What do you think?
Rate this book
StormWatch (Collected Editions) #2
StormWatch, Volume 2: Lightning Strikes
Jenny Sparks
As the "Spirit of the 20th Century," the cantankerous electric woman known as Jenny Sparks has seen her fair share of adventure. With a life spanning the entirety of the 1900's, the unlikely heroine has rocketed through space, solved crimes as a hard-boiled detective, served faithfully in the British military, and globetrotted with counterculture super-heroes in an attempt to change the world. Now near the end of the century, Jenny has found herself with Stormwatch -- The United Nations Special Crisis Intervention Team. Under the furtive eye of the Weatherman, she works parallel with fellow operatives such as Hawksmoor, Battalion, and Rose Tattoo. Once again Jenny Sparks does what she can to make the world a better place.
Collecting: StormWatch 43-47
As the "Spirit of the 20th Century," the cantankerous electric woman known as Jenny Sparks has seen her fair share of adventure. With a life spanning the entirety of the 1900's, the unlikely heroine has rocketed through space, solved crimes as a hard-boiled detective, served faithfully in the British military, and globetrotted with counterculture super-heroes in an attempt to change the world. Now near the end of the century, Jenny has found herself with Stormwatch -- The United Nations Special Crisis Intervention Team. Under the furtive eye of the Weatherman, she works parallel with fellow operatives such as Hawksmoor, Battalion, and Rose Tattoo. Once again Jenny Sparks does what she can to make the world a better place.
Collecting: StormWatch 43-47
144 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
163 people want to read
About the author
Warren Ellis
1,972 books5,772 followersWarren Ellis is the award-winning writer of graphic novels like TRANSMETROPOLITAN, FELL, MINISTRY OF SPACE and PLANETARY, and the author of the NYT-bestselling GUN MACHINE and the “underground classic” novel CROOKED LITTLE VEIN, as well as the digital short-story single DEAD PIG COLLECTOR. His newest book is the novella NORMAL, from FSG Originals, listed as one of Amazon’s Best 100 Books Of 2016.
The movie RED is based on his graphic novel of the same name, its sequel having been released in summer 2013. IRON MAN 3 is based on his Marvel Comics graphic novel IRON MAN: EXTREMIS. He is currently developing his graphic novel sequence with Jason Howard, TREES, for television, in concert with HardySonBaker and NBCU, and continues to work as a screenwriter and producer in film and television, represented by Angela Cheng Caplan and Cheng Caplan Company. He is the creator, writer and co-producer of the Netflix series CASTLEVANIA, recently renewed for its third season, and of the recently-announced Netflix series HEAVEN’S FOREST.
He’s written extensively for VICE, WIRED UK and Reuters on technological and cultural matters, and given keynote speeches and lectures at events like dConstruct, ThingsCon, Improving Reality, SxSW, How The Light Gets In, Haunted Machines and Cognitive Cities.
Warren Ellis has recently developed and curated the revival of the Wildstorm creative library for DC Entertainment with the series THE WILD STORM, and is currently working on the serialising of new graphic novel works TREES: THREE FATES and INJECTION at Image Comics, and the serialised graphic novel THE BATMAN’S GRAVE for DC Comics, while working as a Consulting Producer on another television series.
A documentary about his work, CAPTURED GHOSTS, was released in 2012.
Recognitions include the NUIG Literary and Debating Society’s President’s Medal for service to freedom of speech, the EAGLE AWARDS Roll Of Honour for lifetime achievement in the field of comics & graphic novels, the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire 2010, the Sidewise Award for Alternate History and the International Horror Guild Award for illustrated narrative. He is a Patron of Humanists UK. He holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Essex.
Warren Ellis lives outside London, on the south-east coast of England, in case he needs to make a quick getaway.
