novels in the series largely focused on a singular character in a novel-length adventure, Miller broke with that pattern by formatting his novel more like a typical entry in the series. That means that the book has an ensemble cast whose narratives combine to form a singular story.

The story begins with a long promised event in the series: young John Fortune finally gets his superpowers. The son of two OG Wild Cards heroes, Peregrine and Fortunato, John Fortune and his eventual destiny have been a plot point since way back in Book Four.  With incredible but increasingly hard-to-control powers, Fortune is quickly kidnapped by the Alumbrados, a secret sect of the Catholic Church that is convinced that he is the anti-Christ.

The kidnapping quickly attracts five different heroes each with their own agenda. Fortune's long time bodyguard, Jerry Strauss, the shape-shifting Mr. Nobody, is out to get his client back. By a similar token, Fortune's father, the mystic Ace Fortunato, finally returns to America intent on finding his son. Meanwhile, former President Leo Barnett is convinced that Fortune is the Second Coming and has dispatched government operative, Billy Ray (Carnifex) to find him. Assisting Billy Ray  is a new character, the Midnight Angel, a true believer in Barnett's cause, who clashes with the more irreverant Billy Ray. Finally, another new character, mercenary John Nighthawk works as an agent for the Alumbrados but secretly has an agenda of his own.

The novel was clearly intended to be a jumping on point for new readers. The plot takes all five characters on a tour of the Wild Cards universe, introducing new faces and reintroducing several old ones, sometimes to the detriment of the plot. (There's a scene where Ti Malice, a villain who has absolutely nothing to do with the book's plot, shows up and the story basically stops for several pages for an extra fight scene). On the other hand a lot of the new characters are introduced with neat powers and abilities. I really liked Mushroom Daddy, a hippie with a mysterious past and the ability to grow excellent weed.

As  a stand alone story, Death Draws Five is a better than average example of superhero prose. As a way of introducing new readers to the series,  it really doesn't work. Ultimately, the book is too invested in rehashing old plot lines to feel completely satisfying. A lot if it depends on attachment to established characters which a new reader to the series wouldn't have. Fortunately, a new chance to reinvigorate the series would come with the next book Inside Straight.

Addenda: The book introduces some new characters who will have stories in late books like John Nighthawk and the Midnight Angel. John Fortune's new powers will be a recurring plot point in later books.

Wild At Heart: A Wild Cards Retrospective- Deuces Down

The Wild Cards format has changed a lot over the series. Originally conceived as a series of trilogies with every book written by multiple writers, the series had abandoned that by the sixth book in favor  of  longer arcs interspersed with the occasional novel written by a solo writer. But the one thing they all had in common is that --- they were novels. Even  in the books with multiple stories, those stories interlinked to make a larger narrative. 

Deuces Down is different. For the first time, there is no overarching narrative through line connecting the stories together.  The stories stand on their own as single pieces. The only thing connecting these stories is a) they cover the history of the Wild Cards universe, with the first story taking place in the 1950s and the last in present day and b) they all focus on Deuces, people whose infection with the Wild Card virus gave them unimpressive or useless abilities. In other words, Deuces Down is the first Wild Cards book that is just a straight up anthology.

As with any anthology, the stories are going to be a mixed bag. Fortunately, the stories aren't really connected so, unlike in other books, one bad story doesn't drag down the whole. And, this book contains "Promises"by Stephen Leigh, one of the all time best Wild Cards stories. But we'll get to that in due time as we go through the stories.

"Storming Space" (by Micheal Cassutt, starring Cash Mitchell): Once again,  Michael Cassutt has written another one of his trademark stories about how the Wild Card virus affected the history of the space program This one focuses on Cash Mitchell, a small time smuggler with the ability to lessen gravity on any object he gets a grip on.  Unfortunately for him, he finds himself involved with a small time criminal who plans to set up an operation travel to the Moon and needs his power to do so, a series of events that leads to Cash being part of the first lunar mission. I have to admit this story kind of left me cold. Cash is not the interesting of a character (lovelorn "nice guy" protagonists are not exactly uncommon in this franchise) and the story is not all that exciting. A merely serviceable story in an anthology full of them. Rating: 2 out of 5.

