StormWatch #24 - WildStorm

The Kherans in Finland . . the ones who camouflaged themselves and attacked StormWatch, have decided that King and his crew are enough of a threat to take on face to face. The High used one of his machines to make himself human, and then went behind the masking wall to see what was going on. Basically, a Kheran warship, the Red Blade had come through the Bleed and set up shop in Finland. Long story short, their plan is to turn off the Earth's magnetic poles, let the radiation from the sun cauterize the Earth, then turn the poles back on and terraform the Earth to their liking. Obviously King can't let them do that, so he sacrifices SkyWatch in order to destroy the Red Blade. However, I'm sure their leader, Sebastian isn't dead. He's a Kheran warlord, much like Majestros, so . . I'm sure it'll take a lot more than blowing up his ship to take him down. It seems the King and the rest of StormWatch will be setting up shop with the High in his Rocky Mountain retreat. It's every bit as impressive as SkyWatch, if not more, but . . it not how they're used to operating. It's going to be interesting to see where the team goes from here. And how can the Kherans continue to hide now that King knows whats going on behind the masking wall. I have a feeling that we're just starting a new chapter with this team. Ian Edginton and Leandro Fernandez have done a terrific job with this book . . so far. Now we just have to see what the future holds.

StormWatch: Post Human Division #23 - WildStorm

Ok, you saw at the end of last issue that bombs had been exploded aboard Skywatch. They appear to all be Kheran in origin. Many people have died, and it appears that the ship is almost totaled. I say almost because with the helm down . . "All engines are down. Attitude control and maneuvering thrusters are dead . . we'll hit the mesosphere in about eleven minutes and then we're going to burn." However, at the last minute . . Fuji returns. But he's changed. Now . .he's kind of like the Engineer, only different . . and they suspect more powerful. Link laughs. "That is what you get when you throw a bunch of nanosopic engines and a gaseous post-human life form into a blender!" After saving the ship, and on his way to report to Jackson, he checks out the bomb sights and finds the Kheran link. Now they just have to figure out what they're going to do about it. Plus . . I wonder when they're going to make the connection to the people they had just brought on board from Greenland . . or was it Iceland? Whatever! And on the final page . . I'm not sure, but is that Majestros leading the rebellion? "We'll commence with the next phase of the operation, the eradication of all life on Earth and the founding of New Khera!" Ian Edginton wrote it, and Leandro Fernandez does the art. I thought it was a good issue. I have a feeling though, it's going to take Jackson, and the rest of Stormwatch, a little while to recuperate. And Fuji definitely has me intrigued.

StormWatch - Post Human Division #22 - WildStorm

There's a lot of stuff going on with StormWatch, and it looks like it's all about to hit the fan. Last issue Jackson sent Winter down into the middle of the Night Tribes. I think his intentions were to take out their leader and maybe some of the people around him. Well . . he got a little more than he expected. With all the vampires and werewolves surrounding him, Winter freaked. "I wiped them out . . exterminated them and left behind a crater of black glass almost eight hundred miles across!" So, he's not very happy with Jackson right now. Meanwhile, the doctor and Hellstrike have been working on trying to revive Fuji. They're also frustrated with Jackson. They start going through a roll-call of the stuff he's done lately, " . . wanting me to keep a lid on this thing with Toshiro . . lied to Christine about contacting the Authority. Had spies on the Carrier only he knew about . . dumping that sick Australian kid in the middle of nowhere to die . . dropping Winter into that nightmare . . it's not good. S'not right!" Which is when Winter comes walking in . ."No, it isn't . . it isn't at all. So, the question is, what are we going to do about it?" Also, the High . . remember when he dropped of that girl in that meta-free zone? She slipped him a note saying that they needed his help? Well the gas chamber that he went into last issue was to turn him human. The problem is, he only has 10 days to reverse the process. After that . ." . there will be progressive organ failure, the proliferation of aggressive cancerous matter and ultimately loss of all genetic cohesion. You will be conscious and fully aware most of the time. Death will be rapid but excruciating." But he had to do it in order to get into the zone. Now that he's human, he just hopes he can do something to help. And all the frustration with Jaskson may be moot. The Watch Hall has found some more survivors in Norway. They go down to get them, but what they don't know is that they're Kheran patriots. They killed the human survivors and took their place. Once they get on board, they get into key positions and then suicide bomb the whole ship. As the issue ends we see pieces of SkyWatch, and personnel, flying out into space. Man . . these guys just can't catch a break. Ian Edginton is really doing a great job with these issues. I really like the way he's handling all of these characters. My only question is . . is it still StormWatch without SkyWatch? I guess we'll have to wait and see. Leandro Fernandez is also doing a great job with the pencils. I can't believe we're up to issue #22 already. Whodathunkit?

