Almost to the quarter point to this 24 chapter story! Warren had stated that each 6 issues would be an arc to the overall 24 chapter story! What will it reveal? What new ideas and characters will be introduced? What set up and cliffhanger will it have for the 6th issue? Lets find out in The Wild Storm Chapter Five! And at the very bottom, I’ll link some other reviews and also a sneak peak at TWS issue #7’s cover and solicitation via Newsarama!
UPDATE: I just added a YouTube review that literally tears this issue in half,.. gulp. I appreciate different points of view and opinions so thought I’d add it here at the bottom!
What are Meanderings
In-depth analysis/thoughts, questions, and speculation.
SPOILER WARNING
The Wild Storm #5 Variant Covers
The Wild Storm #5 Meanderings
The Wild Storm #7 Cover and Solicitation
A YouTube Review That Literally Tears This Book In Half!
LINKS
The Wild Storm #5 Variant Covers
Here is the variant cover by Declan Shalvey for issue #5
Here is Jim Lee’s variant cover for issue #5
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Warren Ellis
Artist: Jon Davis-Hunt
Colors: Steve Buccellato
The Wild Storm Chapter Five Meanderings
Michael Cray a.k.a. Deathblow
In this issue we get some great character work for Michael Cray. We really get to see glimpses into who he his, his values and why he is who he is.
We see glimpses of his love for discovery beyond the horizon, and beyond the stars!
My only gripe with all of this is that he seems to come off as a little more sympathetic than I’d expect a professional killer to be.
Sorry for my ignorance, but I wasn’t really sure what this particular panel was saying. Is this his father complimenting or putting Mike down? Also, I’m not familiar with what “pistol-whipping his own tailor” implies.
He’s kinda a really super nice guy who cares about others, protects those who cannot protect themselves and doing the right thing, yet, he’s had a career in killing blindly for others. He’s a lover, not a fighter and he loves life.
And for some reason, it seems like his values are only now catching up with him now even though we see his morality and values instilled in him since he was a child.
Perhaps it’s just more complicated. He’s always felt this way, but when he was “working,” he was doing a job, and thought he was doing the right thing, and now is really questioning all of it. Okay okay, I can buy that.
Here, Miles Craven has asked Cray to basically kill Angela Spica, showing him unfiltered data after finding out that he’s dying. Boy, Craven is a sympathetic guy.
Cray sees that she’s not armed and scared. I imagine, in the past he’s never questioned his kill orders, yet here, he’s questioning everything.
Just don’t get too soft on me. The Deathblow I was used to may have had a heart, but he was hard and grizzled, if not tortured.
He’s really pushing back.
Ok,.. he’s showing some backbone for sure!
Either way, respect for authority here seems really lax. I supposed when Cray was in the service, he was following orders, but now,.. he’s like an independent contractor and is working for whomever he wants, and he’s starting to question his employer.
All of this leads to Michael quitting IO and Trelane, a representative of SkyWatch knocking on his door to recruit him for “honest work,” though she is presenting herself as working for Executive Protection Services. Um, that’s a lie, right?
Black Razors & Team 3
We get an up-close look at one of the patch on the Razors. On it there is Imperium A Ch….
I’m not really sure what it means. I tried to look it up. Nada.
BUT, I did look up Imperium in Wikipedia. It’s Latin which roughly translates as “power to command.”
As we established last issue Meanderings, Razors and Black Razors seem to be interchangeable. On the patch it only says Razors. This specific team of Razors had also been referred to as Razors Three, and on the patch, it says “Team 3.” Is Team 3 in any reference to the possibility of the original “Team 7?”
Daemonites!!!!
Yes, our first glimpse of this iteration of Daemonites! Here Lucy Blaze, a.k.a. Zealot refers to the creature as “Daemon.” It’s pretty obvious they’ve had history.
“It” refers to itself as “we” as if there was a hive-mind?
The design is great, though it does really make me think of the 80s David Lynch film The Fly!! Right!?
A history where Daemonites have been the antagonists atleast in Zealot’s perspective. Here this Daemonite presenting itself as almost benevolent. And perhaps they’ve always been “good” and maybe Marlowe, or the Kheribim are “bad.” OR better yet, they’re both “good and bad.” Two sides to a war and all. Both misunderstood.
Priscilla Kitaen, a.k.a. Voodoo
All of her appearances, outside of the first issue, are cryptic imagery used as promotional material for her band. I guess we haven’t really gotten back to her story yet, but Ellis didn’t want us to forget about her.
Here we see familiar imagery of Voodoo with her Daemonite arm, as in previous incarnations, she is part Daemonite and shares their abilities.
Question is, is this all just a gimmick for her album and it’s fake or real? Does she yet know she’s part Daemonite if she is at all? I’m assuming that she IS part Daemonite and may already know, but more likely that she is only starting to think she may be and that the arm is either real or it’s fake, and if she is part Daemonite, no one else really knows yet!
Also,.. doesn’t she look like she’s wearing one of the IO uniforms Michael Cray had on? Um, YES!