"Four Days in October" (by John Jos. Miller, starring Digger Downs): Tabloid reporter Digger Downs has been a character in Wild Cards since the books first started. Blessed with the ability to literally smell people who have the Wild Card virus and very little in the way of journalistic ethics, Downs has used his powers to enrich himself and make a name for himself as reporter. This serves as an origin story for him, as a young reporter for a school newspaper  named Thomas Downs discovers that someone on the 1969 Brooklyn Dodgers may be an ace. The story has some enjoyable parts; Downs, even as a child, is entertainingly sleazy and we see the backgrounds of some established characters (theres an even a blink and you miss it origin story for minor series antagonist, Wyrm).  The downside of the story is that it is overly focused on baseball. There are long paragraphs where the story just kind of stops to deliver a long play-by-play description of various baseball games. What's worse, these are long descriptions of fictional baseball games. (In the real world, the Dodgers had already moved to Los Angeles). For baseball fanatics only. Rating: 2.5 out of  5.

"Walking the Floor over You" (by Walton Simons, starring Robert "Bob" Cortland): Another story focusing on a new character,  "Walking the Floor over You" introduces Bob Cortland, a comedy club owner with the rather unimpressive ability to turn into a puddle and Carlotta DeSoto, a comedian who has the power to make people laugh involuntarily. When Carlotta is kidnapped by her vengeful ex-husband, Bob gets dragged into the wider world of Aces when  e hires Croyd Crenson, the Sleeper, to get her back. This story derives a lot of its power from nostalgia; there are cameos by all sorts of Wild Cards characters that haven't been seen in a while (like Hiram Worchester and Peregrine). Unfortunately, the most memorable parts of the story are the callbacks to older stuff; Bob is another nice guy with girl troubles, a  blander version of Cash Mitchell from earlier in the book. Ultimately, without a strong protagonist, the story just has to coast on references to more interesting characters. Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

"A Face for the Cutting Room Floor" (By Melinda Snodgrass, starring Dr. Bradley Finn): Before he was a doctor, Bradley Finn, the Wild Card universe's local centaur, was an actor, using his appearance to serve as a living special effect in low budget fantasy movies. Meanwhile, his movie executive father happens to be producing a new film starring Grace Kelly, who, in the Wild Cards universe, is apparently blessed with an unaging appearance and never retired from acting. When  her personal makeup artist disappears, Kelly suddenly goes into seclusion and Finn's father asks him to investigate the disappearance. This is an odd little story, more about subverted expectations. It's more of a homage to noir films minus the violence and the mystery at the center is easy to figure out. A nice detective story but nothing too special. Rating: 3 out of 5.

"Father Henry's Little Miracle" (by Daniel Abraham, starring Father Henry Obst): Unlike the other stories Deuces Down, this story actually takes place during the events of a specific book, specifically the gang war between the Mafia and the Shadow Fist Society in Book 5. Father Henry Obst is a Catholic priest with the job-appropriate ability to transmute water into wine. Unfortunately, that power is all that he has to rely on when a young woman in possession of stolen heroin comes to him for help. Worse both the Mafia and Shadow Fists are after the drugs and the Shadow Fists have hired Demise, the Ace whose looks can kill. "Little Miracle"is essentially a Demise story told from another character's point of view.  This has the effect of emphasizing how terrifying Demise's power is to the average person on the street while still showcasing the character's propensity to be injured in comical ways. A nice throwback to old school Wild Cards. Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

"Promises" (by Stephen Leigh, Starring Gary Bushorn/ The Burning Man): I won't lie. This story made me tear up. The first story to take place after the Card Shark trilogy, we find out what happened to Gary Bushorn, a minor character from the previous book. Gifted with an unusually high body temperature,  Gary's activities in the previous book have left him a wanted man. Trapped on the joker colony of Raithlin in Ireland, unable to leave without risking arrest, Gary meets Caitlyn, a young woman whose Wild Card abilities are slowly killing her and her daughter,  Moira, a young girl whose Wild Card hasn't turned yet leaving her a ticking time bomb. "Promises" is an exploration of love and loss set against the backdrop of the Wild Cards universe. It's actually the first story, I think,  that really deals in depth with  the fact that for most of the people who get it the Wild Card virus is a death sentence. Plus, the ending is utterly devastating.  Rating: 5 out of 5.

