I read this week's I, Vampire solely for the Stormwatch appearance - I don't know why I dropped off that book but I'm back on it until it's over and I'll catch up on the few issues I missed because the issue was pretty good - and I was struck with the thought that apparently EVERYONE CAN WRITE STORMWATCH BETTER THAN WHOEVER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ONGOING SERIES. I'll admit there's some overreacting there, but I think it's valid. Those two fill-in issues of Stormwatch? My favorites so far. This appearance in I, Vampire? Simply perfect. The first stretch in the ongoing was a train wreck and the current stretch is only good because you can compare it to the first issues (even though I'll say that the last issue was actually solid). This, and the thought that maybe the people carrying the burden for an ongoing story are failing because they're trying too hard, brought to mind what I think is an amazing idea. My thought is that they should just scrap the series but keep the team around to just make guest appearances across the line. The team is supposed to be a secret right? The team is supposed to "tie the DCU together" right? I think those two ideas could be carried out by guest-appearances and occasional one-shots and back ups. The team's mandate of working behind the scenes would be lived out by the comic. There could be an ongoing problem that is the team's own story that they're dealing with, the plot line that has them appear in a new book every 4 or 5 months (that is, if you want continuity, as I really don't think it's necessary at all times. crap like just showing up because something weird is going on like what happened in this issue is sufficient for me), and when done right (seriously, read I, Vampire) you can quickly get a feel for the characters whenever they show up. The only real snag I see is character development, but since that's been handled in such a wonky way up until this point anyway, I don't see the harm. And maybe if this worked for a while a mini could follow up after a couple years of this and maybe an ongoing well in the future. But maybe I should give the ongoing that exists right now a little more slack (I am running low though) since the last issue gave me a glimmer of hope.

I was wondering whether you'd read I, Vampire #12 yet. I think this is the only DCnU characterization of Apollo that I really like, the writing wasn't as forced as it's been since the reboot began.

Also Pike made an appearance in Savage Hawkman but eh, who really cares about Pike?

Stormwatch never felt like it fit in the DCU to me. Ihave a feeling I'm going to think the same thing about WildCats.

i agree stormwatch kinda sucks, and yeah i made the comparison that recent issues are a lot better than the first arc. midnighter and apollo feel forced , like they must remind you every few seconds that they are a couple. im still reading bc i was a fan of the authority .

and apollo having a real name is horrible. it shouldve been left alone.

@Buckshot said:

I read this week's I, Vampire solely for the Stormwatch appearance - I don't know why I dropped off that book but I'm back on it until it's over and I'll catch up on the few issues I missed because the issue was pretty good - and I was struck with the thought that apparently EVERYONE CAN WRITE STORMWATCH BETTER THAN WHOEVER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ONGOING SERIES. I'll admit there's some overreacting there, but I think it's valid. Those two fill-in issues of Stormwatch? My favorites so far. This appearance in I, Vampire? Simply perfect. The first stretch in the ongoing was a train wreck and the current stretch is only good because you can compare it to the first issues (even though I'll say that the last issue was actually solid). This, and the thought that maybe the people carrying the burden for an ongoing story are failing because they're trying too hard, brought to mind what I think is an amazing idea. My thought is that they should just scrap the series but keep the team around to just make guest appearances across the line. The team is supposed to be a secret right? The team is supposed to "tie the DCU together" right? I think those two ideas could be carried out by guest-appearances and occasional one-shots and back ups. The team's mandate of working behind the scenes would be lived out by the comic. There could be an ongoing problem that is the team's own story that they're dealing with, the plot line that has them appear in a new book every 4 or 5 months (that is, if you want continuity, as I really don't think it's necessary at all times. crap like just showing up because something weird is going on like what happened in this issue is sufficient for me), and when done right (seriously, read I, Vampire) you can quickly get a feel for the characters whenever they show up. The only real snag I see is character development, but since that's been handled in such a wonky way up until this point anyway, I don't see the harm. And maybe if this worked for a while a mini could follow up after a couple years of this and maybe an ongoing well in the future. But maybe I should give the ongoing that exists right now a little more slack (I am running low though) since the last issue gave me a glimmer of hope.

