The Wild Storm #15 – Warren Ellis, Writer; Jon Davis-Hunt, Artist; Steve Buccellato, John Kalisz, Colorists
Ray – 8/10
Ray: After what seems like forever, this title is picking up the pace as its large cast of characters starts to converge and the war between IO and Skywatch hits full throttle. As the issue opens, Henry Bendix is plotting his revenge against John Lynch and IO. The deranged old man continues to be the series’ most entertaining villain, as he delivers one colorful rant after another. At the same time, the universe’s Omega-level powerhouses gather, as they try to figure out who they are and what their role is. Jack Hawksmoor, who has been underused until now, has his origin teased at in a genuinely disturbing segment. The interaction between Jenny and Shen is highly entertaining, and I’m hoping they start appearing much more often. These cosmic characters always had some really interesting plots in the old run. As Bendix unleashes his deadliest weapon yet on the world, the Khera invasion and infiltration plays a major role in the issue.
The character who’s gained in prominence the most in recent issues is John Lynch, the grizzled former Skywatch head who is now tracking down his old agents. This provided the best moment of last issue with his former agent Fairchild. Now, though, he’s in more dangerous territory as he tracks down Philip Chang, formerly known as Andrew Kwok. What begins as a conversation between two men about coming in from the cold turns into something much more dangerous as Andrew displays powerful telekinetic abilities. This leads to a standoff in a bar where bullets freeze in air and Lynch proves why, even amid a world of aliens and Gods, he might be the most dangerous person there. There are still a few too many scenes involving ancillary characters showing up to remind us that they’re around, but some central plots are developing, and thankfully they’re the most compelling of the lot. I’m hoping that the tension and action continues to build as we head into the second half of Ellis’ planned run.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