Shout-Outs?
Could this be a shout-out by artist Jon Davis-Hunt to a fellow artist friend Ben Willsher from his days at 2000 AD? “Hey Ben, you still owe me money!” ha ha, just kidding.
On the left of this next image, we see a movie theater showing The Last Boy Scout and Tango and Cash! Two buddy-cop films from the late 80s, early 90s. is someone a fan!?
Adrianna Tereshkova, a.k.a. Void and the Bleed
Here we get a little history of Void, and the introduction of the Bleed!
Void tries to explain these things to Angela Spica here …
I looked up Cartesian Theater in Wikipedia. I guess the idea is that “objects experienced are represented within the mind of the observer.” I’m not exactly sure how exactly, but in the wiki it talks about it as if an actual little person is watching, or “observing all the sensory data projected on a screen at a particular instant, making the decisions and sending out commands.”
Ok, I don’t know if that’s what is really meant here, but I get that she’s gonna make it so that Angela sees and experiences what she’s telling her, or showing her.
This is where she shows here and tells her about the Incision System. This isn’t the history of the Bleed, BUT, it’s the history of how it was discovered. Originally the Bleed was called “Bleed” because it was like the space between universes that “bleed” into the other, or something like that.
Here it’s being defined more with the explanation that “the universe as a skin you could cut into” hence the “Incision System.” The space under the skin they called “the Bleed.” And you could travel there,.. but to where? That in this iteration has yet to be determined, but I’m assuming it’ll be similar in that it would allow interdimensional/multi-versal travel. The DCU also has the Bleed now too! wink wink
IO vs Skywatch
We also get a simple distinction between IO and Skywatch.
Halo Brand
Just some more Halo branded products like the Halophone Titan, Halocell battery, and Haloce..?? Not sure what that last one is.
Is the Halophone Titan in reference to anything?? Why Titan? It does have the tagline “The strength of many.” Perhaps it offers a progressive community, social and crowdsourced features beyond what we have today!
Final Thoughts
Well, that’s it for this issue. It’s about on par with the previous issues, so it’s pretty consistent. The ending leaves you hanging, but not much of a cliffhanger. And as always, like a good tv show, I can’t wait for more!!!
Other Reviews for issue #5
8.5 Adventures in Poor Taste’s Review for The Wild Storm #5
The Wild Storm #7 Cover and Solicitation from Newsarama
THE WILD STORM #7
Written by Warren Ellis, art and cover by Jon Davis-Hunt, variant cover by Bryan Hitch.
Jackie King, chief analyst at I.O., tries to make sense of all the pieces scattered across the board since Angela Spica saved Jacob Marlowe’s life. Angela Spica wakes up at Jacob Marlowe’s safe house and starts to realize how far from real life she’s been thrown since then. But life is not slowing down, and Marlowe’s wild covert action team have to extract the last member of their number from an I.O. black site. Meet John Colt — moments before he’s either rescued or murdered or dissected to reveal a secret kept for thousands of years.
32 pages, $3.99, in stores on Sept. 20.
WHO IS THAT MAN ON THE LEFT
Ok, so is that Jackie King, a.k.a. Batallion, John Colt, Dolby, or … idk…. Marc Slayton?! Malcolm King!?!?!
Update: A Reviewer Tears This Book Apart… literally
Yikes, this review! I appreciate his perspective and his observations. I see where he’s coming from. I wonder how many people feel similarly regarding The Wild Storm.
I admit The Wild Storm isn’t perfect, and it’s not the old WSU, but I still like it and am excited to see where it goes.
I think Ellis has been writing a lot of television and it shows with The Wild Storm. I’m not saying it’s good or bad, just an observation. I feel it’s intentional. As are the choices that the reviewer criticizes such as the low budget feel settings in the book. It definitely crossed my mind to question why IO doesn’t look like the original IO with lots of high-tech stuff everywhere vs Craven sitting in a bare-bones office looking like he’s his own receptionist as the reviewer mentions. One could argue that the creators chose that to convey a more real-world style. Also, it’s possible that IO could later evolve to what we might expect to see from the original IO.
I loved the characters and ideas of the original WSU, and I’m thrilled to have a new WSU that I feel works in a new way! Maybe I’m too biased?
Anyhow, just thought it was a thought-provoking video to share.
LINKS
READ MORE WILDSTORM POSTS!
Meanderings from The Wild Storm #1, #2, #3, #4
Pre-Launch Speculation
Storm Warning: What is the Wild Storm
Other WSU Links
WildStorm Universe on Facebook
WildStorm selections on YouTube
Me on Twitter
WildStorm Addiction Web Site
WildStorm Addition on Twitter
Wild Times: An Oral History of WildStorm Studios on Twitter
Weathering Wildstorm A great blog going through WildStorm Continuity!
Wild Times on Facebook
WildTimes Web site
WildStorm Old Official Twitter
Daarkanjel on Twitter
Daarkanjel on Instagram
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