Deadly Storm

Richard Castle's Deadly Storm #1

by Brian Michael Bendis (adapter), Richard Castle (Creator), Peter David

CASTLE fans rejoice! For the first time anywhere, CASTLE's titular hero Derrick Storm comes to life in the pages of this all-new graphic novel. This "adaptation" of Derrick Storm's first novel adventure takes our hero from the gritty world of the private eye all the way to the globe-hopping intrigue of the CIA. Eisner Award-winning Marvel Architect Brian Bendis and red hot Osborn writer Kelly Sue DeConnick worked closely with CASTLE creator Andrew Marlowe to create the one thing millions of CASTLE fans have been asking for: Their first real Derrick Storm adventure. A wall-to-wall, gritty, witty, globe-hopping detective thrill ride for fans of the hit TV show starring Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic, as well as fans of darn good comic books.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Marvel, Thriller

112 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

A comic book writer and erstwhile artist. He has won critical acclaim (including five Eisner Awards) and is one of the most successful writers working in mainstream comics. For over eight years Bendis’s books have consistently sat in the top five best sellers on the nationwide comic and graphic novel sales charts.

Though he started as a writer and artist of independent noir fiction series, he shot to stardom as a writer of Marvel Comics' superhero books, particularly Ultimate Spider-Man.

Bendis first entered the comic world with the "Jinx" line of crime comics in 1995. This line has spawned the graphic novels Goldfish, Fire, Jinx, Torso (with Marc Andreyko), and Total Sell Out. Bendis is writing the film version of Jinx for Universal Pictures with Oscar-winner Charlize Theron attached to star and produce.

Bendis’s other projects include the Harvey, Eisner, and Eagle Award-nominated Powers (with Michael Avon Oeming) originally from Image Comics, now published by Marvel's new creator-owned imprint Icon Comics, and the Hollywood tell-all Fortune and Glory from Oni Press, both of which received an "A" from Entertainment Weekly.

Bendis is one of the premiere architects of Marvel's "Ultimate" line: comics specifically created for the new generation of comic readers. He has written every issue of Ultimate Spider-Man since its best-selling launch, and has also written for Ultimate Fantastic Four and Ultimate X-Men, as well as every issue of Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, Ultimate Origin and Ultimate Six.

Brian is currently helming a renaissance for Marvel’s AVENGERS franchise by writing both New Avengers and Mighty Avengers along with the successful ‘event’ projects House Of M, Secret War, and this summer’s Secret Invasion.

He has also previously done work on Daredevil, Alias, and The Pulse.

Reviews

[Kelly (and the Book Boar) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/

Soooooo, I have to admit I knew zilch about this before requesting it. See, I just joined a new library that actually has some graphic novels in circulation so I started asking for anything by anyone I’d heard of before. I also live on Earth so I have heard of the television program Castle (but I’ve never watched it) . . .



No, you’re not even close yet pal. Okay, so it turns out Richard Castle is like an actual human who also writes the character Castle who himself is a writer and which the show is based on. Deadly Storm is NOT a “Castle” story (meaning the character) – heck, I guess it’s not even a “Castle” story (meaning the author) since Bendis really wrote it based off of Castle’s books . . .



Totally.

Now that THAT is all explained, what can I tell you about this volume? Well, lately it seems nothing ‘cause everybody wants to get all butthurt and cry “spoiler” on every stinking graphic novel review. If you’re the oversensitive sort, you probably should just stop reading. Still here? Good.

Alright, so the premise is this dude Storm is a P.I. who has been hired to find a “missing” husband. What he finds instead is a dude bumping uglies in the local trailer park. Then [spoilery stuff] happens which leads to Storm being hired on the D.L. by the C.I.A.

This one gets 4 Stars from me for one reason and one reason alone. Storm reminded me of Archer. Don’t believe me? Well, take a gander at the type of humor and the “voice” of Storm . . .



It was all very . . .



and it cracked me up. Man I love Archer!

I think this is one you’re either going to love or you’re going to hate. If you end up hating it? Well, then you can go ahead and . . .

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a decent story...but I'm totally confused.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that I'm the only person out there who didn't know there was a tv show called Castle.
I'm right aren't I?
I don't really watch tv, so I've never seen it.
P.S. I'm not a pretentious douche who thinks tv rots your brain. I mean, it does...but that's not why I don't watch it.

