REVIEW: The Weatherman #5 by Jody LeHeup, Nathan Fox, Dave Stewart, & Steve Wands

The Weatherman #5 is out 10/10.

By Bo Stewart — There’s not much I like more than a comic that gets better with each new issue. The Weatherman, for example, is a comic that knows exactly what it is, featuring a unique blend of dark comedy and sci-fi action that sets it apart from everything else on the shelf. In The Weatherman #5, the creators brought their A game once again, telling this story with a sheer confidence that’s evident on every page.

Over the course of these first five issues, writer Jody LeHeup and artist Nathan Fox have built a fully fleshed out world. The amount of thought that went into every character, vehicle, weapon and architectural design is almost mind-blowing. Let me lay it out like this: every single panel in this comic is a feast for the eyes. This is essentially a book that pushes current products and trends to their logical (and sometimes terrifying) extremes, without anything in it seeming out of place. Weatherman plays within the clear rules that it sets for itself. It’s a perfect example of how a world with real depth can seem more engaging than a world with more breadth. The creators have an intimate familiarity with this world, and they are clearly having a blast playing in it.

While the creators may be having fun making Weatherman, most of the characters in their story are definitely not enjoying themselves. This is a world that’s in deep deep pain. In this story, the Earth was destroyed and the humans now living on Mars are desperate for justice. If justice isn’t available, vengeance will have to suffice…even if it’s gratuitous or misplaced. Our main protagonist, Nathan Bright, is paying the steep price for all of mankind’s pain. I don’t want to spoil exactly what his punishment is here, but, trust me, it’s nightmare fuel. In short, the thematic territory LeHeup explores is challenging, and I admire how the book refuses to take a clear side. Like many of my favorite stories, Weatherman lets you make up your own mind.  

This is a dark and cynical take on the future, to be sure, but the creators leave plenty of room for fun. Riffing off the ridiculousness that is life-in-2018 (and the destructive path we seem so intent on staying on) seems to be the only way to cope with said ridiculousness. And no comic is doing this better than Weatherman.    

Overall: The Weatherman gets better with every issue. Its unique blend of dark comedy and sci-fi action make this a comic you simply cannot afford to miss. 9.5/10

Bo grinds for the man by day so he can create comics by night. He is the lesser half of the Stewart Brothers writing team and can be found on Twitter and Instagram @stewart_bros

REVIEW: The Weatherman #2 by Jody LeHeup, Nathan Fox, Dave Stewart, & Steve Wands

The Weatherman #2 drops on July 18.

By Zack Quaintance — The Weatherman #1 was a pretty impressive debut comic, one that I like even more after getting some additional context from this second issue. In the first issue, there’s a montage in which it’s established that the titular Weatherman is painfully earnest, an irreverent entertainer who is blatant about his thoughts, feelings, desires, and corny jokes. I wasn’t sure last issue if these qualities were established for laughs, or if there was a greater narrative function for them.

After reading The Weatherman #2, it’s now clear it was the latter. Not to give too much away (ahem, spoilers!), but the central conceit of this series is that our protagonist at some point had his mind wiped. This plays to one of the comic book medium’s greatest strengths: the ability of drawings to create rough approximations for readers to envision themselves in characters better than they can in movies or on TV. Working a hero’s innocence into the plot plays to that strength, engendering a powerful amount of sympathy for our lead, feckless and crude as he may sometimes be. He’s basically a man who likely committed a horrific crime but has been more or less good ever since, cleansed of that memory and persona, turned into an utter innocent.

So, that’s all really strong, and the art in #2 is as captivating as it was in the first issue. The third act also expertly rushes toward a searing cliffhanger, much like the first issue again. Between this book and another new favorite of mine, Skyward, Image Comics is putting out some really fundamentally sound books that incentivize reading monthly versus waiting for a trade. There’s something very endearing and old school about that, and I’m loving it.

Before I give this book my full-on, must-read glowing mega endorsement, however, I should note there’s a scene with some pretty gruesome animal cruelty. This is an adult comic, and violence is to be expected—hell, elsewhere it’s established that seven years ago one of our characters maybe aided a terrorist attack that killed 18 billion people—but there’s imagery in The Weatherman #2 that crosses some usual lines. I cringed. So, be warned that you might, too.  

Overall: The Weatherman continues to establish itself as yet another must-read science fiction comic in a banner year for that genre. The art, pacing, and concept are confident and complex, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the best of this book is still yet to come. 8.0/10

SPECIAL NOTE: For more thoughts about The Weatherman, see our Best Debut Comics of June 2018.

Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.