StormWatch #21 - WildStorm

Jackson has decided to go after the Night Tribes. I guess he's just decided that they're a scourge on the Earth. They begin this issue up in Skywatch interrogating Petra. Christine is a little appalled by the lack of restraint he is using, but Petra informs her . . "I wanted this! I went looking for the night tribes, told them who I was. Bartered what I knew in exchange for becoming one of them! I gave them the others as an act of good faith. It was Kabras himself who turned me!" However, as much as Petra is pissing him off, he really wants to take down Kabras. So he sends Petra back. He tells her that he wants her to give Kabras a warning from him. But, what he really wants it to track her. Christine gives her some blood to drink, to help her recuperate, but it's laced with a radioactive isotope. They're hoping that she'll lead them straight to Kabras. However, Dane is also going after the Night Tribes and currently he is taking them out with the head of Medusa. When he turns Petra to stone, Skywatch loses track of her. So Jackson transports Dane up to the station. Right now he wants to keep Kabras alive so that he can keep the Night Tribes together. He has a plan to eradicate them all, wiping out the species, that's been approved by the Vatican. Now he just has to get Winter to play his part in the whole thing. They remind him that he's linked to the sun . . the scourge of the Night Tribes. So Christine powers him up, but she has to be careful. The last time he absorbed the sun's energy he went mad and attacked the Earth. So this time she gives him just enough energy that he can't quite tap into it yet. Then Jackson sends him down right in the middle of the tribes. He's hoping that with the right amount of stress it might trigger an outburst. And of course he's right. Winter fights the Tribes for a few minutes with no results, and he's ready to give up. But Jackson won't let him. Eventually he gets to a point where he lets out a wide flash-burst and takes out everything surrounding him for, probably, miles. The crater he's created looks like a small country form Skywatch. However, now he's energized and pissed. "Notify high command. Tell them . . we may have a problem." Also this issue, we see the High return to his 'fortress of solitude'. It's been years since he's been here. And he seems to have come with a purpose. He goes up to what looks like a giant version of a Faberge egg, and enters it. There's a sign outside that says, "Purple Haze - Metagenic Mist: Biohazard - Treat with extreme caution!" As he enters he says "Oh, what the hell . .", and he also drops a note. On it it says, "Help us . . " I'm not sure what that was all about, but . . I'm sure we'll find out soon. Ian Edginton and Leandro Fernandez supply the creative juice for this book. I thought this was one of the best issues of Stormwatch that I've read in a while. It thoroughly kept my interest. I'm looking forward to the next issue.

StormWatch - Post Earth Division #20 - WildStorm

Ok, my faith in this book is redeemed with this issue. The StormWatch team is going to cross-over with WetWorks, but . . since they don't have their own title right now, it won't be the convoluted mess that we had with the Authority. That was probably the worst cross-over ever. Well, the story overall wasn't to bad, but the way that they told it and had it bouncing around through the books? That was agonizing. Anyways, up in the Satellite, they're trying to figure out what's going on with Fuji. But with all of the testing in inquiries, we're learning more and more about Fuji and Hellstrike. I'm not sure what all of this has to do with everything, overall, but . . I'm sure we'll find out soon. Meanwhile, Christine sent an operative into Eastern Europe, Petra Marceau, when 2 of their other operatives failed to report in. It's kind of a dicey situation because pretty much the whole continent is going through a nuclear winter right now. Communication is sketchy, at best. Teleporting? It's about as dangerous as it gets. It may or may not work. Despite that, Deathblow and his team 'port in to try to save the comrade. It turns out everything has been taken over by the night tribes, vampires, and the whole thing was a trap to try to get more 'supers' under their influence. Sister Mary ends up showing up to pull all of their collective asses out of the fire. We find out, " . . Kabras has a new goal. He's fixed his eye on the east. He knows about North Korea and the mountain-deep bunkers that can house vampires by the million. He doesn't just want their blood, to raise them as cattle, he want to raise an army. He wants the world." And this is where their paths are going to cross with WetWorks. After the last couple of issues, I thought Ian Edginton and Leandro Fernandez did a great job with this issue. Now, if we can just keep this momentum going . . this'll be a great book once again. I hope.