The problem i see whith your idea is that some years ago, when this characters were in the Authority, but there wasn't an Authority ongoing, so they were only used to make the other characters look good, since the Authority were supossed to be the most powerfull team, but everyone could find a way of defeat them. Also, relegate Stormwatch to guest starring, one-shots and mini-series would be put them under the direct tumb of Dan Didio, Jim Lee and Geoff Johns, and Didio and Johns don't give a shit about characters who are not their favorites, and i like Lee, but since he didn't created any of this characters and are no longer the cashcows they were to wildstorm, there's no guarantee that he would peotect them from fall into oblivion. I better second the idea of bring Paul Jentkins as regular writer.

@midnightmare said:

@Buckshot said:

I read this week's I, Vampire solely for the Stormwatch appearance - I don't know why I dropped off that book but I'm back on it until it's over and I'll catch up on the few issues I missed because the issue was pretty good - and I was struck with the thought that apparently EVERYONE CAN WRITE STORMWATCH BETTER THAN WHOEVER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ONGOING SERIES. I'll admit there's some overreacting there, but I think it's valid. Those two fill-in issues of Stormwatch? My favorites so far. This appearance in I, Vampire? Simply perfect. The first stretch in the ongoing was a train wreck and the current stretch is only good because you can compare it to the first issues (even though I'll say that the last issue was actually solid). This, and the thought that maybe the people carrying the burden for an ongoing story are failing because they're trying too hard, brought to mind what I think is an amazing idea. My thought is that they should just scrap the series but keep the team around to just make guest appearances across the line. The team is supposed to be a secret right? The team is supposed to "tie the DCU together" right? I think those two ideas could be carried out by guest-appearances and occasional one-shots and back ups. The team's mandate of working behind the scenes would be lived out by the comic. There could be an ongoing problem that is the team's own story that they're dealing with, the plot line that has them appear in a new book every 4 or 5 months (that is, if you want continuity, as I really don't think it's necessary at all times. crap like just showing up because something weird is going on like what happened in this issue is sufficient for me), and when done right (seriously, read I, Vampire) you can quickly get a feel for the characters whenever they show up. The only real snag I see is character development, but since that's been handled in such a wonky way up until this point anyway, I don't see the harm. And maybe if this worked for a while a mini could follow up after a couple years of this and maybe an ongoing well in the future. But maybe I should give the ongoing that exists right now a little more slack (I am running low though) since the last issue gave me a glimmer of hope.

The problem i see whith your idea is that some years ago, when this characters were in the Authority, but there wasn't an Authority ongoing, so they were only used to make the other characters look good, since the Authority were supossed to be the most powerfull team, but everyone could find a way of defeat them. Also, relegate Stormwatch to guest starring, one-shots and mini-series would be put them under the direct tumb of Dan Didio, Jim Lee and Geoff Johns, and Didio and Johns don't give a shit about characters who are not their favorites, and i like Lee, but since he didn't created any of this characters and are no longer the cashcows they were to wildstorm, there's no guarantee that he would peotect them from fall into oblivion. I better second the idea of bring Paul Jentkins as regular writer.

I'm not sure what you're talking about when you say that everyone was finding a way to beat them for a while, but my thought would be more cameos like we had in I, Vampire, which clearly doesn't follow that pattern. It's actually much more like Planetary (which really is what I thought this incarnation of Stormwatch was going to be like when I first heard about it) in which this team that's mostly unknown to the rest of the world shows up when weird things happen (and pretty much any conflict in any of the other books could fall into that category) and gets involved in fixing it. And they wouldn't even need to make themselves known every time. They could be working behind the scenes (because that's supposed to be their thing, right?) and only the reader sees how much of a role they play when they pop into another character or team's book because they never actually interact. They wouldn't be trying to fight the good guys in every book they appeared in, so they wouldn't need to be used as stepping stones. They'd be the secret professionals that they're billed as and they'd come in, deal with part of the problem, and get out. Being used in other comics wouldn't put them any more under the thumb of the creators you mentioned any more than they were in I, Vampire, and that worked out. I'd love Jenkins to take over if he kept up the standard he brought with his two issues, but seeing as neither that nor what I'm suggesting is ever going to happen anyway, I prefer the idea of them operating this way, since it's far more fitting for what they're "supposed" to be.

