What Was Up With ‘Wizard,’ #6: March 1998

Oh, it’s another trawl through another issue of Wizard, as I check out issue #79. Yes, I’m buying Wizard fairly regularly these days, so we’re going to see some recurrences of things. But hey, that’s still fun!

Before we get to anything, we have … advertisements!!!! Man, you turn to the page of contents, and you’re faced with this FULL. PAGE. ADVERTISEMENT. Oh, “IT’S HERE,” motherfuckers!!!!

So much Darkchylde stuff. SO MUCH!!!! Swimsuit Alternate Covers! Lithographs! “Leather Style Cover Box with gold embossed DARKCHYLDE Logo”!!!!! Holy shit, this is amazing. I have never ever read an issue of Darkchylde, but this ad makes me want to get all of them!!!!!

It’s been a bit since we checked in with Gareb Shamus’s letter from the editor, but in this issue, he writes about computers replacing comics and how that ain’t gonna happen. He points out that Wizard cannot be downloaded, but they do add some stuff on-line that they can’t do in the magazine, but the actual magazine will remain in print. As he points out, “Ultimately, the one true human nature quality that will save comics from ever being consumed by digital media is collecting.” He makes the point that it’s up to the companies to create products that get fans excited about new comics. That’s not a bad observation, and it seems like the companies have been able to do that, but who knows for how much longer, especially as it seems like they can’t get younger people to regularly buy physical comics.

In the letters, someone wants to know if Buffy will be coming to comics. Dark Horse had just gotten the license, so Wizard points out that plans are afoot for comics. Someone wanted Joe Benitez to take over penciling The Darkness, which turned out was actually going to happen, so good for that dude! Someone wanted to know where the Batman/Gen¹³ crossover was coming, and Wizard says that it’s kind of dead. Someone else wonders where the Gen¹³ animated movie is, and Wizard notes that it’s all the work of one dude — Kevin Altieri — so it’s taking a while. People were invested in Gen¹³ back in 1997!!!!

On page 14, we get the news that Marvel is launching Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty, by Mark Waid and Andy Kubert. This took a little bit to come out, and Garney drew it, not Kubert, but here’s the news about it! They have questions AND answers, first of which is, Why do it? Wizard gives the simple answer: MONEY! There was an animated series coming out in September, and Cap was pretty hot, so why not have a second series? I don’t know why Kubert didn’t draw this, but he seemed excited about it at the time! Of course, Waid and Kubert leaving Ka-Zar wasn’t great, and the series died very quickly after they left. They also let us know that Sentinel of Liberty will have stories that are in continuity but not in the present. Sounds neat! Too bad it only lasted 12 issues! Moving on, Brandon Peterson was suspending publication of Arcanum to return to Marvel for a three-issue story in Journey into Mystery. Peterson never did another issue of Arcanum, I should point out. In the “Buzz Box” on page 16, we get some items: The “Excelsior!” line of comics was launching, with Spider-Girl being the only title they knew so far. This got rebranded as “Marvel Comics 2,” an alternate future of Marvel stuff. Wizard was still telling us about the “Heroes Reborn” thing Marvel was going to do with Palmiotti and Quesada, which would be known as Marvel Knights. Carlos Pacheco was leaving the X-Men to draw an Avengers project with Kurt Busiek, which would become Avengers Forever. Jason Pearson was supposed to be taking over X-Men, which never happened. On page 17, we get yet another amazing advertisement for Awesome Entertainment. Rob always brought it in the adverts!

Superman was getting his classic duds back with Superman Forever, which had that Alex Ross lenticular cover. Good stuff! Then we find out that Scott Lobdell, who had been flying high in this earlier issue of Wizard, had been fired off Fantastic Four due to “creative differences.” Oh dear. Lobdell only got through issue #5, which he only plotted, and he wasn’t happy about it. He says Marvel did the same thing to him on Uncanny X-Men, and hey, Scott Lobdell — if it keeps happening to you, maybe you’re the asshole? Anyway, Claremont was taking over FF. Whoo-hoo!

On page 24, we get an update on H.E.A.T. Yes, Wizard devotes a short news item to Hal’s Emerald Attack Team, the group that wanted Hal Jordan back and were super-pissed that Hal was dead and Kyle Rayner was Green Lantern in the late 1990s. Jack Grimes, who represented H.E.A.T., wanted Hal brought back to life and Ron Marz fired off Green Lantern, which seems dick-ish. Marz points out, rightly, that nobody is forcing these people read the book, and it’s been four years, so maybe they should get over it. I mean, sure they should, but had Marz ever come across comics fans before? I mean, come on — we don’t let anything go! You might be forgiven if you think that Geoff Johns was using the pseudonym “Jack Grimes” back in 1998! (I mean, the initials even line up, sort of!)

