Review: Stormwatch Vol. 1- The Dark Side

Quick Summary

Pros: The book has a wonderful cast of characters who really lead the story. In addition, the entire concept and story are very interesting.

Cons: Too many characters and too much information is forced into too little pages. The off-brand humor used throughout can be hit or miss.

Overall: This introductory book tries to do too much in too short of a time and thus suffers the consequences. Despite a really enjoyable cast and a really interesting story, complications plague the book in a way that make it hard to enjoy. Hopefully this series negatives were used up in this book and will thus allow for the positives to shine greater in the next volume.

Story

Stormwatch Vol. 1: The Dark Side is one of DC’s first, large attempts to integrate the former Wildstorm Universe into the New 52 continuity. Such a move is destined to be fraught with complications, something which can easily be seen in the book’s unnecessary complexity. However, despite its problems, there is a fairly entertaining and interesting story being told which has the potential to develop into something even better. This is not a great book on its own, however it is an interesting start to something that could be great, hopefully things will improve for Volume 2.

(spoilers start here)

Before the Wildstorm universe was folded into DC’s New 52 continuity, it was a large entity filled with vibrant characters, plotlines, and history all by itself. This review is not meant to judge this current series with the prior one, however this information is important because it explains some of this collection’s problems.

A combination of nine characters, both new and old, are introduced right away and the book expects readers to remember their individual names and identity from that point forward. I can appreciate that this book does not hold the readers hands by taking pages to introduce each person, however the amount it still tries to introduce is a little overwhelming. Even longtime Wildstorm readers will find confusion as new characters with unique power sets are introduced as well. When these characters are added to the plot and concepts being introduced simultaneously, the book becomes a real mess. Perhaps these problems will be less blatant in subsequent reads, however their existence makes subsequent reads much less likely.

Humor is another factor which will play into reader’s enjoyment of this work. This collections sees numerous small jokes and one-liners throughout, probably a little more than other works. When these jokes work, they make the dialogue seem more natural and realistic, when they don’t work they do the complete opposite. The problem here is that when they work they add a little too the story but are fairly unremarkable, while when they fall flat they are very noticeable and definitely effect things. However, take this problem with a grain of salt; comedy is very subjective so while some may not like the humor, others may end up loving it.

This review will not be all doom and gloom, as this confusing introduction may actually allow for some positives. This book baptizes the reader by fire, forcing them to become acquainted with the main cast and story as soon as possible. Luckily, these factors are the book’s best element; they are all interesting and serve as the biggest draw for reading this book. Thus, in fast-tracking introductions, plot and character development are allowed to progress at a more accelerated pace. This can be seen near the book’s conclusion, where, unencumbered by introductions, the reading experience becomes much more enjoyable. Hopefully, this will be a large benefit for the next volume, as it will be able to focus completely on the characters and story rather than confusing readers with information overload.

(spoilers end here)

Art

Despite some problems in terms of story, the art actually looks very nice throughout. Overall, it is very similar to a lot of the other “house art” style books out there but it does have some specific redeeming qualities. Due to the nature of this book, things are a little more “out there” and involve aliens and interdimensional craziness more than other books. It is in drawing these that Miguel Sepulveda’s art really shines. Giant monsters, space, personified versions of cities, and advanced technology all look really wonderful and detailed whenever they are on a page. Without these the book would probably end up being as generic as the rest of DC’s “house art” but with them in play it gives the book a unique and enjoyable fair of its own.

Universe Connections

Since this starts Stormwatch in the New 52, there are not many connections to other works. This collection will lead directly into the next collection, Stormwatch Vol. 2: Enemies of Earth which continues the same story.

• The horn found in the beginning of this collection can be first seen in the first issue of the New 52 Superman series, collected in Superman Vol. 1: What Price Tomorrow (Review).
• Flashbacks to Stormwatch’s past are shown in Harry Tanner’s mind. One of these is a reference to the Demon Knights series, which is also written by Paul Cornell. This series starts with Demon Knights Vol. 1: Seven Against the Dark.
• In the middle of this collection a Justice League is seen investigating “The Fox”. This is the Justice League International who make their first appearance in Justice League International Vol. 1: The Signal Masters.