Sometimes, all you need is a great idea. Other times, it’s all about the execution. “The Weatherman” blows both right into orbit. Readers who know Jody Lehup from “Shirtless Bear Fighter” may come in expecting an irreverent zany romp, but make no mistake. “The Weatherman” has real chops as science fiction, spy thriller, and adventure. Issue number one impressed, but issue two is tremendous.
Cover by Nathan FoxWritten by Jody Lehup
Illustrated by Nathan Fox
Colored by Dave Stewart
Lettered by Steve WandsStorm clouds and bounty hunters gather as Agent Cross takes local Martian weatherman and noodle bowl aficionado Nathan Bright to task for his alleged role in murdering the Earth. But Nathan may just be the last hope of preventing a second attack—one that could wipe humanity out for good.
Nathan Bright (if that’s even his real name) is a happy-go-lucky, finger-snapping local weatherman on Mars. Or he was until he was taken prisoner. Now it seems like he may somehow be responsible for the biggest terrorist attack of all time- the destruction of the Earth. The thing is, he has no memory of any of that, and also he’s kind of a doofus. Oh, and he also is the target of a team of stylish assassins who are in turn part of a deep ideological conspiracy.
While Lehup has a light breezy style, the easy charm disguises the high stakes adventure. This issue has murder, conspiracy, politics, and high concept technology. It also has mystery, mayhem, and a shark-faced spaceship wreaking havoc on a space station. I guess what I’m trying to say is that for an issue that’s mostly exposition, “Weatherman” #2 is awesome.
I don’t know what it is with Mars stories and memory implants, but here we are. It’s the main plot device in Total Recall and it seems to be the main plot device here. Without going too far into it, Bright may actually be Black, a notorious terrorist with information that could save or destroy more planets. And you know, all of humanity. This twist, though not entirely surprising, creates a moral question that makes the core of the story in “The Weatherman.” Even if Bright is the worst criminal the human race has ever known, can he be a new person? Can he start again? Can he be redeemed?
The different pieces of the story create a weird and perfect alchemy. The high stakes murder, spy-vs-spy betrayal, space opera character designs, and quippy dialogue should be at odds with each other. But the opposite it true. In a lesser book, Bright would be an obnoxious manchild. We’d be told that he’s cool, and in the movie adaptation he’d be played by Chris Pratt, but really there’s not much to him. This time honored sci-fi wrinkle of making him an amnesiac terrorist gives him a deep and compelling pathos. A silly story he tells about why the sky is blue becomes a telling moment where he starts to accept that he may not be who he thinks he is.
Of course that wouldn’t work without Nathan Fox’s artwork, which sells the ever-loving heck out of some of the more subtle moments. Fox’s style is messy and erratic, but deeply expressive. In that he’s well matched to the story. Perfectly matched in fact. His character designs are right up there with something like “Saga,” but his facial expressions are next level. Though most of the characters are drawn to be pretty broad, Fox finds the subtleties and revels in them. An averted gaze. A finger twitch. A tiny reaction panel. Despite big hair and silly noses, these people are some of the most expressive figures I’ve seen in a sci-fi book all year.
The fact that Fox and colorist Dave Stewart work in such essential details and work within such meticulous panels prove the messier aspects of the art to be stylistic choice. It may not be to everyone’s taste, but it makes a bold statement and does nothing to detract from the memorable design work. Above all else, “The Weatherman” is doing a lot of worldbuilding, and both the art and script have a light touch, managing to pack in a ton of stuff without you really noticing. The significance and shape of the human civilization on Venus hasn’t been seen or explained, but seems far too important to be inconsequential garnish.
Image has been putting out new series every month, and not all of them have been instant classics. “The Weatherman” is still early in its run, but the craftsmanship and confidence give me the feeling this may turn out to be another one. It takes a lot of guts to curate such a carefully assembled mess like this. “The Weatherman” is built like a bomb. It looks like a mess of wires, but it was put together by an expert hand, and it’s only a matter of time before it blows up.
Final Verdict: 9.0 – “The Weatherman” carefully creates a glorious mess of science fiction, spycraft, and wacky antics.