The movie RED is based on his graphic novel of the same name, its sequel having been released in summer 2013. IRON MAN 3 is based on his Marvel Comics graphic novel IRON MAN: EXTREMIS. He is currently developing his graphic novel sequence with Jason Howard, TREES, for television, in concert with HardySonBaker and NBCU, and continues to work as a screenwriter and producer in film and television, represented by Angela Cheng Caplan and Cheng Caplan Company. He is the creator, writer and co-producer of the Netflix series CASTLEVANIA, recently renewed for its third season, and of the recently-announced Netflix series HEAVEN’S FOREST.
He’s written extensively for VICE, WIRED UK and Reuters on technological and cultural matters, and given keynote speeches and lectures at events like dConstruct, ThingsCon, Improving Reality, SxSW, How The Light Gets In, Haunted Machines and Cognitive Cities.
Warren Ellis has recently developed and curated the revival of the Wildstorm creative library for DC Entertainment with the series THE WILD STORM, and is currently working on the serialising of new graphic novel works TREES: THREE FATES and INJECTION at Image Comics, and the serialised graphic novel THE BATMAN’S GRAVE for DC Comics, while working as a Consulting Producer on another television series.
A documentary about his work, CAPTURED GHOSTS, was released in 2012.
Recognitions include the NUIG Literary and Debating Society’s President’s Medal for service to freedom of speech, the EAGLE AWARDS Roll Of Honour for lifetime achievement in the field of comics & graphic novels, the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire 2010, the Sidewise Award for Alternate History and the International Horror Guild Award for illustrated narrative. He is a Patron of Humanists UK. He holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Essex.
Warren Ellis lives outside London, on the south-east coast of England, in case he needs to make a quick getaway.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
July 1, 2022
This is a very good volume of self-contained stories with four stories focusing on individual members of the team and one cosmic assembly tale. The best one shows Jenny Sparks and her century-long career, but the one where Jack Hawksmoor has to bring a mad president's son to justice, and the one where Battalion faces a white supremacist group, and the one in which members of the three disparate StormWatch teams socialize to get to know one another as a backdrop to a Rose Tattoo story are great, too. The art is very good, especially in the final story with a sweeping cosmic-horror vibe, and Ellis' writing is at his best, with both character and plot taking center stage. It's my favorite StormWatch book, and I recommend it to fans of team books.
May 28, 2024
Can super appreciate the focusing on individual team members here and mostly the most interesting team members!
The Jenny Sparks, Spirit of the Century, solo story stands out as the 5/5 here, while the others keep the intrigue and interest high!
The Jenny Sparks, Spirit of the Century, solo story stands out as the 5/5 here, while the others keep the intrigue and interest high!
March 5, 2023
This volume is a mostly weighted towards political/crime thriller, which is balanced out by a slice of life story. The serial murder investigation by Jack Hawksmoor is focused and entertaining. Jenny Sparks, "the spirit of the 20th century, origin story features a lot of detective work as well as sorrow. Jackson King's visit to his hometown becomes to a background to a political thriller, reinforcing his sense of duty and resourcefulness. When the team goes on an international bar crawl, the characters undergo further development and become more human.
The science fiction story at the end is forgettable compared to the rest of the book.
The science fiction story at the end is forgettable compared to the rest of the book.
September 27, 2017
Secondo capitolo per Stormwatch: il gruppo di supereroi più potenti del continuum fronteggia un invasione aliena da un'altra dimensione, l'attacco di un gruppo di Uomini di Neanderthal, la manifestazione dell'uomo Vitruviano, la defezione di Martian Manhunter (che magari vorrebbe tornare a giocare con la JLA), le trame in sottofondo del Signore delle Spade. Insomma: sembra che non ci si annoi, in realtà c'è troppa, troppa, troppa carne al fuoco. Disegni discreti.
April 17, 2023
Aventuras unitarias y/o de índole más personal sobre los miembros del grupo marcan un tramo donde Warren Ellis acusa mayor comodidad al frente del título, permitiéndose algunos experimentos y proyectar argumentos secundarios que promete desarrollar en el mediano plazo. Si entretiene independientemente del interés que generen los personajes, malo no puede ser.
October 19, 2022
The gradual build up of the overall story via individual characters adventures and exploration of the team in general really is superb. Stormwatch still is and exceptional piece of work even 20 years after it originally appeared
May 18, 2017
Not as good as the first one mainly due to every issue containing a separate small story about different characters.
