Storm #1 – Review

By: Greg Pak (writer), Victor Ibañez (artist), Ruth Redmond (color artist)

The Story: Sometimes, being where you need to be is more important than being where you should.

The Review: Despite being, in my estimation, one of the four most famous X-Men*, Storm has never held her own ongoing series. Almost forty years after her debut, Greg Pak has something to say about that.

It’s been a long time since Storm felt like a true A-Lister. While dull as dirt Cyclops has consistently tricked readers into thinking that his leadership position makes him more interesting, Storm has frequently faded into her own responsibilities. With this issue Pak needed to prove that Storm has the rich inner life and personal struggle that define Marvel’s greatest characters.

Thankfully, on that count, he succeeds with flying colors. From the first line, an English-professor-melting refrain of “When I was just a girl, I called myself Goddess…and I lived in the sky”, the essential warmth that has been absent from this character is alive and present. Pak defines Ororo Munroe by her compassion and pragmatism. When confronted with a Gordian Knot, she’s likely to simply cut it and struggles when the simplest solution is complicated by outside factors.

The story that Pak has chosen to tell is well suited to demonstrating these characteristics. It lacks extraneous elements without feeling overly constructed. That said this is a completely singular story. Marvel easily could have published this as a one-shot and it wouldn’t have even been one of those issues you put down and think, ‘man, this should be a series’ like with Superman: Lois Lane #1. That’s not to say that the issue doesn’t hook you, but there’s just not a sense of what the series will be like going forward, which is, in part, the purpose of a first issue.

While the specifics of the series aren’t quite laid out, Pak definitely demonstrates a grasp of character and a thoughtfulness that one would expect to reappear. Pak’s world is natural in a way that X-Men stories haven’t been in some time. Once again being a mutant isn’t a superpower it’s a culture, with all the privileges and prejudices that come with it. In a single issue the young mutant Creep has eclipsed Quentin Quire as the Jean Grey School’s most interesting critic. Likewise the way that Pak ties anti-mutant sentiment into real-life issues is respectful and engaging.

Revolutionary War Motormouth #1 – Review

by Glenn Dakin (Writer), Ronan Cliquet (Artist), Ruth Redmond (Colorist)

The Story: It must be tough being a mom and ex-super hero, especially when villains come at your house to kill you.

The Review: The Revolutionary War storyline has been a rather weird and mostly repetitive affair so far. With an opening issue followed by multiple issue reintroducing older heroes from the UK, there has been a certain formula, yet one that has been used to produce some more off-beat stories despite some similarities in their events. Heroes are somewhere unfitting, Mys-Tech arrive, heroes gets back in the game or gets captured, the end. While they haven’t been terrible per se, some have been rather average to say the least.

This issue, with all the things it tries to do, is pretty much the same in terms of effects and qualities. It tries its best at times to provide some genuine moments and to entertain, yet there are some odd moments that don’t really add up more than it produce weirdness for its own sake. It is, perhaps, a more British trait that the comic tries to convey in the best of ways, yet it falls off the mark at times.

Revolutionary War Supersoldiers #1 – Review

by Rob Williams (Writer), Brent Anderson, Tom Palmer (Artists), Ruth Redmond (Colorist)

The Story: I suppose an invasion by demons sent by Mys-Tech might make the wait just a bit longer for the Super Soldiers movie.

The Review: It can be easy to fall into hype mode when reading about future projects and potential revivals. Publishers are, after all, business that do have to present with a sort of hyperbole their products to the market, to make sure people buy them. It’s common knowledge, of course, but it’s not so easy to be completely objective when certain factors are in play.

I really liked Captain Britain and MI:13, a fun super heroic book presenting one of my favourite character along other British heroes fighting weird threats, while I also loved Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning on many cosmic titles. Pushing ahead a whole mini-series of one-shots intended to revitalize the UK corner of the Marvel universe with Andy Lanning as one of the main driving force seemed like a dream come true, yet reality can be a harsh mistress. With some being quite decent while others not so much, we’ve had quite a fluctuation of quality, with this week’s offering being just another example of trying very hard, yet achieving little in general.

Rob Williams, the writer of this story trying to bring back the Super Soldiers, tries quite a lot in many ways to make this count, as if this was but the first chapter of a new ongoing. Presenting us his characters in a semi-satirical manner as well as throughout action, there are a number of ways where there is a genuine affection for the character permeating the issue, yet there is a multitude of elements going against the book.

Revolutionary War Dark Angel #1 – Review

by Kieron Gillen (Writer), Dietrich Smith (Artist), Ruth Redmond (Colorist)

The Story: Meet Dark Angel, a woman with rather great powers, yet with also a great responsibility to Mephisto of all people.

The Review: Reinvention and reintegration of older concepts are probably rather tough to do right. There are always older fans to please as well as potential newer ones, with a story that needs to be nostalgic yet also moves forward. It needs to introduce its key concepts without hammering them down to the readers. It’s all a matter of balance in order to interest everyone that might open this book up.

It’s why it’s always nice to see such talented people like Kieron Gillen bringing their wits with them in such endeavours. The British writer brings a lot of his charm here, yet also knows how to adapt his general style to one that is perhaps more suited to the tale at hands, with a very British sensibility brought to the action and humor.

One good aspect is the general way Gillen is able to put readers up to speed rather quickly on the powers, personality and quirks of the character in order to tell the story, presenting the concepts behind Dark Angel with a certain panache. Doing so in a prompt manner, Gillen is able to focus instead on the tale and how it connects to the general story behind Revolutionary War. He does not do so perfectly, giving only the opening and conclusion of his story a connection to the grander tale, yet the tale focusing on her plight and problem is interesting enough to provide plenty of entertainment.