"With a Flourish and a Flair" (by Kevin Andrew Murphy, starring Sam Washburn/ Swash): The collection ends on a high note with this story, a straightforward superhero adventure. Deuce artist Swash, with abilities that transform him into the ultimate sketch artist, gets roped into assisting Ace magician/heroine Topper when she loses her hat, which she requires to use her powers.  As the search intensifies, more and more familiar faces from the Wild Cards universe get roped into the mayhem. We see familiar characters like Mr. Nobody, Cameo and Peregrine while meeting new characters like the Jokertown Boys, a rock band made of Jokers, Aces, and Deuces. It's a nice reminder that although the Wild Card Universe can pretty dark there is room for fun as well. Rating: 4 out of 5.

And that would be it but as I was writing this piece, Tor Books published an expanded rerelease. This rerelease added three more stories, including a frame story attempting to link each piece into an overall narrative. In service of this, it rearranged the order of several stories, breaking the chronological theme. However, to be completely fair, the stories were already so disconnected that this decision winds up having no practical effect on the book's overall structure.  

The new stories are as follows:

"Age of Wonders" (by Carrie Vaughn: Starring Raleigh Jackson):  The new framing story follows Raleigh Jackson, the daughter of minor Wild Cards character, Aurora, as she goes to work at magazine Aces. While there she get her big break, being assigned to write a series of articles about Deuces and other forgotten Wild Cards, which form the  other stories in the book, while also undertaking a personal quest for the identity of her biological father. While the story starts promisingly enough, it is full of subplots that don't really go anywhere. The search for Ralieigh's father fizzles out as does a later subplot about her work upsetting members of the Mafia. More unforgivably, "Age of Wonders" inadvertently spoils the ending of "Promises" which robs that story of much of its punch. Rating: 1.5 out of 5 (2 out of 5 without the spoiler). 

"Tasty" (by Mary Ann Mohnaraj: Starring Retazos): Joker repairman Retazos is having a bad week. His girlfriend is cheating on him. A local gang is intimidating some of his friends. And his attempt to make a patio for his grandmother inadvertently releases an alien monstrosity that devours everything in its path. You know, a normal crappy week. "Tasty"explores one of the theme of the "Wild Cards" universe: What exactly makes a superhero? In a universe, where a large portion of the population has a funny name and powers, even a repairman with less than impressive abilities can save the day once or twice. One criticism I have is that Retazos' girlfriend is a two-dimensional character going from loving companion to cruel harpy as the plot demands. Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

"Dry to the Touch" (by Caroline Spector: starring Joe Belenky/ Joe the Cleaner): This store is a loose follow up ( and dark reflection of) to "Storming Space" covering some of the open plot threads left by that story. The protagonist is Joe Belenky, whose ability to turn human bodily fluids into dust has led him to be forcibly pressed into service by the Mafia as an unofficial clean-up man for mob hits. However, when the chorus girl he has a crush becomes the target of his superiors, Joe winds up having to take a stand to break free of his bosses once and for all.  This is my favorite of the new stories.  With "Storming Space" and "Walking the Floor  Over You",  Deuces Down  already had two stories that involved a schlubby man coming to the aid of  a beautiful women who then falls into his arms as a reward. This story inverts that with a much bleaker  and more emotionally honest ending that comes as a gut punch to the reader that stays with you after you read it. Rating: 4 out of 5.

All in all, it's hard to have an opinion on the book as a whole. Though the new edition may have added a frame story, the book was originally an anthology and the stories largely stand and fall on their own merits.  The book's variety of tones something here for every reader but it also lacks the fun of different narrative threads coming together that some of the other books have. It's a good book for a casual fan of the series: if one story doesn't work, another one will.