So this is a graphic novel based on a fake author's book? Except the fake books are called Nikki Heat series, right?
So who is Derrick Storm?
And who writes the books?
I'm just...confused.
I thought Bendis had come up with a spy series or something.

Oh God. I can hear you all laughing at me out there!

[Anthony Chavez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whoever thought to market the books of Castle from the series was a genius. I love getting in the mind of fictional character Richard Castle. He is witty, egotistical, jumps to conclusions, clumsy, jealous, real, and paints a beautiful picture with words.

The story was about what I expected from a Richard Castle plot: a little over the top, kind of goofy, and doesn't take itself very seriously, but still well-written and very entertaining; Moreover, The art was flawless. I'd love to see more of Derrick Storm, whether in text or in graphic novel form.

At this point I think I would buy anything with Richard Castle's name on it. I got a good kick out of his "Introduction" and "About the Author" sections. I have loved the Nikki Heat series.

[Joanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was about to congratulate myself for having the foresight to know how to break into my own office...But then I realized that I created an environment for myself that I might need to break into my own office.

[Jim Welke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember reading comic books as a kid, but I've never read a graphic novel. It was an interesting read and the artwork was incredible. I'm a fan of Castle and he talked about Derek Storm on the show. It was a short read, but I think I'll stick to the books.

[SA · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was pretty ridiculous but I liked it anyway! A graphic novel adaptation of a book written by a character on a television show. Ah, media. I love you.

To be honest, I expected more from Bendis--given his experience with Powers, I expected a little more meta, a little more knowingness from the pulpy bestseller Castle is meant to have made his career on. But for all that it was predictable in the Michael Crichton sort of way, it was still pretty amusing, because it's like a reflection of Castle who himself is an archetype.

I don't know that this would be a good fit for anyone not already a fan of Castle-the-show, but I did enjoy it, brief and pulpy as it was. Not as much as I enjoyed the Nikki Heat books, but it was an amusing addition to the canon.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not really into comic books but I must confess I really enjoyed reading Deadly Storm. As an "adaptation" of a novel written before Castle started working with Beckett and on the Heat series, I believe it sheds some light on Castle´s past. It seems that by joining Beckett he too became a hero in his own life, much like Derrick Storm on his many adventures.

Choosing to publish this was, in my most humble opinion, a fantastic idea. Richard Castle is already a character one seems to easily bond with, but this book is the first of a series that seem to work as a backstage pass into a life different from the one we have access to by just watching the show.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

While it was interesting to read about Derreck Storm, but this was way too rushed, art work was poor. I just found it too hard to enjoy, maybe if it was a novel they I would of liked it better. Too much of a gimmick.

[Gal · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5

I haven't been reading any comic books, so I thought maybe I should pick one up just to try it. And amazingly so, I started watching Castle again, which these comics are "based"on or rather "influenced" by.

I had a fun time reading this one. I expected a bit more but I am curious as to what will happen so I will continue.

[Vikas · Rating 4 out of 5]

And this is how fictional stuff becomes real. These books first made appearance in the TV series Castle and they trickled down in the real world and although its promotional material its good none the less.

I have always loved comics, and I hope that I will always love them. Even though I grew up reading local Indian comics like Raj Comics or Diamond Comics or even Manoj Comics, now's the time to catch up on the international and classic comics and Graphic novels. I am on my quest to read as many comics as I can. I Love comics to bit, may comics never leave my side. I loved reading this and love reading more, you should also read what you love and then just Keep on Reading.

[Tatiana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This graphic novel “adaptation” of fictional author Richard Castle’s first book in the Derrick Storm series, Deadly Storm, was rushed. It didn’t allow for a lot of time to get to know Storm, but what did come through was a cross between Castle himself and Jeffrey Donovan’s Michael Weston, just not as kickass or amusing as that combination should be. Even Clara Strike, the inspiration for whom we recently met on the show, wasn’t as compelling as I expected.

What I did like about this volume was the author information it gave about Castle and all the descriptions of his novels at the end. Overall, though, if I had to choose, Nikki Heat would by far win out over Derrick Storm in my book.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first adventure of Derrick Storm and it's straight to graphic novel unlike the other tie-in's. I think I would have preferred it to have been a novel rather than a graphic novel. The story is very rushed and could have done with a few more pages. The artwork wasn't the greatest. Most notable were the faces. Sometimes the characters looked like they had Downs Syndrome where in others then looked like they were trying to hide chestnuts in their cheeks.

