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Stormwatch (2011) (Collected Editions) #1
Stormwatch, Vol. 1: The Dark Side
Stormwatch returns, but this time to the DC Universe! Jack Hawksmoor, Midnighter, Apollo, The Engineer and Martian Manhunter comprise a dangerous super human police force whose existence is kept secret from the world. Collected here, this covert team of sci-fi Super Heroes must not only battle the Earth's moon, but find a way to hide its monstrous metamorphosis from the rest of the Earth! Featuring writing from Doctor Who and Superman: The Black Ring scribe Paul Cornell, and art from rising star Miguel Sepulveda.
140 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2012
9 people are currently reading
440 people want to read
About the author
Paul Cornell
616 books1,501 followersPaul Cornell is a British writer of science fiction and fantasy prose, comics and television. He's been Hugo Award-nominated for all three media, and has won the BSFA Award for his short fiction, and the Eagle Award for his comics. He's the writer of Saucer Country for Vertigo, Demon Knights for DC, and has written for the Doctor Who TV series. His new urban fantasy novel is London Falling, out from Tor on December 6th.
via Wikipedia @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Cor...
via Wikipedia @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Cor...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 93 reviews
February 1, 2014
This was an interesting reading experience. It's a somewhat bizarre story and if you're not at least somewhat acquainted with some Sci-Fi conventions (like "hyper-space", "nano-tech" and the like) you might find yourself going "eh?" at times.
I purchased this for one reason only: The Martian Manhunter. But the truth is, even though he is being touted as the big gun of the series, he doesn't really feature all that much. The other characters are members of The Authority that have come over to the DC stable from the now defunct Wildstorm imprint. It's interesting to note that, as over-powered as most of these characters are, Captain Atom went toe-to-toe with them in Captain Atom: Armageddon and gave a good account of himself. Now, I'm mentioning this because I can't help but wonder if it wouldn't have made some sense to include him as the mandatory DC character of the team. You know, given the fact that there is some prior history and all that...
What's also debatable is whether the DC Universe really needs these superheroes, since (with the obvious exception of The Martian Manhunter) the current DC characters aren't even aware of their existence. Stormwatch protects the Earth from extra terrestrial threats... but isn't that what the Green Lantern Corps or The Justice League does as well? What is worth a mention is that the super-powers collected here are truly unique, and you won't easily find the likes elsewhere.
Now, just to clear the water, I'm not complaining above; I'm just voicing some thoughts that came into my head as I was reading this. The truth is: I actually enjoyed this book quite a bit. It's certainly different. I'll continue reading this, especially in the hopes that some origins will be revealed, since that is the one thing sadly missing from this specific outing.
I purchased this for one reason only: The Martian Manhunter. But the truth is, even though he is being touted as the big gun of the series, he doesn't really feature all that much. The other characters are members of The Authority that have come over to the DC stable from the now defunct Wildstorm imprint. It's interesting to note that, as over-powered as most of these characters are, Captain Atom went toe-to-toe with them in Captain Atom: Armageddon and gave a good account of himself. Now, I'm mentioning this because I can't help but wonder if it wouldn't have made some sense to include him as the mandatory DC character of the team. You know, given the fact that there is some prior history and all that...
What's also debatable is whether the DC Universe really needs these superheroes, since (with the obvious exception of The Martian Manhunter) the current DC characters aren't even aware of their existence. Stormwatch protects the Earth from extra terrestrial threats... but isn't that what the Green Lantern Corps or The Justice League does as well? What is worth a mention is that the super-powers collected here are truly unique, and you won't easily find the likes elsewhere.
Now, just to clear the water, I'm not complaining above; I'm just voicing some thoughts that came into my head as I was reading this. The truth is: I actually enjoyed this book quite a bit. It's certainly different. I'll continue reading this, especially in the hopes that some origins will be revealed, since that is the one thing sadly missing from this specific outing.
November 13, 2012
Except for Martian Manhunter, I'd never heard of any of these characters before.
So, I was kind of surprised when I liked it.
The premise is that there is a group of Metas who have been protecting the earth from alien bad guys (forever?), without anyone else knowing about it.
It's a pretty cool idea.
I guess these guys used to be called something else before the New 52 launch, so if you've been read their comics before, you'll probably get more out of this than I did.
Still, even as a newbie to this story, I really enjoyed it.
So, I was kind of surprised when I liked it.
The premise is that there is a group of Metas who have been protecting the earth from alien bad guys (forever?), without anyone else knowing about it.
It's a pretty cool idea.
I guess these guys used to be called something else before the New 52 launch, so if you've been read their comics before, you'll probably get more out of this than I did.
Still, even as a newbie to this story, I really enjoyed it.
August 13, 2013
It isn't terrible, but I am feeling a little frustrated. Jim Starlin took over the title with #19, and when he did, he completely rebooted the series. Nothing that I just read happened, and the versions of the characters that I read are gone. I kind of feel like I wasted my time. And seriously, New 52 is barely two years old and we're already entirely rebooting entire series? Knowing that, I would say not to bother with reading this volume of Stormwatch. There's nothing here fabulous enough to make reading what's basically an Elseworlds story worthwhile.
On to the actual merits of the story... Well, it's fine enough on its own. There's a pretty decent cast of characters here. Plenty of familiar faces for people who read the old version of Stormwatch and Authority. A few new ones. Martian Manhunter makes for a pretty good fit into the team. The biggest problem is that the overarching story is confusing, too busy, and resolved way too easily. But that comes from having a team of people who are very, very powerful in a very effortless way. A conflict is only rewarding to read if there's a struggle, and this just didn't feel like much of one. It was too easy for the characters.
I don't know what Starlin will do with these characters now, and frankly, I'm irritated enough that I don't know if I'll read it. Unless maybe I hear really good things about his take, of course. I had fond memories of some of these characters from the Authority that I did read, and it was nice to see that they're still around. Fans of the relationship between Apollo and Midnighter might feel a little disgruntled that their relationship was reverted to the flirtation stage, but just about every couple was broken up with New 52. I just don't feel like investing time into character development that's about to get reverted anyways.
On to the actual merits of the story... Well, it's fine enough on its own. There's a pretty decent cast of characters here. Plenty of familiar faces for people who read the old version of Stormwatch and Authority. A few new ones. Martian Manhunter makes for a pretty good fit into the team. The biggest problem is that the overarching story is confusing, too busy, and resolved way too easily. But that comes from having a team of people who are very, very powerful in a very effortless way. A conflict is only rewarding to read if there's a struggle, and this just didn't feel like much of one. It was too easy for the characters.
I don't know what Starlin will do with these characters now, and frankly, I'm irritated enough that I don't know if I'll read it. Unless maybe I hear really good things about his take, of course. I had fond memories of some of these characters from the Authority that I did read, and it was nice to see that they're still around. Fans of the relationship between Apollo and Midnighter might feel a little disgruntled that their relationship was reverted to the flirtation stage, but just about every couple was broken up with New 52. I just don't feel like investing time into character development that's about to get reverted anyways.
September 17, 2014
I picked this up because of the mention of Stormwatch in another graphic novel I had finished, and partially because Martian Manhunter is in it. I thought it might be an interesting story. I had no previous information about this book going into it, and I feel that newbies might be confused with this first book. It's a reboot of the series, since DC Comics absorbed Wildstorm, and as a result of the New 52, DC Comics-wide reboot.
It's pretty good, but I was left pretty confused about what was going on. The cast is intriguing, and it sort of reminded me of the BBC show Torchwood a little, although it's not exactly like it.
Things I liked:
*I liked the idea of a motley crew hanging out in hyperspace and going on missions to protect the galaxy and more specifically Planet Earth.
*There is a pretty diverse group of folks in the group.
*Since I am a bit of a sucker for swordsmanship, I liked that one of the crew was the Eminence of Blades, pretty much the Master of all Swordmasters.
*For those who like a little bit of GLBT, there is a love at first sight scenario between Apollo and Midnighter.
*Apollo's power of absorbing solar energy and using it to give himself super strength was pretty cool.
*Jack Hawskmoor can essentially communicate with the spirit of all cities. That was kind of neat.