Read
October 10, 2019Fun read, better than expected
June 30, 2021
Nice, especially the Jim Lee all splash issue at the end.
3.7 stars
3.7 stars
October 4, 2022
Номер (44) про Дженни Спаркс очень хороший, и совершенно автономный. По своему обыгрыванию эволюции супергеройского жанра очень похож на прото-Плэнетари.
January 10, 2017
Reprints Stormwatch (1) #43-47 (December 1996-May 1997). Jack Hawksmoor tracks a killer protected by the government, Jenny Sparks recalls her hundred years of adventure, Battalion finds himself the target of a rogue militia bent on battling the U.N., Rose Tattoo escapes her cell, and a new threat of Daemonites surfaces on Earth.
Written by Warren Ellis and with illustrations by Tom Raney and Jim Lee, Stormwatch 2: Lightning Strikes is the second collection in Ellis’ popular run on the series. Originally collected in five volumes, Ellis’ run has been collected in two larger volumes Stormwatch—Volume 1 contains both Stormwatch 1: Force of Nature and Stormwatch 2: Lightning Strikes.
I loved Ellis run on Stormwatch (and subsequent run on The Authority). I will say however rereading Stormwatch that Stormwatch 2: Lightning Strikes is not his most captivating volume.
The story for Stormwatch 2: Lightning Strikes is largely stand-alone stories. The comic features solo stories for Jack Hawksmoor, Jenny Sparks, Battalion, and a quasi-solo story for Rose Tattoo. In addition to those stories you get a “briefing” on a mission against WildC.A.T.s’ enemies the Daemonites (which feels like a real throw-away issue). The stand-alone stories aren’t as fun because Ellis had such a nice over-arching plot for the series and these just seem to slow it down. It does however begin to set-up the game changing “Change or Die” storyline with the reawakening of the High in the Rose Tattoo story.
The one stand out of these series is Jenny Sparks’ decades adventures. The character has been “fighting crime” since the ’20s and Ellis uses the story to look at changes in superheroes through the decades. When Ellis wrote this, this reflective nature of comics was a rather new idea (Alan Moore was doing it with Supreme as well). The story was fun and original and featured variant covers which featured different styles of covers…including a fun mock Watchmen cover.
While Stormwatch 2: Lightning Strikes way not be the best collection, the new collection which includes Ellis’ start to the series does make it a great buy. Ellis was really experimenting with Stormwatch at this point. You can already see the Authority forming in these volumes and you can read a lot of Marvel’s classic ’80s series Squadron Supreme in it as well…it is worth the read. Stormwatch 2: Lightning Strikes was followed by Stormwatch 3: Change or Die (which also begins Ellis’ Stormwatch—Volume 2).
Written by Warren Ellis and with illustrations by Tom Raney and Jim Lee, Stormwatch 2: Lightning Strikes is the second collection in Ellis’ popular run on the series. Originally collected in five volumes, Ellis’ run has been collected in two larger volumes Stormwatch—Volume 1 contains both Stormwatch 1: Force of Nature and Stormwatch 2: Lightning Strikes.
I loved Ellis run on Stormwatch (and subsequent run on The Authority). I will say however rereading Stormwatch that Stormwatch 2: Lightning Strikes is not his most captivating volume.
The story for Stormwatch 2: Lightning Strikes is largely stand-alone stories. The comic features solo stories for Jack Hawksmoor, Jenny Sparks, Battalion, and a quasi-solo story for Rose Tattoo. In addition to those stories you get a “briefing” on a mission against WildC.A.T.s’ enemies the Daemonites (which feels like a real throw-away issue). The stand-alone stories aren’t as fun because Ellis had such a nice over-arching plot for the series and these just seem to slow it down. It does however begin to set-up the game changing “Change or Die” storyline with the reawakening of the High in the Rose Tattoo story.
