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'{{Infobox comic book title <!--Wikipedia:WikiProject Comics--> |title = Wanted |image = Wanted.jpg |imagesize = <!-- default 250 --> |caption = Cover of the ''Wanted'' [[trade paperback (comics)|trade paperback]]. Artwork by [[J. G. Jones]] |schedule = Irregular |limited = y |Superhero = y |publisher = [[Top Cow Productions]] |date = December 2003 - February 2005 |issues = 6 |main_char_team = |writers = [[Mark Millar]] |artists = [[J. G. Jones]] |pencillers = |inkers = |letterers = [[Dennis Heisler]]<br />[[Mark Roslan]]<br />[[Robin Spehar]] |colorists = [[Paul Mounts]] |editors = [[Renae Geerlings]]<br />[[Jim McLauchlin]]<br />[[Scott Tucker]] |creative_team_month = |creative_team_year = |creators = |TPB = Hardcover |ISBN = 1-58240-480-1 |TPB1 = Softcover |ISBN1 = 1-58240-497-6 |subcat = Top Cow |sort = Wanted (comics) }} '''''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 in comics|2003]] and [[2004 in comics|2004]] as part of [[Mark Millar#Millarworld|Millarworld]].<ref>*{{comicbookdb|type=title|id=968|title=Wanted}}</ref> It features an [[amorality|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 (UK)|The Sunday Times]]'' dubbed the title "the ''[[Watchmen]]'' for super-villains."<ref>[http://www.thefourthrail.com/features/1003/downthelineoctober1.shtml TheFourthRail.com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> A [[Wanted (2008 film)|film adaptation]], very loosely based on the comic, was released on June 27, 2008. ==Publication history== As with ''[[Superman: Red Son]]'',<ref>[http://fortress.supermanthrutheages.com/History/redson/ Portail d'informations Ce site est en vente!<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> 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.<ref>Mark Millar, ''Wanted'' (Hardcover), (Canada: Top Cow, 2005), p 140.</ref> It was modified from a pitch by Millar for a [[Secret Society of Super-Villains]] series.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} 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]]<ref>[http://www.efavata.com/CBM/Wanted.htm Comic Book Movies - Wanted<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> and the Fox's appearance is clearly modelled after actress [[Halle Berry]].<ref>''Wanted'' introduction by G. Lavagna & M. Ricompensa, page 10; on ''Dark Side'' n.21 - December 2006, Panini Editore</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news | author = Justin Aclin | title = MARK MILLAR ON THE ‘WANTED’ MOVIE | publisher = [[Wizard (magazine)|Wizard]] | date = 2007-12-03 | url = http://www.wizarduniverse.com/magazine/toyfare/006536523.cfm | accessdate=2007-12-04}}</ref> The series began publication in 2004 as part of Millar's [[Mark Millar#Millarworld|Millarworld]] line. ==Plot== 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. ==Characters== '''The Killer II''' Wesley Gibson's life spun out of control one deadly day in a wash of blood and a hail of gunfire. Or did it finally spin into control? Gibson had been leading the life of quiet desperation—boring girlfriend, dead-end job, surfing for Internet porn on a daily basis. But, when The Fox plucked him out of humdrum existence, she showed him possibilities unimagined: He was The Killer, heir to a vast fortune and superpowers he didn’t even know he had. The scales finally dropped from Wesley Gibson’s eyes, and he saw the hidden clockwork of the real power behind the throne. A vast supervillain fraternity was running the world, and had been since 1986, when they teamed up to destroy all the superheroes. Wesley was taken under the wing of The Fox and Professor Solomon Seltzer, and embraced his life as the new Killer. He could steal, kill, or fuck whomever he wanted, all without repercussion. He was born again, baptized in blood and fire, as The Killer. '''The Fox''' She shoots from the hip—and what hips they are. The woman who would become The Fox grew up poor, in the kind of neighborhood where the only ways up and out are sports, hip-hop, or crime. She can’t rap and she can’t dunk a basketball. The Fox used her natural gifts of agility and strength, and combined them with a crass disdain of humanity to become one of the deadliest killers the world has ever seen. She kills because she does not care. Stopping someone else’s breathing is as natural as breathing to her. The Fox has never forgotten where she came from. She may lack formal education, but she has street smarts in spades—and she knows how to hitch her wagon to the right star. She unleashed her insatiable appetite for sex on the original Killer, becoming his consort, and cementing her position in the supervillain Fraternity. When The Killer died, she turned her vulva on his son—Wesley Gibson, the new killer. What’s she want? Money? Sex? Power? All of the above. And Wesley Gibson just might be nothing more than the latest tool in her arsenal. '''The Professor''' Professor Solomon Seltzer is a schemer who maps the human soul… and fucks eighteen-year-old prostitutes. He started talking when he was still in the womb, was reading and solving math problems before he could walk, and had graduated magna cum laude with a biomechanics degree before his friends had reached kindergarten. The Professor is the smartest man who’s ever lived, a billionaire by ten years old. Rumor has it—and there’s not much doubt—that this Level Nine intelligence put together the plan to vanquish all the superheroes in 1986. The villainous Mister Rictus likes to take credit for that act, but he knows in his blackest of hearts that he can’t. Rictus is insanely jealous of The Professor for his vast intelligence, and the two are adversaries of the highest order. '''The Killer''' The world’s deadliest assassin is dead, the victim of assassination himself. But, while he was alive, The Killer lived up to his name—frequently, and without remorse. The Killer killed for money, for sport, to advance his own cause. He killed for fun. The riches he gained bought him the Epicurean lifestyle he so greatly desired. He bathed in the finest champagne. He devoured the finest caviar. He bedded the finest women—and, sometimes, the finest men. So dangerous a foe was he, that, when The Killer met his end, he was shot through the head with a gun from two cities away. No one would dare get closer. But The Killer passed on his legacy—and his unerring aim and killer instinct—to his illegitimate son, Wesley Gibson. '''The Council of Five''' The Illuminati is real—and, God help us, they have superpowers. 