Tag: Aron Wiesenfeld

A Look Back at Team 7 #2 (1994)

A Look Back at Team 7 #2 (1994)

carlocarrasco

Disclaimer: This is my original work with details sourced from reading the comic book and doing personal research. Anyone who wants to use this article, in part or in whole, needs to secure first my permission and agree to cite me as the source and author. Let it be known that any unauthorized use of this article will constrain the author to pursue the remedies under R.A. No. 8293, the Revised Penal Code, and/or all applicable legal actions under the laws of the Philippines.

Welcome back superhero enthusiasts, 1990s arts and culture enthusiasts, Image Comics fans and comic book collectors! Today we go back to the year 1995 to take a close look at one of the many tales of the original WildStorm universe through one of the comic books of the first mini-series of Team 7.

For the newcomers reading this, Team 7 is set in the past within the original WildStorm universe. This is the one special forces team that had major WildStorm heroes – Grifter (WildCATS: Covert Action Teams), Backlash, Jackson Dane (Wetworks), John Lynch (Gen13) and Deathblow – who were younger, were proficient with combat and were destined to gain special abilities that later defined them. Issue reviewed last time worked well by efficiently introducing the characters while also building up the plot and there were some nice pay-offs here and there.

With those details laid down, here is a look back at Team 7 , published in 1994 by Image Comics with a story written by Chuck Dixon and drawn by Aron Wiesenfeld. This is the 2nd chapter of the 4-issue mini-series.

The cover.

Early story

Set in the 1970s, a team of armed escorts and some personnel wearing protective gear isolate and examine a battlefield full of dead bodies. Miles Craven and Gabriel Newman analyze the evidence around them. Craven states that what they have is too important an operation to be left to underlings and he wants Gabriel to stay with the project which could use his special talents. Shortly after, the bodies of the Team 7 members were retrieved barely alive.

Seven days later, John Lynch wakes up in a hospital bed feeling traumatized over what happened to his team during the last mission. He was told that they were exposed to a chemical agent and he had been in a deep coma for a week.

Craven then enters the room to provide Lynch crucial updates…

Quality

Do you recognize Deathblow and Dane on this page?

As expected, the gritty and dark storytelling from the previous issue continued in this story. Without spoiling the plot, I can say that this issue has some handsome pay-offs to what was built-up in issue and there were new build-ups established along the way. Because the script was crafted to build-up the plot and sub-plot, the military action scenes are lessened which is not surprising. I can assure you that Chuck Dixon’s writing here remains pretty strong.

While the previous issue served as an efficient introduction of the younger versions of WildStorm’s heroes who are in the middle of a world full of violence and espionage, this issue shed some light as to how the heroes dealt with their new abilities (in connection with the climax of issue ) and how International Operations is handling matters behind closed doors. The suspense kept on building up and this made the narrative more intriguing to follow. Expect to see elements of high-level espionage, unethical science and war throughout.

When it comes to the characters, Lynch (being the captain of Team 7) has a huge share of the spotlight followed by Cole Cash (Grifter). The two have different views about their special forces duty – Lynch follows the superiors while Cole realizes something is wrong about their leadership and the intelligence fed to them.

Conclusion

This scene showing Cole Cash (Grifter) emerging from dark with a defiant tone is a very defining moment of this comic book.

Team 7 (1994) is clearly a very engaging read. It has the fine mix of war (with uncompromising violence drawn by Wiesenfeld), intrigue and the dark side of global espionage. The science fiction element here worked well in explaining the powers Team 7 members got after what happened in issue . This comic book also marks the beginning of showing Lynch and Cole Cash as the co-leads among the teammates. Die-hard fans of Deathblow, Dane and Backlash will have to wait a bit before their favorites get their share of the spotlight. Regardless, this is a very powerful read and a fine example of doing a prequel within the original WildStorm universe.

Overall, Team 7 (1994) is highly recommended.

+++++

Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at  @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco

A Look Back at Team 7 #1 (1994)

A Look Back at Team 7 #1 (1994)

carlocarrasco

Disclaimer: This is my original work with details sourced from reading the comic book and doing personal research. Anyone who wants to use this article, in part or in whole, needs to secure first my permission and agree to cite me as the source and author. Let it be known that any unauthorized use of this article will constrain the author to pursue the remedies under R.A. No. 8293, the Revised Penal Code, and/or all applicable legal actions under the laws of the Philippines.

