StormWatch by Warren Ellis, Vol. 1

StormWatch (Collected Editions) #1-2

by Warren Ellis, Tom Raney (Illustrator), Pete Woods (Illustrator)

Don't miss this new collection of Warren Ellis's STORMWATCH epics from issues #37-47, as The Weatherman transforms the team into a proactive, take-no-prisoners strike force. Starring Jack Hawksmoor, Battalion, Jenny Sparks, Apollo, Midnighter, Rose Tattoo and more!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Science Fiction, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Comics

296 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2012

About the author

Warren Ellis is the award-winning writer of graphic novels like TRANSMETROPOLITAN, FELL, MINISTRY OF SPACE and PLANETARY, and the author of the NYT-bestselling GUN MACHINE and the “underground classic” novel CROOKED LITTLE VEIN, as well as the digital short-story single DEAD PIG COLLECTOR. His newest book is the novella NORMAL, from FSG Originals, listed as one of Amazon’s Best 100 Books Of 2016.

The movie RED is based on his graphic novel of the same name, its sequel having been released in summer 2013. IRON MAN 3 is based on his Marvel Comics graphic novel IRON MAN: EXTREMIS. He is currently developing his graphic novel sequence with Jason Howard, TREES, for television, in concert with HardySonBaker and NBCU, and continues to work as a screenwriter and producer in film and television, represented by Angela Cheng Caplan and Cheng Caplan Company. He is the creator, writer and co-producer of the Netflix series CASTLEVANIA, recently renewed for its third season, and of the recently-announced Netflix series HEAVEN’S FOREST.

He’s written extensively for VICE, WIRED UK and Reuters on technological and cultural matters, and given keynote speeches and lectures at events like dConstruct, ThingsCon, Improving Reality, SxSW, How The Light Gets In, Haunted Machines and Cognitive Cities.

Warren Ellis has recently developed and curated the revival of the Wildstorm creative library for DC Entertainment with the series THE WILD STORM, and is currently working on the serialising of new graphic novel works TREES: THREE FATES and INJECTION at Image Comics, and the serialised graphic novel THE BATMAN’S GRAVE for DC Comics, while working as a Consulting Producer on another television series.

A documentary about his work, CAPTURED GHOSTS, was released in 2012.

Recognitions include the NUIG Literary and Debating Society’s President’s Medal for service to freedom of speech, the EAGLE AWARDS Roll Of Honour for lifetime achievement in the field of comics & graphic novels, the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire 2010, the Sidewise Award for Alternate History and the International Horror Guild Award for illustrated narrative. He is a Patron of Humanists UK. He holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Essex.

Warren Ellis lives outside London, on the south-east coast of England, in case he needs to make a quick getaway.

Reviews

[Alejandro · Rating 4 out of 5]

The road to The Authority began here!


This TPB edition collects “StormWatch” #37-47. This material was originally published under the label of “WildStorm Comics” in two separate volumes “Force of Nature” and “Lightning Strikes”. This is an omnibus edition collecting both original TPBs in a brand new re-publication under the label of “DC Comics.


Creative Team:

Writer: Warren Ellis

Illustrators: Tom Raney, Jim Lee, Pete Woods & Michael Ryan


INTO THE WILD…STORM

Wildstorm Comics used to be a 90’s Indy Comic Books’ publishing house, which Jim Lee founded by Jim Lee, but when he went to work full time for DC Comics, he sold the company to DC Comics, and now all the titles and characters created under the label of WildStorm are property of DC Comics, and some of them have been incorporated into the DC Universe during the “Flashpoint” event and following “New52” continuity.

WildStorm was been one of the most prolific and relevant Indy Comic Books’ publisher, creating many of the hottest titles of the 90s decade such as Gen13, WildC.A.T.S., Wetworks, Team7, The Authority and StormWatch, where they gave birth to popular characters such as Caitlin Fairchild, Grifter, Deathblow and Jenny Sparks.

Brandon Choi and Jim Lee created StormWatch, but this TPB edition, numbered as “Volume One”, focused on the era, at the issue #37, when Warren Ellis took over the writing job, and it’s without a question, a key moment where you are witness of the first steps to the road to The Authority, where the characters of Jenny Sparks and Jack Hawksmoor are introduced, along with Rose Tattoo, and even Swift (aka Shen Li-Min) gets a power boost.


STORM WITH A CHANCE OF WATCHING

StormWatch is the United Nations’ Special Crisis Intervention Team.

