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Stormwatch (2011 Series) #4
December 17, 2011
Title: The Dark Side Part Four
Writer: Paul Cornell
Art: Miguel Sepulveda
Colorist: Alex Sinclair
Letterer: Rob Leigh
Cover Artist: Miguel Sepulveda & Alex Sinclair
Editor: Pat McCallum
Publisher: DC Comics
A monster has fallen to Earth from the moon and absorbed the Stormwatch team. On the outside, Apollo and Midnighter are left to face the creature, while the team inside struggles for freedom. Some interesting stuff in this issue. Paul Cornell begins the hinting at the future that readers already know is waiting for Apollo and Midnighter, while showing off the rather strange abilities some of the characters have. All of the heroes are used well, here, particularly Apollo and Jack Hawksmoor, whose basic premise (being the “God of Cities”) makes him a far more interesting character than I would have expected. He’s the sort of character that can be really handy to explore a universe, and with the New 52 being so relatively uncharted, there’s a lot of potential here for him to do exactly that.
I like the artwork here a lot. Miguel Sepulveda can do sci-fi action really well, and Alex Sinclair’s work on the colors is outstanding. He does a few different effects here, but doesn’t take it overboard. The last page in particular really stands out – a very nice piece of work.
I’m sorry to hear Cornell will be leaving this book after the first story arc. He’s given it a solid start. But whoever takes over, I hope they can keep it going strong.
Rating: 7/10
Recent Reviews: September 7 Releases
I’d intended to knock out a few more reviews over at CX tonight, but circumstances kind of kept me away from my computer for too long. As a result, all I’ve got are my DC Comics New 52 reviews for you. I’ve got a small stack of other worthy books, and I’ll try to cycle them into the blog here in the next few weeks. But here’s what I did get to review at CX…
Stormwatch: Team Achilles #20
March 9, 2004
Quick Rating: Good
Title: New Beginnings
After The Authority’s takeover of the United States, Team Achilles has a new mission.
Writer: Micah Ian Wright
Pencils: C.P. Smith
Inks: Eric Ngyuen
Colors: Wendy Broome and Carrie Strachan
Letters: Rob Leigh
Editor: Alex Sinclair
Cover Art: Jason Pearson
Publisher: DC Comics/Wildstorm
This issue is a rarity, my friends, a conspiracy comic book I rather enjoyed. Without ever having read an issue of any Stormwatch title before, this was a very accessible read that sets up what appears to be a new status quo for the comic book very nicely. The Authority has conquered America, and the United Nations-sponsored Stormwatch is now outlawed, so the members make the decision to go underground and begin plans to liberate the United States.
Not being a fan of The Authority at all, I have to admit I took a cathartic pleasure out of seeing a few of the members get their butts handed to them in an early fight scene in this issue. Aside from the sadistic thrill of that, though, it gets the point of this issue across perfectly — The Authority are the guys big and bad enough to conquer the world, but Stormwatch may just be the only group big and bad enough to save the world from them.
Even after the early action sequences, when the book went into some of the political and religion conspiracy jargon that usually turns me off, it kept me going. Micah Wright takes a lot of historical and legendary elements I’ve heard of before and puts them together in a new tapestry that I find quite entertaining.
C.P. Smith and Eric Ngyuen also do a fine job on the artwork. With a light line that reminds me very much of Scott Kolins, they tell the story cleanly and clearly, frame some great fight sequences and do impressive tech. The only down point I could see was that some of their characters do have a tendency to look alike, and if they can make their faces more distinctive, they’ll be a really great art team
I also have to give major points to Wright for pushing for the new cover design. Although it’s not in the preview art, the finished cover has word balloons on it, giving a real glimpse into the inside story. It’s a technique that used to be used in comic books all the time but has gone out of style in recent years. In a time where 90 percent of Marvel covers don’t tell you anything about the story at all, Wright has gone the opposite direction and given us a mini-story before we even get to the first page, and I applaud him for that.
Like I said, I’ve never read this book before, and I don’t like The Authority, but this issue has me intrigued. I may just keep reading to find out where this leads.
Rating: 7/10
Coup D’etat Afterword #1
March 9, 2004
Quick Rating: Good
Title: Wetworks Volume Two & Sleeper Season Two Preludes
Where does the Wildstorm universe stand after the Coup D’etat? Find out here.