What I Didn't Care For:
*I was confused about what going on. The writing essential drops you in the story in media res, with no background and limited revelation on characters as the story goes along. The sketches at the end told me more about the characters than I learned reading it. I don't think that's a good strategy since the whole New 52 is about introducing new readers to tried and true imprints.
*The layout was awkward and contributed to my feeling of confusion about what was going on. The artwork didn't speak to my soul very much. It wasn't bad, with the colors being bright and appealing, but not really that impressive. As a side note, I couldn't tell if Midnighter was supposed to be black and that Jenny Quantum was Asian.
**As an aside, I looked this up on New 52 and I think they took a pretty different direction with the story from what it was in the Wildside comics. It seems much less edgy that it once was. That's neither here nor there.
Overall, this was okay. Not bad, but not that impressive. I might pick up later volumes, but it's not a huge priority at this point.
It's pretty good, but I was left pretty confused about what was going on. The cast is intriguing, and it sort of reminded me of the BBC show Torchwood a little, although it's not exactly like it.
Things I liked:
*I liked the idea of a motley crew hanging out in hyperspace and going on missions to protect the galaxy and more specifically Planet Earth.
*There is a pretty diverse group of folks in the group.
*Since I am a bit of a sucker for swordsmanship, I liked that one of the crew was the Eminence of Blades, pretty much the Master of all Swordmasters.
*For those who like a little bit of GLBT, there is a love at first sight scenario between Apollo and Midnighter.
*Apollo's power of absorbing solar energy and using it to give himself super strength was pretty cool.
*Jack Hawskmoor can essentially communicate with the spirit of all cities. That was kind of neat.
What I Didn't Care For:
*I was confused about what going on. The writing essential drops you in the story in media res, with no background and limited revelation on characters as the story goes along. The sketches at the end told me more about the characters than I learned reading it. I don't think that's a good strategy since the whole New 52 is about introducing new readers to tried and true imprints.
*The layout was awkward and contributed to my feeling of confusion about what was going on. The artwork didn't speak to my soul very much. It wasn't bad, with the colors being bright and appealing, but not really that impressive. As a side note, I couldn't tell if Midnighter was supposed to be black and that Jenny Quantum was Asian.
**As an aside, I looked this up on New 52 and I think they took a pretty different direction with the story from what it was in the Wildside comics. It seems much less edgy that it once was. That's neither here nor there.
Overall, this was okay. Not bad, but not that impressive. I might pick up later volumes, but it's not a huge priority at this point.
October 25, 2012
Jenny Quantum, Angie the Engineer, Jack Hawksmoor, Midnighter, and Apollo are: Stormwatch? But that’s The Authority line-up!? For some reason as part of the “New 52” reboot, the Authority team have been joined by J’onn J’onzz the Martian Manhunter and rebranded as Stormwatch - maybe The Authority sounded too fascistic? This was a pleasant surprise as I love The Authority and feel ambivalent toward Stormwatch – game on, an Authority book!
The good surprises keep coming as Paul Cornell proves he is as good as Warren Ellis (creator of both The Authority and Stormwatch) at writing ambitious, intelligent, and imaginative adventures for this team. In no particular order, the Moon attacks Earth, giant squid monsters ravage mainland America, and sleeping secret cities rise up. There are other characters in the book but seeing as this is about the formation of the core of the team, it’s unclear whether these extra characters will survive this book or serve as a plot device only to be killed off in later books.
What sets “Stormwatch” apart from other superhero team books is the characters unique powers and the scope of their missions. Hawksmoor’s ability to talk to cities is a superpower I’ve always just accepted – with the many abstract concepts thrown around in most Authority books, you kind of have to – but in this book Cornell shows the reader what this is like: each city is anthropomorphically depicted as a figure (I loved Gotham City’s avatar, very fitting!). Clever touches like this make for a better book rather than just have superheroes bashing away at monsters. I also liked how they covertly masked their apocalyptic first mission with a new character called the Projectionist – I won’t say how but it basically sticks it to other DC superhero teams making them seem like blockheads. That superior attitude has always been a part of the Authority, showing Cornell truly gets this series both conceptually and tonally.
There isn’t much I disliked about the book – Midnighter’s outfit looks a bit too S&M-y, but that’s about it. Cornell writes an excellent Authority/Stormwatch book that sets up a brilliant storyline with an excellent set of characters, doing a fine job of making the book accessible to new readers and old. The art is fantastic, the writing is top notch, “Stormwatch” is definitely one of the best titles in the reboot.
The good surprises keep coming as Paul Cornell proves he is as good as Warren Ellis (creator of both The Authority and Stormwatch) at writing ambitious, intelligent, and imaginative adventures for this team. In no particular order, the Moon attacks Earth, giant squid monsters ravage mainland America, and sleeping secret cities rise up. There are other characters in the book but seeing as this is about the formation of the core of the team, it’s unclear whether these extra characters will survive this book or serve as a plot device only to be killed off in later books.
What sets “Stormwatch” apart from other superhero team books is the characters unique powers and the scope of their missions. Hawksmoor’s ability to talk to cities is a superpower I’ve always just accepted – with the many abstract concepts thrown around in most Authority books, you kind of have to – but in this book Cornell shows the reader what this is like: each city is anthropomorphically depicted as a figure (I loved Gotham City’s avatar, very fitting!). Clever touches like this make for a better book rather than just have superheroes bashing away at monsters. I also liked how they covertly masked their apocalyptic first mission with a new character called the Projectionist – I won’t say how but it basically sticks it to other DC superhero teams making them seem like blockheads. That superior attitude has always been a part of the Authority, showing Cornell truly gets this series both conceptually and tonally.
There isn’t much I disliked about the book – Midnighter’s outfit looks a bit too S&M-y, but that’s about it. Cornell writes an excellent Authority/Stormwatch book that sets up a brilliant storyline with an excellent set of characters, doing a fine job of making the book accessible to new readers and old. The art is fantastic, the writing is top notch, “Stormwatch” is definitely one of the best titles in the reboot.
April 28, 2015
The first volume of the New 52 Stormwatch is a pretty good read. I read it when it first came out, and still enjoy it today. The team setup works and we get nice introductions to the characters, as well as some mysteries concerning the Martian Manhunter's involvement with the team and also the Justice League.
The addition of Apollo and Midnighter happens over the course of a few issues, as does their burgeoning relationship.
I haven't read the original Stormwatch/Authority, so I don't know how well this stacks up to the original, but it's fast paced and the art by Miguel Sepulveda is pretty nice, except for the clunky feet.
October 9, 2017
Paul Cornell - writer
Miguel Sepulveda - illustrator
"The New 52" brought a soft reboot of the entire DC Universe including, apparently, Wildstorm imprint books like "Stormwatch." Cornell does a serviceable job rebooting the book, but what fresh stories remain for a concept that is already a well-mined deconstruction of the superhero team genre? The art by Sepulveda is great, really top-notch stuff. If you like the characters from "Stormwatch" and "The Authority" you'll probably enjoy this book.
3.5/5
Miguel Sepulveda - illustrator
"The New 52" brought a soft reboot of the entire DC Universe including, apparently, Wildstorm imprint books like "Stormwatch." Cornell does a serviceable job rebooting the book, but what fresh stories remain for a concept that is already a well-mined deconstruction of the superhero team genre? The art by Sepulveda is great, really top-notch stuff. If you like the characters from "Stormwatch" and "The Authority" you'll probably enjoy this book.
3.5/5
February 24, 2013
OMG, in the first four (no, six - wait, twenty) pages, Cornell executed the least-subtle "establish your characters" sequence I've read in any highly-regarded 'new' comic. Wow is that clunky. I would've tossed this back in the back-to-the-library pile right there if not for the strong reviews my fellow GoodReads friends had given this book.
Seriously, this is straight out of grade-school writing class: each character gets their codename and power set mentioned in the first two pages in which they first appear - and for bonus points, find some way for some of them to explain their powers themselves to a fellow teammate who's presumably been working with them for long enough to already *know* how it all works. It's seriously a tie for the worst introduction dialogue (because it's *all* done through dialogue, other than Martian Manhunter).