There’s a brief item about how nude covers are declining in popularity. Oh noes!!!!! Yes, nude covers were going away because they just weren’t selling as well. Well, dang. Wizard does point out that the first nude cover was on 1994’s Poizon: Lost Child #0 from London Night Studios. I never saw this and on the Grand Comics Database you can find some nekkid covers, but I’m not sure which one this is. Anyway, I know you scamps have some nude covers, right? Right?!?!? They do their usual rundown of smaller companies, and a couple of things caught my eye. Ethan van Sciver was moving to DC Comics, which … there you go. Kitchen Sink was bringing out The Spirit: The New Adventures, with Moore and Gibbons. Dang, I don’t think I’ve read this. Marvel had something called Seeker 3000 coming out, which I have never heard of and never saw. But it existed! It was a 1978 story by Moench and Sutton that showed up in Marvel Premiere (why Greg H. never mentioned this is beyond me, especially because Cockrum drew the cover), and Dan Abnett, Ian Edgington, and Andrew Currie did the 1998 revival. 1998 — what a time to be alive! Finally, 2-D Graphics has Captain Awareness: Assault on Campus, which promoted awareness of sexual assault on college campuses. Phil Jimenez did the cover, and Ross, Breyfogle, Doran, Robbins, and Wieringo did pin-ups. It’s a good thing this was so successful at eradicating sexual assault forever!!!!!

On pages 30-31, Wizard follows Jeff Smith to SPX in Washington, D.C., which is kind of fun. Then, they give us a “first look” at Aspen, Michael Turner’s new character. Turner has been dead for almost 18 years (dang), yet Aspen keeps keepin’ on. Then, Wizard has a decent article about Holey Crullers, which later became Common Grounds when it moved to Top Cow. It’s a comedic take on the “superheroes-in-the-real-world” trope, and writer Troy Hickman has some fun thoughts about the series. I’m pretty sure I’ve read Common Grounds. I’ll have to look. It’s a keen article.

Wizard continues its obsession with Gen¹³, as Jay Faerber (!!!) writes an article about John Arcudi and Gary Frank taking over the series with issue #26. It’s a dense, 5-page article about what Arcudi plans to do, including dealing with Sarah’s “lesbian tendencies.” Oh, the Nineties. Arcudi does say he wants her to be lesbian, not bisexual, so that no one can “take a character who started out gay and evolve [them] into a straight character.” Good job, Arcudi! They also make fun of the series, too, coming up with a generic “create-a-plot” graphic in the same article in which they’re praising the new creative team. Oh, Wizard, you scamps!

It’s time next for a casting call! It took over 25 years and several different iterations of the name, but we finally got a Thunderbolts movie in 2025, a long-ass time after Wizard cast it! These are, of course, the original Thunderbolts. Such is life! They get Juergen Prochnow as Citizen V, which is pretty keen. Prochnow was in his late 50s in 1998, so he might have been too old for the role, but he was an actor, so he looked a bit younger. A good choice, though. For Techno/The Fixer, they choose Charlie Sheen. That might have worked — it was before Sheen was absolutely bonkers, and he has always had a good, douchey vibe. Grant Show is their choice for Atlas/Goliath — another fun So Very Nineties choice by Wizard. Show was never a big name, but he had a moment there for a bit, so … sure. They put Melissa Joan Hart as Songbird/Screaming Mimi, which kind of works, I think? She was only 21/22 at the time, and I don’t know how good an actor she is/was, but it seems like an interesting choice. Mach-1/The Beetle is … Billy Ray Cyrus. Um, no. So much no. They have Rebecca Romijn as Meteorite/Moonstone, which is kind of nifty. Romijn was in her mid-20s at the time, and I’m not sure if anyone knew at the time that she was actually a fairly decent actor. She’s not great, but she’s pretty good, and this would have been a good choice, I think. As Jolt, they cast Irene Ng, whom I’ve never heard of. I … guess? There’s a “mayoral liaison,” Dallas Riordan, whom Wizard has as Melissa Gilbert. Gilbert, wildly enough, was only in her early 30s at the time, and I don’t know if this is a good choice or not, as I never paid much attention to Gilbert. She’s fine, I guess. Interestingly enough, they cast Famke Janssen as Natasha Romanov. I honestly think Janssen — at the time — would have made a very good Black Widow, better than her Phoenix, which never seemed to work too well. By the time they did cast Natasha, she was too old, but in 1998, sure! Apparently, General G.W. Bridge — created by the two greatest comics professionals ever, Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefeld — is somehow part of the series, so Wizard casts him, and they give us Bernie Casey, which … chef’s kiss, there. As the Mad Thinker, they cast Jeff Bridges, which is also pretty good. Lebowski hadn’t come out yet, but Bridges had shown that he could play some off-kilter characters, so I have no problem with this. Finally, they cast Mitch Pileggi as Baron von Strucker. Is it because Pileggi is bald? Maybe, but Pileggi would have worked pretty well. This is … not a bad cast?