The one stand out of these series is Jenny Sparks’ decades adventures. The character has been “fighting crime” since the ’20s and Ellis uses the story to look at changes in superheroes through the decades. When Ellis wrote this, this reflective nature of comics was a rather new idea (Alan Moore was doing it with Supreme as well). The story was fun and original and featured variant covers which featured different styles of covers…including a fun mock Watchmen cover.
While Stormwatch 2: Lightning Strikes way not be the best collection, the new collection which includes Ellis’ start to the series does make it a great buy. Ellis was really experimenting with Stormwatch at this point. You can already see the Authority forming in these volumes and you can read a lot of Marvel’s classic ’80s series Squadron Supreme in it as well…it is worth the read. Stormwatch 2: Lightning Strikes was followed by Stormwatch 3: Change or Die (which also begins Ellis’ Stormwatch—Volume 2).
July 22, 2020
Hawksmoor investigates a disturbance in the city that leaves people dead.
Jenny Sparks's story through the ages also has the artwork match the decade when it happens. It's a story with ups and downs that has made Jenny into the cynical person she is now. Jackson helps her renew her hope for the future.
Battalion gets captured by white supremacists wanting to send a message by bombing a government building.
The Stormwatch members finally have a moment to socialize and get to know each other. Meanwhile Weatherman's plan to change the world is slowly coming to fruition. An incident with Rose Tattoo and a target he was tracing in the Rockies may move up his schedule.
A radioactive disaster in Serbia has Weatherman send a custom Stormwatch team to investigate.
Jenny Sparks's story through the ages also has the artwork match the decade when it happens. It's a story with ups and downs that has made Jenny into the cynical person she is now. Jackson helps her renew her hope for the future.
Battalion gets captured by white supremacists wanting to send a message by bombing a government building.
The Stormwatch members finally have a moment to socialize and get to know each other. Meanwhile Weatherman's plan to change the world is slowly coming to fruition. An incident with Rose Tattoo and a target he was tracing in the Rockies may move up his schedule.
A radioactive disaster in Serbia has Weatherman send a custom Stormwatch team to investigate.
June 30, 2009
One of the better cynical takes on super heroes from Warren Ellis, from back in the days before he got really uptight about writing super heroes.
Nice mix of short stories giving various members of the team a shot at a solo adventure. The Jack Hawksmoor one was an interesting, if slightly surreal, detective story, Battalion's is a straight forward action mystery, and Jenny's tells her life story through various homages to other styles of comic book art.
The teams night on the town story was fun as well. Nice to see heroes interacting and feeling like normal people rather than huge bags of angst and grim motivation.
This volume is a nice breather before we head into some of the later big event stories. It has a good mix of politics, fun, action, cynicism, and larger than life adventure.
Nice mix of short stories giving various members of the team a shot at a solo adventure. The Jack Hawksmoor one was an interesting, if slightly surreal, detective story, Battalion's is a straight forward action mystery, and Jenny's tells her life story through various homages to other styles of comic book art.
The teams night on the town story was fun as well. Nice to see heroes interacting and feeling like normal people rather than huge bags of angst and grim motivation.
This volume is a nice breather before we head into some of the later big event stories. It has a good mix of politics, fun, action, cynicism, and larger than life adventure.
May 19, 2009
Collecting issues 43-47 of the popular Warren Ellis penned Stormwatch, this book lets some of the best of the series characters go solo - well sort of. Jack Hawksmoor tracks a killer, Battalion clashes with anti U.N. terrorists and Jenny Sparks tells the story of her century spanning life.
The Jenny Sparks issue is the best in the book, using retro comic art to illustrate and chart Jenny's career; I loved the famous Gibbons Watchmen pull back, substituting a discarded smiley clock faces dressed doll for the Comedian and his smiley badge; but there's also a century's worth of influences and styles to go with it - just brilliant. Other highlights are the international pub crawl and a whole issue illustrated with full page panels.
The Jenny Sparks issue is the best in the book, using retro comic art to illustrate and chart Jenny's career; I loved the famous Gibbons Watchmen pull back, substituting a discarded smiley clock faces dressed doll for the Comedian and his smiley badge; but there's also a century's worth of influences and styles to go with it - just brilliant. Other highlights are the international pub crawl and a whole issue illustrated with full page panels.