Actually, my partner totally nailed it for me - this is straight out of 70's superhero cartoons. "Wondertwin powers, activate! Shape of...a tree sloth! Form of...a mudpuddle!"
Sepulveda's art is passable but hardly inspired - unless you count a giant conical spike attached to Midnighter's chin armour as "inspired". Seriously, what specific purpose does that serve, except to bring back memories of high-school metalheads.
Sonuvabitch, Cornell isn't just rusty he's practically leaden. The "tell your teammates what they do" dialogue just keeps on coming, like wave after wave of sewage spewing out of a clogged toilet - it's like he can't help himself.
About halfway through, the action finally picked up and the dialogue started dealing with the present - and I thought, "If the book *started* with this tone I'd recommend it." But once the battle was over, all the pent-up tell-the-heroes-about-themselves flooded back in - a frigging lecture level of brutal punishment.
Let's see, how does this dribble to an end? Weak art with puzzlingly-inappropriate facial expressions, ham-handed & unconvincing switch to Midnighter/Apollo joining the team, dumb set up for "team conflict" with the ship, boring crisis of leadership, sudden Quest For Powerful Objects. Did I miss anything?
As much as I hate to compare anything New52 to their pre-reboot predecessors, this is a disgusting travesty of pale shadows of what once was - characters, dialogue, plot and art were all stunning in comparison in the Warren Ellis days. This is blasphemy.
Seriously, this is straight out of grade-school writing class: each character gets their codename and power set mentioned in the first two pages in which they first appear - and for bonus points, find some way for some of them to explain their powers themselves to a fellow teammate who's presumably been working with them for long enough to already *know* how it all works. It's seriously a tie for the worst introduction dialogue (because it's *all* done through dialogue, other than Martian Manhunter).
Actually, my partner totally nailed it for me - this is straight out of 70's superhero cartoons. "Wondertwin powers, activate! Shape of...a tree sloth! Form of...a mudpuddle!"
Sepulveda's art is passable but hardly inspired - unless you count a giant conical spike attached to Midnighter's chin armour as "inspired". Seriously, what specific purpose does that serve, except to bring back memories of high-school metalheads.
Sonuvabitch, Cornell isn't just rusty he's practically leaden. The "tell your teammates what they do" dialogue just keeps on coming, like wave after wave of sewage spewing out of a clogged toilet - it's like he can't help himself.
About halfway through, the action finally picked up and the dialogue started dealing with the present - and I thought, "If the book *started* with this tone I'd recommend it." But once the battle was over, all the pent-up tell-the-heroes-about-themselves flooded back in - a frigging lecture level of brutal punishment.
Let's see, how does this dribble to an end? Weak art with puzzlingly-inappropriate facial expressions, ham-handed & unconvincing switch to Midnighter/Apollo joining the team, dumb set up for "team conflict" with the ship, boring crisis of leadership, sudden Quest For Powerful Objects. Did I miss anything?
As much as I hate to compare anything New52 to their pre-reboot predecessors, this is a disgusting travesty of pale shadows of what once was - characters, dialogue, plot and art were all stunning in comparison in the Warren Ellis days. This is blasphemy.
May 20, 2013
I needed to wait until a week after I finished this book to write my review.... I needed time to gauge my reaction. Usually with a comic, I can tell right-away whether it was good or bad, but this time it wasn't quite so easy.
While reading, it seemed obvious that this was not a great comic. The art is average with only a few moments of above-averageness. The plot feels thin and strenuous; the characters seem flat and are constantly reminding one-another of their powers as if they are not an ages-old team but newly-found buddies. It is practically devoid of humour, or, if there is humour, it is some seriously unfunny humour. The action is choppy with big gaps of the story happening off-panel; there is not much flow to the storytelling and it is awkwardly paced. The dialogue is sub-par and I found myself having to read over several pages several times just to understand what Paul Cornell was trying to communicate.
It didn't SEEM like a good comic..... but it really stuck with me!
There is something about Stormwatch that really has me intrigued. Could it be that this is a group of characters I'm not familiar with? (I mean, I knew and read a lot about The Authority before going into this collection, but other than names and basic group dynamics, this certainly doesn't feel like The Authority to me.) Could it be because I am curious to see how The Manhunter fits into this group? Could it be the foreshadowing of a much larger conflict looming in the future, one that seems likely to involve the entire DCU? I'm not sure what it is that has me interested, but I AM interested! I find that, the further I get away from the day I finished reading it, "Stormwatch: The Dark" intrigues me more and more.
I feel like reading it again.... and I don't think I've said that about anything in the New 52 yet. 3/5
While reading, it seemed obvious that this was not a great comic. The art is average with only a few moments of above-averageness. The plot feels thin and strenuous; the characters seem flat and are constantly reminding one-another of their powers as if they are not an ages-old team but newly-found buddies. It is practically devoid of humour, or, if there is humour, it is some seriously unfunny humour. The action is choppy with big gaps of the story happening off-panel; there is not much flow to the storytelling and it is awkwardly paced. The dialogue is sub-par and I found myself having to read over several pages several times just to understand what Paul Cornell was trying to communicate.
It didn't SEEM like a good comic..... but it really stuck with me!
There is something about Stormwatch that really has me intrigued. Could it be that this is a group of characters I'm not familiar with? (I mean, I knew and read a lot about The Authority before going into this collection, but other than names and basic group dynamics, this certainly doesn't feel like The Authority to me.) Could it be because I am curious to see how The Manhunter fits into this group? Could it be the foreshadowing of a much larger conflict looming in the future, one that seems likely to involve the entire DCU? I'm not sure what it is that has me interested, but I AM interested! I find that, the further I get away from the day I finished reading it, "Stormwatch: The Dark" intrigues me more and more.
I feel like reading it again.... and I don't think I've said that about anything in the New 52 yet. 3/5
April 28, 2017
TV's raspy Green Arrow [arrow aimed to author's center-of-mass]: "Paul Cornell, you have failed this city and your readership!"
Author: "But I brought them back from the dead! The Wildstorm imprint of Stormwatch and The Authority were dead. And the the New 52 gave them the chance to live again, to smooth out Ellis' outrageous parodies of a non-straight Batman and Superman team-up, and those other obscure characters with god-like powers!"
Arrow: "..."
Author: "And I made it so clear that these characters are even more powerful than their DC predecessors who live on with actual DC backstories but they live and fight in secret for unknown reasons. Well, OK, maybe I don't make it clear, but it will be when you buy the next issue, or maybe the one after... And really, what reader actually cares whether these characters are superheroes but murder, or don't have capes, or nearly destroy each other senselessly, or behave inexplicably, or have become totally unrelatable because of retcon-itis, or..."
[twenty minutes later, GA's hand is starting to tremble]
Author: "...and it's not like anyone is actually going to write a scathing review 5 years after publication..."
[T+30, time for a commercial break. Will GA loose his arrow, just to end the pain? Tune in next week!]
Author: "But I brought them back from the dead! The Wildstorm imprint of Stormwatch and The Authority were dead. And the the New 52 gave them the chance to live again, to smooth out Ellis' outrageous parodies of a non-straight Batman and Superman team-up, and those other obscure characters with god-like powers!"
Arrow: "..."
Author: "And I made it so clear that these characters are even more powerful than their DC predecessors who live on with actual DC backstories but they live and fight in secret for unknown reasons. Well, OK, maybe I don't make it clear, but it will be when you buy the next issue, or maybe the one after... And really, what reader actually cares whether these characters are superheroes but murder, or don't have capes, or nearly destroy each other senselessly, or behave inexplicably, or have become totally unrelatable because of retcon-itis, or..."
[twenty minutes later, GA's hand is starting to tremble]
Author: "...and it's not like anyone is actually going to write a scathing review 5 years after publication..."
[T+30, time for a commercial break. Will GA loose his arrow, just to end the pain? Tune in next week!]
April 23, 2018
Look, I like big wacky sci-fi ideas as much as anybody, but they have to mean something. In Paul Cornell's Stormwatch, the ideas are flying with zero explanation, zero setup, no weight or importance. No connection to a real-world problem or a real-world fear. They just... happen.