All in all in wasn't a great first outing, maybe it's a good thing it was as short as it was.

[Garrison Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Derrick Storm is a smalltime private investigator whose recent assignment opens up an entire world of conspiracies involving money transfers and rogue CIA agents. The case starts off with Derrick spying on a cheating husband in a trailer park and continues with calls from CIA Agent Clara Strike wanting to hire him for a bigger job. Derrick is continually backed into a corner every time he thinks he’s in the clear, yet he figures out creative ways to get himself out of these sticky situations. Can he put the finishing touches on this case or will these rogue CIA agents disappear without a trace forever?

I’ve read a lot of crime fiction in my day and I’ve also watched a lot of police procedurals on TV. I know the formulas they use inside and out, front to back, and side to side. While I can’t piece together every single part of the formula, I do know that this graphic novel follows it down to the last detail. It depends on the formula so much that it becomes just another crime story rather than sticking out from the pack. It was enjoyable for what it was, but I’ve seen this scenario play out over and over again with other books and TV shows. Nothing about this graphic novel was original, but I still liked reading it. To put it mildly, this graphic novel was just plain fine. Not great, not terrible, just fine. Mediocre at best.

I wanted to give this book a higher grade when I read the opening line: “I’m not exactly an expert on what functioning adults do.” I know it’s unrealistic to expect that the opening line from every single likeable book should hook the reader instantly, but this is one of those rare occasions when it does. It had so much potential to show how messed up Derrick Storm really is. But sadly, I never got to see much of that beyond him joking about how his dad messed him up for life. In other words, he told the audience rather than showed them, which is a huge no-no in the writing business. Sure, he has nice one-liners here and there, but then again, so do a lot of hardboiled detectives. What makes Derrick Storm special? I can’t think of anything, really.

And while we’re on the topic of failed attempts to be original and cool, let’s talk about the names of the characters for a moment. We already know the main character’s name is Derrick Storm. We also know that his CIA handler is named Clara Strike. But did you also know that the trailer park prostitute is named Sassy Monroe (that’s a pseudonym, believe it or not)? I appreciate solid over-the-top names in my literature, but not when they’re so obvious that it becomes pretentious after a while. I’m not saying they should have boring names, don’t get me wrong. But there’s a middle ground between boring and over-the-top that would be suitable in a crime fiction setting. This is not it.

I’ve been pretty hard in judging this graphic novel, but don’t think for a moment that it wouldn’t make a nice gift for the mystery-lover in your life. It’s a quick read, it’s pieced together without any continuity issues, and it has all the whistles and bells that any detective story needs. If I hadn’t memorized this formula already, I might have a higher appreciation for it. But as it is, a mediocre graphic novel gets a mediocre mixed grade from me.

[Jaimie Engle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given this comic at a convention by someone and I am new to reading comics so this was a wonderful read for me. I scrutinized the panels, the artwork and the story, to understand the construction of how comic storytelling differs from novel storytelling. I thought the pacing was great and the storyline was very believable. I laughed out loud several times at the saltiness of the main character and his views on life. The characters were rich which I found very intriguing since there were so few interactions to develop the characters and I think the writer did a great job. One of my favorite parts was the script, panel, inking, and coloring additions for two or three pages of the comic in the back of the book. The behind-the-scenes was very intriguing.

If you enjoy thrillers with CIA infiltration, private investigators, and high stakes scenarios, you will enjoy this comic!

[Joe Maggs · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a big Castle fan I was very pleased when Erin found this amongst many DVDs that were being given away in the Disney office in London - a nice little adaptation of one of Richard Castle’s characters in graphic novel format. Nothing particularly special and not much beneath the surface but an enjoyable flick through for sure for fans of the series!

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick entertaining read for Castle fans. Pretty much what Castle would have fantasized his job as a PI would have been like, complete with sexy female leads and spy gadgets.

[GateGypsy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't say that I feel less confused now that I've read this, but it's good to get a little background. Lemme tell ya: it's a mistake to read these out of order.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read.

