Review by Frank Plowright
While George R.R. Martin is now known to the wider world for creating Game of Thrones, superhero fans have long been enamoured with Wild Cards, the superhero universe he co-created with Melinda Snodgrass and shared with numerous other writers. The cast have so far generated thirty books, the vast majority collections of short stories, but also the occasional novel. It’s strange, therefore that they’ve only once previously been transferred to comics, the result a bland series never collected as a graphic novel. However, let’s be clear that irrespective of the large typeface proclaiming Martin’s name, beyond his role in building the playground he has no involvement.
The world of Wild Cards is one where a virus is loose killing most who contract it. Ten percent survive, the very lucky few with super powers, but the remainder have their DNA rewritten to create deformities and physical alteration. Kate Brandt and Ana Cortez are among the lucky ones, known as Curveball and Earth Witch after participating on a TV reality show. A year previously they responded to reports of human rights violations in Brazil, but were given the runaround on arrival, and now a Brazilian official wants to confirm what happened.
Carrie Vaughn has been among the contributors to the Wild Cards books since 2008, so isn’t some newcomer being let loose on a licensed property not able to convey the cast, while Renae De Liz’s previous comics work includes adapting fantasy novel The Last Unicorn. It’s a creative team to have confidence in, and setting the story in Brazil gives them some leeway to introduce new concepts and situations away from the US setting of most Wild Cards stories. Brazil being a vast country with many remote areas allows much to be hidden, such as the Aurora Mission, where children are allegedly taken to be cared for, but are never seen again. Much else stinks.
De Liz draws people designed to be sympathetic, and doesn’t shy away from backgrounds. They’re simply drawn, but when Ana is working her way through a jungle, the vegetation is there, and other locations are equally fully formed. The visual effect of super powers is understated, and their use minimal, which has the effect of making them more spectacular than a graphic novel full of superhero fights.
Now & Then is far more then than now, as the present day material consists almost entirely of Ana and Kate being interviewed about what happened a year previously, which turns out to be a sad tale of exploitation and corruption. For the sake of the story’s flow the heroes seem more compliant than most would be during the interview sequences, but events being captivating and tug at the heartstrings are enough to overlook that. Vaughn’s extrapolation of political systems has a credibility, showing that even the super powered can be held accountable, and she builds toward an unexpected ending. Wild Cards fans can pick up Now & Then with confidence knowing they’re getting the real thing.
