Vol. 1 & 2
The original version of the team was a United Nations-sponsored superhero group appearing in the WildStorm Universe of superheroes, originating at a time when WildStorm was an imprint of Image Comics. In later comics set in the DC Universe and published by DC Comics, the group is a highly-secretive group of superheroes who tackle dangerous missions while remaining completely unknown to the larger superhero community.
So, Stormwatch began in the comic book Stormwatch, published by Image Comics but owned by Jim Lee. Led by Weatherman Henry Bendix, the team resides in their orbital space station: Skywatch. They are not only responsible for planet-side threats but also threats that come from the far reaches of space. But as those threats increase, the question of just how prepared this team is to handle them comes into question.
Among the main early writers of Stormwatch (Vol. 1, 1993) were Jim Lee, Brandon Choi, H. K. Proger and Ron Marz. When Marz took on the writing chores on Stormwatch (starting with #10, 1994), James Robinson was writing WildC.A.T.s. Robinson and Marz, under the editorial direction of Jim Lee, intertwined the storylines of the two books over the course of several months. Also around this time, two two-issue miniseries were released, Stormwatch: Team One (written by James Robinson) and WildC.A.T.s: Team One (written by Steven Seagle). These two mini-series were intertwined, and revealed that the groundwork for both teams had been laid by a core group in the mid-1960.
Robinson's WildC.A.T.s run and Marz's Stormwatch run culminated in the "Wildstorm Rising" crossover event (WildStorm's first company-wide crossover, in 1995), during which the memberships of both teams were disrupted, with Stormwatch having sustained casualties and the WildC.A.T.s mistakenly believed dead.
So, Stormwatch began in the comic book Stormwatch, published by Image Comics but owned by Jim Lee. Led by Weatherman Henry Bendix, the team resides in their orbital space station: Skywatch. They are not only responsible for planet-side threats but also threats that come from the far reaches of space. But as those threats increase, the question of just how prepared this team is to handle them comes into question.
Among the main early writers of Stormwatch (Vol. 1, 1993) were Jim Lee, Brandon Choi, H. K. Proger and Ron Marz. When Marz took on the writing chores on Stormwatch (starting with #10, 1994), James Robinson was writing WildC.A.T.s. Robinson and Marz, under the editorial direction of Jim Lee, intertwined the storylines of the two books over the course of several months. Also around this time, two two-issue miniseries were released, Stormwatch: Team One (written by James Robinson) and WildC.A.T.s: Team One (written by Steven Seagle). These two mini-series were intertwined, and revealed that the groundwork for both teams had been laid by a core group in the mid-1960.
Robinson's WildC.A.T.s run and Marz's Stormwatch run culminated in the "Wildstorm Rising" crossover event (WildStorm's first company-wide crossover, in 1995), during which the memberships of both teams were disrupted, with Stormwatch having sustained casualties and the WildC.A.T.s mistakenly believed dead.
Collects: Backlash #8, Deathblow #16, Gen 13 #2, Grifter #1, Stormwatch Vol. 1 #21-22, Team 7: Objective: Hell #1, Union #4, WildC.A.T.S. #17, #19-20 & Wildstorm Rising #1-2.
Later, after a second imprint-wide crossover (Fire From Heaven), Warren Ellis took over writing Stormwatch (with #37, July 1996). Ellis continued to write the book as it transitioned into Stormwatch, Vol. 2.
- Stormwatch (Vol. 1, 1993-1997) ran for 50 issues plus a #0 (cover dated August 1993) and a #23.5 (Wizard supplement, cover dated June 1995).
- Stormwatch (Vol. 2, 1997-1998) ran for 11 issues plus a #0 (cover dated September 1997).
Apart from Stormwatch (Vol.1) issues #21-22 (they were collected in the''Wildstorm Rising'' trade), only Warren Ellis' runs on Vol. 1 & 2 have been collected in trade:
Volume 1
Volume 1
- StormWatch: Force of Nature (#37-42);
- StormWatch: Lighting Strikes (#43-47);
- StormWatch: Change or Die (#48-50, preview and #1-3 of Volume 2);
- Vol. 1 (#37-47).
Volume 2
- Stormwatch: Change or Die (#48-50 of Volume 1, preview and #1-3);
- Stormwatch: A Finer World (#4-9);
- Stormwatch: Final Orbit (#10-11 and WildC.A.T.S/Aliens);
The WildC.A.T.s/Aliens crossover of August 1998 - also written by Ellis - saw the Stormwatch team all but massacred by xenomorphs, the creatures from the Alien movies. Conveniently, most of the Stormwatch characters Ellis had not created were killed off in this story. A group of Stormwatch survivors became the main cast of Ellis' new series The Authority.
2002 Revival: Team Achilles
In September 2002, the Stormwatch brand was revived as Stormwatch: Team Achilles, written by Micah Ian Wright. The series followed a mostly non-superpowered UN troubleshooting team dealing with superhuman-related problems.
Wright was fired from the book after it was revealed that he had lied about being a US Army Ranger, with the result that the book abruptly cancelled with issue #23 (August 2004), one issue away from its planned conclusion. The planned final issue, #24, was never published, though the finished script is available online.
Collected editions:
Wright was fired from the book after it was revealed that he had lied about being a US Army Ranger, with the result that the book abruptly cancelled with issue #23 (August 2004), one issue away from its planned conclusion. The planned final issue, #24, was never published, though the finished script is available online.
Collected editions:
- Stormwatch: Team Achilles, Vol. 1 (#1-6);
- Stormwatch: Team Achilles, Vol. 2 (#7-11).
2006 Revival: Post Human Division
Stormwatch was one of several comic books to have been restarted following WildStorm Comics' WorldStorm event. The title was launched in November 2006 with writer Christos Gage and penciller Doug Mahnke. The series ended after issue #12, but was restarted in August 2008 as a part of the World’s End event with issue #13. The series ended with #24.
Collected editions:
Collected editions:
- Volume 1 (Worldstorm #1 and Stormwatch: Post Human Division #1-4 & #6-7);
- Volume 2 (Stormwatch: Post Human Division #5 & #8-12);
- Volume 3: World's End (Stormwatch: Post Human Division #13-19);
- Volume 4: Unnatural Species (Stormwatch: Post Human Division #20-24).
Vol. 3 [New 52]
DC Comics announced in June 2011 that the team would be incorporated into the DC Universe in a new ongoing series.
Collected editions (Vol. 3):
Collected editions (Vol. 3):
- Stormwatch Vol. 1: The Dark Side (collects Stormwatch Volume 3 #1-6);
- Stormwatch Vol. 2: Enemies of Earth (collects Stormwatch Volume 3 #7-12 and Red Lanterns #10);
- Red Lanterns Vol. 2: Death of the Red Lanterns (collects Stormwatch Volume 3 #9 and Red Lanterns #8-13).