The Wilder #1 Review - A Stunning Cyberpunk Fantasy

If you're looking for a comic featuring human cyberpunk heroes and giant beast gods known as The Wilder, then the latest new series from Running Ground Studios is for you. The Wilder #1 is the start of a genre-bending fantasy series from the publisher behind Burger.

The Wilder #1 is a 36-page Fantasy/Cyberpunk genre mashup comic written by editor Ben Canny and Liam Garrigan, inked and coloured by Axel Medellin. Lettering is by Rob Jones, with an incredible variant by Eisner award-winning artist John J. Pearson.

Earth 2196 is ruled by tech elites and the AI Omniscient Megasystem (OM). In New Baltimore's slums, street orphan Jaheem Johnson believes he's smart enough to survive amid gangs and Terminus grunts. His life changes when he finds a glowing artefact that pulls him through a rift to Mor, a world of spirit magic and Beast-Gods called The Wilder. Mor faces corruption, and The Wilder fears war with an ancient evil, 'The Endless Being'. J.J. wakes to find he's tethered to a Wilder and at their mercy. Over his head, he joins The Wilder and other Earth humans to fight the Endless Being, risking both Mor and Earth.

Let's start with the art, like usual. The art by Axel Medellin is, quite simply, stunning. There are so many standout panels that it'd be hard to pick a favourite. This is art that you could just ignore the story and just get engrossed in - although you shouldn't ignore the story! There are plenty bits of little details and fine lines that all contribute to making this a visual treat. And then you get to the colouring.

You'd expect the colouring to be much darker, yet there are plenty of bright colours that make the pages pop. And it works. It's a dark story that looks incredible with eye-catching colours. Axel has done a wonderful job with drawing your attention to every panel and page, through the artwork and colouring.

As for the story, Ben Canny and Liam Garrigan have the start of an epic. There's more than one story going on that will eventually come together when our protagonist, J.J., finds himself in the world of The Wilder. There's a lot to get through, and yet it doesn't feel like a chore. In fact, it runs along at a steady pace that gets you through 40 pages without even realising it's longer than your standard comic. And when you're done, I'd be amazed if you're not left wanting more. Especially more of Mor.

Mor is an incredible, wonderful world full of savage creatures capable of high thought processes. These are more than just sentient creatures. They're savage gods, and you're immediately shown this with some powerful panels. I'd be more than happy with a comic set purely on Mor. There's clearly so much to explore and expand upon, which I imagine we'll learn through J..J. as the series progresses and he interacts with The Wilder more.

Lastly, the lettering is by the ever dependable Rob Jones. We always love his work here at Comic Book News UK, so it's no surprise to find another absolutely stellar lettering job. There are a few font variants used along with different speech bubbles that match the tone of the story and style of the art. It's basically what we've come to expect from one of the best letterers in the business. Seeing Rob listed in comic credits always brings me joy because I know there won't be any problems reading what's on the page.

The only disappointing bit of The Wilder #1 is that the Kickstarter wasn't successful. But I am fairly confident that it's purely a case of it being the wrong time of the year. If this were done any other time than the build-up to Christmas, then it'd surely be successful. It's a stunning book with a mesmerising story that has so much potential. I hope the team at Running Ground Studios relaunch this sometime soon. Just not January, because I'm poor following spending so much in November and December! But I am confident that this has more than enough to be a success. I know I need a second issue and more.

If you want to keep an eye out for that, then you want to subscribe to the Running Ground Studios newsletter on their website. Or follow them on BlueSky. It's well worth following up on, and you can also check out their other comics too!

Rating: 5/5.