Wild At Heart: A Wild Cards Retrospective- Black Trump

 Black Trump found the Wild Cards series in a strange place. For the first time since its inception, the series was about to find itself without a regular publisher. To give some perspective, before Black Trump, the series has been running continuously since 1987. After Black Trump, it would be seven more years before another book in the series was published.  As a result, the end of the Card Sharks series had the unenviable task of serving both as a coda to the ongoing series while keeping enough plot threads open so that Wild Cards could be resumed again in the future. Because of this the books in the series, this one is difficult to discuss without SPOILERS so expect them ahead.

The book itself pick up where the last one left off: The organization know as the Card Sharks has possession of three vials of the titular Black Trump, a lethal virus that targets people with the Wild Card virus. Senator Greg Hartmann (written by Stephen Leigh), trapped in the deformed body of a Joker at the end of the previous book, sets off with sympathetic human Hannah Davis to find the vials before they can be used.  Unfortunately, Hartmans' own Wild Cards powers are beginning to return and with them his evil alter ego, Puppetman, who has plans of his own for the pandemic. Hot on his trail is the Ace government agent Billy Ray aka Carnifex (written be John Jos. Miller) who has been sent to bring in Hartmann for questioning by a government more concerned with covering up the existence of the Black Trump than stopping it. Meanwhile, private detective Jay "Poppinjay" Ackroyd (written by George R.R. Martin) sets out on his own quest to find and destroy the vials while Mark Meadows, the transforming Ace know as Captain Trips (written by Victor Milan) is kidnapped by the Card Sharks and forced to use his biochemistry knowledge to help them perfect the Black Trump. Finally, young Ace Zoe Harris (written by Sage Walker) is forcibly recruited by the Joker terrorists know as the Twisted Fists to steal a nuclear bomb in a last-ditch attempt to threaten the Card Sharks with mutually assured destruction. 

As an ending to the Card Sharks triad, Black Trump largely works. The major story arcs are wrapped up; everything is tied up more or less in a neat bow at the end.  There are a few structural complaints: It's pretty clear that there were conflicting visions on the final fate of the Card Shark's leader, Dr. Pan Rudo. As a result, a new antagonist, Dr. Carter Jarnavon is unceremoniously introduced for the first time, primarily so that Poppinjay can have a mad scientist to face off in a long set-piece that call back to the very first Wild Cards story while Rudo was occupied in other plotlines. 

As for the plot-lines themselves, the standouts are the ones that focus on the long time characters with George R.R. Marin and Victor Milan's contributions being the best. Martin's story is an uncomplicated detective adventure tale while Milan gets to answer some long running questions from all the way Captain Trip's very first story. 

Stephen Leigh's  Gregg Hartman story is a strong third place with several unsettling sequences. Puppetman is a character whose escapades has always bordered on horror, and when he gets loose, it is suitably terrifying. Unfortunately, the story is framed as a redemption story for Hartman and, by this point, he's done too many terrible things even without his maniacal other self for that to really ring true. Furthermore, he spends too much time giving into Puppetman to make his final stand against his "darker side" seem authentic. Still, Leigh is a skilled enough writer that these flaws, while glaring, do not ruin the entire story. 

While Carnifex's plotline is serviceable, the real weak link here is Zoe Harris. It's pretty clear that there were at least tentative plans to have the character evolve from the wannabe hero shown in the last book to the next major Wild Cards villain. The problem is that the character is simply not sympathetic enough that the change comes as a major shock. (In all fairness, some of things Harris does were forgivable for a protagonist in the 90s but absolutely do not fly in 2022).  Furthermore, Harris simply doesn't make a credible villain. Compared to established antagonists like the Astronomer and Demise, her Wild Card abilities aren't that impressive and she lacks the resources of an organization like the Card Sharks. It's not really surprising that this storyline was abandoned and the character all but disappears from the books after this point. 

The end of the Card Sharks trilogy is --- good enough. It works largely as a wrap-up to major storylines and as a pause point for the series. Unfortunately, whether it was from the struggles with the publisher or just that the series had been ongoing for so long, there was a sense that the writers were running out of steam. Even though not everything is resolved, and future book are set up, Black Trump really does seem like a stopping point, like even the writers weren't sure where to go next. It would take two more books before the series found its new direction. 

Addendum: The British Ace organization, the Order of the Silver Helix, is introduced. We meet their leader Captain Flint, who will get his own story years down the line. Captain Trips ends the story having apparently permanently transformed into his Radical persona, who is now behaving erratically, which will be a big part of the later books. Gary Bushorn, the "Burning Man", who has a story in the next book makes a cameo appearance as pilot who  helps fly Gregg Hartman into Ireland.

Wild At Heart: A Wild Cards Retrospective- Marked Cards

The second part of any trilogy is always a tricky beast. By definition, it needs to move the plot forward without actually resolving it. If done well, it leaves the reader wanting more. If done poorly, it can stop the momentum of the story dead in its tracks and feel like the author didn't have enough material to fill three books. That's a hard task for a single author with a solid vision of where his or her story is going, let alone one with multiple authors all contributing their own ideas.

As a result, Marked Cards is a mixed bag creatively speaking. While none of the stories are exactly bad, some of them really don't seem to advance the story very much. That's not to say that this book is a complete waste of time. There are some good stories here but on the whole it is mostly average.

This time in there are two interstitial stories interspersed throughout the book:

The Color of his Skin (by Stephen Leigh) picks up right where the previous book , Card Sharks left off,  with the previous book's main character, Hannah Davis taking her evidence of the Card Shark's existence to Senator Gregg Hartman, formerly the villainous Puppetman. Seeking redemption, Hartman decides to help her cause, but finds that the Card Sharks have recruited the body-swapping Jumpers to their side and finds himself trapped in the body of a Joker and framed for murder.  What made Hartman an effective villain in earlier Wild Cards story was his ability to pose as a good person, even more so than his superpowers. This story raises the stakes by showing how Hartman copes when he is stripped of his greatest asset. Rating: 4/5.

Feeding Frenzy (by Walter Jon Williams: starring Neil Langford/ Black Shadow): Last time we saw Ace vigilante Black Shadow. he was being arrested after being framed for multiple crimes by the Jumpers. In this story, he breaks out of prison to settle the score. Unfortunately, the remaining Jumpers have thrown their lot in with the Card Sharks and Black Shadow soon finds himself fighting a conspiracy to body-jack the president of the United States.  This story is a good action story that makes a valiant attempt to tie in to the overarching narrative. The first half of the story begins with a villain prison break (one of my favorite genre tropes) and ties in with Senator Hartman's ongoing narrative. The second half of the story -- well -- it's hard to shake the feeling (SPOILERS) that "Feeding Frenzy" was more about making sure that the Jumpers never appeared in Wild Cards again. There was, by this point in the series, among both the fans and the writers themselves, the belief that the Jumpers sub-plot been around for to long. "Feeding Frenzy" definitively closes the chapter on these characters, in a way that reminds one of Poochie from the Simpsons. In the end the story isn't bad, (Williams is to skilled a writer) but it's hard not to be aware that the story is more about a bit of series housekeeping rather than advancing the plot. Rating: 3.5/5.

The one -off stories in this book include:

Two of a Kind (by Walton Simons, starring Jerry Strauss/ Mr. Nobody): When he  last appeared  shape-shifting ace, Mr. Nobody, was being swept away to his apparent death in a flooding tunnel. In this book, it's revealed that he survived his apparent demise and has gone into business with as a private detective, partnering with Jay Ackroyd aka Poppinjay. In this story, he is hired to investigate the Card Sharks only to discover a plan to steal a live sample of the Wild Card virus. As a Wild Cards story, this one is average: the superhero stuff generally works.  Unfortunately, on the character level, it's unsatisfying. Mr. Nobody's whole personality is that he is  chronically insecure and beset by girl problems. This whole schtick can be grating, and in this story, it's particularly annoying. In the end, not the weakest story in the book but not the best either. Rating: 3/5.

My Sweet Lord (by Victor Milan: starring Mark Meadows/ Captain Trips and J. Robet Belew/ The Mechanic): By the end of his last appearance, Captain Trips, the hippie Ace with transforming powers, had made the unlikely transition from fugitive to President of South Vietnam, with the enigmatic Mechanic acting as his consigliere. The two Ace's tenuous alliance is disrupted when the illusion casting guru, Ganesh,  begins to pull Trips into his cult, causing him to neglect his responsibilities. When the Mechanic discovers Ganesh's horrible secret, he has to convince Trips of Ganesh's true intentions before it's too late. My least favorite of Victor Milan's Trips stories: One of Milan's talents has always been writing Trips, who leftist politics Milan clearly disagrees with, sympathetically and heroically. In this story, Trips is just weak willed and willing to abandon his responsibilities to an obvious charlatan. There is some attempt to justify it but ultimately it feels hollow and Trips comes off as an unlikeable idiot. Still, Milan remains a very good writer even when misfiring. Rating: 2.5/5.

Paths of Silence and Night (By Leanne C. Harper: starring  Suzanne Melotti/Bagabond): Leanne C. Harper's animal-controlling heroine Suzanne Melotti has not appeared since way back in Book Five, since she left for Guatemala. Now, nine books later, we finally check back in with her to see what she's doing.  It turns out the answer is living in a small village, having completely abandoned her Bagabond persona. Unfortunately,  this changes when a photographer who has found evidence of the Card Shark's ultimate plan arrives in her village on the run from the Guatemalan Army. Suzanne has no choice but to become Bagabond once again in order to lead the photographer to safety before he brings trouble down on the village. This is actually my favorite stand-alone story in the book. Bagabond has never been a particularly pleasant character and the decision to send her off to Guatemala had the effect of preventing her from appearing in any major stories.  However, Harper uses the time away to give Bagabond some much needed character growth. The character presented here, while still battling inner demons, is more sympathetic than she has been in past appearance.  This allows "Paths of Silence and Night" to be an adventure story with a flawed but still likable heroine. Rating: 3/5.

Breath of Life (By Sage Walker; Starring Zoe Harris): This story introduces Zoe Harris, a disgraced former CEO ousted from the company she founded due to trumped up embezzlement charges. This forces Zoe to move back in with her parents - who are both Jokers living in Jokertown. Zoe herself is secretly an ace with the ability to animate objects by breathing on them.  Worried about escalating violence in Jokertown, Zoe turns to original generation Wild Cards hero, the  Great and Powerful Turtle, for help mastering her powers. This story works best as a piece of world-building rather than as a stand-alone story. It illustrates just how desperate thing have gotten in Jokertown and and the story builds to a genuinely upsetting climax. On the other hand, I don't think it works well as a stand alone story. The ending seems abrupt more like set-up for the next book. While many Wild Card's stories end on cliffhangers, I would argue that there's a a difference between a cliffhanger ending and a story feeling half-finished. Unfortunately, "Breath of Life" falls into the latter category. Rating: 2.5/5.

A Dose of Reality (By Laura J. Mixon and Melinda Snodgrass: Staring Dr. Bradley Finn and Clara van Rensaeller): In this story, the centaur-like Joker Dr. Finn has to deal with two bit of bad news: First, he has been passed over for the coveted position of Chief of Medicine at the Jokertown Memorial Clinic. Worse, the position has been given to Clara van Ransaeeler, who is secretly an agent of the Card Sharks and is using her position at the Clinic to aid them in their master plan: the development of a bioweapon that targets people infected with the virus. Van Ransaeeler soon finds her loyalties divided however due to a burgeoning attraction to Finn and mysterious connection to the snake-like Joker, Lamia.  It's an adequate story, never quite overcoming the fact that Dr. Finn and Van Rensaeeler are just not that interesting. A story that's so important to the plot deserved better lead characters. Rating: 2.5/5.

The problem with Marked Cards is not that it's bad exactly. It's that it's mediocre. Some stories are better than others, of course, but none ever really exceeds "pretty good, all things considered." The book really suffers from being the middle part of a trilogy. It's mostly marking time between books until the next one starts. It's not the worst book in the series: it's far from the best. It's just kind of there. 

