This issue features three stories that all place Storm in the spotlight, and two of the three tales take a look back at her past. Aside from the main character, there's another common thread among all the stories: a lack of context. These are far from the most accessible stories, and as I read through this issue, my level of interest declined with each new segment.
Pearson's story is deservedly presented first, as both conceptually and visually, it is the strongest. While the story of a faceoff between Storm and Magneto over the fate of a couple of mutant-hating teens is rather generic and quite predictable, Pearson makes an interestig observation about Storm's character and how she's different from the rest of her heroic colleagues. The art is exaggerated but dynamic, and Pearson manages to convey the energy and a sense of foreboding quite well.
Torres's "Woounded Animals" is the only story set in the here and now, featuring a story of Storm's visit to Japan following recent events in X-Treme X-Men. He includes a fascinating political notion in this story -- a country blocking its borders to mutants -- but he hasn't the space to really delve into the concept in any depth. Essentially, the plot just sets up an action sequence, giving readers a chance to see Storm tangle with another mutant.
Keron Grant boasts what may be the most uneven pencilling style in comics. His work never looks the same way twice, it seems. I can't believe this is the same artist who worked on the most recent issue of New X-Men, or drew Marvel Mangaverse: Fantastic Four, or had a stint on Frank Tieri's Iron Man a year or so back. While he conveys the speed and grace of Storm and her adversary nicely here, his portrayal of the protagonist is inconsistent.
The final story reunites writer Chris Claremont with artist Paul Smith, who illustrated Claremont's stories on Uncanny X-Men in the 1980s. Here, they take a look at an "untold" Storm story from that time period, but I'm guessing only readers in their 30s and up will recognize the supposed signifiance of the story. Claremont offers no exposition as to Storm's relationship with her young charge here, and his wordiness in describing Storm's predicament proves to be redundant and intrusive. Furthermore, he tests the reader's ability to suspend disbelief to the limit and beyond.
Smith's art, meanwhile, isn't nearly as interesting as what we saw on last week's Leave It to Chance #13. The art is rather empty, which I suppose isn't all that surprising, as there's no real plot to speak of either.
