Wild Cards

Premise

Set during an alternate history of post-World War II United States, the series follows events after an airborne alien virus is released over New York City in 1946 and eventually infects tens of thousands globally. The virus, designed to rewrite DNA, was developed as a bioweapon by a noble family on the planet Takis, and it is taken to Earth to test on humans, who are genetically identical to the people of Takis. Dr. Tachyon, a member of this family, objects and attempts to stop them. However, his attempt crashes their ship, releasing the virus.

The virus affects each individual differently, and it becomes known as the Wild Card virus because of these "random and unpredictable" symptoms. It kills 90% of those who contract it and mutates the remaining percentage. Of that remainder, 9% are Jokers, who develop minor or crippling physical conditions. 1% are Aces, who remain human or mostly human in appearance but develop superhuman abilities; Aces whose abilities are too trivial or specific to be generally valuable are called Deuces.

Origin

Wild Cards began as a two-year-long campaign of the Superworld role-playing game, gifted to George R. R. Martin by Victor Milan, in Albuquerque, New Mexico; the players were science fiction writers, including Gail Gerstner-Miller, Milan, John J. Miller, Melinda M. Snodgrass, and Walter Jon Williams, and Martin served as gamemaster. Because of the amount of time and creative energy put into the campaign, Martin initially thought to write a novel on his character Turtle. However, he realized this would have "rescued one character from [the] SuperWorld campaign, but would have meant discarding all the rest". Since the game had been built by a group, he felt it should be a shared universe anthology, which were popular at the time. Martin invited other writers he believed would be interested in the universe, including Roger Zelazny, Lewis Shiner, Pat Cadigan, Howard Waldrop, Edward Bryant, and Stephen Leigh.

Martin said that the group loved comic books and superheroes but wanted to approach the material in a "grittier, more adult manner than what we were seeing in the '80s". He cited the series' "sense of history" as a strength and expressed frustration with the retroactive continuity of mainstream comics. Martin also felt that the multitude of sources for superpowers in comics strained suspension of disbelief when taken together, and he believed a single plausible source was needed. Snodgrass suggested a virus, which allowed for the superpowered Aces, the "monsters and freaks" Jokers, and a high death toll. Snodgrass and Martin also developed the card based terminology, and Milan developed the pseudoscience of the series.

The series was originally meant to be set in a then contemporary 1985, but Waldrop, who was to write the first story, insisted that his story take place right after World War II. This created a forty-year gap between the first chapter and the remaining stories, pushing later contributions to fill in the intervening decades. Martin noted that this forced the authors to write about events they would have otherwise ignored, particularly the House Un-American Activities Committee and the McCarthy hearings which gave rise to characters and plot points that "added immeasurable richness to our world and depth of our characters". Waldrop's story also forced Williams to rewrite a new story, "Witness", which became the only shared world story to appear on the final ballot for a Nebula Award.

British writer Neil Gaiman met with Martin in 1987 and pitched a Wild Cards story about a character who lives in a world of dreams. Martin declined due to Gaiman's lack of prior credits at the time. Gaiman went on to publish his story as The Sandman.

Bantam Books (1987 – 1993)

Bantam Books, under its Spectra imprint, published twelve books between 1987 and 1993, including two solo novels written by Melinda M. Snodgrass and Victor Milan.

Baen Books (1993 – 1995)

Baen Books published a new triad between 1993 and 1995 subtitled of a New Cycle. In 2002, Martin commented that he felt the triad was creatively "three of the strongest volumes Wild Cards ever had" and that the series "came back strong" after stumbling with a previous storyline; however, he conceded that the triad was "very dark", acknowledging it was commonly voiced complaint, and that he felt switching publishers was a mistake.

ibooks Inc. (2002 – 2006)

In 2000, ibooks Inc. purchased two new installments and the rights to reprint the first eight books of the series; the two new books were published between 2002 and 2006, including a solo novel by John J. Miller, and reprints for six of the first eight books were issued. The company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in July 2005, shortly after the death of founder Byron Preiss. In December 2006, J. Bolyston & Co. Publishers, parent company of the Brick Tower Press imprint, acquired all of Preiss' assets, including those of ibooks, for $125,000. Brick Tower Press offered e-book versions of its titles, including Deuces Down and Death Draws Five, via Humble Bundle in February 2016.

