Stormwatch #18 Review

On one hand, I love the big, unabashed spotlight Peter Milligan puts on DC’s premier gay couple. They flirt and bicker and get jealous just like anyone in a relationship might, which lends a nice personal touch to the epic stakes. On the other hand, their romance and the overall plot are corny as Kansas in August, which is only worsened by the Engineer doing her best Borg impersonation. The result is a story akin to eating a pack of Sweet Tarts: it might be kinda sweet, but it’ll leave you with a sour face by the end.

Regardless, I am tickled by the handling of the gay lovers because it’s so over-the-top, sometimes painfully so. Their bickering reaches romantic comedy levels at some points as Apollo sees the female Zealot’s friendship with Midnighter as something more. Then later as they’re flying through hyperspace about to meet their end, Apollo, in a huff, just straight up asks Midnighter if he’s gay.

Artist Will Conrad’s art matches the bombastic nature of the story. He does a great job with the settings as well as taking the characters through their own personal transformations. The presence of OMAC is almost inconsequential to the actual narrative, but Conrad draws him with a fresh style that almost maybe makes you miss the big lug. Together Milligan and Conrad say goodbye to Stormwatch before the new creative team takes over next issue, and while it wasn’t the smoothest of rides, there were definitely a couple fond moments to look back on.

Joshua writes for IGN. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaYehl or on IGN, where he’ll tell you more than you ever wanted to know about Darth Maul, Doop, and Powerpuff Girls.

Source : ign[dot]com