We are not at issue #12 yet but now that we are more than half way through I can safely say that Storm's solo series was quite disappointing. It started off nicely, decent introduction, but it just never took off like I wanted it to. Issue after issue I waited for an actual direction to manifest but only feeling disappointed in the end. You could say that sales figures showed a similar sentiment. Her first issue sold rather well, which means there was some kind of interest in the character. But as the books became further lackluster so did the decline in sales. It pains me to say this, being a huge fan of Storm I really wanted this series to be awesome, but I can't pretend to enjoy something when truthfully (and sadly) I do not.

Just my own personal opinion regarding her series.

@whoa: I think most would agree with you. The entire thing has just been ..okay. The characterization is good but the stories were meh. Dont even get me started on #3..

Plus? The art has been (since Ibanez left) complete and utter GARBAGE. Also, the book is listed under those that would be ending on account of secret wars.

I don't know. I get the feeling that Pak knew the series would only be 12 issues long. No matter how good or bad the story/art/sales were all Marvel would do is 12 issues......or he knew about the Secret Wars reboot that would take Storm off the list.

It's kinda hard to write a compelling character changing story when you know that it wont matter at the end of the day. Granted we got some kickass feats from pretty much every issue so that's a plus. And Pak does seem like a genuine fan of the character in all the interviews I've read/listened to he 'glows' like a Storm fan. So I don't really throw the complete blame on him. Could he have written far better and more action packed stories? Yes. But as I said before...would knowing that it'll all come to an end in 12 issues put a damper on the creative juices I'd also wager a big yes.

I agree. I thought Pak did well with what he had to work with, which didn't seem like much. Several of the stories in the series had compelling and ground breaking moments though, but it appeared as though they gave him a corner to write in and cut him off from there. I thought the second and third issues were the wrong route to take the series(especially that god awful third issue), and the book never recovered from it. Books like these are all about first impressions since they are already at a disadvantage with a minority lead. Then the art really started to get ugly, so I'm sure that drove a lot of people away along with any that may have taken an interest in returning. The book looked like it was straight out of the gutters.

So I think there is some disappointment to be had about the series. It could've been done a lot better, but I don't hold Pak solely accountable for it. Marvel simply wasn't interested in making it anything more than a bone to throw at Storm fans. It had no relevance to the other books and the art after issue 5 was utter trash.

I definitely agree with everyone's comments about the art. Especially after looking at recent issue #9, which was pretty cringe worthy.

Like Lord have mercy, that first panel O_O ...

@Son Of Storm I definitely see your point as well. Now I need to know out if Greg knew about the upcoming Secret Wars and what that meant for Storm's solo...

@whoa said:

I definitely agree with everyone's comments about the art. Especially after looking at recent issue #9, which was pretty cringe worthy.

Like Lord have mercy, that first panel O_O ...

@Son Of Storm I definitely see your point as well. Now I need to know out if Greg knew about the upcoming Secret Wars and what that meant for Storm's solo...

That and issue #3...The art was just...no.

I'm sure he did. But he'll probably never say so.

In my opinion, Storm's ongoing solo had a lot of great stories/issues but some of those great stories/issues turned into just good stories/issues, and some good stories turned into not good stories/issues... because of the art.

I believe that the art matters more than the story. Don't get me wrong. I know stories matter more than the art but most ongoing solos just have a few bad stories ( or even no bad stories ) so we don't really have to worry much about how will the writer write the character in his/her own ongoing solo.

I am saying that the art matters more because no matter how great the stories are, if the art isn't good, we won't usually feel its greatness if the art is really bad.

That is why, I'm kinda hesitant and I feel that there is a limit of me telling people to buy the book because it feels like I'm lying if I would say that the Storm ongoing solo is awesome/great/good because people would think the story as well as the art is good.

If it was Ibanez who drew the ongoing solo from first to last, I can still say the art is great, because though it is not visually bright/colorful but it looks very realistic. and i can recommend the ongoing Storm solo.

The art really ruined it for me. For example, I wasn't feeling the awesomeness of Storm deflecting the bullets because the art wasn't good.

@whoa: that ENTIRE page should be cast into the pit and burned.

The artist is actually consistent in drawing Beast well.

@jhazzroucher: last time I checked, it was her book. If he needs to draw garbage, do it to her cast.

Ahahaha. :)

Personally, I love issues 1-5! But that random dude attacking the plane got WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY too much attention.

@whoa: You're right. With a character like Storm you have to go in strong or go home. This is her first ongoing they should have thrown her in at the deep. Set up a unique universe that really takes her outside from the X-Men. And let the audience find out something about her that we never knew. None of that has really happened for me so far. Everything is good but it's grabbing me.

One of the things I would have loved would have been seeing Storm really learning about her white haired blue eyed ancestors and connecting with them on a spiritual level similar to Buffy and The Slayers or Avatar.

As for the art...The covers were great. And I loved this Victors version of Storm because she didn't look Eurocentric. I know black people have many different features but some artists use that as an excuse to make her look like a white lady with a tan *cough Greg Land

True to the bold.

I think Pak wanted something different for Storm that doesn't involve a lot of appearances of other x-men characters.

Curse the artist who drew this issue.

@poisonfleur: Lmao!

I agree with the general consensus here. The book could have definitely been better from the storyline to the dreaded art. I think Pak did a wonderful job with characterization and he has the best handle of her powers. (more so than any of the other current X-writers) However the book lacked momentum for awhile and featured very forgetful villains. I really wished Pak would have been able to add an A or even B lister to go up against Storm and actually give her a good fight. Every fight scene seemed like a walk in the park for Storm since none of the villains stood an actual chance against her. Her feats are the best things about the book IMO, but I am interested in this villain showing up in next issue and thank God Victor is returning.

@poisonfleur said:

@malachi_munroe said:

@whoa: that ENTIRE page should be cast into the pit and burned.

Curse the artist who drew this issue.

This SLAYED me! *steals*

@poisonfleur said:

Curse the artist who drew this issue.

This is amazing! XD

@roddy010 Agreed 100%!

to me its written in a way that they were not intending it to last longer than 12 issues. nightcrawler was done the same way

Good point. But if sales were just doing great, it would have gone beyond 12 issues.