StormWatch - Post Earth Division #19 - WildStorm

I'm a little frustrated with StormWatch and the Authority right now. They're crossing over into each other's books and . . it's not coming across very well. It's not really the story . . per se. It's the way they're handling it. You know how when a story goes back and forth between book, there's always a little recap before you get to the new information. Just in case there's a reader that's not picking up both books. This is the part that gets me to. The cross the story over because the want the reader to pick up both book. They want to sell more books. Right? But, they write the story so that if you're not picking up both books . . you won't miss anything. What the hell's the purpose of that? Either you're going to do a cross-over and have the readers pick up the book, or not. You can't have it both ways. Most of this issue I felt like I already read it. Why? Because I did. It's almost the exact same story that ran through the last issue of the Authority. The only difference is they show the story from some of StormWatch's characters perspectives instead of from the Authority. But really, it's the exact same story. We learn a little bit more about Fuji's condition in this issue. And that King's got Link and Hellstrike working on helping to get him 'fixed'. But that's about it. Oh yeah, there's 2 pages at the end where the High takes some more refugees to the camp where they have the masking wall so 'supers' can't get in. I mean, they caused the end of the world. Nobody really trusts them. Anyways, a friend of his, Ava, a child, comes out to see him. She says she misses him. They have a moment and then she goes back into the camp, and he flies away. But as he's flying away he finds a piece of crumpled up paper in his hand that Ava put there. All it says is "Help us". So other than those few pieces of information . . that's the only thing that was really 'new' this issue. Why didn't they just send us a panthlet? They could've save a lot of paper. Whatever!

StormWatch #18 - WildStorm

I have to say, I was a little confused with the beginning of this book. It was almost word for word, verbatim of the beginning of the Authority book. I was starting to think maybe I picked up the same book twice. Then about half way through, it starts to focus on the StormWatch side of this equation. But really, it's just a retelling of what happened in Authority #6. We see the whole part about SkyWatch powering up the Carrier and then Eidolon gathering up his troops to try to storm the Carrier. Now that it has power, he thinks it's worth stealing. We see a little bit more of all of the fighting action that's going on. But really, the only new information we get is that before Eidolon decides to infiltrate the Carrier he comes face to face with Fuji. They talk a bit, and then before he turns to climb the walls, literally, he places his hand on Fuji and melts an opening in his containment suit. Winter is all over him trying to save him. So far I've enjoyed what Ian Edginton and Leandro Fernandez have done with this book. But this issue? This issue was basically a waste. If you read Authority #6, then you basically know everything that happened in this issue. Some of the scenes were a little different, but most of what you see here, was inferred in the other book. You could completely by-pass this book and not miss a single piece of information about this story. It was a complete waste of time . . and money. Thanks. Thanks for that guys.

StormWatch: Post Earth Division #17 - WildStorm

Apparently the Warhol virus is breaking out all over the place. Jackson King has a team down in Australia but they get attacked by some of the infected shortly before they leave. It doesn't seem as if they actually know what the Warhol virus is. Anyways, after returning, all of the survivors are isolated so they can be decontaminated and watched for a short period of time. It ends up that 3 of them are infected. And then the rest of the issue is spent with them trying to contain it. I enjoy Ian Edginton's writing, and I think Leandro Fernandez is getting more comfortable with these characters every issue. But, I have to admit, I have a harder time getting in to this book than I do the Authority or WildCATS. I'm not sure what it is. I'm just not as interested in what's going on here. And that's kind of how I felt about the old StormWatch book. Not the PHD series. That series I actually liked a lot better than this one. But the original StormWatch. It just didn't hold my interest all that well, and as a reader I never really got bought into the characters. Anyways, that's how I'm kind of feeling about this book now. The story is interesting, but . . when I'm done reading it, I just kind of have a 'who cares?' type of feeling. This issue is leading up to their interaction with the Authority . . the groups are starting to realize that they all need to work together if they're to have any hope of making some progress here. But this group . . . SkyWatch is set, I assume, in geosynchronous orbit around the Earth . . because of all the time most of these people have spent there . . I feel that they almost feel separated from what's going on in the 'real' world, and the people still living there. I guess that kind of explains how I feel about this book. It's interesting . . but separate. I want to like it. I really do.

