They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. R. Martin and Melinda M. Snodgrass.
The framework of the series was developed by Martin and Snodgrass, including the origin of the characters' superhuman abilities and the card-based terminology.
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.
[1] Wild Cards began as a two-year-long[2] campaign of the Superworld role-playing game, gifted to George R. R. Martin by Victor Milán,[2] in Albuquerque, New Mexico; the players were science fiction writers, including Gail Gerstner-Miller, Milán, John J. Miller, Melinda M. Snodgrass, and Walter Jon Williams, and Martin served as gamemaster.
[3] Because of the amount of time and creative energy put into the campaign, Martin initially thought to write a novel on his character, Turtle.
[2][3] 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.
[3] 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".
[2] 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.
[22] 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.
[21][23] Brick Tower Press offered e-book versions of its titles, including Deuces Down and Death Draws Five via Humble Bundle in February 2016.
[43] That supplemental material was republished by Tor as an e-book titled American Hero: A Wild Cards Novel on March 3, 2020.
[69] An additional short story, titled "I Have No Voice and I Must Zoom Meeting" by Paul Cornell, was published on the official Wild Cards website in July 2020.
[72] Bantam also began publishing original graphic novels featuring stories set within the Wild Cards universe.
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.
Written by John J. Miller and published in June 1989, the sourcebook used GURPS Supers rules and contained descriptions of sixty of the characters.
[85] 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 to September 2008 by Dabel Brothers Productions.
[86][87][88] 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.
[93][94] 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.