Tor Books (2008 – present)

Tor Books, an imprint under Macmillan Publishers, currently publishes the series in both print and e-book format. It released six new installments from November 2008 to August 2016. Tor Books also reprinted the first five novels from November 2010 to October 2015, and it expects to issue a reprint of the sixth novel in October 2016.

On his blog in March 2016, Martin stated that Tor Books acquired three installments after High Stakes. The titles for the books are Mississippi Roll, Low Chicago, and Texas Hold 'Em. He also announced that Saladin Ahmed, Max Gladstone, Marko Kloos, and Diana Rowland will contribute to the triad.

Tor Books also published online supplementary material. A multi-author blog supporting Inside Straight opened in February 2008. The blog followed American Hero, the fictional reality television show in the book, and posted in-character "confessionals" from the twenty-eight characters competing on the show. Six short stories were published through the Tor Books website from January 2013 to March 2016.

One additional short story, "Lies My Mother Told Me" by Caroline Spector, was published in the Dangerous Women anthology, also edited by Martin. The anthology was released December 2013.

Contributors

The Wild Cards Trust refers to the collection of authors who have contributed to the Wild Card series. As of Lowball, published November 2014, thirty-one authors have written for the series. Five authors have written for at least one novel released by each publisher of the series: Michael Cassutt, Stephen Leigh (often writing as S. L. Farrell), John J. Miller, Walton Simons, and Snodgrass. Every installment was edited by Martin, who has also contributed as an author to nine books; later installments were co-edited by Snodgrass.

Comics

A four-issue Wild Cards limited series was released in 1990 by Epic Comics, an imprint of Marvel Comics. The issues were then collected and published as a trade paperback in October 1991. They were also included in Epic: An Anthology, released in 1992. A second limited series titled Wild Cards: The Hard Call, written by Daniel Abraham and illustrated by Eric Battle, was published over six issues from April 2008 to September 2008 by Dabel Brothers Productions. Dabel Brothers partnered with Del Rey to collect the titles in July 2008, including Wild Cards: The Hard Call, as graphic novels beginning in fall 2008. The issues were collected in a hardcover edition published by Dynamite Entertainment in February 2011.

Role-playing games

Wild Cards was adapted into a role-playing game format by Steve Jackson Games. Written by John J. Miller and published in June 1989, the sourcebook used GURPS Supers rules and contained descriptions of sixty of the characters. A supplement titled Aces Abroad, written by Kevin Andrew Murphy, was released in 1991. Green Ronin Publishing published Wild Cards Campaign Setting, written by Miller, for its Mutants & Masterminds RPG in August 2008; the game debuted at Gen Con that year. Two supplements were released: an adventure anthology titled All-in and a character book titled Aces & Jokers.

Audiobooks

Unabridged audiobook versions of the first five novels have been released. Audiobooks of the first two novels were released by Brilliance Audio in November and December 2011. Versions of the third, fourth, and fifth novels were released by Penguin Random House from February to March 2016, featuring voice talents for each character. The sixth and seventh installments are expecting release in October and November 2016.

Live action adaptations

In October 2011, Syfy Films, a joint venture between Syfy Channel and Universal Studios, acquired screen rights to Wild Cards under the direction of Gregory Noveck, senior vice president of production. Snodgrass was asked to write the screenplay, and she and Martin were to serve as executive producers. At the time of announcement, the film was intended to have a contemporary setting and the Sleeper among its characters. This was the second time the series was optioned.

In August 2016, Universal Cable Productions acquired the rights to create a television series. Martin stated that the development was in early stages and that the production was working on choosing characters and stories to adapt. Because of his exclusivity contract with HBO, which airs Game of Thrones based on Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, Martin stated he will not be involved in the adaptation. Snodgrass is to serve as an executive producer. In a blog post, Martin stated that Noveck is also to serve as an executive producer.