In this book, we get: the moon wants to attack the earth (never explained), a giant squid creature attacks (somehow connected to the moon but, yet again, never explained), a secret ancient city resting underneath rural America (only serves as a convenient deus ex machina), a secret society that has protected earth for centuries (stated with no evidence). It's like every time one of these Big Ridiculous Ideas is presented, we're supposed to go "Oh, wow, cool." But I need to maybe sit in the idea for more than 12 panels before I start caring about it?
Another glaring, yet less important, problem is Cornell's atrocious dialogue. None of these characters have a personality. They all just constantly explain their powers out loud to one another. "I may be able to absorb the energy of the sun and convert it into raw power, but that doesn't mean I'm immortal." That kind of garbage. Every character talks like this for almost the entire book.
Then there's the team itself. Based on what we're told, various incarnations of Stormwatch have protected the earth in some capacity since time immemorial, but the team we get a glimpse of here is a mess. Everyone seems to hate each other, their leader is a complete idiot who none of them respects, they're shown to have no real idea how to work together. It's like they're all brand new to this and just figuring it out as they go along, which is tough to buy. Surely an ancient Earth protection corps would pick people who aren't the absolute worst.
I definitely won't be continuing with this one. The whole time I was reading it, I just kept thinking "This wants to be Warren Ellis's The Authority so bad." It's trying very, very hard to replicate another artist's excellent work, and in failing to do so seems that much cheaper. This one is a good, safe skip.
In this book, we get: the moon wants to attack the earth (never explained), a giant squid creature attacks (somehow connected to the moon but, yet again, never explained), a secret ancient city resting underneath rural America (only serves as a convenient deus ex machina), a secret society that has protected earth for centuries (stated with no evidence). It's like every time one of these Big Ridiculous Ideas is presented, we're supposed to go "Oh, wow, cool." But I need to maybe sit in the idea for more than 12 panels before I start caring about it?
Another glaring, yet less important, problem is Cornell's atrocious dialogue. None of these characters have a personality. They all just constantly explain their powers out loud to one another. "I may be able to absorb the energy of the sun and convert it into raw power, but that doesn't mean I'm immortal." That kind of garbage. Every character talks like this for almost the entire book.
Then there's the team itself. Based on what we're told, various incarnations of Stormwatch have protected the earth in some capacity since time immemorial, but the team we get a glimpse of here is a mess. Everyone seems to hate each other, their leader is a complete idiot who none of them respects, they're shown to have no real idea how to work together. It's like they're all brand new to this and just figuring it out as they go along, which is tough to buy. Surely an ancient Earth protection corps would pick people who aren't the absolute worst.
I definitely won't be continuing with this one. The whole time I was reading it, I just kept thinking "This wants to be Warren Ellis's The Authority so bad." It's trying very, very hard to replicate another artist's excellent work, and in failing to do so seems that much cheaper. This one is a good, safe skip.
May 30, 2014
I'm giving this 3.5 stars. Mostly cause I found this to be so full on for a first volume.
I was only familiar with Martian Manhunter prior to reading this so I had a lot of catching up to do. There is a big roster of characters in this book, and most of them have really weird powers. Like Jack Hawksmoor who can talk with cities, Adam who seems to be as old as time itself and ageing backwards slowly in a 'Benjamin Button' kind of way, the Projectionist who is a living internet interface and Jenny Quantum who is "the spirit of the 21st century". I mean what the f**k is that? It took a bit to get use to all their cooky abilities, but by the end of the book I was getting more of a feel for everyone. There is a lot I sci-fi lingo in this as well, of which I am not use to. All of this made for a pretty dense first read, but it didn't ruin my experience. As for the story it's also more of the obscure stuff, the moon coming to life, and big city eating monsters. I'm really digging the new Martian Manhunter here, really a bad ass with a mysterious past. Looking forward to finding more out about that, as well as his brief involvement with the Justice League. Midnighter seems like an interesting character, once I got past his dildo looking chin spike (I mean come on what purpose does that serve?!). And yes we get it DC, he's gay! Still wandering if Apollo is as well, him and Midnighter seemed like they shared a "moment" at one stage.
I find I need to read at lest two volumes of a series to figure out if I like it or not. Give the story and characters some time to get their feet. I have hopes that this will flesh out to be a solid title.
On to volume 2!
I was only familiar with Martian Manhunter prior to reading this so I had a lot of catching up to do. There is a big roster of characters in this book, and most of them have really weird powers. Like Jack Hawksmoor who can talk with cities, Adam who seems to be as old as time itself and ageing backwards slowly in a 'Benjamin Button' kind of way, the Projectionist who is a living internet interface and Jenny Quantum who is "the spirit of the 21st century". I mean what the f**k is that? It took a bit to get use to all their cooky abilities, but by the end of the book I was getting more of a feel for everyone. There is a lot I sci-fi lingo in this as well, of which I am not use to. All of this made for a pretty dense first read, but it didn't ruin my experience. As for the story it's also more of the obscure stuff, the moon coming to life, and big city eating monsters. I'm really digging the new Martian Manhunter here, really a bad ass with a mysterious past. Looking forward to finding more out about that, as well as his brief involvement with the Justice League. Midnighter seems like an interesting character, once I got past his dildo looking chin spike (I mean come on what purpose does that serve?!). And yes we get it DC, he's gay! Still wandering if Apollo is as well, him and Midnighter seemed like they shared a "moment" at one stage.
I find I need to read at lest two volumes of a series to figure out if I like it or not. Give the story and characters some time to get their feet. I have hopes that this will flesh out to be a solid title.
On to volume 2!
July 19, 2017
A very ambitious compilation that strives mightily to introduce some unfamiliar characters to the entry-level DC fan (such as myself), but in the end, like with a lot of titles based around a team, it felt like either too much or too little time was spent with each of the members to really help you get a feel for who they are, what their powers are (one of the characters, the Century Child, actually has kind of a sly built-in joke about her, i.e. her powers are based on the physics and technologies of the 21st century...whatever that means!). For the first few issues, anyway, I would've cut out the characters of The Engineer and Jack Hawksmoor anyway as I didn't really feel they were adding all that much.
And, oh yeah, MILD SPOILER to follow:
In case you ever wondered what it would be like if a gay version of Superman met a gay version of Batman and, surprise, it turns out they are totally into each other, here's your chance. I raised an eyebrow, but apart from that flirtatious subplot I found the two characters, Apollo and the Midnighter, to be quite boring.
And, oh yeah, MILD SPOILER to follow:
In case you ever wondered what it would be like if a gay version of Superman met a gay version of Batman and, surprise, it turns out they are totally into each other, here's your chance. I raised an eyebrow, but apart from that flirtatious subplot I found the two characters, Apollo and the Midnighter, to be quite boring.
September 9, 2012
I had high hopes for The Stormwatch reboot. I've seen at least one of Paul Cornell's screenplays (a Dr. Who) and his Captain Britain and Knight & Squire ranged from good to very good. So what went wrong here?
It might be that went wrong is that Cornell is not Warren Ellis. Ellis brought the big screen summer blockbuster style to the title with some wonderfully snarky dialogue. Cornell's lines are all right, but that it-just all right. There is an attempt to lay out a larger mythology for Stormwatch as the professional metahumans of the DCU versus the rest of the gang (JLA etc.) Perhaps, if Conrell had been allowed to create his own characters I'd have different thoughts on this.
No interesting characters and the big bang story idea (The moon attacking the Earth) isn't enough to raise the story to average to very enjoyable. Seek out the Ellis TPBs (and despite the hyype avoid the Mark Millar TPBs).
It might be that went wrong is that Cornell is not Warren Ellis. Ellis brought the big screen summer blockbuster style to the title with some wonderfully snarky dialogue. Cornell's lines are all right, but that it-just all right. There is an attempt to lay out a larger mythology for Stormwatch as the professional metahumans of the DCU versus the rest of the gang (JLA etc.) Perhaps, if Conrell had been allowed to create his own characters I'd have different thoughts on this.
