Storm #1 Review

Written by: Greg Pak

Art by: Victor Ibanez

Publisher: Marvel

With all the new Marvel # 1’s specifically those for X-Men related characters (Cyclops, Magneto, Nightcrawler etc), things like Storm # 1 being released kind of get lost in the shuffle. Which is why to be honest I did not know it was coming out until within a week before, and I came in with no expectations. I must say that Storm # 1 is a pretty interesting book that is visually captivating as well as rich in character and depth. For a character who has been through a few interesting changes within the past 2 year (getting divorced, taking over as headmistress of the school, as well as a new haircut), it seems only fit that Storm gets her own book, and Pak and Ibanez prove to be right for the job.

The story of this particular issue is pretty simple actually. Storm is helping those in the third world with Tsunami problems. She then has to clash with the local government in these parts and this gets displayed along with the problems at the school where as headmistress she must carry out discipline on the students. One student in particular hits a chord with Storm. This issue is all about the complexities of this character, and her emotional state of being. She has a lot of anger and has been through a lot lately, and Pak manages to brilliantly bring this out in the script. Storm can get lost in the shuffle amongst fans being one of many notable characters, but Pak represents her for what she is, powerful and almost god like. Pak is a great choice for this book.

On art Victor Ibanez brings his A game. This book is beautiful and is almost worth the price of admission for the art alone. The power of the character and the emotion in this issue is demonstrated very nicely and everything just clicks in this issue. Along with colorist Ruth Redmond, I am curious to see what Ibanez can do with this title going forward.

This issue is not without flaws, for one it does not really swing for the fences per se. For a number 1 issue, it is kind of underwhelming and may get lost amongst so many other #1’s. As well with stories that are very one off in nature it is kind of hard to get too invested. We shall see where this goes.

Storm # 1 is a good book that demonstrates the potential of this series. Pak and Ibanez are a formidable dup and this is a book you should definitely try out.