Similarities to Wild Cards

[Tighelander]

Doing a search on the forum revealed that similarities to the masterpiece Watchmen have been discussed here, but I didn't notice any talk about the paperback sci-fi series "Wild Cards" edited by George R.R. Martin. In this series that started about 1985, and is still being published today, the source of the powers that people get is an alien virus. One huge difference with the Heroes show is that in the Wild Cards series the virus affects all who are exposed, but only 1% get significant powers. 90% die soon after exposure; 9% are horribly disfigured, and a smaller percentage get powers that are akin to card tricks. Those that don't become superheroes, but are made outcasts adds a lot to the series. It is very well written; I have followed it from the start. I would recommend it for mature readers only since, for example, one scene involves necro-sodomy. It's point of view is similar to Watchmen, Astro City, and the Heroes show. I do highly recommend it though. Marvel put out some comic versions many years ago that I thought were crap; there is a new series from a different publisher, but I haven't seen anything from those.