Wildguard: Fool’s Gold #1

July 8, 2005

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Fool’s Gold Part One

WildGuard is back in action – against their nastiest foe yet!

Writer: Todd Nauck
Pencils: Todd Nauck & Jeremy Dale
Inks: Todd Nauck
Colors: Todd Nauck
Letters: Todd Nauck & M-Crusade
Cover Art: Todd Nauck
Publisher: Image Comics

No one was more surprised than I was last year when Todd Nauck’s WildGuard turned out to be a smart, fun, charming story, a real winner for anyone who’s into superhero comics. At the same time, the book is a parody of reality television and an homage to classic superhero storytelling – the first miniseries featured dozens of superheroes competing for a spot on the team, with the last member actually voted on by the readers.

In this new two-issue miniseries, the team has been around for a while now and is settling into its celebrity status. Four, the founder and leader of the team, invites her female teammates to join her in one of her other celebrity endeavors – a fashion show, which of course is disrupted by a supervillain scheme, in this case, the mysterious disappearance of all of the jewelry and valuables at the show. WildGuard assembles to hunt down the perpetrator.

As always, Nauck has done a good job keeping the lighthearted aspect of the comic book. We see how Ignacia gets excited to be in a fashion show, how astonished the team is that Lily Hammer cleans up really well, and how Snapback’s girlfriend takes offense at not sharing the invitation. The relationship between those two really is one of the most interesting aspects of this book, mainly because he’s such a likeable guy and she’s such an unrelenting hag. It’s like watching your best buddy dating a woman who treats him like dirt and being unable to do anything about it, and it’s that kind of relatability that makes the book work.

The book also takes time to catch us up with several of the rejected characters from the first miniseries, most notably American Icon in a “Where Are They Now?” back-up feature penciled by Jeremy Dale. That story is considerably darker than the lead tale, as we follow someone rather bitter about being passed over and not necessarily suited to wear the star-spangled suit, even if he is the sixth generation to do so.

Nauck’s artwork is really solid too. I’ve been a fan of his since his Young Justice days, and his style is still a favorite of mine. It’s got a light cartoon touch, classic superhero styling with a modern touch. More books should look this good.

This is a really fun title, and if there’s any complaint to be had it’s that it currently exists in a series of miniseries and one-shots. I’m anxious for the day we get to see WildGuard full-time.

Rating: 8/10