DC's WildStorm 30th Anniversary Special has arrived -- and the celebratory issue opens with a heartfelt letter from none other than Jim Lee, founder of the WildStorm imprint and current Publisher and Chief Creative Officer of DC.

"The story of WildStorm was born 30 years ago, but it still feels like yesterday," Lee writes in the letter, dated Nov. 29, 2022. "You all have heard stories about the 'good old days' when we all used to work together in the same studio space, and it struck me that there was no way to truly convey how crazy, intense, magical, and downright inspiring it was to be a part of WildStorm. It was the prototypical 'you had to be there' epiphany for me. But then I realized later that longtime fans were there."

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The legendary artist continues, "Because you all got to see the collective creativity and energy and passion and love all the WildStorm artists had for the medium in the art we created. Because I truly believe the environment you live and work in impacts and influences the art you create. Because, to a person, we spent nearly all our waking hours in the studio drawing or in the comics shops consuming or at different comic cons around the world celebrating. Without a doubt, those experiences shaped and framed the images we created. Even if we all worked in very disparate styles, we all invariably influenced one another. In life and in art."

Lee concludes, "It was a time in our careers, for better or worse, when our work and our lives were one and the same. And even though the studio stood in La Jolla for nearly two decades, the time went by in a flash. But out of that frisson came, in my humble opinion, some of the best mainstream comic book art of the past two decades, which still influences and impacts the work being created today. And that's a great story to be a part of."

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WildStorm Lives Again

Lee founded WildStorm Productions -- originally known as Aegis Entertaiment -- in 1992 as one of the founding studios of Image Comics. (Lee had co-founded Image alongside fellow comic book creators Whilce Portacio, Erik Larsen, Rob Liefeld, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri and Jim Valentino.) WildStorm is perhaps best known for publishing the titles WildC.A.T.s and Stormwatch, created by Lee and Brandon Choi, from which the imprint got its name. However, due to flagging sales across the entire comics industry, Lee sold WildStorm to DC in 1998, with the acquisition officially taking effect in 1999.

WildStorm continued to operate as an editorially independent imprint of DC for a number of years. However, DC ultimately shuttered WildStorm in late 2010. Shortly thereafter, DC rebooted its continuity as part of The New 52, with several WildStorm characters being integrated into the main DC Universe. The WildStorm brand was revived in 2017 through DC's The Wild Storm. 2022 marks a second revival, with WildC.A.T.s and Stormwatch getting all-new titles for the first time in years.

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WildStorm 30th Anniversary Special #1 is on sale now from DC.

Source: DC