It’s a massive operation with an orbiting satellite headquarter, containing medical facilities, interrogation rooms, cryogenic cells, along with the disposal of armed troops, high-tech fightercrafts, and three special teams with superpowered beings.

Henry Bendix (aka The Weatherman) is basically the World’s Policeman, that while he is supposed to wait until a country, member of the UN, would invoke the Code Perfect, to intervene in a situation, during this run, you will be witness how The Weatherman is taking more and more liberties and taking actions even without the sanction of the UN Council.

The world is falling apart, going into a really dark scenario, and The Weatherman won’t wait until it would be late to do something. He will do something… now!

The time of just watching storms is over…

…it’s time for Police Action!

Borders are for maps, StormWatch will intervene whenever is needed and taking all the hard calls.


THE SPARK OF A CENTURY

I bought this TPB since I love Jenny Sparks, I think that she is one of the best comic characters ever made and her appearance in The Authority was truly epic, and since she was introduced here, I didn’t need anything else to decide and buying the TPB.

Jenny Sparks is the embodiment of the Spirit of the 20th Century…

…In a total literal sense!

She was born in England, on January 1st, 1900. Coming from a line of “spirits”, each taking over the responsibily of taking care of the world during a whole century, each with a different power that it will be the key revolutionary element of that century, like in the 19th Century, there was a “Jenny Steam”, in the case of Jenny Sparks, living in the 20th Century, she possess a vast control and manipulation of the electricity, even she can turn into pure electricity herself.

On the issue #44 (featured in this TPB) you’ll get a wonderful glimpse of how each decade, beginning with the 20s (where Jenny is now an adult) through until the current (at the time of publication) 90s. That comic book issue is a masterpiece showing each unique mood of Jenny Sparks merging with the defining style of each decade in the way for storytelling, artwork and coloring, in comic books. A masterpiece of comic book issue!

Jenny Sparks smokes cigarettes a lot, she drinks booze even more, she is cynical, she disregards about authority, but…

…never have doubt about her love for Earth. The blue planet never was safer than in her watch.

[Michael Finocchiaro · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Authority is another DC universe that does not intersect with that of Batman/Superman but brings together a diverse group of superheroes into an Avengers-like supranational organization called "Stormwatch" under the guidance of the Professor X-like Weatherman. While the graphics were good, I found the narration a bit uneven and occasionally the characters entirely uninteresting. It was fun to read, but it did not motivate me to read the second Stormwatch volume. For the diehard superhero fan who loves new universes with a plethora of characters.

[Matt Quann · Rating 4 out of 5]

You know, I didn't quite know what to make of StormWatch for the first half of this book. It seemed almost like an anthology series with the titular organization at its centre. Even though those issues were thought-provoking and more mature that I was expecting, they had lots of good super heroics. It's almost as if Warren Ellis decided: "If we're going to enjoy our superhero smack-downs, we might as well have some interesting dialogue and subject matter when folks are talking."

This is a collection that grew on me as the series progressed. It initially seemed so pulsating with 90's-comics energy that I thought I might having a hard time getting down with the characters. Fortunately, there's some memorable characters with cool powers (Jack Hawkesmore-->all around great) and Ellis throws them into unconventional superhero dilemmas.

By the book's end, mysteries had been sown around the fertile soil of this universe and a compelling conflict was proposed. Pretty good stuff, pretty good art. Well worth a look!

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stormwatch is relentlessly Ellis in the good and bad.

Basically Weatherman, a guy who runs the stormwatch organization, is trying to build up his team again. This time multiple teams to tackle multiple situations. There is a overarching plot here but a lot of the later stories are about a single character and how they tie in to the overall team dynamic that Ellis is creating.

An it's in those inner moments of each character I've learned to care and enjoy them. The best being Jenny Sparks. I need and want to know more about her right away, poor lady been through hell and back. But the team dynamic itself and over arching plot, despite some neat twist, isn't nearly as interesting as I had hope for.

But this is the first half of the run. Let's see the second half and how it holds up before we move to the Authority!

[Rory C · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't as great as I remembered it being (hard to believe it must of been 25 years ago when I first read these as single comics), the art let it down most of the time and the cliche characters and dialogue didn't help.

That said, their are some stories here that still seem shockingly relevant today and this is where Jenny Sparks and Jack Hawksmoor were first introduced, laying the seeds for The Authority series, another comic that had a huge influence in it's time.