StormWatch - Post Earth Division #16 - WildStorm

Our StormWatch story here basically finishes up the last issues where our team in Siberia has come in contact with a Russian weapon left over from the cold war. They're looking for a subterranean science city but instead have to deal with it's protector. Well, it is the protector, but actually it's been activated because of the current global conditions. It's set up to thrive in holocaust type situations. Jackson thinks that if they can capture it and convert it, they can use it to clean up the rest of the earth . . at least the air, maybe. It looks like a giant mechanical silk-worm or something. Anyways, when push comes to shove, there's really no way to subdue it without one of it's contingency weapons going off. And, no matter what it uses, chances are it'll just make the world conditions worse. So they end up having to destroy it. The only thing really good that comes out of this whole story is that Jackson has agreed to set up a meeting with the Authority. They're supposed to arrange a dock with the carrier. I thought Ian Edginton did a pretty good job with this story. Although it didn't accomplish much, he did introduce some rather fantastic ideas. Leandro Fernandez' pencils were also pretty good. In the backup story, with Kaizen Gamorra we find out that the island nation is poised to be a super-power. Kaizen figured into his plans for just such a contingency as Armageddon. The island is protected and basically self sustained. All they have to do is wait for the dust to settle. This one was by Christos Gage and Pete Woods. I didn't care much for the other parts of this story, but it was interesting to know that along with Supreme, WildCATS, the Authority and StormWatch . . we also have another power ready to help clean-up the world. However, I think this one is going to have it's own interests at heart.

StormWatch - Post Earth Division #15 - WildStorm

This issue Jon Drake, from the Establishment, joins StormWatch. Well . . I don't know if 'joined' is the best word, but they do rescue him, and seeing as how there's not a lot of options in this world right now, I would think this group would be as good as any for him. We find out this issue that King is directly trying to keep StormWatch out of the Authority's sight. He's purposefully aligned the ship with the Earth's orbit so that Apollo won't be able to see them. He isn't even willing to entertain the option of asking the Authority for some space on their Carrier for all of the survivors that they've brought in. He just doesn't trust them. We also find out that the High . . the guy whose clones created all of this mess . . is gathering up survivors and taking them to Finland for relocation. "Something bad happened here a long time ago and everyone here decided not to let anyone with powers like mine inside. That's why you'll all be safe here. It's called the Masking Wall." And there's a new threat that's getting ready to expose itself. It's coming from the science cities in northern Russia . . Siberia. It's called the war golem. "It's a bio-organic construct with similarities to Jack Hawksmoor's physiology but on an industrial scale. It thrives on pollutants, radiation, heavy metals, toxins . . absorbs and reprocesses them as energy and fuel. It's totally automated, designed to activate when it detects certain post-apocalyptic conditions, like those created by the world storm. The Golem's sole objective is to breech the heart of the enemy territory . . in this instance, the continental US . . and lay waste to every living thing it finds." Well, it seems like we have a couple of new story-lines in the works here. I appreciate the effort that Ian Edginton and Leandro Fernandez are putting in to this book. However I find the back-up story more interesting on this one. It's about Marc Slayton finally making his way out of this I/O research facility in New Mexico. He finally makes it out, blowing up all the mutants contained within, only to find himself immediately contacted by someone from Team7. "I'll be damned if I know what even Team7 can do about doomsday." It's brought to us by Christos Gage and Mike McKone. Overall I like this book. It just seems like they're doing a lot of sitting around and waiting right now. Of course all of that could change in an instant. I guess we'll have to see what the future holds.