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 Professor got North and South America *Adam-One, the world’s oldest man, took Africa *The Future, a savage Nazi bastard, got Europe *The Emperor, a Chinese crimelord, took control of Asia *Mister Rictus got stuck with Australia From behind a veil of secrecy, the Council of Five act as the real clockwork of the world, pulling the strings of global society. Not a leg-breaking gets done, not an illegal act takes place, without their knowledge and consent. But that veil of secrecy has been called into question. The Professor and Adam-One like things to remain behind the scenes—when the underworld stays underground, there’s more loot for everyone to divvy up. The Future and Rictus, on the other hand, tire of remaining in shadow. They want the world to piss its pants when it hears the mere letters in their names. The Emperor? He’s the swing vote, constantly in play. Meetings of the Council of Five have taken on their air of an armed camp. Daggers are drawn, searching for a back to be planted in. The Illuminati is real—and, God help them, they may turn against each other. '''The Heroes''' The bad guys won. Led by The Professor, all the supervillains finally teamed up and destroyed all the superheroes in a cataclysmic battle back in 1986. But it wasn’t enough just to kill them—they had to destroy them more completely. Reality was folded and unfolded by The Fraternity’s cognoscenti, seven-dimensional imps, and alien super-computers. All vestiges that the heroes had ever existed were destroyed. We were left with a world where humanity, at best, has vague, Alzheimer’s-esque memories of superheroes. That, and the comic books. '''The Doll-Master''' He has a wife, two beautiful young daughters, a house in the suburbs, and wears a bowtie. He’s the most docile, kind-hearted, well-spoken gentleman you’re likely to meet. You’d be proud to have him as your neighbor. Too bad he’s also one of the most nefarious super-criminals the world has ever seen. The Doll-Master combines an uncanny knack for micro-mechanics with a Gepetto-like love for his “babies” that’s definitely three steps over the line of creepy, and borders on the insane. His smile is halfway between “kindly old uncle” and “pedophile.” He is, indeed, the master of his doll-like automations… but these babies are killing machines that can rend the flesh from your bones. He’ll order his dolls to fillet a man, but he never swears in front of children. He’ll blow up a bank, killing dozens… but always leaves the toilet seat down for his wife. And, if so much as a tiny tear appears in his dolls’ suits, he’ll lovingly stitch it up himself. He is the master of his puppets… but they pull the strings of his heart. ==Covers== <!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:bombqueen tp01.jpg|thumb|right|120px|Cover of the first ''[[Bomb Queen]]'' trade paperback from [[Image Comics]], apparently (if not deliberately) done in a 'Wanted' style.]] --> 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. ==Collected editions== The complete limited series, along with the '''Wanted: Dossier''' (which includes additional and 'behind-the-scenes' material on the series), has been collected in [[trade paperback (comics)|a single volume]] as both a softcover (ISBN 1-58240-497-6) and a hardcover (ISBN 1-58240-480-1). ==Merchandise== Merchandise based on the series includes a Wesley Gibson mini-statue.<ref>[http://www.dynamicforces.com/htmlfiles/p-C102922.html Dynamic Forces - Wanted: Wesley Statue! - Regular Version<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> ==Savage Dragon== Several of the characters from ''Wanted'' appear in [[Erik Larsen|Erik Larsen's]] ''[[Savage Dragon]]'' #127 and #128.<ref>[http://www.sequart.com/news/index.php?story=1161 Sequart Research & Literacy Organization NEWS: More on _Savage Dragon_ #128<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> 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, in search of the 'God Gun'. 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''. ==Film== {{main|Wanted (2008 film)}} A film very loosely based on the comic was released in June [[2008 in film|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. <ref>[http://www.newsarama.com/comics/080626-MarkMillarWanted1.html Mark Millar: Wanted - From Comic to Film, 1] and [http://www.newsarama.com/comics/080627-Millar2.html 2], [[Newsarama]], June 26-27, 2008</ref> ==References== {{reflist|2}} ==External links== *[http://www.topcow.com/wanted/ Official website] {{Mark Millar}} {{Wanted}} [[Category:2003 comic debuts]] [[Category:Comics by Mark Millar]] [[Category:Wanted|*]] [[Category:Widescreen comics]] [[cs:Wanted (komiks)]] [[de:Wanted (Comic)]] [[es:Wanted (cómic)]] [[fr:Wanted (comics)]] [[it:Wanted (fumetto)]] [[ru:Особо опасен (комикс)]] [[uk:Особливо Небезпечний (комікс)]]'