Towards the end of 2025, we got the fourth volume of Wild Inc. by Jack MacKenzie: Go, Johnny Go. The covers, both front and back, are clearly inspired by the Bantam Doc Savage volumes, as the main character and organization are a loose pastiche of Doc.
We again kick off with flashbacks to set things up. These are set in 1991 and show a gang leader who has arrived in New York City, known as Shanghai Chiang. And we finally get to meet Morrigan Wild’s father, Cormac Wild, who is leading Wild Inc., and we learn about some of the team, including Johnny Go, Silver Mary, Mick the Stick, and ZigZag. They have an operation to take down Chiang, but things go wrong, and one of their members is killed.
Currently, Morrigan Wild is the leader of Wild Inc.. In these volumes, their newest member, Harry Calhoun, has been our entryway to the team, which currently includes Bulldog, a big Cockney man; Fergus, a Black attorney; Genesis, a genius Indian woman with technical skills; Eagle Philip, a Native American man with lousy directional sense; and Chaplin, a redheaded Asian girl. We have been slowly learning more about them, and we basically know they have been around for many decades, led by Morrigan’s father and back to her great-grandfather.
Wild Inc. is headquartered in the Empire State Building, and there is some kind of clinic in upstate New York. And we will learn more this time.
But the main part of the novel starts strangely. In the prior novel, Harry was heading back to Canada to meet up with his parents and think about his future, and whether that includes being part of Wild Inc.
We also meet some of his cousins, and they introduce him to a man who might provide Harry with a job: Ivan Golovich. But things take a turn for the worse when it seems that Ivan is a drug lord with some kind of history with Wild Inc., and Harry must contend with a villain who appeared in the prior novel.
Along the way, we, and Harry, learn a bit more of the history of Wild Inc. It was formed by Balor Wild around 1928 or 1929, and Harry’s great-grandfather was part of the group. Balor’s son, Finn, would later take over, followed by Cormac, who died about 15 years prior.
Some former Wild Inc. members show up to help Harry, and the action moves to an Arctic fortress built by Cormac (see the cover art) for the final conclusion about who Ivan is and his connection to Wild.
When it’s all said and done, Harry decides to stay with Wild Inc., though he’d rather not be the “designated hostage.” Morrigan gives him a new role, which we’ll see in the next novel.
The title of the next novel has also been announced: The Reign of the Weather God. We are told this is a “Wild Inc., West Coast” adventure. After what we learned in this one, it should be interesting. I look forward to it.
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