September 19, 2010
Here's where Ellis writing on this series starts to really pick up. He focuses a few books on individual characters, getting deep inside their heads and backstories (or in the case of Rose Tattoo, her psychosis). This has two primary effects: I get to really appreciate who Bendix has put on his team and why (what cool, scary things they're capable of), and Ellis gets to slow down the usual "big hero team" antics and impossible balancing act to create solid story patterns.
The additional stories from there give us some great team dynamics, a little humor, and climax by diving *deep* into territory of mental pain and imagination. Love the narrative style of Assembly - sparse but telling, gives the artists plenty of room to shine, and leaves us wanting *much* more.
The additional stories from there give us some great team dynamics, a little humor, and climax by diving *deep* into territory of mental pain and imagination. Love the narrative style of Assembly - sparse but telling, gives the artists plenty of room to shine, and leaves us wanting *much* more.
January 3, 2016
The only reason I gave this four instead of five is that I know how good Ellis' Stormwatch/Authority will get and I needed room for improvement. (Still wish goodreads allowed for half stars.) The purposeful use of "comic eras" as a way to tell Jenny Sparks history, as well as the general ability of Warren E. to somehow bring the most cliche of characters to unique life with dialogue that actual people might say (actual people in a superhero universe, of course) is what makes you actually care what happens when he pulls out all the stops and managed, for a short while, to make the WildStorm universe the best thing in superhero comics, ever.
May 4, 2012
Much better than the first volume for me, with several of the more intersting characters (particularly the ones Ellis created like Jenny Sparks and Rose Tattoo) getting their chance to shine on their own. I'm still not a fan of Raney's art, although I know a lot of people get a kick out of the ridiculous Image style art either on an ironic level or just because they think the big splashes and huge muscles and guns are fun. Still, Ellis never fails to deliver a better than average sci-fi story and his run on StormWatch is no exception.
October 22, 2015
This is an odd volume. Rather than a cohesive story arc, this book contains 4 issues focusing each on a different team member, and one story involving several team members featuring only one illustration per page, like a picture book. Each story has a bit different mood, but I'm really warming Jack Hawksmoor, the guy who can communicate with cities. There is some very unusual stuff here for a super team title, and I'd like to read more.
March 4, 2009
A number of one shot stories, the best of which are Jenny Sparks' history and Stormwatch's night on the town(s). The art in the Jenny Sparks story, by Tom Raney, is particularly impressive. Raney's other works is non-spectacular, but in this story he copies styles from different decades to reflect the different time periods of Jenny's century-long life.
December 18, 2009
Ellis had not hit his stride here. I guess compared with the rest of the WildStorm line of the mid-90s, this must have looked like high art, but in hindsight: Meh. The highlight is the Jenny Sparks issue, which is a parody/homage of several 20th C. comics, but its reference to Watchmen just reminded me that Moore had already done similar tributes, and better.
August 2, 2013
Re-reading this series 15 years down the line, I'm not quite as blown away as on first read. This volume in particular sees the series sag, as a few characters are given individual stories, supposedly to give the reader an insight into their inner minds. Doesn't add anything, for me. Only really works as a prelude to the bigger ructions that follow.
March 13, 2009
Here we get a lot of character backstory, which is great, but misses the intensity of the first volume. Still, love this series.
March 25, 2011
This volume suffers a little for being stand alone stories, but overall they were enjoyable even if they lacked a but of Ellis' usual finesse.
June 29, 2013
Very much like x men. Only sanctioned by the u.n. and all the superhumans were created by a comet and need to be activated. Some intriguing characters enliven the proceedings.
July 12, 2013
One-off stories that run the gamut from OK to very good, but still, little continuity.
June 29, 2009
some good ellis stuff pre-authority and planetary
December 12, 2017
This has two of my favorite characters from The Authority. I highly recommend it. I was incredibly lucky to get it for a steal at $1.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews