Wildcat #3

19 Nov 1988 - 18 Nov 1988; Cover price 40p.
32 pages. Colour & B&W.
Fleetway Publications.

Edited by Barrie Tomlinson.

Cover by Ian Kennedy

Free Alien Monster Stickers.

Contents:

 2 Turbo Jones UNTITLED [Arglons Attack the City] w: UNKNOWN; a: Ian Kennedy.

 7 Free Stamp Collector Starter Kit (half page) advertisement for Universal Stamp Co. / Warning - When You See This Cover Be Prepared for a Thrill-Power Overload (half page) in-house advertisement for Eagle Annual 1989.

 8 Joe Alien UNTITLED [Joe's Death Fall] w: UNKNOWN; a: Massimo Belardinelli.

11 Kitten Magee UNTITLED [Kitten's Had It!] w: UNKNOWN; a: Jose Ortiz.

16 Joe Alien UNTITLED (cont.)

18 Time-Warp Data Link (one and a quarter pages) feature page (uncredited);

19 Alien readers' art; Big Eye by Ed Hassall, Konzbo by Leigh Stevens, Snizboz by Jason Landau, the Spotted Snarler by Kevin Parkin, Angleman by Matthew Little.

20 Loner UNTITLED [Brought to the Bellari] w: UNKNOWN; a: David Pugh.

25 The Great Ark in is Wildcat 4 in-house advertisement.

26 The Invaders! w: UNKNOWN; a: UNKNOWN.

32 Robo pin-up. a: Joan Boix.

A creature carting around laser-blasting aliens, in no way inspired by Dino-Riders, takes the cover. There were, apparently, stickers in this issue also, but mine aren't present.

Foregoing any introduction, the issue moves straight into the Turbo Jones story. As the Burroids are being massacred by Arglons, Jones' sense of duty comes to the fore, and he agrees to assist in the defence of their city. With a rousing victory, Jones is made Commander, completely in charge of the army - which is going to need training, as the enemy intends to move against them in ten days.

Seeing a fearsome Terrasauron, the largest and most savage creature on the planet, Jones decides he wants it as his personal battle vehicle.

Wildcat really does seem to be a title calling out for tie-in merchandise. From cute Fuzzballs, to the creatures here, a great line of toys could have made this a title with lasting importance outside of the comic.

Joe survives a fall which would have killed anyone else, but loses his brain-pack in the process. As his team encounter more killer plants, Joe's body is pulled up into a giant tree. Attempts to free their leader are met with an attack which stops the men in their tracks, and without his intelligence, Joe is unable to provide any assistance of his own.

Kitten Magee manages to use her wrist lasers in time to save herself, and her strip, from her zombie-like attacker. The rest of the creatures mae her their leader upon witnessing her impressive fighting skills. Later, as it has passed midnight, Kitten moves away from the camp, and it is revealed that she is much older than her appearance would indicate. As she restores her vitality, the aliens attack her team.

Some impressive art, and of a very dark nature, enlivens the plot-by-numbers script. By solving a threat at the beginning of a story, only to have another appear at the end (and repeated in the next issue) the threats are diminished, whereas raising the threat level steadily through increasing dangers could have made the strip more solid - it seems as if the team aren't particularly well trained if they have to defeat a new threat each issue.

Loner's unconscious body is transported by the Fuzzballs to the great scarred lizard, who is revealed to be telepathic. Explaining that he is from another galaxy, belonging to the Bellari race, he crash-landed on the planet and found himself trapped in the underground caverns Loner also fell in to. After revealing that a gigantic beast resides deep in the caverns, the alien asks Loner to kill it.

There's a definite H.R. Giger feel to the beast Loner is going to face, and the body language of the scarred alien, when admitting that it is a wonder he hasn't gone insane after all these years, is wonderful. The consistently high level of art which the strip has, along with so many small details revealed in dialogue, makes the journey all the more enjoyable to read.

A meteoroid discovered in orbit around the planet is about to cross paths with the ship, and a team is sent to destroy it before the collision destroys the remnants of humanity. While investigating rock samples taken from it, three scientists are taken over by alien life-forms. Getting rid of a janitor and assuming control of the garbage chute (in which to dispose of the bodies of their victims), they start a reign of terror.

Anyone familiar with Apollo 18 might see similarities in the set-up, and a problem with the title is exposed painfully here - life aboard Wildcat is the most interesting facet of the title, and yet the entirety of events occurring on the ship are contained (and constrained) in bite-size horror-tinged tales which, by their nature, can't hope to capture the sense of loss and terror at being alone in the universe.

A strong issue, though not without problems. When you have artists this good, and the featured artists are extremely talented, the entirety of the title is lifted.

#02

Wildcat

#04