The long, ponderous saga of the Wild Storm comes to a close with #24. Overall, it was akin to watching a two-hour movie in 10-minute segments over 12 weeks. I found it hard to enjoy, being spoon-fed the narrative in such a manner. But as the last six issues or so built toward finale, the pay off was satisfying enough that I intend to go back and re-read the previous issues.

My only regret with the climax is that I saw beforehand how one plot element would play out. But I also caught a few sly sub-references to other bits of genre fiction and pop culture. Like MST3K, you either get the reference or you don’t, and that’s not something Ellis should apologize for. Quite the contrary. If you overlook it, it just demonstrates how effectively it was blended into the narrative.

In tried and true comic book fashion, the really bad guys get what’s coming to them, while the heroes remain such not because they do good, but because they battle the evil within themselves and win. It’s not an easy victory. Sure this is the final issue, but I won’t blame them if they choose to retire permanently after this.

This series gave me new appreciation for the artwork of Jon Davis-Hunt. I’m not sure where he goes from here, though it says WildCATS will return in August. No word if he’ll be involved or not, but it would make sense.