By the way, James Gunn featuring "Planet Watch" in the Superman movie brought me back to this. I will be interested to see if he develops that any further.

[Brandon Daniels · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are a fan of The Authority, it’s pretty neat to go back to see their more humble beginnings. The stories here are a pretty mixed bag, but the issues focused on the new characters that will eventually go on to become The Authority are the highlights. There are some ideas here that will be done better in The Authority and some of Ellis’s other work. I also think that this idea of The Weathermen, this cold, calculating eye-in-the-sky commander, who is in part based on Nick Fury, would actually be done more effectively years later as Nick Fury in Hickman’s Ultimates, which was certainly inspired by this.

[Don · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here's the thing: I've never really liked Warren Ellis. I know he's got a massive, massive fanbase, but I've never really been able to get past the fact that he's one of those comics writers (like Garth Ennis, and like Howard Chaykin) whose general contempt for humanity is palpable, and seems to infuse nearly everything they do. A lot of people like that kind of thing; it validates their own bitter cynicism, and they delight in cleverly written schadenfreude. For me, though, it's a turn-off.

So I've been shocked to discover that Ellis's early works, at least, aren't nearly as bleak. Don't get me wrong; a good number of the characters in Stormwatch are troubled, but Warren has constructed such a diverse cast that those are balanced out by idealists as well. But that's not what's so impressive about this book: what is, is that it's smart. Shockingly, impressively, smart. Many of the tales in this collection are tightly-constructed done-in-ones, with plots and concepts making real use of the potential afforded in a sci-fi superhero world like this one. There are character subplots, but they don't yet overwhelm. And although the cast that Warren has put together is so large as to be almost unwieldy, the characters are balanced throughout the stories in a way that makes the size of the group something that challenges the reader to try to keep up, yet never truly overwhelms.

The ultimate sense one gets upon reading the stories in this collection is of an incredibly talented author performing a very, very difficult balancing act of numerous balancing acts all their own: that of characters, that of plot vs. subplot, that of cynicism vs. hope - and much more besides. The only reason it doesn't get a full five stars is because with such a large cast of characters, you can't ever get too fully invested in any one of them. Hopefully that may change with future issues!

In any case, it's clear I'm going to have to re-evaluate Mr. Ellis after all.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Warren Ellis' critically acclaimed Stormwatch is a book I hadn't had a chance to read, so when I received both volumes, and the follow-up Authority collections for Christmas, I took the plunge.

This volume is mostly done-in-one stories, with each one revealing something small that builds up to the cataclysmic conclusion in the second volume. It's an interesting way of telling a story, and one that I think would do wonders now in the current comic climate where multi-part mega arcs are the norm. I also like how the book starts with issue #37 of an ongoing series, and yet reads like a #1, introducing all of the characters slowly, and not just shoving all the old characters out of the way to make way for Ellis' new creations.

The individual stories range from warped to downright weird, but that's Ellis in a nutshell, let's be fair. Tom Raney's artwork isn't as polished as I'd like, and nothing compared to his current work, but overall I can see why this volume gets the praise it gets. The next volume looks to be even more fun, as all of the groundwork laid in this book comes to a head.

[Christa Seeley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this because it's one of the comics that led into The Authority and I figured I should read a little more background first. I had never encountered these characters before or even read a Wildstorm comic. And there were a few elements that I liked - Stormwatch is a little like the Justice League or the Avengers but they work more with the UN (rather than independently or with the US government) which gave it more of a global field. The stories are also much darker than your standard Marvel and DC fare and I liked their unpredictable nature.

That being said there is a ton of characters. Stormwatch is actually made up of three distinct teams and each issue seemed to focus on a different one (with a fair amount of cross overs). Because it jumped around so often the narrative felt disjointed and it took me a long time to get oriented and to figure out who was who. Now 10 issues later I'm still not sure I could run through the team with much confidence.

This collection also lost some points because of the art. I realize that may have been the style of 90s comics but it's over exaggeration of both female AND male characters just doesn't work for me.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read, especially if you're a fan of Ellis's later Authority series. His work on Stormwatch laid the groundwork for that incredible storyline, and it's pretty interesting reading this as a sort of prequel. That said, I don't think you have to be familiar at all with the Authority to enjoy this book. There's plenty of thoughtful, original takes on superhero stuff in here, with well-defined (if at times a little thin) character work and a sense of impending doom. Each issue stands alone while setting a tone for a larger plot at play. There's interdimensional monstrosities. Government conspiracies. Global political ploys. Lunatic clones. It's the kind of far-reaching sci-fi Ellis excels at, and I'm very intrigued to see where this goes next.