No interesting characters and the big bang story idea (The moon attacking the Earth) isn't enough to raise the story to average to very enjoyable. Seek out the Ellis TPBs (and despite the hyype avoid the Mark Millar TPBs).
August 22, 2013
Stormwatch was really weird and complicated. At first I didn’t even know if I was going to finish it because I didn’t know any of the superheroes and the more I read the weirder and more convoluted it got. At the beginning there was a whole lot of nagging over who should be the leader of the group. Lots of whining and such. This progressed through the whole store but eventually it faded from whining to mature discussions.
So even though it gets way weirder it also gets more interesting as well. Every person in the story has weird super human abilities like controlling media, or having tactical powers. This made it really cool. I love the guy who is “the god of cities” and controls and talks to cities.
The art is nice and if you’re looking for something different I’d check it out. I’ll be reading the next volume but I’m not in a rush.
So even though it gets way weirder it also gets more interesting as well. Every person in the story has weird super human abilities like controlling media, or having tactical powers. This made it really cool. I love the guy who is “the god of cities” and controls and talks to cities.
The art is nice and if you’re looking for something different I’d check it out. I’ll be reading the next volume but I’m not in a rush.
June 8, 2012
The new incarnation of Stormwatch presents a solid sci-fi story, but it isn't nearly as good as the old Wildstrom universe was. There is little to no character development, and the plot seems rushed and is hard to follow in some parts. The beginning of Apollo and Midnighter's relationship is unconvincing and not at all like in the old Wildstorm titles, and Midnighter's new costume looks really, really stupid. And Martian Manhunter is just...there. With no explanation (although to be fair, none of the characters have any backstory yet). Not one the New 52's best titles. I'd recommend skipping it, and reading the old Stormwatch and Authority titles instead. They are much better.
July 3, 2013
I really enjoyed this New 52 series. I had seen Midnighter show up in Grifter, but had no idea about him or who he was...Stormwatch was also briefly mentioned, but I had no idea about them, nor the Warren Ellis version. Some very interesting characters, and I look forward to following them some more, especially Apollo and Midnighter, and their interactions, also nice to see Martian Manhunter show up, as well as some very cool other characters. A bit save the world secret attack/sci-fi stuff, but certainly not boring...I would read Volume 2 for sure.
December 8, 2014
I think the biggest problem with minor and side characters and teams is that authors try and are permitted to keep re-inventing or putting a new spin on them. The lack of consistency undermines expectations, clouds memory and destroys enjoyment.
June 30, 2024
This is an insanely solid first volume!!
Loads of constant intrigue, fascinating new versions of Stormwatch/Authority characters, and such awesome stakes and placement in this DC Universe!!
People who know a lot about the DC Universe and these Wildstorm characters will be well treated the whole time!
Props to the unique threats here that The Authority traditionally does not usually get!
Loads of constant intrigue, fascinating new versions of Stormwatch/Authority characters, and such awesome stakes and placement in this DC Universe!!
People who know a lot about the DC Universe and these Wildstorm characters will be well treated the whole time!
Props to the unique threats here that The Authority traditionally does not usually get!
March 21, 2017
Niebanalna, kompetentna grupa superbohaterów. Dawno tak ciekawych bohater ów w DC nie poznałem. Marsjański łowca był dla mnie jedynym znajomym z innych tytułów, a reszta ekipy totalnie nowa. Nowa i ciekawa. Oryginalne zdolności i dobrze przeprowadzone akcje są mocną stroną tego tytułu.
August 20, 2012
One of those series that I want to like more than I do.
It has all the elements I like, interesting characters with funky powers, secretly saving the world from weird sci-fi menaces, but it's missing something.
The cast feels flat and relies on you knowing about these characters already ( never a good sign when you are supposedly starting from scratch) and they run around a lot without accomplishing much.
The menaces are cool and odd ( reminds me of the old Wildstorm series 'The Establishment'), but no time is spent allowing us to get used to the heroes so they just seem like 'types' or watered down versions of the original versions.
It spends too much time being the 'Apollo and Midnighter and there amazing friends' show.
They play it so coy with their relationship that if you don't know their history, it'll leave you scratching your head.
Shame as they were written beautifully by Warren Ellis ( and then horribly by Mark Millar) but here Dc doesn't even seem able to say the word 'gay'.
Which I could live with, except Batman got laid in the first issue of Catwoman, Starfire is now a cosmic slut and Wonder woman was naked in her first appearance in the NEw 52.
So, am I to believe the company that is all about 'serious, mature and realistic' can't get past thinking gay people are icky?
great ideas that can't quite seem to find their footing and become a great read, just a good one.
It has all the elements I like, interesting characters with funky powers, secretly saving the world from weird sci-fi menaces, but it's missing something.
The cast feels flat and relies on you knowing about these characters already ( never a good sign when you are supposedly starting from scratch) and they run around a lot without accomplishing much.
The menaces are cool and odd ( reminds me of the old Wildstorm series 'The Establishment'), but no time is spent allowing us to get used to the heroes so they just seem like 'types' or watered down versions of the original versions.
It spends too much time being the 'Apollo and Midnighter and there amazing friends' show.
They play it so coy with their relationship that if you don't know their history, it'll leave you scratching your head.
Shame as they were written beautifully by Warren Ellis ( and then horribly by Mark Millar) but here Dc doesn't even seem able to say the word 'gay'.
Which I could live with, except Batman got laid in the first issue of Catwoman, Starfire is now a cosmic slut and Wonder woman was naked in her first appearance in the NEw 52.
So, am I to believe the company that is all about 'serious, mature and realistic' can't get past thinking gay people are icky?
great ideas that can't quite seem to find their footing and become a great read, just a good one.
February 23, 2013
Having read this a second time, my enjoyment of this series has improved massively. Introducing the Stormwatch of the New 52 universe, you get a centuries old organization in the middle of transition. Led by an addle-brained Adam One, Stormwatch is trying to add to it's ranks by bringing on new members. Superman power leveled Apollo, and master strategist The Midnighter are resistant to joining as a massive threat to Earth's survival forces everyone to work together, at least for the moment. I was sad when the Martian Manhunter wasn't included in the Justice League reboot, however, I LOVE how he fits into this new team.
The first six issues collected in this volume are fast paced and definitely require a couple readings for full enjoyment. A team of powered individuals secretly preventing massive alien threats, while leading the 'super-hero morons' of the world on false trails to keep them out of the way, you have great dialog and satisfying artwork that I find to be one of the best titles in this mostly disappointing new DC universe.
The first six issues collected in this volume are fast paced and definitely require a couple readings for full enjoyment. A team of powered individuals secretly preventing massive alien threats, while leading the 'super-hero morons' of the world on false trails to keep them out of the way, you have great dialog and satisfying artwork that I find to be one of the best titles in this mostly disappointing new DC universe.
June 13, 2012
I was excited to see old Wildstorm characters being incorporated into the Nu-52, and giddy with excitement to see the boys and girls from The Authority in this incarnation of Stormwatch. Unfortunately, the Nu direction of DC eliminates the possibility of mature content and themes and basically mutes the need for Stormwatch altogether.
I understand the need to tone down some of the books, but it's completely unnecessary to have all 52 of your books being written in a 'family/kid-friendly' tone. Especially when you're eliminating all of your Mature Readers titles from Vertigo.
I'm also not familiar with Paul Cornell as a writer and, frankly, I don't want to be. What he has brought to this book is nothing but a heap of confusion and chaos. It has no clear plot or theme and its characters are the only redeeming thing in the series (and Cornell writes them all pretty poorly). I'm glad that Peter Miligan has taken over the book, but he's no Warren Ellis. Hire Warren back, guys. Pay him whatever he wants. Give us The Authority back. Now.
Writing: D
Art: B
I understand the need to tone down some of the books, but it's completely unnecessary to have all 52 of your books being written in a 'family/kid-friendly' tone. Especially when you're eliminating all of your Mature Readers titles from Vertigo.
