this entry covers the short story “Urban Storm” starring StormWatch. Originally printed in “the Art of Homage Studios” and reprinted in “WildStorm Rarities.”
This short story isn’t too much of anything, other than seeing StormWatch deal with a real life situation that they’d be called to, namely the LA Riots of 1992. It is only a few pages but it tries to deal with both violence and racism in a way that doesn’t come off as corny, preachy or pandering. I remember myself finding this story more powerful as a kid in the MidWest seeing some of his favorite comic characters deal with something that he’d only seen on television news. Now that I live in Los Angeles I can’t even begin to think of what it was like in this city during that time. This story reminds me of the harsh reality the city I now call home faced, as it has more or less been used as the setting for a joke in the last few years. It’s also nice seeing Jim Lee’s art in these pages depicting Battalion, Diva, Fuji and Hellstrike. Is this the only time Jim drew these characters? I can’t recall any others, but I really wish he would have, they look fantastic!
Because this story takes place in April 1992, that means it takes place before “WildC.A.T.s” starts, as it is all happening in August of 1992.
Next : “StormWatch” Vol. 1 issues 1 through 3 by Brandon Choi and Trevor Scott.
weathering wildstorm 
I think this story was included in black-and-white in
Genesis: The #1 Collection.
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