Stormwatch: Paul Cornell, Miguel Sepulveda, Alex Sinclair, Pete Pantazis, Rob Leigh, Allen Passalaqua

And now we’ve come to the end of the first arc, “The Dark Side.” It’s been a crazy ride, I’ll admit. From fighting the moon, to an ancient horn full of spikes, a massive smooshy tentacle monster in Colorado, to a crippling betrayal, talking to cities, and the disappearance of Adam, this iteration of Stormwatch has seen a lot in the first six issues. This is a book I was excited about when it was announced, and I’m extremely happy I started reading it. Stormwatch has delivered some excellent content in both fields of writing and art. This issue in particular, we were treated to a couple surprises and some intense, life-threatening action. Harry Tanner’s actions in the previous issue left the HQ, The Eye, in shambles. We find the remaining members of Stormwatch scrambling for life as The Eye slips out of Hyperspace and into orbit around Earth. This was one of the parts of the issue that I loved the most. It briefly explains the existence of this other dimension alongside ours in which The Eye remains, monitoring Earth and any extra-terrestrial threats which may present themselves. Funny enough, though, most of the extra-terrestrial threats we’ve seen so far have been centered on or around Earth! There haven’t been any invading forces yet. Though we have seen J’onn make an appearance on Oa in Green Lantern Corps to warn Guy Gardner that the Corps must succeed in stopping the Keepers (read that book if you aren’t!!). More interestingly, we see J’onn make mention of the Justice League, and how he is not and has not been affiliated with that team of superheroes…mainly because, if he were, he would be forced to keep secrets from them. I think this is very admirable, and makes me like the character of the Martian Manhunter even more, that he is not willing to lie or deceive the heroes of Earth even though he doesn’t know them at all (at least as far as we’ve seen)! We get to see Jack talk to the AI of The Eye, and that explains a little bit, but also raises more questions. I have a feeling this book is going to continue to do that. But I’m happy about how The Eye’s AI is going to start smack talking the team. That’s always amusing to me. Also, my suspicions about Midnighter and Apollo were correct, it turns out. Which is okay with me, in fact I’m rather glad that there’s that bit of diversity in another DC comic. It’s funny that a few of the other DC books are gaining notoriety and recognition for their homosexual characters, and I never see Stormwatch listed on any of those lists. It’s so covert and subtle in this book that I’m not surprised other people haven’t really noticed. Miguel Sepulveda’s art is top-notch, as always, and remains one of my favorite examples of outstanding art in DC’s New 52. I love just gazing at all the panels and their incredible detail. Everything about this comic is masterfully created, and I’m so glad that DC has decided to create such a great story and choose the best team possible to tell it.

Stormwatch #6, the verdict: I’ve been a fan of this crazy, whacked-out book since I started reading it. No issue has been sub-par, and it continues to deliver great surprises and situations that are promising for some big consequences throughout the DCnU. This book could very well provide a sort of shatterpoint for the entire world and all the New 52, because the Stormwatch team is far more important than the rest of the world even knows. The good thing about this book, this team, and their purpose is that, if the team is successful, the rest of the Earth shouldn’t even know that anything had happened. So some pretty amazing things could potentially happen in this book without any major consequence at all. But that wouldn’t be very fun, would it? Bottom line is this is one influential title in the New 52, and I cannot wait to see how it shapes the future of DC.

(Photo Source: iFanBoy)