[Jukebook_juliet · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5 🌟

[Vishy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the TV series 'Castle' featuring the characters, Richard Castle, the crime fiction novelist, and Kate Beckett, the NYPD Detective, whom Castle helps in solving cases. One of the books that is mentioned in the TV series is the novel series featuring private investigator Derrick Storm. When I discovered that the Derrick Storm series exists in the real world, I was quite thrilled. Castle being a fictitious character and the novel being real - well, it was like being inside a Raymond Queneau book :) I got the first book in the series - not the actual book but the graphical novel adaptation of it - and finished reading it in one sitting.

The basic story is quite simple. Derrick Storm is a private investigator who is trying to make ends meet. Right now he has been hired by a woman to find out her husband who is missing. Storm finds out that the husband is cheating on his wife. Then the husband discovers him and a few other bullies come after him with guns and Storm escapes. He is then approached by CIA Agent Clara Strike, who says that the husband is a former CIA agent and they want his help in locating him again. When Derrick Storm pursues the investigation, one thing leads to another and he ends up in jail. He is accused of murdering the wife, who had originally hired him. When he sees the picture of the wife that the police show, he discovers that the person who hired him is different from the woman in the picture. He wonders who is the real wife. The action continues and takes Storm on a roller coaster ride. For more, you should read the book.

As a standalone, I don't know how I would rate 'Deadly Storm'. But if you are a 'Castle' fan, you will love it. The sparks between Storm and Strike will make you remember the chemistry between Castle and Beckett. And the story is a fun read. I loved it. I am looking forward to reading the graphic novel adaptation of the second book in the series.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Castle and enjoyed the Nikki Heat books so I was looking forward to seeing an adaptation of Castle's earlier work. But the story didn't really seem to be suited to this format. Why didn't they just release this as an actual novel? It would have made more sense and probably been way more fun, given Storm's narrative voice that was given pretty limited range here. The plot seemed chopped up, as though there were a lot of missing pieces. And I'm not sure why they couldn't have just gone a little longer to help fill those gaps? I was expecting it to be longer. Like, why didn't we get to see (the fake) Mrs. Grout earlier, or even just a flashback of her hiring Storm, instead of finally getting a look at her with Storm pointing her out to us three-quarters through the story?

I liked the bits with Storm's father (some insight into Castle's character there, especially given his comments in the foreword about comic book heroes serving as father figures), but I thought his relationship with Clara Strike was pretty weak. (Although who cares, since she dies at the end! But they're going to have to bring her back from the dead if they do any more Storm stories.) The artwork was kinda bad in places (Sassy's hand while she is sitting at Pumpkin's desk at the station? It's like the equivalent of a whole paragraph that makes no sense plopped in the middle of a page. Fix that shit, yo!), and way Storm is drawn at the government-plan house in Nicaragua seems really inconsistent with the way he is drawn elsewhere.

But then, I read very few graphic novels, so maybe the choppy story and drawing errors are fine with everyone? I know this is mostly just a publicity thing -- perhaps even mainly a shot at getting the show more male viewers? -- and it's based off a novel that doesn't exist written by an author who doesn't exist, but still, I was hoping for more.

[P Fosten · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok, this is a tricky one. Overall, I didn't like it....but I did. So, bias on the table; I do love the show Castle and Kelly Sue DeConnick's script manages to make Derrick Storm sound like his fictional creator. The art, in places, seems to try and make him look like Nathan Fillion. That doesn't work so well. The art is the main problem here but I struggle to explain why. There is just something missing. It's not quite there in a way that makes you look at a page and think 'More could be going on to make this clearer'. Credit though to Tom Raney & Dan Green who pencil and ink pages 73 to 82 as that is the clearest bit in the whole book.
In a couple of places it feels like there were word balloons missing or some strange editing had gone on as the dialogue didn't flow right (Storm's first face to face with Clara Strike for example) and that jumped me out of the story.

But the thing I penalise it for the most is the bit at the end. No, not the end of the story (which was an enjoyable pseudo Bond romp) but the back matter. The plot summaries of the other fictional Derrick Storm novels seem to indicate that the ending I'd just read was false. Perhaps this was done to pique my curiosity for the next novel. It didn't work. I just felt that I'd been 'lied' to about the ending or that the left hand didn't know what the right hand was doing with regards to the arc of the fictional series. For me, it was a bad call.

