I lost touch with Micah Ian Wright's Stormwatch: Team Achilles title early on because I cared little for Whilce Portacio's pencils on the book. That original artist left the book a while ago, but I never got around to checking it out again. I'm glad Wildstorm's Coup D'Etat crossover has brought me back into the fold. This is a thoroughly accessible introduction to Wright's take on the Stormwatch concept for new readers. Though it seems as though the property has changed little since it was retooled for the new series, it's nevertheless a politically charged and entertaining one.
An armored dictator with aspirations of world domination has risen to power in Hungary as the result of a bloody coup, and the United Nations has dispatched its metahuman military response team -- Stormwatch -- to deal with the threat. That mission coincides with the Authority's declaration that it was invading and taking over the United States. Stormwatch CO Col. Santini realizes that the Authority will target his team as a threat, but he also knows that allowing a team of metahumans to overthrow a government, even a bumbling one, is not something he can tolerate.
I've sampled Carlos D'Anda's work before on other Wildstorm fare -- Thundercats: Hammerhand's Revenge comes to mind. His work never really grabbed me before, but he really shines with this material. His detailed, dark style is well suited to bringing the activities of this edgy, anti-super-hero property to life. His work here strikes me as a cross between the styles of Jim (Batman) Lee and John (Planetary) Cassaday. I'm also reminded of the styles of Carlos (Just a Pilgrim) Ezquerra and Jose (Hip Flask) Ladronn. D'Anda does a great job of conveying the over-the-top action one expects from a story involving these title characters and the Authority.
What I enjoyed most about this book is that it advances the larger plotline of the Coup D'Etat series while offering a smaller, more focused story that allows the writer to spotlight what the property is really all about. Baron Chaos serves as an entertaining spoof of super-villains, but I like how Wright still manages to portray him as menacing and powerful. Chaos switches back and forth from credible threat to joke throughout this story, and it makes for effective and engaging storytelling.
The one thing about this issue that disappoints is the crossover's disregard for the characters who got the ball rolling. There's no reference to Holden Carver or Tao from Sleeper, and I hope the latter's role as the plot's catalyst doesn't go unexplained for the remainder of the crossover.
