The Wild Storm #3

• Title: The Wild Storm #3
• Comic Vine: link
• Writer: Warren Ellis
• Artist: Jon Davis-Hunt

If I’m listing out my favorite female comic heroes it’s almost impossible for me not to put Jenny Sparks in the top spot. Created in 1997 by Warren Ellis as a character for Stormwatch to not much acclaim, two years later with the launch of The Authority the character gave us one of the best, albeit short-lived, runs before her death which left a hole in the title subsequent stories were never able to properly fill.

The Spirit of the 20th Century, Jenny Sparks was a force of nature. Born January 1, 1900 and dying exactly 100 years later (right after killing God and cursing people who don’t understand how a millennium works), Jenny Sparks burned brightly and was gone.

As part of Warren Ellis’ new self-contained series The Wild Storm, Jenny Sparks is re-imagined for the 21st Century. Gone is the blond ponytail, foul mouth, and Union Jack tee. Slipping through the electrical networks of the world to come and go as she pleases, it’s hard to tell how much of the original character’s personality we’ll see in this new version which seems to be a blend of the original and her successor Jenny Quantum.

With Jenny’s first appearance more of a tease than anything else, most of the comic deals with the ongoing storyline involving Angela Spica who gets two different sets of unwelcome guests in her apartment. One attempting to save her, and one attempting to take her out. Unfortunately, Angela isn’t given much time to trust Grifter and his friends before the assassins from IO show up and begin shooting everything in sight. So far Angela’s story hasn’t brought her into Jenny’s orbit… but from the tease we get here I’m guessing it won’t be too long before that happens. Worth a look.

[DC, $3.99]