StormWatch: Post Earth Division - World's End #14 - WildStorm

I really only have 1 problem with this World's End story-line. And, the problem really isn't specific to any one of the books that are involved. If anything . . it encompasses all of them. My problem is this . . we have 3 main groups left behind in the post-apocalyptic society . . the Authority, WildCATS, and StormWatch. I appreciate that they've remained in their groups for comfort and support during this trying time. However, I would think that given the nature of these stories . . . these are 3 super-hero teams existing inside of a ravaged comic-book world . . that there would be something to distinguish them from one another . . other than their line-ups. Now that we're on the second issue of StormWatch I can say that it feels like Jackson King may have a different idea, or agenda, than say Jack Hawksmoor, or Zealot and Nemesis, or even Majestros. But up until now, there wasn't that much to distinguish them. All of them are trying to help, or offer aid or shelter to, the survivors. And they're all dealing with thier own issues in their various parts of the globe. Our other team, that's not fully organized yet, is Team-7. It seems that their role, or goal, is going to be to attack the problem head-on by going after Tao. I would just like to see all the teams more distinguishable from one another. The StormWatch story in this issue was brought to us by Ian Edginton and Leandro Fernandez. While the Dane story . . Team-7 . . was brought to us by Christos Gage and Brandon Badeaux. I liked both stories . . alot. I just think that we have a ways to go.

StormWatch: Post Earth Division - World's End #13 - WildStorm

Well, it's good to see StormWatch back again. Even if it is under these dire circumstances. All the usual characters are here also. This issue we see Jackson King of course, Link, Christine, Deathblow, Flint, Fahrenheit and Gaia. Although Gaia is a bit of a rogue right now, I think she's going to be playing a big part in all or this. Also we see that the Weatherstation is back up and active. That's where StormWatch has decided to gather up refugee's and give them a warm, safe place to stay. Although right now, the 'norms' see it as they're being rescued by the people they hate . . the people that caused all of this . . the 'supers'. It's going to be a tenuous relationship at best. In the back up story, Lynch is trying to find, and kill, Tao. He believes that he may be responsible for what happened. If not . . he at least knew it was on it's way. Which turns out to be accurate. Although Tao didn't orchestrate the happenings, he still plans on taking advantage of the after-affects. "Sometimes you have to burn a world to the ground to make room for a new one. Whatever the cause, we now have plenty of room. The old world's been swept aside. Now it's time for my associates and me to shape a new one . . . in my image." Which leads Lynch to make a decision he's never wanted to make . . it's time to put the old group back together again. "I don't know if they're still alive. But I do know this. The world's really gone to hell . . if it needs Team7 again." Ian Edginton and Leandro Fernandez bring us the StormWatch story, and Christos Gage and Trevor Hairsine bring us the Lynch back-up. The title is Post Human Division, but this is going to be a different StormWatch than we saw in the last issue. Get ready for the ride!

Stormwatch - Post Human Division - Armageddon #1 - WildStorm

Well, out of the 3 or 4 Armageddon issues that we've seen so far, we learned the most out of this one by far. This time Void decided to take a normal human in to the future to try to figure out what happened to the human race. She takes John Doran. And almost immediately he hooks up with Fahrenheit and then Stormwatch. It seems that whatever they found in Henry Bendix's bunker convinced the government that their team was needed and they ended up getting their funding back. Also, after his wife shot him, Jackson King's powers seemed to increase exponentially. So much so that in the future he's gone to wearing his Battalion armor at all times. With his powers increased it gives him control. But he also seems to be a man on the edge or insanity. Or obsession. We find out when Void comes back to pick up John that Jackson is watching and trying to get an analysis of Voids temporal energies. I'm thinking, he may be the problem. If he takes a team of supers back in to the past, trying to stop what has happened, it may actually be him that causes it. But that's just my guess. However, back in the present, John is going to try to do everything he can to prevent it. Including putting the PHD back together but, maybe, without the supers. "I want to tell you what I saw . . . and, hopefully, talk about what we can do to prevent it. And if we can't . . . what you can do to avenge me." The final chapter takes place in WildCATS. Which should be interesting, seeing as how that's Voids old team. And I'm sure, since it's the final chapter, we should be getting some more answers. Again, another story-arc that you can pretty much throw away the first couple chapters of, just read the last two, and not really lose anything in the translation. I am interested in what's going to happen next issue though.