Welcome back superhero enthusiasts, 1990s arts and culture enthusiasts, Image Comics fans and comic book collectors! Today we go back to the year 1994 to take a close look at one of the many tales of the original WildStorm universe through one of the comic books of the first mini-series of Team 7.

For the newcomers reading this, Team 7 is set in the past within the original WildStorm universe. This is the one special forces team that had major WildStorm heroes – Grifter (WildCATS: Covert Action Teams), Backlash, Jackson Dane (Wetworks), John Lynch (Gen13) and Deathblow – who were younger, were proficient with combat and were destined to gain special abilities that later defined them.

With those details laid down, here is a look back at Team 7 , published in 1994 by Image Comics with a story written by Chuck Dixon and drawn by Aron Wiesenfeld. This is the first chapter of a 4-issue mini-series. Also this year marks the 30th anniversary of this very comic book.

The cover.

Early story

Set in the 1970s, the story begins when the United States Special Forces Team 7 arrives in Iran with the objective of rescuing hostages. Led by John Lynch, the team encounters several Iranian terrorists along the way and eliminates them as they proceed with their mission. A lot of killings and a few explosions happened as they made their way into the facility.

Eventually, Team 7 discovers that the hostages are gone as they only found stuffed dummies made to look like hostages. As they are so deep within the facility, going outside to survive an incoming powerful bombing was out of the question. They decide to go deeper knowing that the facility has a hardened sub-basement that was designed to absorb a shockwave…

Quality

See if you could recognize the WildStorm heroes among them.

I can say out loud that this WildStorm prequel tale by the Dixon-Wiesenfield is a very inspired work of fiction that captures (intentionally or not) the vibe of R-rated Hollywood action and war movies of the 1980s. In my view, the tone and style of this comic book reminds me a lot about Predator (1987), Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985) and Full Metal Jacket (1987). Of course, this is a tale about a band of brothers who risk their lives working overseas for their country taking orders from their superiors at International Operations (IO).

As a WildStorm tale, this one efficiently puts up the building blocks needed to define the key characters who would later become major WildStorm figures in what was back then the present day stories (set in the 1990s) told through WildCATS: Covert Action Teams, Kindred, Gen13, Backlash, StormWatch and more. At the same time, readers will get a close look at the developments behind closed doors at IO which itself appeared in WildStorm comic books with a much older Lynch as director. Of course, as this is the first issue the build-up would obviously continue in the succeeding issues of the mini-series.

The team led by John Lynch fought the Iranian terrorists as they make their way through.
War imagery here is intense.

The story itself has themes of espionage, political intrigue, Islamic terrorism and military conflict. It was made clear here that IO has a wicked director called Craven and the young John Lynch (the protagonist and future IO director) could do nothing but receive intelligence (no matter how limited) and execute orders that put him and his teammates in grave danger.

Along the way, you will see younger versions of WildStorm heroes Grifter (Cole Cash), Jackson Dane, Backlash (Marc Slayton), Deathblow (Michael Cray) as well as a few minor characters whose legacies will be felt in the present day stories (example: Gen13’s Grunge is the son of member Philip Chang). Oh yes, the banter and interactions between Team 7 members were very much inspired by what was portrayed in Predator (1987) and Full Metal Jacket (1987). While Lynch is the protagonist struggling with following orders and leading the team, the young Deathblow here clearly their most natural and aggressive eliminator.

When it comes to the visuals, Aron Wiesenfeld came up with a consistently dark and gritty look backed with uncompromising violence that strongly emphasizes the horror of war. He also has this exquisite approach on displaying the characters and the action portrayed was more of shooting, explosions and hard action. This comic book was released years before Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan (1998) hit the cinemas and caused some controversy with its display of graphical violence. In short, this is a comic book visualized with adults in mind.

Conclusion

The cover of the variant edition of Team 7 drawn by Whilce Portacio.

Team 7 (1994) is a very compelling read and it still remains one of the most unique comic books of the original WildStorm universe ever published. It is also one of the most defining war comic books published in the 1990s.

Considering the great work done by the Dixon-Wiesenfield duo, your enjoyment and understanding of this comic book depends a lot on how much you have oriented yourself with the mentioned WildStorm heroes who appeared in the comic books of WildCATS: Covert Action Teams, StormWatch, Wetworks and the like. I enjoyed this comic book a lot because I familiarized myself with Grifter, Backlash, Deathblow, Lynch and Dane before reading it. That being said, I urge you newcomers to get to know the said characters first before reading this comic book.

Overall, Team 7 (1994) is highly recommended.

+++++

Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at  @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco