I'm starting to sound like a broken record on this book, but once again, I like the story but find the artwork to be a handicap. I'm looking forward to the guest artists that will spell Portacio, and hoping that one of them might find a permanent spot on the roster, because Wright has some good characters and an interesting approach here, and it is being strangled by artwork that doesn't identify those characters well or show off the action in the way it should. That said, the script has style to spare, and Wright has made the worldview of the Stormwatch characters pretty clear, especially by introducing a renegade "super-hero" into the mix this issue.
It's funny, though there's plenty of action in this issue, the fight was essentially over when the last issue ended. There's not much of a sense of danger in this issue for the characters, other than a sort of angry bitterness at an intruder who causes more problems than he solves. The action actually takes place more in angry exchanges of dialogue and threats, rather than in big fight sequences, and it makes for an interesting read. I thought that Wright did a great job setting up his generic super-hero as an arrogant borderline psycho, and seeing him face down Ben Santini at the end was a terrific moment.
Like the rest of the Eye of the Storm line, this book is steeped in continuity from the Wildstorm universe, but it isn't inaccessible as a result. Fans of DV8 or Gen 13 will instantly get the references to Ivana Baiul, while others will get from the context that she's a bad guy, and that's all they need to know for now. References to the Weatherman position will resonate with fans who have read Stormwatch before, but it's pretty clear what the position entails for new readers. Basically, Wright has managed to have his cake and eat it too with continuity, appealing to new and continuing readers equally.
Though I have a hard time tracking the characters thanks to the artwork, Wright does manage to sneak in plenty of characterization. Jukko Hamalainen, clearly the heavy of the group, is quickly becoming a favorite, and Weiss's quiet disappointment at the casualties provides a brief glimpse into his character as well. In addition, Wright has established right off the bat that though Stormwatch isn't going to be the renegade team with a disregard for authority that their predecessors were, neither are they puppets for a corrupt regime. The final sequence is a satisfying bit of revenge on all the shadowy societies that secretly control the Wildstorm universe.
Unfortunately, it's impossible to talk about this book without also talking about the artwork, and I'm afraid that for me, Portacio just isn't cutting it, and the inking change this issue only hurt the artwork more. The characters aren't distinct enough, and big action sequences like the splintering of the building or the hero using his heat vision on an opponent's head aren't visceral and clear enough. For the most part, I'm understanding the story because the dialogue is so good, not because I can follow the storytelling at all. And I still continue to have problems with the colors, which are uneven at best. This book has a chance to become one of my favorites, but it's not going to happen with its current artist.
