James Bond's a pussy. That's one of the things writer Micah Ian Wright has to say here about the Hollywood vision of espionage. At the same time, Wright also deconstructs the super-hero genre, pointing out how inherently silly it can be. Overall, this is a thoroughly creepy story... but a funny one all at once. Wright's script is a brilliant one, and it manages to overcome the book's greatest liability: Portacio's inconsistent, exaggerated artwork.
Khalid Tefebi, the new Stormwatch team's computer engineer, is kidnapped by the American government's Civil Defense Adminstration and held without cause. They interrogate him, beat him and threaten to do worse... all to get as much information as possible from what they perceive as the UN-sponsored team's weakest link. Khalid is shocked and enraged to discover who's behind the CDA, and even more shocked to discover what his teammates' have done to ensure the information they're after is protected.
When this series debuted, I made it clear that I don't care for Portacio's artwork at all, and it still holds true today. The inconsistency with which he renders the human form is a major problem; just look at the cover and the distance between the main character's eyes. However, Portacio's exaggerated style does suit the most extreme visual elements in the book, notably the brainsucker. The colors are also much stronger than they were under Portacio's hand, and they bring a dark, tense atmosphere to the story. I also enjoyed the fact that Khalid is portrayed as an overweight, average guy, not a perfect human specimen.
Wright tears apart the spy-action genre here with a look at the real brutality that can be involved. There's no glamor here, no clean, tidy solutions. While he casts those elements in an intense light, the examination of super-heroes is in a silly one. Wright's spoof of the Justice League makes for a lot of laughs. In this context, super-heroes are stripped of their sense-of-wonder appeal, and what's left is ridiculous and entertaining.
This is an accessible, self-contained story, and as noted earlier, the over-the-top violence and super-satire makes for a fun read. But amid this oddball script, there's a scary level of relevance to be found. The Civil Defense Administration refers to the real-life powers granted to U.S. government law-enforcement officials to break its own laws and detain people in violation of their rights. Wright's politics are an important part of this book, and they bring this intense premise down to earth, giving the reader real-world issues to consider.
