Storm #1 Review

Written by: Ann Nocenti
Art by: Sid Kotian
Colors by: Andrew Dalhouse
Letters by: VC’s Ariana Maher
Cover art by: Alan Davis, Alejandro Sánchez
Cover price: $4.99
Release date: May 24, 2023

Storm #1 follows Storm during her Mohawk phase as she assumed leadership over the X-Men. When the team’s mission against the Brotherhood of Mutants leads to a new enemy with powers that match Storm’s, she questions her ability to lead the team.

Is It Good?

Oof! Storm #1 is not good. Ann Nocenti is a Marvel legend, but this issue was tough to get through. Let’s get into it.

As the blurb above states, this story takes place just after Storm adopted her “punk” look and assumed leadership of the X-Men. During one of her early missions as a leader, Storm sees promise in the team’s ability to work together, but she faces resistance to her sudden elevation into a leader, especially from Kitty Pryde. When Storm notices some odd weather and ocean anomalies, she begins to question the effectiveness of her powers, her effectiveness as a leader through Kitty’s pushback, and her overall confidence in herself as a mutant. When Storm reaches the height of self-doubt, she crosses paths with a cloaked enemy with powers to rival her own.

Exploring the early years of Storm’s punk phase should be a treat, especially when written by one of the writing legends of Marvel, but this issue is tough to get through.

First, the dialog is stiff, clunky, and in a few spots, downright painful to get through. Everyone sounds robotic, and the progression of dialog lacks any kind of natural rhythm you would expect from people engaged in conversation. It feels like people flatly reading lines from a script.

Second, Storm’s inner monologue constantly questions herself and her actions on nearly every page. Questioning oneself can be an effective character device, but it’s delivered with excessive repetition here. On every other page, Storm keeps asking herself, “Did I do that?” or “Is that my fault?” or “Have I ignored the consequences of my actions?” or “Is nature punishing me for my actions?” or “Am I imagining things?” It’s weird, it’s repetitive, and it doesn’t cast Storm in a good light.

Next, the plot is not quite developed. You get a lot of character- and world-building to level-set the current status quo of the team and each member, with a mild hint that the Brotherhood is up to something, but that’s about it. Admittedly, this is just the first issue, but a mini-series calling back to an earlier time shouldn’t need an entire issue to establish itself.

Last but not least, the art is Rough with a capital ‘R’. Sid Kotian falls short on the quality scale with sketchy figure work on the wide shots, distorted faces (even in the closeups), and terrible perspective shots. Sid Kotian isn’t a new artist to Marvel, but this art looks outright amateurish in spots.

About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

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Bits and Pieces

Storm #1 is a stormy issue to get through. Terribly stiff dialog, a script that’s almost all setup with very little plot during an established period in X-Men history, and art that’s passable in some spots and amateurish in others. If Marvel intended to give Storm a moment to shine in her own series, the forecast calls for gloomy with a good chance of disappointment.