Here are today's "Guest Reviews" by Joe David Soliz from Wildstorm Addiction. Included are DC's; Stormwatch #20, The Ravagers #12, and Team 7 #8. I have also added my rating after each review. If you have any questions about my rating or want to discuss anything just leave me a comment.
Stormwatch #20 - Away
Don’t say we didn’t warn you! The new StormWatch is even more bloodthirsty than the previous team! On their first off-planet mission, the new StormWatch has to prove itself—while Lobo is seduced by aliens!
Preview
Apollo and Midnighter Go to War!
After a strong initial showing for the new creative team last month, the title begins to waiver a little too early for my tastes. Although the inclusion of Lobo is interesting, it seems a little odd that Stormwatch has essentially become Star Trek with superheroes.
It seems all the Wildstorm titles met their end in space. Voodoo headed out into space and got cancelled and so did Grifter (sort of). Only Team 7 didn’t resort to space as a new setting for the story but apparently that’s a moot point since that title was cancelled anyway. I’m hoping the Stormwatch title won’t end it’s time in space as well. For some, the classic feel Starlin brings may be a welcome change of pace and something that many feel is sorely missed in modern comics. But honestly, other than a select few classic stories, I’m not a fan of classic comic books. There’s just something very dated about that style of story-telling to me.
I will say I like this mixture of characters. It’s good to have Apollo and Midnighter back in their original costumes. I never knew Lobo’s origin so I’m not sure how much this one deviates from it (if at all). I also hope that the villains of the story can convince me why Lobo is a good choice for their master plan. It just seems to me that beings who can alter space and time would not seek out someone like Lobo.
My Rating
Cover & Solicit - 3/5
Art, Colors & Inking - 3/5
Layout & Flow - 3/5
Story - 3/5
Verdict - 3 - (Buy Stormwatch #20)
The Ravagers #12 - The Man Who Killed the Ravagers
As Caitlin and Rose deal with the shocking revelation about their origins, Deathstroke takes down the remaining Ravagers. This is the end!
Preview
Heavenly Destruction!
Another one bites the dust as this title too comes to an end. Under the new creative team, the title did remain interesting. It also left things very opened ended so we’ll see what DC has planned for this group in the future.
The final issue reads like the final act of a movie. We have a huge confrontation between the Ravagers and Deathstroke which ends up being really cool. Because it was basically a final battle issue there’s not too much to elaborate on other than enjoying the fight. Diogenes Neves got to finish off the art on the issue solo and he does a good job with the fight scenes.
More than anything, the title seemed to be setting up for another possible book. I am glad that the ending wasn’t so clean and left it open-ended. It just elevated the threat and showed that the bad guys really know what they’re doing. It’s nice to have bad guys who are not totally incompetent.
My Rating
Cover & Solicit - 4/5
Art, Colors & Inking - 4/5
Layout & Flow - 4/5
Story - 4/5
Verdict - 4 - (Buy Ravagers #12)
Team 7 #8 - Mission 2.4: The Doom that Came to Kaizen
Revealed: What broke Team 7 apart—and set Black Canary, Amanda Waller, Deathstroke and Majestic on the rocky road they travel today?
Preview
Pandora's Box
After much build up since the cancellation announcement, the title has a nice wind down here. Jordan does his best to answer as many dangling plotlines as he can with the space allotted. In the end, it’s a decent ending to a title that was cancelled way too prematurely.
Team 7 has been the surprise hit of the cancellations (if that makes any sense). It seems that once Jordan got past the initial arc, he found more freedom to tell a great and epic story. Repeatedly it’s been said that if he had been allowed to lead with this story, the title might have survived. For old Wildstorm fans, this quickly became the book to follow as Jordan jam-packed it with classic Wildstorm characters. It was nice to see these characters in action again.
The biggest tragedy is probably the fact that one of Wildstorm’s greatest villains, Kaizen Gamorra, will get benched along with all the other Wildstorm characters from this book. He was always a get villain in the old Wildstorm U and would easily be someone who could take on the Justice League. The other character who undoubtedly will get benched is Majestic. The origin they picked for him in the New 52 is really odd but aside from that, he looked like his old self. So much potential is lost here with these characters.
My Rating
Cover & Solicit - 3/5
Art, Colors & Inking - 4/5
Layout & Flow - 4/5
Story - 4/5
Verdict - 3.9 - (Buy Team 7 #8)
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