On page 48, we get an article about Liefeld’s Awesome Entertainment. The subtitle is “Why has Rob Liefeld’s Awesome Entertainment done a better job of recruiting creative talent than any other publisher?” (Awesome, I should point out, did not last terribly long, shuttering in 2000.) The article notes that in recent months, Ian Churchill (Wizard, as I’ve noted, always loved Churchill), Jeff Matsuda, Ed McGuinness, and Steve Skroce had left Marvel for Awesome, and Wizard wonders why. Skroce points out that he is getting to work with Alan Moore on Supreme, so that’s why he left. Jeph Loeb was the publisher of Awesome, and by this time, Loeb could bring in the artists, so that’s another factor. Another factor is … attention to detail? As in, Liefeld listens to the artists and tries to make them happy. I mean, I guess. Loeb notes that there are “no fill-in artists or bullpen inkers.” Well, sure, Jeph, but doesn’t that mean that your books will never come out on time or even on any kind of schedule? Sheesh. They also note that Awesome is backed by Crossroads Communications, which means the creators will have opportunities in movies and video games and such. Yeah, good luck with that. Loeb and Liefeld also mention that they don’t mess with the creators, which is nice, I guess. Meanwhile, they’re recruiting Alex Ross and Jim Starlin, as well as talking to Will Smith to do a screenplay that Liefeld sold to Universal and publishing a comic by Jada Pinkett. Yep. I guess one issue actually came out? Anyway, Awesome fell apart. I assume it had to do with Liefeld being a douche in some way, but I don’t know for sure.

Wizard then puts together the “ultimate superhero team,” which is one of these dumb articles that Wizard digs. Their team is: Captain America, Superman, Iron Man, Phoenix, Invisible Woman, Nightcrawler, and Dr. Fate. I mean, sure? Let’s just move on to pages 60-66, when Wizard gives us eight creators to look out for in 1998. First up is David Finch, who had been working on Ascension regularly after doing some other Top Cow stuff. Finch is a big star these days, so good job, Wizard! They chose Batt as a another rising star, and they do concede that it’s unusual to pick an inker. I used to see Batt’s name a lot in the years after this issue, but I don’t know what he’s doing these days. Leinil Francis Yu, all of 20 years old, was their next pick. Yu was a pretty big name for the 20 years after this issue came out, although it seems like he’s tailed off a bit recently. Still, a good pick! Leonardo Manco is the next guy, and while I very much enjoy Manco’s work, I’m not sure he ever became that big a name in comics. Ed McGuinness did, of course, and he’s the next guy Wizard picks. I mean, he had already done Deadpool by this time, so people knew he was, but he did blow up in the next millennium. Salvador Larroca is their next pick, and Wizard once again picks wisely. I do not like what Larroca’s art evolved into, but he was a big draw for a long time, so there’s that. John Cassaday is the next artist up, and yet another home run pick by Wizard. This was before Planetary, remember, and the biggest thing Cassaday had done so far was Desperadoes (which looks amazing, of course). Gone too soon, man. They pick José Ladrónn next, which is funny because they (and he) was still using his first name back then, before he became a much cooler mono-name artist. Ladrónn’s had a good career, to be sure, but he’s gotten much slower over the years as his art has become more intricate, so perhaps he’s not as big a star as he might have been had he kept working the grind of monthly books. Overall, not a bad selection by Wizard!

On pages 68-74, Wizard has a long article about Joe Kelly and Steven Seagle, who were taking over the X-books. It’s fascinating to see such a long article, as neither of these dudes lasted particularly long on the books, but clearly, Wizard thought they’d be there forever. It’s not a terribly informative interview, as the dudes are naturally coy about what’s coming, but they said they were going to focus a bit on Cecilia Reyes, Maggott, and Marrow, which should have tipped everyone off that this would not be a well-regarded run on the titles, as those characters kind of suck. It’s not the worst interview in the world, but it does have some poignancy to it, as Seagle and Kelly crashed and burned so hard on the books. (Of course, then they made a mint creating Ben 10, so, you know, good for them!)