Writers: Mike Carey & Ed Brubaker
Pencils: Whilce Portacio
Inks: Trevor Scott & Sean Philips
Colors: Wendy Broome
Letters: Jared K. Fletcher
Editor: Ben Abernathy, Alex Sinclair & Scott Dunbier
Cover Art: While Portacio
Publisher: DC Comics/Wildstorm
The title of this book is Coup D’etat Afterword, but it could have just as easily been titled Wildstorm Secret Files, because it is in essentially the same format as that DC Universe series of books – two short stories setting up future titles and lots of profile pages on nearly every Wildstorm title.
It’s a good, quick read that helps get you up-to-date on where things stand now that The Authority has set themselves up as defacto rulers of the United States. Lucifer and My Faith in Frankie scribe Mike Carey is poised to resurrect Wetworks, a very different title from what he’s known for, as a techno-thriller with hints of superhero comics and military action. He tells a good set-up story that will lead fans into the new series quite easily.
Whilce Portacio, who created Wetworks for Image comics once upon a time, returns with some great artwork in this issue. Sometimes dismissed as a Jim Lee clone, Portacio proves here that he has a really good style and knows how to tell a comic book story.
The Sleeper story doesn’t feature Holden Carver at all, but instead shows the reawakened John Lynch pondering the fate of his former operative who has “gone native” in a supervillain underground. This story serves as good recap for the first season – if you didn’t read Sleeper before but want to start, this story will tell you everything you know.
While I wasn’t a fan of Sean Philips’ art in this week’s issue of JSA, he does a much better job in this short story. Taking place mostly in a snow-covered cemetery, he creates a very bleak and bitter mood, making Lynch seem like a force to be reckoned with. The real prize in this issue for Sleeper fans, however, comes with the confirmation that Season Two will begin in June.
The profile pages in this book are also a real gem. In addition to showing the current states of Wildcats, Stormwatch, Wetworks and The Authority, the book also includes profiles of each of these teams in their earliest incarnations. The changes each title has undergone are pretty striking when viewed in this fashion, and it makes you realize how long the Wildstorm Universe has really been around.
Rating: 7/10
Somebody’s First Comic Book: Stormwatch (1993 Series) #22
Wondering what Somebody’s First Comic Book is all about? The explanation is on this page!
TITLE: Wildstorm Rising Chapter 9
Story: Ron Marz
Pencils: Renato Arlem
Inks: Robert Jones
Color: Monica Bennett
Letters: Richard Starkings and Comicraft
Cover: Barry Windsor-Smith
Publisher: Image Comics/Wildstorm
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE: Absolutely nothing. Never heard of these guys, and that guy on the cover is going to give my children nightmares.
IMPRESSIONS: As I open up this book, I’m immediately struck by both a positive and a negative. Positive: a “roll call” page. I can tell everybody’s name! Negative: a woman with an extremely improbable anatomy lunging herself right at me and telling me I’m not going any further. Really, that’s what she says, “You go no further!”
Oh. I guess she’s talking to the skull-mask guy, because on the next page she and a bunch of other “Stormwatchers” are fighting him. Not too bad, so far. Looks like they’re the good guys and Skullface (“Helspont,” somebody calls him) is the bad guy.
Another woman with an improbable anatomy is worried about the situation, and especially about the involvement of someone called “WildC.A.T.S. and Wetworks.” So they’re bad guys too? And the dude with the huge horns… he’s putting obstacles in Helspont’s path. So “Lord Defile” is one of the good guys?
We’ve got a couple of guys in capes and a girl with goggles digging out what is said to be a “crash site.” Oh, and apparently the “WildC.A.T.S.” are here. Bad guys, right? I guess I shouldn’t be too critical of this, seeing as it is “Chapter 9,” but it’s being sold separately. Would it be too much to ask that we get a little hint as to just who all these characters are?
The book ends with everybody digging up a spaceship, but it’s apparently the wrong one. It’s a “Kherubim Ship,” which – based on the really big, bold lettering Goggle Girl uses to announce it, I’m assuming is a bad thing.
I’m totally confused. I don’t know whose these people are, why they’re fighting each other, or what makes the spaceship so important. I mean, sure, in the real world finding a spaceship would be cool. But this is a book full of flying people, a guy with a flaming skull for a head, and girls built like Malibu Barbie. Is a spaceship really that big a deal?
GRADE: D
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