Storm #2 (Marvel, 2014)
STORY: Greg Pak
ART: Victor Ibanez
I must admit I’m a little torn about this issue, a feeling I’ve had since the last issue.
Storm has always been to me a character that while a leader and leading character in the X-franchises, has somehow always been a little less than she could have been – even as Queen of Wakanda a little while back, she got a good push into the front of things but she was still not all she could be, if you follow me.
THE REVIEW:
Now Greg Pak is a writer who has consistently shown the ability to take on a character that’s not on the A-list of quality or high-selling books and give them a whole new level – his work on the Hulk franchise being the prime piece of evidence.
With this new Storm series, he’s definitely in a good place as Marvel is pushing it’s female characters much more and so far to great success almost across the board. We follow a now re-mohawked Ororo as she goes through her life while dealing with an almost existential crisis, something very appropriate given my above-mentioned concerns regarding her place and standing in the Marvel U. After a strong opening with the tsunamis and evil armies last issue, we get a much more intimate story this issue and get to meet an old… friend… of hers. Handled with a deft touch that skirts the cliché but never goes over and actually builds some nice character moments for both Ororo and others and I have to admit, I really enjoyed watching the moments shared between her and Wolverine which felt so very real and natural.
So far they’ve not gone the normal route of many mainstream comics with this series of long-winded and seemingly never-ending story arcs and conspiracies and plots within plots – it’s a nice change to have simple stories that focus on building up a character. In that I’m finding this series has shades of another sleeper hit that shook up the Marvel publication line, Hawkeye, which also takes a less extravagent but more real approach to the lives of our heroes.
The art of the series to me is passable – I like the layouts and the basic look of Ibanez’s characters but nothing truly popped out to me. It suits the comic though, his knack for a mix of expressions being the standout.
THE LAST WORD:
Definitely a series I would recommend to someone who is tired of the same-old over-blown and almost melodramatic superhero saga-fixation that is the status quo.
OVERALL SCORE: 7.5 / 10
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