@CitizenBane said:

I was wondering whether you'd read I, Vampire #12 yet. I think this is the only DCnU characterization of Apollo that I really like, the writing wasn't as forced as it's been since the reboot began.

Also Pike made an appearance in Savage Hawkman but eh, who really cares about Pike?

Yeah, not feeling forced was a big thing. I really just don't get why some people can make the characters work without seeming to try and others, the ones that write the characters most, seem to have so much trouble. Maybe it's because if you're just writing them for a short time you just show them how they are at that moment and don't have to worry about their growth and future plans? I don't know, but I wish it would change.

Pike who?

@Buckshot said:

Pike who?

Some dude from the first volume of WildC.A.T.S? I don't know that much about him since he didn't interest me enough to follow him. I remember he chumped Zealot once, that's about it.

Well,Stormwatch felt like a good and interesting title.

@CitizenBane said:

@Buckshot said:

Pike who?

Some dude from the first volume of WildC.A.T.S? I don't know that much about him since he didn't interest me enough to follow him. I remember he chumped Zealot once, that's about it.

I was just messin, I know Pike. He used to work for Helspont, killed Warblade's girlfriend and imagined he was destined to kill a Wildcat but Reno killed him in the end. I think anything anyone would ever need to know about Pike can be found in your post and this response.

I picked up the first trade and found it thoroughly entertaining. Great art and...acceptable storytelling. Not exceptional, but not terrible. Set it to a 'Muse' soundtrack and it's pretty great.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about when you say that everyone was finding a way to beat them for a while, but my thought would be more cameos like we had in I, Vampire, which clearly doesn't follow that pattern. It's actually much more like Planetary (which really is what I thought this incarnation of Stormwatch was going to be like when I first heard about it) in which this team that's mostly unknown to the rest of the world shows up when weird things happen (and pretty much any conflict in any of the other books could fall into that category) and gets involved in fixing it. And they wouldn't even need to make themselves known every time. They could be working behind the scenes (because that's supposed to be their thing, right?) and only the reader sees how much of a role they play when they pop into another character or team's book because they never actually interact. They wouldn't be trying to fight the good guys in every book they appeared in, so they wouldn't need to be used as stepping stones. They'd be the secret professionals that they're billed as and they'd come in, deal with part of the problem, and get out. Being used in other comics wouldn't put them any more under the thumb of the creators you mentioned any more than they were in I, Vampire, and that worked out. I'd love Jenkins to take over if he kept up the standard he brought with his two issues, but seeing as neither that nor what I'm suggesting is ever going to happen anyway, I prefer the idea of them operating this way, since it's far more fitting for what they're "supposed" to be." Well, but a)if they don't have their own title they are inserius danger of fall into oscurity, and b)whiout said title they are at the mercy of the writer of the title they apear as guest-stars,if he or she gives them a nice treat is good but he/she could write them totally out of character whithout something to contrast it.

@midnightmare said:

Well, but a)if they don't have their own title they are inserius danger of fall into oscurity, and b)whiout said title they are at the mercy of the writer of the title they apear as guest-stars,if he or she gives them a nice treat is good but he/she could write them totally out of character whithout something to contrast it.

It's possible they could fall into obscurity, but I doubt it. Many villains operate entirely out of other characters' books and they aren't just forgotten about when they're not being used. As for them being at the mercy of wherever they appear, that's a possibility, but how is that different from how it's been since it started? They're always at the mercy of a writer and most of the bad writing for them at this point has been their ongoing writers, not guest writers. I think allowing them to come into a story and be cool and then leave is probably easier than trying something long term. It may be less substantive, but right now their substance aint all that much worth talking about anyway so I feel like there's not much to lose. DC has recently given me more reason to believe this could be a better strategy for Stormwatch. As of the Superman Annual, Helspont and the Daemonites are being handled in more or less the way I think Stormwatch would work best.