[Michael Emond · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love me some Warren Ellis and this is Ellis at his best. Taking on the old Hero Tropes and turning them on their ends. It was a jarring start since Ellis was shaking up the old book and turning it into his vision but once you get over that bump it is an amazing read with interesting characters. The art is only so-so but the writing is the star here so I can overlook some boring art work that doesn't get in the way of the story. Ellis is one of the most dependable writers in the game for exciting plots and ideas while still writing a good old fashion hero book. People who love Ellis should also check out Fell, Global Frequency and Planetary.

[Sans · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of icky moments but Ellis did a good job of making sure the reader gets to know the characters slowly throughout the book. I wish we learned more about Rose Tattoo and Jack Hawksmoor. Maybe in the next volume? This also gave me the creeps on a social awareness scale. At the time this was written, there were a lot of changes happening in the government and the United States in general. Those changes are surging again in our current political climate and it makes me ill to think we're repeating history so soon.

[Jacob A. Mirallegro · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a high 2 because it got better by the end of this trade, understandably it took a few issues for Ellis to reconfigure this series into what he wanted but it suffers a little at the beginning. I'm excited to read more because I feel like it will only get better.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ellis is obviously doing something different in this early work but it isn't quite there yet. Raney's art doesn't help in that regard.

[Jared Rasic · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some trademark moments of greatness from Warren Ellis, but none of the characters congeal enough to make me care. Honestly, it just made me wish I had more Planetary to read.

[Carlo Gnutti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Warren Ellis parte fortissimo e introduce subito un sacco di novità all’interno del gruppo. Nel primo numero infatti vediamo Henry Bendix/Weatherman (una specie di Charles Xavier con molti meno scrupoli morali) reclutare nuovi membri - Jenny Sparks (trovata in un pub nel quale e’ presente anche il Violator di Spawn. Controlla l’elettricità), Jack Hawksmoor (vittima di esperimenti alieni che gli hanno donato precognizione e psicometria, oltre che agilità sovrumana) e Rose Tatoo (tiratrice formidabile)- e licenziarne/ricollocarne alcuni dei vecchi, arrivando alla fine ad avere tre team, ognuno con le proprie mansioni specifiche. Sfortunatamente la serie -dopo un bellissimo paio di numero in cui Weatherman, dopo aver scoperto che gli Stati Uniti hanno assassinato un suo ex agente, decide di vendicarsi estirpandone le ingiustizie, più precisamente andando contro una squadra di poliziotti con superpoteri corrotti- subito dopo torna aa seguire io canovaccio tipico di queste serie muscolari anni ‘90, tradendo un po’ quel senso di novità che il primo numero lasciava presagire. Anche i numeri che ho appena citato, per quanto interessanti nella premessa, finiscono in un nulla di fatto.
Nel numero in cui Jenny Sparks racconta il suo passato, ogni decennio viene illustrato attraverso lo stile grafico del fumetti di quel periodo (Alex Toth, Neal Adams, Jack Kirby, Dave Gibbons in Watchmen ecc.): una trovata divertente e pertinente.
L’Ultima storia e’ raccontata interamente per splash page
Gran parte del volume disegnato da Tom Raney, che ha uno stile di ipertrofico anni ‘90 ma con un qualcosa di cartoonoso.

[Rolando Marono · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitivamente la aproximación que hace Ellis a un cómic de súper héroes es sublime. Quizá mi error para disfrutar de esta obra plenamente fue leer primero planetary, una obra que va después de Stormwatch y Authority. Planetary tiene muchas ideas innovadoras y muchas perspectivas interesantes sobre el mito de súper héroes, además que está realizada con una pulcritud y corriendo muchos riesgos narrativos que al final dan sus frutos.
Stormwatch se nota como un comienzo. Es mucho más reservado en correr riesgos, los corre pero si comparas eso con Planetary te das cuenta que aquí Ellis estaba siendo bastante precavido, su mente permitía ideas muy locas pero aquí estaba probándose a él mismo y a la audiencia.
Stormwatch es muy disfrutable en realidad. El equipo de súper héroes que propone es internacional y aunque a veces se siente un poco estereotípico, muestra más diversidad que cualquier cómic de esa época de Marvel y DC.
Los primeros números son más aventuras en equipo y vemos un poco de la situación actual del mundo con la que está lidiando el hombre del tiempo. Los siguientes números son aventuras enfocadas en algún personaje de Storm Watch, esos números son fuertes porque Ellis salta entre géneros. No todas las historias son de súper héroes, hay historias de detectives, filosóficas, de aventuras, etc.
Al terminar el tomo me quedo con muchas ganas de más. Se nota que la historia que Ellis tiene en mente es mucho más profunda y compleja de lo que alcanzamos a ver en este tomo. Espero que el siguiente aborde ese conflicto entre USA, las Naciones Unidas y Storm Watch.

