STORMWATCH #18

Oh dear, Stormwatch is in disarray! Should we panic and look on in dismay? Or maybe we just shouldn't care? And just go and wash our hair. With a shampoo that's been called, 'Timotay'. Yeah. It was recommended to me by the balding creative team of Writer: Peter Milligan; Artist: Will Conrad; and Publisher: DC Comics in April 2013.

Using GENERAL terms, answer the following 4 questions about this STORY entitled 'The Scream'.

WHAT'S THE MAIN THRUST OF THIS TALE: Under the Engineers control, the mechanical marvel known as OMAC is forced to kick the living cr*p out of Midnighter and Apollo, before warping them both off into her 'Eye of the Storm'.
ARE THE MAIN OBJECTIVES ACHIEVED: Yeah. Not that it does the Engineer any good. Ha! You see, Zealot is still by their side by this time, and together -- with some additional outside help from parties I will not mention -- they find a way to... errr... BOOOOOOM!
ANYTHING ELSE HAPPEN: We find out if the Midnighter is a good kisser or sloppy slurper.
HOW DOES THIS STORY END: I'm not saying. It'll ruin the surprise

All in all, what is the most memorable SENTENCE OR CONVERSATION spoken in this issue?

By in large most of the dialogue on display in this tale was very nice to plough through. However, mainly because I was thinking exactly same thing when he said it, I have to applaud Midnighter for asking Apollo...

'A super evolved woman is trying to kill us, and you're asking dumb questions about my sexual orientation?'

Ha! Couldn't have put it better myself. Wait a minute! Yes I could. I would have said something like 'I dress in rubber. You figure it out'.

No. Not me 'me'. Me as in ''Midnighter'. Oh! Forget it. Next!!!!

What are the BEST bits about this issue?

(+) I've always been a sucker for a cameo in a comic, so seeing OMAC and Zealot in this book sucked me right into it pretty dam quickly. Bar none.

(+) As much as this tale ended with a 'Boing' rather than a 'Bang', deep down inside me I have an inkling that the best is yet to come when Jim Starlin and company jump on board next issue. Granted, I could be wrong with my presumption, and this could have been 'all Mister Milligan wrote'. Still, for the life of me, I'm certain that the next creative team will have something up their sleeves to propel this book further than it's already gone.

(+) Without giving too much away, I did like the fact that nobody is 'truly dead' by the end of this yarn. Hint-Hint!

What are the WORST bits about this issue?

(-) The conclusion to this adventure fizzled out in retrospect, and had a sort of bittersweet aftertaste by default. It was like eating a chilli that tastes of marshmallows. Nice at first -- but no kick.

(-) As I mentioned up above, I did find it annoying when Apollo kept on niggling at Midnighter about his sexuality, alluding to the fact that he might fancy 'Zealot' instead of him. I mean -- ha -- what an ass! Midnighter's been chasing him since issue one -- and now -- because Z's turned up -- he thinks otherwise!

Choose TWO CHARACTERS out of this comic book, and then compare them to two REAL LIFE PEOPLE.

ALEXANDER THE GREAT AS MIDNIGHTER: To be honest with you, folks, I could only think of one great gay statistician that could fill 'nighters' shoes. Still, Alex isn't a bad match, is he?

QUEEN BOADICEA AS ZEALOT: Just like 'naughty-night' up above, I could only think of this Celtic Queen to fill the bodice of this latter day full-frontal fighter.

What QUOTE would be appropriate to sum-up this story?

'Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success' -- Henry Ford

What SONG, THEME-TUNE, or MELODY, would complement this tale, as well as add and extra dimension to it by default?

'RIDERS ON THE STORM' BY THE DOORS: To me, this story and this song are one and the same thing, because they're both dynamic, they're both moody, plus they both have the word 'storm' in them too.

ANYTHING Else?

Oh! What a shame. Peter and Conrad are finally flying the nest with this issue, and in come swanning in Jim Starlin, Yvel Guichet, and Jonas Trindade, for the next. Granted, this isn't a bad thing in retrospect. No. Of course not. Rather, I would have liked to have seen P&C leave 'Stormwatch' on an amazing note, instead of just an OK-ish note.

Also, another thing I would have liked to see; was a resolution to this tale too. Presently it just comes across as 'Oh! We best leave now I suppose. I think I left something on in the oven'. Not something more poignant or dramatic.

Still, never mind, huh? Maybe some closure will come next month, thus giving this finale something that we probably wanted to see this time round.

Oh! That reminds me...

GIVE IT, IT'S DUES: If This Comic Book Was a Sound Effect, It Would Be Something Like 'Ogga-Ogga! Woosh-Woosh! PING! Fsssss'.