| Wanted | |
|---|---|
 Cover of the Wanted trade paperback. Artwork by J. G. Jones |
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Top Cow Productions |
| Schedule | Irregular |
| Format | Limited series |
| Genre | Superhero |
| Publication date | December 2003 - February 2005 |
| Number of issues | 6 |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | Mark Millar |
| Artist(s) | J. G. Jones |
| Letterer(s) | Dennis Heisler Mark Roslan Robin Spehar |
| Colorist(s) | Paul Mounts |
| Editor(s) | Renae Geerlings Jim McLauchlin Scott Tucker |
| Collected editions | |
| Hardcover | ISBN 1-58240-480-1 |
| Softcover | ISBN 1-58240-497-6 |
Wanted is a comic book limited series written by Mark Millar, with art by J. G. Jones. It was published by Top Cow in 2003 and 2004 as part of Millarworld.[1] It features an amoral protagonist who discovers he is the heir to a career as a supervillain assassin in a world where such villains have secretly taken control of the planet.
The Sunday Times dubbed the title "the Watchmen for super-villains."[2]
A film adaptation, very loosely based on the comic, was released on June 27, 2008.
Contents |
As with Superman: Red Son,[3] Millar claims that the concept for the series occurred to him when he was a child. In this case, it came to him after his brother told him that there were no superheroes any more because they had all disappeared after a great war with their respective supervillains.[4] It was modified from a pitch by Millar for a Secret Society of Super-Villains series.[citation needed]
1986, the year of the aforementioned war in which the supervillains took over and made their world "darker and grittier", has real world significance to the world of comic books. It marks the publication of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Watchmen, and the completion of the 1985-86 Crisis on Infinite Earths series.
With regard to character design, the physical appearance of Wesley is based on rapper Eminem[5] and the Fox's appearance is clearly modelled after actress Halle Berry.[6] Millar had originally planned to not have the characters in costumes, and that they would only be worn for initiation. However, he and J. G. Jones forgot about this, and the characters were indeed rendered wearing familiar supervillain costumes by midway through the series.[7]
The series began publication in 2004 as part of Millar's Millarworld line.
Cubicle-dwelling Wesley Gibson thought he was the same as everyone else. Wesley’s life changes the day he discovers he is the son of “The Killer,” a member of an underground fraternity of supervillains who have secretly been running the world since 1986.
Brought into the fraternity after his father is slain, Wesley comes into his own abilities as the new Killer and a veil is lifted from his eyes as he sees the world he never knew was there. In a world where all the superheroes are dead, Wesley joins the villains while trying to unravel the mystery of his father’s murder.
When the supervillains finally destroyed all the heroes in 1986, they carved the world up five ways. Five “heads” of the supervillain families hold sway over their territories:
The Wanted covers are particularly distinctive, featuring a single character (often in a clear space) with thick black bars above and below them containing title and text in bold, white letters, creating an effect similar to police wanted posters. This design element is carried across all of the Wanted comics and trade paperbacks. One of the two covers for Savage Dragon #128, was painted by J. G. Jones and designed similarly. Also, a number of comics unrelated to Wanted have featured similar covers in humorous reference.
The complete limited series, along with the Wanted: Dossier (which includes additional and 'behind-the-scenes' material on the series), has been collected in a single volume as both a softcover (ISBN 1-58240-497-6) and a hardcover (ISBN 1-58240-480-1).
Merchandise based on the series includes a Wesley Gibson mini-statue.[8]
Several of the characters from Wanted appear in Erik Larsen's Savage Dragon #127 and #128.[9] This story, published after the end of Wanted, seems to take place during one of the Fraternity's raids on parallel universes, as seen in Wanted. In this case, the characters appear in the Savage Dragon's universe. They are in search of the 'God Gun'; a device that seemingly grants wishes. Two covers were created for #128, one featuring the Savage Dragon as rendered by J.G. Jones and done in the style of the cover of an issue of Wanted.
A film very loosely based on the comic was released in June 2008. It was directed by Timur Bekmambetov and starred James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman. The film focuses on a league of self-righteous assassins rather than super-villains. [10]
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   | 'Howling Curmudgeons' - The All-New All-Different Howling Curmudgeons: Wanted: Some Supervillains |
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