From "that" age of comics Having fond memories of the Gen 13 series from back in the day, I decided to pick up this trade for my collection.
Age, unfortunately, has left it's mark on this series, and having never read the entire miniseries back in the day, I realize how little story is told in the five issues collected. The artwork is fantastic, though in spots it's sloppy, but the quirky-fun characters I came to love in the regular series haven't been figured out at this point, and come off very generic. In fact, generic is a term that could probably be applied to this beginning to a series that ultimately gains a lot of depth.
Unless you're terribly nostalgic for the 90s or just have a special place in your heart for Gen 13, you might look elsewhere for a compelling narrative.
The beginnings of Gen 13 started here! Gen 13 Collected Edition reprints the entire 5 issue mini-series hit of 1994 (written/co-created by Brandon Choi, Jim Lee, and J. Scott Campbell; with wonderful art by Campbell and inker Alex Garner) that was originally published by Image Comics, when Wildstorm Productions founder, superstar writer/artist Jim Lee was still at Image Comics (in 1998, Lee would leave Image Comics and sell his Wildstorm Productions to DC Comics, due to his career as a publisher having mostly precluded art jobs, which he desired to return to his roots as an illustrator, while being free of his time running the business aspects of publishing). Anyways, Gen 13 makes for a fun, great read, which I really enjoyed. This was the first teenage superhero team in the Wildstorm Universe, and there are just some funny moments between characters, plus some great action scenes going on. A definite must read for any comic book reader in my opinion. This was one of the better books being published from Image Comics at that time (and from Wildstorm Productions). This Gen 13 mini-series would spin-off an ongoing monthly series afterward, which ran at 7 years from 1995-2002 at 77 issues (and countless more spin-offs in various mini-series and specials). Another (short-lived) second series ran from 2002-2004, at a total of 17 issues (issues #0-16). In 2006, Wildstorm is trying another run at a regular Gen 13 series revival.
Enter the Next Generation Released at a time when new Image titles were literally a dime a dozen, Gen-13 quickly jumped ahead of the pack to become one of the hottest comics around.
Gen-13 (originally titled Gen-X before Marvel's lawyers stepped in) was the first teen hero title in creator Jim Lee's Wildstorm Universe. All Wildstorm titles tie in to the saga of Team 7, an elite military unit who were unwittingly given super powers by government orders. The men of Team 7 were known as Gen-12, and Gen-13 features their offspring.
Like their fathers, the stars of Gen-13 (Fairchild, Freefall, Burnout, Rainmaker, and Grunge) all had their powers activated by a secret government agency. This trade paperback details the team's origins and their escape from government control. Gen-13 isn't too far removed from the early Lee/Kirby X-Men story - 5 teenagers with powers they never asked for, fighting for their lives under the guidance of an older mentor. In this case, the role of Professor Xavier is played by former Team 7 commander Jack Lynch, who I always thought was one of the more interesting Wildstorm characters.
The story may be pretty basic, but the characters are interesting and the dialogue is fresh (at least it was in 1993). The real highlight is the artwork, which was provided by newcomer (and future superstar) J. Scott Campbell. Campbell's dynamic style was bold and exciting, and he could draw stunning female characters like no one else.
Gen-13 became a massive hit for Wildstorm, and it all starts here. This trade paperback collects the entire 5-issue Gen-13 limited series, plus some sketchbook material by Campbell and Lee.
Anything Goes Trivia
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