When Good Writers Write Bad Dialogue #1 - Stormwatch

I have a big pet peeve: bad dialogue. That is to say, dialogue that would never, ever be spoken out loud by a real person. And so I've created a new semi-regular feature for the blog:

When Good Writers Write Bad Dialogue
Entry 1 - Stormwatch #2


This is a classic example of "telling" instead of "showing." Image the this type of dialogue in other comics:

"Superman, your powers allow you to look through walls, so you need to look through that wall...etc."

or

"Aquaman, your powers allow you to talk to fish, so you should ask that carp...etc."

Now granted, Jack is not nearly as well known as Supes and Aquaman and his powers do tend to require some explanation. Plus, Paul Cornell is a very talented writer (and the creator of Bernice Summerfield!) so we're willing to let him slide...just this once!