StormWatch - Post Human Division #12 - WildStorm

I have to say, I was kind of bored with the last 2 issues, but this one . . . . this one was ok. Last issue, the Walking Ghost and Dirty Bomb walked in to PHD's precinct, and blew it up. It killed 32 people. PHD wasn't there because there were threats against their families. They took it literally. They meant their professional family. So now it's payback time. Stormwatch is out looking for them, but PHD wants to bring them in. Which they do. Now the bad news. It looks like this is the last issue of PHD. Personally . . . I think it's for the best. But, they had a lot of potential. So I really hate to see 'em go. But Stormwatch is still going to be around. There's these Armageddon crossovers coming up, and the next on is with Stormwatch. So I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens with the rest of these characters. Like I said, I hate to see 'em go, but you gotta do what you gotta do. Adios muchacho!

Stormwatch - Post Human Division #11 - WildStorm

I have to say, unfortunately, that I'm starting to get a little bored with this series. Andy Smith has come on board the last couple of issues. His take on these characters is fresh and stylish. But, it doesn't seem to be enough. He also draws some very sexy feminine figures. I thought that would help me a little bit. But it didn't . . much. There are some very nice looking panels. But . . . it doesn't help to keep my interest in the overall story. Personally, I think that we're going to have to have StormWatch Prime more directly involved in some of these stories. They've been in and out of the last couple of issues. Cameo's sort of. But again, not really enough to light a fire in the story. I can't blame Christos Gage entirely. He's trying to put all of this together. I just don't think that this new format necessarily lends itself to the type of stories we're used to seeing from a StormWatch book. Besides, we already have the WildCATS and the Authority (sort of). And lets face it, when it comes down to it, those are much better books. And I know that this one is trying to be different from them, but . . . after 11 issues . . . it still seems to be floundering. So, we either need to get our ducks in a row, or just switch the title of the book to StormWatch Prime. This is an interesting concept, but I don't think they've fully realized how to expound on their stories. I hope it gets better. I hope that these stories start pulling in the reader better. I just don't know how long people are willing to sit around and wait though.

Stormwatch - Post Human Division #10 - WildStorm

This book had an interesting plot behind it. Again my hats of to Christos Gage for an engaging story. And to Andy Smith for keeping all those female figures looking so hot. Also nice cover by Mike McKone. Anyways, they've stumbled across this plot apparently to kill off some of the old StormWatch Prime members. Specifically from the class of 1983. And more specifically down to a black-ops team that operated under Bendix. They've killed off about 5 or 6 members so far, and it isn't until they talk to the New Romantic, in Tranquility, that they realize that it's all connected through the black-ops team. Paris' team is convinced that it's Slaughterhouse Smith that's behind the whole thing. But, as we all know can happen, the obvious choice is not always the right choice. Especially in these stories. Just because they saw someone that looked like him, using similar powers to his, doesn't mean that the case is cut and dry. Far from it. In fact, if anything, if it's that obvious then the obvious choice is for it to not be him. I know. It's all a bit confusing. But that's the way the logic works in these stories . . . most of the time. When they confront him, he doesn't downplay his contempt for the team. But he also doesn't sway in stating his innocence in this particular instance. Then he takes off and leaves them buried in a pile of rubble. Interesting book. The characters seem to be coming together better. There's a lot of good character interaction.

StormWatch - Post Human Division #9 - WildStorm

This issue wraps up the story from last issue, who shot Jackson King? It's written by Christos Gage, and drawn by Andy Smith. I like Andy, because he has that Bart Sears feel to him. Well . . . he was his inker . . . like forever. But he's a very action styled artist. This is our PHD division's first foray in to the bigs. As it were. Most of them, this is their first meeting of StormWatch Prime. Except for Fahrenheit, who used to be on the team. And of course the Mechanic. But he always met them as an adversary. Paris has to use his detective skills to try to figure out who took the pot-shot at him. Really the whole thing behind this story is to re-introduce us to all the characters. This gives the story the perfect reason to dig in to their lives a little bit. But to be honest with you. It really was a pretty boring story. I mean, I knew right from the beginning that his wife did it. Or at least was involved with it. I didn't know why. But I knew it was going to come down to her. Which it did. The reason? Her husband spent to much time with his work, and team. So she wanted him more to herself. How was shooting him going to accomplish that? Well, she thought that if she hit the right part of his brain it would take out his powers. And without his powers, she thought he would be useless to StormWatch. And if it hurt him even more than that . . . well that would be ok too. Because then she would get to take care of him. Anyways, they figure out her crime. She tells them her motive. And then Jackson recovers just in time to see them taking her away. Luckily the whole story doesn't have to be explained to him, because he can read it in all their thoughts. Like I said, overall, I thought it was a pretty boring story. I hope they'll get back to the action next issue. Because this one was a let down.