I'm also not familiar with Paul Cornell as a writer and, frankly, I don't want to be. What he has brought to this book is nothing but a heap of confusion and chaos. It has no clear plot or theme and its characters are the only redeeming thing in the series (and Cornell writes them all pretty poorly). I'm glad that Peter Miligan has taken over the book, but he's no Warren Ellis. Hire Warren back, guys. Pay him whatever he wants. Give us The Authority back. Now.
Writing: D
Art: B
September 27, 2012
This is one of the few New 52 books that seems to have ignored the whole relaunch and re-image that the rest of the books seem to have undergone. However, while the story seems to pick up pretty much where it left off before, the story has undergone some changes. For example, I don't recall the Martian Manhunter being part of the team before, and Apollo and Midnighter seem to have gone their own ways, at least at the start of the book, and seem to have no recollection of the earlier books. Perhaps this is the token effort to re-image and relaunch the series. Whatever. At least the characters we all love are back, and they seem to be the same characters, for better or for worse.
Did I like the book? Yeah, I think I did. It had some interesting complexity, though not too complex, and it certainly gave accurate portrayal to the characters involved. On the whole I think it was a very good effort and I look forward to seeing more of the series.
Did I like the book? Yeah, I think I did. It had some interesting complexity, though not too complex, and it certainly gave accurate portrayal to the characters involved. On the whole I think it was a very good effort and I look forward to seeing more of the series.
December 10, 2012
Perhaps a surprising 4 stars, but I found myself really enjoying this title. I didn't know anything about the team or its members, which is always a good start for me because it ensures no expectations. Easy mechanism for team explanation, what with the new members and leadership issues. I like the characters, although some of their powers sound a little far-fetched, if it possible to say that about superhuman abilities. I really liked the glimpses into how these characters interact with some other universe characters (soooo curious about the glimpse of Demon Knights). I only have one complaint, which I think I voiced in another review as well: exactly how many "super secret" organizations and planetary threats can we have in one universe? I'd like a list, a pecking order of all the organizations and threats, just for a visual.
August 13, 2016
There were some interesting elements in this book, however as it appears to have been scripted by an eight year old boy, the final result was an absolutely, confusing mess.
Giant mysterious horn? cool. A war on the moon? Didn't we see a bad Doctor Who episode with that plot? But still cool, kinda. Guy that talks to cities, including one hiding in the fields of Nebraska? I'm enjoying the heck out of that.
However, the dialog was more telling than showing, and story disjointed and, like a 500 piece puzzle of the White Album, difficult to put together. It ends with the unbelievably hokey and melodramatic final line: "Stormwatch isn't going to be looking for us just yet, Harry. They're going to have to save the Universe first!!!!" DA da DUM!!
What a cliffhanger...I'm hooked. Thumbs up eight year old Paul Cornell.
Giant mysterious horn? cool. A war on the moon? Didn't we see a bad Doctor Who episode with that plot? But still cool, kinda. Guy that talks to cities, including one hiding in the fields of Nebraska? I'm enjoying the heck out of that.
However, the dialog was more telling than showing, and story disjointed and, like a 500 piece puzzle of the White Album, difficult to put together. It ends with the unbelievably hokey and melodramatic final line: "Stormwatch isn't going to be looking for us just yet, Harry. They're going to have to save the Universe first!!!!" DA da DUM!!
What a cliffhanger...I'm hooked. Thumbs up eight year old Paul Cornell.
November 21, 2012
This relaunch was packed with way too much action. There were too many characters with too much backstory that was never explained, too many action scenes, and just not enough characters. The glory of The Authority was always that the characters were so strong and complex, especially Apollo, Midnighter, and the Jennys. But this is a hot mess. Basically I only finished it to see if Apollo and Midnighter were still going to be DC comics most famous gay couple. It doesn't really hook me into wanting to read more of the series.
May 17, 2024
#1 Stormwatch attempt to recruit Apollo. He resists and is saved by Midnighter.
Art's a bit clunky.
#2 - 4 Is Harry bad? Adam is useless and possibly a megalomaniac. Aww, Midnighter thinks Apollo is better looking than Supes. So cute.
Finished.
Great. Come on, it's got one of my favourite couples in it, of course I'm going to love it.
Art's a bit clunky.
#2 - 4 Is Harry bad? Adam is useless and possibly a megalomaniac. Aww, Midnighter thinks Apollo is better looking than Supes. So cute.
Finished.
Great. Come on, it's got one of my favourite couples in it, of course I'm going to love it.
January 1, 2015
I’m reviewing both Stormwatch, Vol. 1: The Dark Side and Stormwatch, Vol. 2: Enemies of Earth. I will keep it all spoiler-free.
Before there was Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, and the rest of the Justice League, who was around to protect Earth from all of the interstellar, extradimensional, and metaphysical threats to its existence? The answer to that question, according to this graphic novel, is an ultra-secret organization called Stormwatch. Like the Justice League, they are headquartered in a space station. But unlike Justice League, this station sits in “hyperspace” where its existence is safely hidden from not just the people of Earth but even from the other “regular” costumed superheroes of Earth. Also unlike the Justice League, Stormwatch has protected Earth for many centuries.
Stormwatch was originally published by WildStorm Publications and many of its characters were created by the famed Warren Ellis. The superhero team was acquired by DC Comics in 1999 and this book is DC’s latest New 52 incarnation of Stormwatch (2011). I picked up the book because it featured Martian Manhunter, who was one of my favorite characters from the JLA days. However, I was unfamiliar with the rest of the characters (the ones acquired from WildStorm), such as Apollo, Engineer, Midnighter, Jenny Quantum, and others. Nevertheless, I was excited for this book because of its far-out sci-fi setting and art, and because it featured Martian Manhunter.
I have mixed feelings about these books. I’ll start with the pros. As mentioned, I really like the sci-fi setting, and this is helped immensely by the artwork. Volume 1 was penciled by Miguel Sepulveda, and his other-worldly artwork was very cool (special mention goes to the cover of issue 2, which looks like an homage to the classic Starro cover of the first Justice League team-up). And even Sepulveda’s fantastic art is eclipsed by the work of Ignacio Calero, the penciler of volume 2. Calero’s art has so much texture and detail and, combined with excellent work by the colorists, I felt the art just jumped off the page. The art alone in volume 2 makes the book worth a read, even if you skip the dialog bubbles and just enjoy the artwork.
So the sci-fi setting and art were great, but the sci-fi plot (written by Paul Cornell, who was a writer for the Doctor Who TV series) was less stellar, even though it did have its moments. Volume 1 is largely about setting up the Stormwatch team and also creating a villain that’s powerful, sinister, and somewhat interesting (I can’t say the who, what, and how without spoilers). And there are a few nice touches along the way, my favorite being a vengeful spirit that’s entrapped in the space station's computer system as a computerized servant; imagine the voice of the computer on the Starship Enterprise except, instead of a soothing female voice, replace it with an angry voice that constantly spits insults at you before duly complying with your request. It’s like the opposite of the annoyingly cheery ship’s computer from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
Eventually, in volume 2, Paul Jenkins and later Peter Milligan take over as writers and I think the writing improves in volume 2. Jenkins’s story about “gravity thieves” was rather dull, but then Milligan’s stories pick up a bit. I’m interested to see where the plot goes following the conclusion of volume 2.
Lastly on the pros, I’ll mention that this is the first superhero comic I’ve read that has two non-stereotyped, gay male main characters in a relationship, which was an interesting change of pace from the usual superhero fare.
Now let’s talk about some of the cons. First and foremost, since I was drawn in by the presence of Martian Manhunter, I have to say I am disappointed because there were no creative or interesting ways that the character was used, except maybe in the very last story arc of volume 2. Furthermore, with all of these formerly-WildStorm characters, I would’ve liked to know a bit more about each of the new (to me) characters. After reading two volumes, I still can’t specifically describe the superpowers of some of these characters (such as Midnighter, Engineer, Apollo, and Adam One), and that seems like a major flaw. Midnighter is described and portrayed as someone that’s really good at killing, but is that a super power, or is he just a well-trained assassin, or what? Adam One has been around since medieval times, so (like Vandal Savage) is his superpower the fact that he doesn't age, or is it something else? Engineer seems like an android, or maybe a cyborg, but again it’s never made clear (I later learned through Google that Engineer is a human that’s been implanted with nanotechnology).