State of the Union

 Taking a break from Wild Card for a post primarily because I just finished the newest Marvel comic book series, The Union, and anytime I am filled with an urge to fling the comic book I'm reading as hard and fast I can at the nearest wall, it is worth discussing. (Don't worry, book lovers. I didn't do it. I just really wanted to). It was a bad suffice to say; failing as a good comic but also exposing a deeper flaw that goes to the heart of today's comic book industry.

In order to provide some background, The Union is a  miniseries from Marvel Comics starring that rarest thing: a largely new cast of characters.  These new characters are heroes drawn from every member state of the United Kingdoms. The team gets thrown into turmoil when their leader, Britain's greatest hero, Britannia gets killed and is replaced by the working-class British hero, Union Jack (the only established Marvel hero in this comic).

The writer on this series is Paul Grist, a British comic book writer and artist, whose love for the character of Union Jack is well known. His most well-known series, Jack Staff, is basically a Union Jack comic book with the serial number filed off. The problem is that this the same thing is true for The Union. Instead of developing the characters who, you know, are supposed to be the main characters, Jack is clearly the main character and most of the time, the Union kind of stands there in the background while he does his thing.

Some of this is clearly the work of pandemic. Originally, the Union was going to be part of Marvel's Empyre crossover only to be hastily rewritten to be part of The King in Black crossover when COVID-19 disrupted the publishing schedule. Strictly speaking, only the first issue crosses over with The King in Black with rest of the series time skipping to after the event, ostensibly to set up the characters and their world. Still, we have a work that was supposed to be part of one story hastily rewritten to be part of another.

Except it doesn't work out that way. Ironically, The Union might have been better if it had just stayed a straight crossover because at least having generic space aliens as the villains might have given the series more space to focus on The Union. As it stands the main characters of the series in this order: 1) Union Jack, 2) a British parliamentarian attached to the team (seriously this guy is the secondary protagonist), 2) a z-list British super villain, 4) a tech billionaire who is helping to finance the Union and who, to no one's surprise, will turn out to be evil, and 5) The Union --- you know, the characters who the book is named after but who don't actually do much. 

And I think this is the problem: As I read more, I get an increasing sense that some people has Marvel has kind of thrown it's hands up and given up on creating new characters. Which from a sales point of view I can kind of understand. The comic book market has traditionally been unkind to new character ideas. Why do anything new, when you can have success doing 100 versions of the same character. (See the Flash, Spider-Man, Captain America, and Ghost Rider for particularly bad offenders though pretty much every major superhero has a backup version).  

But part of me wonders if it this is a self-fulfilling prophecy. It does not strike me as a coincidence that all the A-list talent is put on books with established characters and books with new characters get, well, writers and artists who are not as polished. These books don't sell as well, the executives say new characters don't sell, and thus only put  their least experienced writers and artists on what few books do feature new characters. In the case of The Union, Paul Grist is, admittedly, an experienced comic-book writer but he is also know for having a highly experimental writing style and, more importantly, drawing his own comics. In other words, putting him on a traditionally written comic which he is not drawing was not exactly an ideal choice. 

I have to get The Union credit for one thing. At least, it tries to give the character's their own corner of the Marvel Universe complete with an original supporting cast and rogue's gallery. If The Union's flaw is spending to much time on everyone but the main characters (and it is), at least it's better then some of  Marvel's other recent attempts to launch new characters where not enough time is spent on creating original characters to populate the heroes world. For instance, recent series Mosaic and, even more so, Monsters Unleashed seemed to spend a lot of their time having the protagonists fight established Marvel villains and bumping into established Marvel heroes then taking their characters into new territory in their limited time. 

So how to fix this? It might be interesting if someone at Marvel wnet up to one of the A-list writers and  "Pitch us something original, your own idea for a superhero." They could even sweeten the pot a little: offer some sort fo profit sharing or royalty program.  Jonathan Hickman or Jason Aaron ultimately can only do so much with the Avengers and the X-Men: I'd like to see what they'd do with characters who don't have such a massive weight of continuity on their back. But thats only possible if the publisher's don't settle for yet another new Spider-Man and are willing to take a chance on finding the next Spider-Man.