[boofykins · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

The first part of the book (issues #37-42), previously collected as the tpb StormWatch, Volume 1: Force of Nature, is clearly a transitional period where Warren Ellis is refashioning StormWatch from a paint-by-numbers early-Image superhero outfit into the story he wants to tell. The second part of the book (issues #43-47), previously collected as StormWatch, Volume 2: Lightning Strikes begins truly establishing the inner workings and direction the book is going to go. After a lackluster penultimate issue, the final issue in this collection (#47) is where things really get good, and is the reason I am bumping up the star rating. Of course, I'm reading StormWatch as a prelude to The Authority Omnibus and eventually The Planetary Omnibus, so big things are yet to come!

[Scott Filibeck · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hit or miss, with mostly one-off storylines with a bigger story in the background.

The real problem with this title is the dialogue, if only because it's trying to convey meaning and it's REALLY not getting there. Like, Fuji's conversation about Japan. ("Why should I go in there alone? Well, because my father's favorite writer died.") Ellis is using words, but the diction doesn't convey enough to prove worthy for the space it uses. I like the context ("My country is committing suicide."), but his arguement doesn't provide enough support. Ellis could have written things differently (not necessarily better) to show that Fuji is an intellectual.

I like some of the characters so far. By the time they go to the bar, they all seem like interesting fellows. I'm not sure why we needed two gas superheroes, or why one is in a big suit externally-produced suit and the other has his own suit produced by his own powers. They all seem derivitive, but very different at the same time. I'm also REALLY not a fan of Jack Hawksmoor -- he seems like a massive Mary Sue, but only in the city. There is no context for his powers, and I imagine he can pretty much do anything he wants to fit any story he's in.

All-in-all, the villains are interesting, and the idea for the the series is fantastic. I'll be interested to see more, and read up into The Authority! Hopefully the story and characterization gets better.

[David Palazzolo · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the problems I had with the Authority was that despite reading from its beginning I still felt like I started reading halfway in an ongoing story. Looks like I had, as I now find Ellis had written the last stories of Stornwatch. The stories in this volume are like the Authority but shorter—little set up beyond the main conflict, lots of violence and quick resolution. These all would have been better as two part stories with expansion on characters and world, but something that occurred to me here is that Ellis is moving the stories in real time so he doesn’t have the space to do it. An interesting challenge to try to pull off but I wish it worked out better

[Blindzider · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this a second time, you can see Ellis is setting up the pieces for what is to come. This volume primarily introduces the new characters and destroys whatever Stormwatch was before. The whole theme of "superheroes deciding what the world should be like" begins here.

The art is very "90's". Raney's art has a quirkiness about it that I like and it fits the story, because some of Ellis' ideas are off the wall and strange but are still fascinating.

[Aidan]

I expected this to eventually win me over and it did! While I wasn’t crazy about the first issue, the character focussed approach issue to issue, and the big ideas of a superhero group fighting to improve the status quo combined with real world enemies like racist cops and an imperialist USA made this a more exciting read than I expected. The Jenny Sparks issue where the art and writing changes depending on the decade was sick as hell.

[Loki · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a great start, but compared to some of Ellis' later work, there's a palpable sense of a writer who's not yet ready to push the pedal to the floor and see what this thing can do. Fortunately, there's another volume after this...

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 really. (The last chapter sux)

[Simon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I... kinda... this was much less good than I hoped it would be?

[dp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprisingly amazing

[Mike Bodak · Rating 5 out of 5]

The warren Ellis storm watch run is must read.

[Jesse Dauby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great over the top cinematic super-heroics. Lots of crazy dark fun.

[Jason Rico · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Russ Spence · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked The Authority so read this as a prequel and it didn't disappoint, proving you can't have too much of a good thing