Wizard has another artist tutorial on pages 77-80, as Brent Anderson explains how to draw “curvilinear perspective.” As always with these, it’s pretty danged fascinating.

Moving on, we get toys! Wizard points out that there were Kevin Matchstick and Grendel figures coming out, which our old buddy Tom Fitzpatrick (R.I.P.) would have loved, especially the Mage one. Speaking of Grendel, in the homemade toys section, the runner-up is this sweet Grendel figure:

There are also some cool statues coming out, including a nifty Dawn one, a model kit of Poison Ivy, a neat Hellboy statue, and … another Kevin Matchstick thing?!?!?

Then we get reviews, and Wizard, as usual, can be harsh. They do not like the Howard Mackie-written X-Factor (issues #134-140), which isn’t surprising as it was written by, you know, Howard Mackie. They weren’t much nicer to issues #121-129 of Wonder Woman, as Byrne was floundering on the book, it seems (I had dropped it by then, because Byrne’s early issues were pretty bad). They do love the third series of Strangers in Paradise, though, which perhaps isn’t surprising. In the “Picks” section that follows the reviews, they recommend grabbing The New Adventures of Abraham Lincoln by Scott McCloud. I’m not sure if I knew that ever came out.

On page 114, we get a decent article about the animated Captain America series that was in production for a debut in the fall. I have no idea if this ever showed up — I wasn’t much into animation in the late 1990s — but it’s a nice article. There’s also a brief item about “The Mark,” the screenplay that Liefeld sold to Universal, as noted above. Liefeld had big dreams for the property — he wanted Jennifer Lopez and Sean Connery, as well as Will Smith — but it never got off the ground. Oh well. Wizard also has five comics that should be made into television shows: Preacher (done and done!), Quantum and Woody (which would be cool), Resurrection Man (which might be cool), Strangers in Paradise (which would probably be cool), and Star Wars: X-Wing Rogue Squadron (which has probably been done in some form — I can’t keep track of the Star Wars crap that’s come out in the past decade!). Not bad choices by the mag!

In DC movies news, there was talk about a Wonder Woman one, but nothing came of that. Tim Allen wanted to play Brainiac in the Nicolas Cage Superman, which sounds more awesome the more I hear about it and it makes me sad they never got it done. Interestingly enough, Kevin Spacey had expressed interest in playing Lex Luthor. He’d have to wait eight years, but he did it! Joel Schumacher wanted to direct another Bat-flick, and thank FSM he did not! They have a lot of tidbits on pages 118-119, the final one of which is that Sandra Bullock was attached to a live-action Carmen Sandiego movie. What the absolute fuck?

On pages 120-121, Wizard has what has to be their weirdest contest yet, as the winner — the person who writes the best personal ad as their favorite superhero, so what Steve Rogers would look for in a mate, for instance — will get to double-date with Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner in New York. That is weird, wild stuff. I’ve met both Palmiotti and Conner. I should have asked them if they ever went on a date, and how it went. If they’re at San Diego this year (I’m probably going), I’ll have to remember to ask them.

As usual, Wizard polls retailers across the country to find the hottest back issues. Here’s their list: JLA #1, Witchblade #1, JLA #2, Heroes Reborn: The Return #1, Uncanny X-Men #350, The Darkness #1, KISS: The Psycho Circus #1, Darkchylde #1, Mage #1 (yep, the one from 1984), and Thunderbolts #1 (which Wizard likes, even though they hate the name of the book and the team). On page 135, they give us their top ten writers and artists (they get rid of the chick from last month, because chicks can’t write comics!) and they add a hot comic — Alex Ross’s first work! Look at all those pasty fellows with bad hair!

Wizard wraps up on the final page by flashing back to February 1984 … when a certain Swamp Thing #21 hit the stands. I dunno — I’ve certainly never heard of it. It’s a nice little article. But then, on the back cover, we see this:

What the crappity-crap is that? Dang, this actually exists, and furthermore, it’s set in the same universe as the first Star Trek/X-Men crossover, which I also did not know existed. I’m not the biggest Star Trek fan, but these two comics sound fun. Good for them!

So that’s another issue of Wizard. Yet more wacky stuff from the late 1990s! Whatever could be next? You’ll have to come back to find out!