In its many iterations, “Stormwatch” has been around since most of us here at Multiversity were young’uns. The book has seen several different lives, starting as a pretty generic teambook in the early ninties, to rocking people’s faces off under the pen of Warren Ellis, then transforming into “The Authority.” A few more iterations occured, but other than myself, I’m not sure anybody read them. People seem to be reading the New 52’s “Stormwatch,” because here we are at issue zero.
Written by Peter Milligan
Illustrated by Will Conrad– The history of Stormwatch’s activities in The New 52 are revealed!
– A new villain arrives, and the safety of the team has never been more in doubt!
Trying to remember back to this time last year, all that can be recalled about the first issue of the new “Stormwatch” was an intense amount of anticipation and then a very heavy sense of disappointment. The first thing that can be said about issue # 0 is that things seem to have improved by leaps and bounds. In this case, it is because everything old is new again, and the band is back together. Jack Hawksmoor, The Engineer, Apollo, Midnighter, and Jenny Quantum. This line up looks very familiar, and it works wonders.
“Stormwatch” #0 gives the reader a lot to digest. First off, this is a wonderfully crafted origin story that actually takes place in the universe’s present. Through judicious use of the flashback, Adam One fills in Jenny Quantum on the century baby concept, and gives her visions of Jenny’s past. For those who may have never read any of the old Wildstorm catalogue, century babies are beings of tremendous power born at the beginning of, wait for it, every century. The Jenny line keeps being reborn as a representative of that age’s power- religion, steam, electricity. With bit of somewhat needed explaination out of the way, Adam One also reveals to the reader just how far this New 52 Stormwatch team is intrenched in the universe. The team has connection with The Demon Knights, Daemonites, and men in tights. Also, Adam One might be a famous wizard, but that part seemed a little unclear.
Peter Milligan is a known for writing some pretty off the wall stories, the likes of which include “Shade: The Changing Man,” “X-Static,” and “Hellblazer.” These stories contain just the right amount of wrong, which is ‘a lot’ and that makes Peter Milligan a good fit for a book like “Stormwatch.” This story has super-evolved mecha dolphins attacking an old Arab kingdom. That’s the kind of weirdness expected from a good Stormwatch story. While there aren’t many break-out moments in this issue, other than evil robot dolphins, this is a solid book that spins its story well and flows from start to finish. That doesn’t mean this issue is boring by any means, but because almost the entire book is a series of flashbacks, there is a sort of stillness to it. What carries the reader through the issue is Milligan’s prose and dialogue. The narration by Adam One has a quality to it that can only be described as stately. Jenny’s twelve year old girl dialogue cuts through occasionally with humor and irreverence, and the exchanges between the two create a clear picture of who Jenny Quantum and Adam One are. The only problem is, the issue focuses only on these two characters. While long time readers probably know who the Authority/Stormwatch crew are, readers jumping on in this issue would probably have liked to know more. That said, it provides a very cool origin for this new Stormwatch team, and legitimizes the book’s inclusion in the New 52 universe.
Will Conrad’s art provides a visual brigde for long time fans of this team, as it looks somewhat like mid-era “Authority” comics. It is very grounded, realistic work. Conrad’s Stormwatch look more like regular people than superheroes, despite some of the colorful costumes. Considering that the members of Stormwatch don’t consider themselves superheroes, it adds to the sense that this team is more grounded in reality- superpowers and satellite nonwithstanding. Given that the the book is almost 100% story-within-story, Conrad has a little fun. The flashbacks come courtesy of Adam One’s abilities, and so Conrad makes the character shift images like they are tactile pages, and some are stacked in sequences like, well, comic panels. It is fun, playful and makes the book a very easy, enjoyable read. Also, the killer mecha dolphins look fantastic. If only there was more movement from the images themselves, rather than movement from image to image. Again, this book does seem static, and there is quite a bit of standing around, even in flashback. A great “Stormwatch” book has a lot of action, and that is one thing this issue lacks. Hopefully Will Conrad will stay on the book and get a chance to put the Stormwatch crew in motion.
All in all, “Stormwatch” #0 is a solid read — not the best, but good. It delivers on revealing to readers the origins of the Stormwatch team, an origin that turns out to be fairly intruiging. Hopefully the writers will capitalize on all the connections that have come to light, and make “Stormwatch” a cornerstone of the New 52. There is a lot of potential with this book.
Final Verdict: 7.9 – Buy and support!