Stormwatch - Post Human Division #8 - Wildstorm

Hey, we get to see Andy Smith back in action this issue. He's a guy, I remember, from being the inker over Bart Sears pencils over at Valiant in X-O Man-O-war. I thought those 2 were fantastic together. I think he did some other stuff after that, but I don't think I've seen him in quite a long time. But apparently he's back now. Good to see you again, bub. Christos Gage writes this book. I'm not sure what he's done before, but I like his style. We've gotten some good stories out of these first couple of story-arcs, but we've also gotten to know all these fantastic characters. This issue we finally get a look at Skywatch, and the StormWatch Prime personnel. Jackson King has invited the PHD team up to try to get to know some of the people. He says it's for interaction between the 2 groups. But later on he reveals to John, "I don't just want PHD to do things Prime can't. If, god forbid, Prime is ever compromised . . ever goes bad . . I want you to be able to take us down. And to do that you need to become familiar with our strengths . . . and weaknesses." And then he ends up shot in the head. So now John, being a cop, has to take over the situation, put the whole building in lock-down, and try to figure out who did this. Maybe it's just me, but I think this is all a test. I don't think he's really shot, or maybe it's not really him. But I think this is going to be an elaborate test to gauge PHD's abilities. But . . I could be wrong. Guess we'll have to wait until next issue to find out.

Stormwatch - Post Human Division #7 - Wildstorm

This is a pretty cool book. The storyline is great. Thanks to Christos Gage. And Doug Mahnke's artwork is just awesome. He has the perfect feel for this book and these characters. Last issue, Lord Defile and his team, decided to make a direct assault on the PHD team, by attacking them in their headquarters, the Police station. He was able to do this because of some of the information Fahrenheit has been feeding him. She's been trying to give him useless information, but apparently he was able to use some of it. So anyways, when he comes in, the first thing he wants to do is take out their heavy hitters. To do so Lady Decadence possesses Black Betty, he tries to bring the Machinist over to his side, and he's got the Professor to go into his monster form, which Lord Defile can easily manipulate. But what he doesn't count on is the "normal" police officers standing by John's side. First of all they respect him, and secondly they're not going to let their house go down without a fight. Also Gorgeous uses her whiles to bring the Professor back to their side. Well . . not so much on their side, as doing what she asks to get what he wants . . . her. Also Paris takes out Amadeus. And by removing her mental blocks, Defile has turned Fahrenheit in to a worthy adversary. And in the end, the Machinist makes the right choice and uses the hardware they gave him against them. All in all, a pretty good showing for our team. But they're definitely going to need to do some training exercises, because Defile will be more ready for them next time. And . . there will be a next time. But for now, they can move on to establishing other PHD units around the country. All in all, a great story. And really, this is just the beginning of this series. So much potential.

Stormwatch - Post Human Division #6 - Wildstorm

This issue, our new Post Human Division of Stormwatch, is about to be put to the test. It seems Lord Defile has been using Fahrenheit to gather information on her team. He keeps promising her that he can help her get her powers back. So she been feeding him, what she thinks is, just background information that shouldn't be important to either one of them. But apparently he thinks it is, because he's put a team together and has decided to lead a direct assault on her team, right at home in the police precinct where they're at. We don't see to much action this issue. They realize they're being assaulted, but they haven't figured out who or why yet. Lord Defile has gone after their big guns first, Black Betty, whom he's got wrapped up in some mystical snake, something, and Dr. Shaw whom he already has transformed into his monster form. But now that he's like that, I don't really see how either side can control him. But Defiles opponents aren't strictly limited to the members of the PHD that Paris and Jackson have put together. He's assaulting the home of a lot of good officers, so on the final page we see Paris getting ready to lead a group of heavily armed men, officers, in to battle. And you know these guys are going to fight with their all, to protect their home. Lord Defile may have miscalculated here. But, we'll have to wait until next issue to find out. Great story by Christos Gage, and fantastic art by Doug Mahnke. I wasn't sure about this book at first, but I really think it's going to be a powerhouse.