Also on the topic of superpowers, I found some of the superpowers were executed in way that was a little awkward. A new character called Projectionist is introduced and she can control all of the news and internet media on Earth. That’s a pretty boring power, but I do accept its place as a useful function for a secret team that must erase all knowledge of its existence.
As another example, the character of Hawksmoor can talk to the “spirit” of a city, whatever that means. There are occasional interesting scenes involving this power (for example: each city has an avatar in some spirit world that Hawksmoor can access, and at one point he speaks to the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; their avatars are twin Japanese girls, each deformed by radiation poisoning). But in addition to talking to cities, Hawksmoor also can’t survive outside of a city. So, how does he survive on their hyperspace station? This is addressed in a single frame where they show that the station contains a church, and that makes the station count as a city. This begs the obvious question… what exactly constitutes a city? The writers may have been better off just ignoring the issue altogether, rather than introducing one frame of explanation that just opens up more questions than it answers.
And as a third example of a superpower that doesn’t quite make sense to me, consider Jenny Quantum. She is a 12-year-old girl whose “powers are based on 21st century physics, whatever those turn out to be.” That’s a direct quote, and now I’m totally confused. So her powers are what the laws of physics *might* be, or what they currently are *believed* to be, or what they currently *actually are*, or some combination of those? This isn’t made clear, but she does seem to have the ability to manipulate reality, so I’ll just leave it at that.
The topic of Jenny Quantum’s superpower brings me to my final point. As a physicist, I have to comment on the pseudoscience used in this book. I’ve seen this in other books too (Detective Comics vol 2 comes to mind) as well as most sci-fi movies and TV shows: the author uses physics vocabulary to make the “science” part of the “science fiction” sound plausible. I don’t have a problem with that as an end goal, however the execution leaves much to be desired because the use of the vocabulary is invariably nonsensical. And I don’t say that it’s nonsensical because it brings up something that “could happen but we have no knowledge of its potential existence” (I would instead call that “speculative”). Rather, I mean it’s nonsensical in that it contains contradictions or it is otherwise incomprehensible. Here’s an (admittedly contrived) example to try to illustrate: imagine someone says “zero is less than all positive numbers, therefore zero is a negative number”. You might say “that sounds like an interesting idea” but only if you don’t know what “negative” means. It just doesn’t make sense — it’s inherently contradictory, by definition, since negative means “less than zero” — so all it accomplishes is to highlight that the author is ignorant of the definition of “negative”. I have the same reaction when I see physics words used in strange ways, words like “polarity”, “charge”, “antimatter”, “fluctuation”, “quantum”, “photon”, and on and on. These words all have clear definitions that are clearly unknown by the author based on the way that the author has used them. As another example: sometimes the words are strung together, one after another, and it’s just as jarring as reading a sentence like “The feathered love swims in the colorful blackness”. It may sound like bad poetry, but it’s not speculative, it’s not about “what might be possible”… it’s just pure nonsense.
My examples are contrived, I know, but I hope they suffice to make my point. And my point is simple in its essence: words can’t be combined any way you like and still make sense. And, just because you are ignorant of what the words mean doesn’t mean your readers will be equally ignorant.
If I may, I’d like to make two suggestions to any authors that wish to use speculative science in their stories. Option 1: Make it truly speculative. Don’t use known physics. Prevent the possibility of contradictory nonsense by just avoiding those words altogether. Instead, come up with something truly unique. Don’t mash together existing things that probably weren’t meant to be mashed together (any more than “zero” and “negative” go together, or “colorful” and “blackness”). Option 2: I know there is always someone out there that will know more than the author on any given topic. That makes the author's job of satisfying everyone seem insurmountable. And maybe it is. But there's an easy way to mitigate the situation: Find a consultant. There are thousands of people with a PhD in physics that would be happy to respond to an email with comments and suggestions. And I don’t mean hiring somebody. I, for instance, would do it and have done it for free. Just send me an email (seriously, I love talking about physics!).
In summary, I enjoyed these books for their setting and artwork. However, the writing left a lot to be desired. I give it 4 stars for the artwork and 2 stars for the writing, for an average of 3 stars.
Before there was Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, and the rest of the Justice League, who was around to protect Earth from all of the interstellar, extradimensional, and metaphysical threats to its existence? The answer to that question, according to this graphic novel, is an ultra-secret organization called Stormwatch. Like the Justice League, they are headquartered in a space station. But unlike Justice League, this station sits in “hyperspace” where its existence is safely hidden from not just the people of Earth but even from the other “regular” costumed superheroes of Earth. Also unlike the Justice League, Stormwatch has protected Earth for many centuries.
Stormwatch was originally published by WildStorm Publications and many of its characters were created by the famed Warren Ellis. The superhero team was acquired by DC Comics in 1999 and this book is DC’s latest New 52 incarnation of Stormwatch (2011). I picked up the book because it featured Martian Manhunter, who was one of my favorite characters from the JLA days. However, I was unfamiliar with the rest of the characters (the ones acquired from WildStorm), such as Apollo, Engineer, Midnighter, Jenny Quantum, and others. Nevertheless, I was excited for this book because of its far-out sci-fi setting and art, and because it featured Martian Manhunter.
I have mixed feelings about these books. I’ll start with the pros. As mentioned, I really like the sci-fi setting, and this is helped immensely by the artwork. Volume 1 was penciled by Miguel Sepulveda, and his other-worldly artwork was very cool (special mention goes to the cover of issue 2, which looks like an homage to the classic Starro cover of the first Justice League team-up). And even Sepulveda’s fantastic art is eclipsed by the work of Ignacio Calero, the penciler of volume 2. Calero’s art has so much texture and detail and, combined with excellent work by the colorists, I felt the art just jumped off the page. The art alone in volume 2 makes the book worth a read, even if you skip the dialog bubbles and just enjoy the artwork.
So the sci-fi setting and art were great, but the sci-fi plot (written by Paul Cornell, who was a writer for the Doctor Who TV series) was less stellar, even though it did have its moments. Volume 1 is largely about setting up the Stormwatch team and also creating a villain that’s powerful, sinister, and somewhat interesting (I can’t say the who, what, and how without spoilers). And there are a few nice touches along the way, my favorite being a vengeful spirit that’s entrapped in the space station's computer system as a computerized servant; imagine the voice of the computer on the Starship Enterprise except, instead of a soothing female voice, replace it with an angry voice that constantly spits insults at you before duly complying with your request. It’s like the opposite of the annoyingly cheery ship’s computer from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
Eventually, in volume 2, Paul Jenkins and later Peter Milligan take over as writers and I think the writing improves in volume 2. Jenkins’s story about “gravity thieves” was rather dull, but then Milligan’s stories pick up a bit. I’m interested to see where the plot goes following the conclusion of volume 2.
Lastly on the pros, I’ll mention that this is the first superhero comic I’ve read that has two non-stereotyped, gay male main characters in a relationship, which was an interesting change of pace from the usual superhero fare.
Now let’s talk about some of the cons. First and foremost, since I was drawn in by the presence of Martian Manhunter, I have to say I am disappointed because there were no creative or interesting ways that the character was used, except maybe in the very last story arc of volume 2. Furthermore, with all of these formerly-WildStorm characters, I would’ve liked to know a bit more about each of the new (to me) characters. After reading two volumes, I still can’t specifically describe the superpowers of some of these characters (such as Midnighter, Engineer, Apollo, and Adam One), and that seems like a major flaw. Midnighter is described and portrayed as someone that’s really good at killing, but is that a super power, or is he just a well-trained assassin, or what? Adam One has been around since medieval times, so (like Vandal Savage) is his superpower the fact that he doesn't age, or is it something else? Engineer seems like an android, or maybe a cyborg, but again it’s never made clear (I later learned through Google that Engineer is a human that’s been implanted with nanotechnology).
Also on the topic of superpowers, I found some of the superpowers were executed in way that was a little awkward. A new character called Projectionist is introduced and she can control all of the news and internet media on Earth. That’s a pretty boring power, but I do accept its place as a useful function for a secret team that must erase all knowledge of its existence.