By and large, readable but I wish Kelly Sue had been given a better art team to make this live

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoy the TV show "Castle" which lead me to the mistake of reading "Heat Wave", the first book of the Nikki Heat series penned by Richard Castle (who is played by Nathan Fillion). As much as I love Fillion, I did not like "Heat Wave" so I was iffy about reading a graphic from Marvel that was based on the fictional Derrick Storm books by Castle. But at the price tag of $2, I said why not?
If I take a step back and simply read the graphic, it isn't bad. I chose to wipe the TV show and characters, as well as the actors, from my mind and just attempted to read the graphic novel as just that, a graphic novel. I think that helped me have no expectations since I haven't read the "source material" in which it was pulled from.
The overall story is over the top (as one would expect of "Castle") and slightly flimsy. Brian Bendis and Kelly DeConnick stuffed the graphic full of thought bubbles and dialogue, some of which is hard to figure out who it belongs to.
The art of Lan Medina is acceptable. More so because I knew the characters of the comics wouldn't look like any character on the show due to Derrick and company not being any more real in that universe than this one. The backgrounds actually provide some details and the faces aren't bad, I didn't mix up anybody which is always a plus.
If you like non superhero based graphics, with murder and government agencies, I doubt you have to be a fan of the show to like the comic.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brian Bendis, Kelly Sue DeConnick, and Lan Medina create an excellent "adaptation" of "Richard Castle's" first novel. While not as twisty and meaty as Castle's more recent Nikki Heat prose novels, it's still an effective thriller, full of action and suspense. The art, by Medina, is equally effective in the quiet, dialogue scenes as in the moments of action. The script perfectly captures Castle's unique voice, and adapts the novel so smoothly it's impossible to tell if any cuts were made. (I say this, not having read the original.)

While American comics tend to rely on superhero stories, it's nice to see a different genre coming from Marvel's House of Ideas. (Even if it's really someone else's idea.) While the story itself is a lot of fun, it's also neat to see the "making of" features in the back of the book, as well as a complete list of Castle's works. Here's hoping we'll see more of them either coming back in print, or adapted into graphic novels like this one.

[Cathleen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Both the story and the art are what you might expect in a graphic novel marketed to non-format fans -- fine for what it is, but a bigger opportunity was missed. It is neither impressive nor especially fun.

As someone who must repeatedly explain to fans of the TV show that a) Richard Castle is fictional, and b) the Derrick Storm novels do not really exist (at least yet), the lengthy title list on the flap is exasperating. Nowhere is there a disclaimer that these are only mentions from the show (because that, I suppose, would compromise the myth), but I can foresee a great deal of frustration and disappointment from those who believe. I fail to see how this is anything but a disservice to the fans.

[C.O. Bonham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This graphic novel adaptation of fictional author Rick Castle's fictional Novel, Deadly Storm, was very good for a tie-in to ABC's Castle. The story does not stand on its own very well and like the equally fictional Nikki Heat novels the two leads are a complete rip off of Castle and Beckett.

But if you have already been sucked into the Castle universe then you will probably enjoy this little piece of TV land in the real world and geek out over every minute that you spend in this illustrated heaven.

[Christina Vourcos · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're a fan of Castle, this is a recommended read. I love how familiar yet different the story was. I could picture Richard Castle writing this story. The dialogue is in his style, and the graphics are really great. I've read the Nikki Heat books, and I also recommend those. Right now, I just finished this graphic novel and I just bought it. Though it may be short, it a great read. Now I'm going to go continue enjoying reading Heat Rises.

[James Love · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick, fun read spoofing the style of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer and Tiger Mann. I highly recommend NOT buying it for the Nook, sadly B&N have a problem with eComics for the Nook. I recommend either the Kindle edition or buy it from Comixology. I will say this for Comixology they make great use of the zoom and screen rotation features making it much easier to read.

[Patrice · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story and art were awesome, which shouldn't be too surpising since they farmed it out to Marvel. It was fun to see Storm's humble beginnings. I like it when the main character is an underdog facing an uphill battle. I liked it and would recommend it to anyone I to crime/action/mystery.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved that "Richard Castle" has put out one of the Storm stories! Loved that it was a graphic novel-brought me back to my days of comic book geekdom! Now how about putting out the Storm novels that are listed in the graphic novel, like the Nikki Heat series?!