Stormwatch #1

stormwatch-1-coverStormwatch is an attempt to bring the Wildstorm super-team (that was the precusor to The Authority) into the DCU. The first issue is a mixed success, but still enough of one that I’m willing to give it a couple of issues to see where it goes.

On the plus side, the inclusion of Martian Manhunter works much better than I anticipated, and I also like that the team created to be a secret black ops squad working jobs the Justice League is too visible to handle. In a universe with the JLA, and several other super-hero teams, this gives a reason for Stormwatch to exist. And J’onn J’onzz (being a shapeshifter, and one who can read minds) would seem to be exactly the type of individual the team would recruit.

The main story involves the team of the Martian Manhunter, Jack Hawksmoor, and the Projectionist attemting to recruit Apollo. Writer Paul Cornell gets into a little trouble by trying to introduce a large number of characters at once (Jenny Quantum‘s tale and the adventure on the moon could both have waited another month or so), but I am glad to know the Engineer is still around.

Fans of The Authority will recognize several aspects of the comic including The Bleed (renamed Hyperspace) and the team’s base of operations (even if it does appear to have shrunk a little). Now word yet in the door technology has survived the trip to the DCU.

The first issue does a fair job of reintroducing the characters into their new setting. Sadly, the comic is weighed down by some pretty awful art by Miguel Angel Sepulveda (his version of the Midnighter alone should get him fired from the title). It show’s promise, but the book’s look needs to be addressed if DC wants to keep this title around for more than a couple of months. Worth a look.

[DC, $2.99]