As another example, the character of Hawksmoor can talk to the “spirit” of a city, whatever that means. There are occasional interesting scenes involving this power (for example: each city has an avatar in some spirit world that Hawksmoor can access, and at one point he speaks to the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; their avatars are twin Japanese girls, each deformed by radiation poisoning). But in addition to talking to cities, Hawksmoor also can’t survive outside of a city. So, how does he survive on their hyperspace station? This is addressed in a single frame where they show that the station contains a church, and that makes the station count as a city. This begs the obvious question… what exactly constitutes a city? The writers may have been better off just ignoring the issue altogether, rather than introducing one frame of explanation that just opens up more questions than it answers.
And as a third example of a superpower that doesn’t quite make sense to me, consider Jenny Quantum. She is a 12-year-old girl whose “powers are based on 21st century physics, whatever those turn out to be.” That’s a direct quote, and now I’m totally confused. So her powers are what the laws of physics *might* be, or what they currently are *believed* to be, or what they currently *actually are*, or some combination of those? This isn’t made clear, but she does seem to have the ability to manipulate reality, so I’ll just leave it at that.
The topic of Jenny Quantum’s superpower brings me to my final point. As a physicist, I have to comment on the pseudoscience used in this book. I’ve seen this in other books too (Detective Comics vol 2 comes to mind) as well as most sci-fi movies and TV shows: the author uses physics vocabulary to make the “science” part of the “science fiction” sound plausible. I don’t have a problem with that as an end goal, however the execution leaves much to be desired because the use of the vocabulary is invariably nonsensical. And I don’t say that it’s nonsensical because it brings up something that “could happen but we have no knowledge of its potential existence” (I would instead call that “speculative”). Rather, I mean it’s nonsensical in that it contains contradictions or it is otherwise incomprehensible. Here’s an (admittedly contrived) example to try to illustrate: imagine someone says “zero is less than all positive numbers, therefore zero is a negative number”. You might say “that sounds like an interesting idea” but only if you don’t know what “negative” means. It just doesn’t make sense — it’s inherently contradictory, by definition, since negative means “less than zero” — so all it accomplishes is to highlight that the author is ignorant of the definition of “negative”. I have the same reaction when I see physics words used in strange ways, words like “polarity”, “charge”, “antimatter”, “fluctuation”, “quantum”, “photon”, and on and on. These words all have clear definitions that are clearly unknown by the author based on the way that the author has used them. As another example: sometimes the words are strung together, one after another, and it’s just as jarring as reading a sentence like “The feathered love swims in the colorful blackness”. It may sound like bad poetry, but it’s not speculative, it’s not about “what might be possible”… it’s just pure nonsense.
My examples are contrived, I know, but I hope they suffice to make my point. And my point is simple in its essence: words can’t be combined any way you like and still make sense. And, just because you are ignorant of what the words mean doesn’t mean your readers will be equally ignorant.
If I may, I’d like to make two suggestions to any authors that wish to use speculative science in their stories. Option 1: Make it truly speculative. Don’t use known physics. Prevent the possibility of contradictory nonsense by just avoiding those words altogether. Instead, come up with something truly unique. Don’t mash together existing things that probably weren’t meant to be mashed together (any more than “zero” and “negative” go together, or “colorful” and “blackness”). Option 2: I know there is always someone out there that will know more than the author on any given topic. That makes the author's job of satisfying everyone seem insurmountable. And maybe it is. But there's an easy way to mitigate the situation: Find a consultant. There are thousands of people with a PhD in physics that would be happy to respond to an email with comments and suggestions. And I don’t mean hiring somebody. I, for instance, would do it and have done it for free. Just send me an email (seriously, I love talking about physics!).
In summary, I enjoyed these books for their setting and artwork. However, the writing left a lot to be desired. I give it 4 stars for the artwork and 2 stars for the writing, for an average of 3 stars.
November 8, 2017
Reprints Stormwatch (3) #1-6 (November 2011-April 2012). Stormwatch under the leadership of Adam has secretly protected the Earth for years. When the moon comes to life and threatens to destroy the planet, Adam and his team must not only stop the moon but recruit new members in Apollo and Midnighter to help the battle. When a leadership question comes up, Stormwatch is thrown into chaos…who will lead the team and can they handle the coming danger?
Written by Paul Cornell and illustrated by Miguel Sepulveda and Al Barionuevo, Stormwatch Volume 1: The Dark Side is part of DC Comics’ New 52 relaunch after the Flashpoint mini-series. The comic features a blend of the traditional DC Universe and the Wildstorm Universe where Stormwatch originally appeared.
Stormwatch was an Image Comics launch title. Like much of Image Comics at the start, Stormwatch was rather generic title with yelling characters in weird headguards and big breasted women with inhuman anatomy battling generic villains. Stormwatch like a few of the other Image titles did evolve over the years and under Wildstorm, the series was really transformed by Warren Ellis (leading to The Authority by Mark Millar). It is interesting to see the worlds blended with DC, but it doesn’t entirely work.
Stormwatch was originally really innovative with heroes being proactive and taking over the world. This cannot function in the DCU so that limits Stormwatch to secretly protecting the world. As seen in this volume, it doesn’t seem entirely practical with regards to the moon’s attack and the writing seems to go from a bit sci-fi heavy handed to panels of generic space stuff. It isn’t the worst series or the worst attempt, but it does at point seem a bit unbalanced and long winded.
I really like seeing the Wildstorm characters interact with the DC Universe but there doesn’t seem much of it in this volume. The series is essentially Martian Manhunter hanging out with the Authority (and not being a big role in it). Since these characters are being introduced to the DC Universe, I feel that they need to be a bit more tied in at the start to acclimate them to the continuity…because Midnighter and Apollo are a bit too violent for the DC Universe as they were originally created but toned down violence also doesn’t help them.
Stormwatch was originally one of those titles of the New 52 that I was looking forward to, but I quickly lost interest. As mentioned, it isn’t bad, but it just feels clunky. The volume does some nice set-up work for future collections, but I wish the story could have been pared down a bit. Stormwatch 1: The Dark Side is followed by Stormwatch 2: Enemies of Earth.
Written by Paul Cornell and illustrated by Miguel Sepulveda and Al Barionuevo, Stormwatch Volume 1: The Dark Side is part of DC Comics’ New 52 relaunch after the Flashpoint mini-series. The comic features a blend of the traditional DC Universe and the Wildstorm Universe where Stormwatch originally appeared.
Stormwatch was an Image Comics launch title. Like much of Image Comics at the start, Stormwatch was rather generic title with yelling characters in weird headguards and big breasted women with inhuman anatomy battling generic villains. Stormwatch like a few of the other Image titles did evolve over the years and under Wildstorm, the series was really transformed by Warren Ellis (leading to The Authority by Mark Millar). It is interesting to see the worlds blended with DC, but it doesn’t entirely work.
Stormwatch was originally really innovative with heroes being proactive and taking over the world. This cannot function in the DCU so that limits Stormwatch to secretly protecting the world. As seen in this volume, it doesn’t seem entirely practical with regards to the moon’s attack and the writing seems to go from a bit sci-fi heavy handed to panels of generic space stuff. It isn’t the worst series or the worst attempt, but it does at point seem a bit unbalanced and long winded.
I really like seeing the Wildstorm characters interact with the DC Universe but there doesn’t seem much of it in this volume. The series is essentially Martian Manhunter hanging out with the Authority (and not being a big role in it). Since these characters are being introduced to the DC Universe, I feel that they need to be a bit more tied in at the start to acclimate them to the continuity…because Midnighter and Apollo are a bit too violent for the DC Universe as they were originally created but toned down violence also doesn’t help them.
Stormwatch was originally one of those titles of the New 52 that I was looking forward to, but I quickly lost interest. As mentioned, it isn’t bad, but it just feels clunky. The volume does some nice set-up work for future collections, but I wish the story could have been pared down a bit. Stormwatch 1: The Dark Side is followed by Stormwatch 2: Enemies of Earth.
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