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The Authority, Vol. 1
A New York Times Bestseller!
After witnessing the demise of most of her StormWatch teammates, Jenny Sparks wants to create a new super hero team dedicated to protecting Earth against threats of a global scale. Joined by former StormWatch members Jack Hawksmoor and Shen Li-Min, Jenny recruits four new members, the Doctor, the Engineer, Apollo, and the Midnighter forming the ultra-powerful Authority. Collected in this edition are their first two missions, battling a nation of super-powered terrorists and stopping an invasion from a parallel world.
From the Hardcover edition.
After witnessing the demise of most of her StormWatch teammates, Jenny Sparks wants to create a new super hero team dedicated to protecting Earth against threats of a global scale. Joined by former StormWatch members Jack Hawksmoor and Shen Li-Min, Jenny recruits four new members, the Doctor, the Engineer, Apollo, and the Midnighter forming the ultra-powerful Authority. Collected in this edition are their first two missions, battling a nation of super-powered terrorists and stopping an invasion from a parallel world.
From the Hardcover edition.
296 pages, Paperback
First published May 21, 2013
49 people are currently reading
340 people want to read
About the author
Warren Ellis
1,972 books5,763 followersWarren Ellis is the award-winning writer of graphic novels like TRANSMETROPOLITAN, FELL, MINISTRY OF SPACE and PLANETARY, and the author of the NYT-bestselling GUN MACHINE and the “underground classic” novel CROOKED LITTLE VEIN, as well as the digital short-story single DEAD PIG COLLECTOR. His newest book is the novella NORMAL, from FSG Originals, listed as one of Amazon’s Best 100 Books Of 2016.
The movie RED is based on his graphic novel of the same name, its sequel having been released in summer 2013. IRON MAN 3 is based on his Marvel Comics graphic novel IRON MAN: EXTREMIS. He is currently developing his graphic novel sequence with Jason Howard, TREES, for television, in concert with HardySonBaker and NBCU, and continues to work as a screenwriter and producer in film and television, represented by Angela Cheng Caplan and Cheng Caplan Company. He is the creator, writer and co-producer of the Netflix series CASTLEVANIA, recently renewed for its third season, and of the recently-announced Netflix series HEAVEN’S FOREST.
He’s written extensively for VICE, WIRED UK and Reuters on technological and cultural matters, and given keynote speeches and lectures at events like dConstruct, ThingsCon, Improving Reality, SxSW, How The Light Gets In, Haunted Machines and Cognitive Cities.
Warren Ellis has recently developed and curated the revival of the Wildstorm creative library for DC Entertainment with the series THE WILD STORM, and is currently working on the serialising of new graphic novel works TREES: THREE FATES and INJECTION at Image Comics, and the serialised graphic novel THE BATMAN’S GRAVE for DC Comics, while working as a Consulting Producer on another television series.
A documentary about his work, CAPTURED GHOSTS, was released in 2012.
Recognitions include the NUIG Literary and Debating Society’s President’s Medal for service to freedom of speech, the EAGLE AWARDS Roll Of Honour for lifetime achievement in the field of comics & graphic novels, the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire 2010, the Sidewise Award for Alternate History and the International Horror Guild Award for illustrated narrative. He is a Patron of Humanists UK. He holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Essex.
Warren Ellis lives outside London, on the south-east coast of England, in case he needs to make a quick getaway.
The movie RED is based on his graphic novel of the same name, its sequel having been released in summer 2013. IRON MAN 3 is based on his Marvel Comics graphic novel IRON MAN: EXTREMIS. He is currently developing his graphic novel sequence with Jason Howard, TREES, for television, in concert with HardySonBaker and NBCU, and continues to work as a screenwriter and producer in film and television, represented by Angela Cheng Caplan and Cheng Caplan Company. He is the creator, writer and co-producer of the Netflix series CASTLEVANIA, recently renewed for its third season, and of the recently-announced Netflix series HEAVEN’S FOREST.
He’s written extensively for VICE, WIRED UK and Reuters on technological and cultural matters, and given keynote speeches and lectures at events like dConstruct, ThingsCon, Improving Reality, SxSW, How The Light Gets In, Haunted Machines and Cognitive Cities.
Warren Ellis has recently developed and curated the revival of the Wildstorm creative library for DC Entertainment with the series THE WILD STORM, and is currently working on the serialising of new graphic novel works TREES: THREE FATES and INJECTION at Image Comics, and the serialised graphic novel THE BATMAN’S GRAVE for DC Comics, while working as a Consulting Producer on another television series.
A documentary about his work, CAPTURED GHOSTS, was released in 2012.
Recognitions include the NUIG Literary and Debating Society’s President’s Medal for service to freedom of speech, the EAGLE AWARDS Roll Of Honour for lifetime achievement in the field of comics & graphic novels, the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire 2010, the Sidewise Award for Alternate History and the International Horror Guild Award for illustrated narrative. He is a Patron of Humanists UK. He holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Essex.
Warren Ellis lives outside London, on the south-east coast of England, in case he needs to make a quick getaway.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 104 reviews
April 16, 2015
“I fight authority, authority always wins.”
Preach John Cougar Mellencamp!
Considering Marvel and DC comics have about a gazillion super heroes between them, it takes creators with some stones to try and come up with something bordering on the unique. Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch give it a go.
The Authority is born out of the remnants of StormWatch (“Who are they, Jeff?” “Why, dear reader, I have no idea.”) The Authority separates themselves from other superhero groups, mainly, because they don’t subscribe to the “no-killing rule”. If you’re evil, they will literally rip you a new one. Who are these new-fangled heroes?
Jenny Sparks – She’s the founder and leader. She has electrical powers. Sparks – Electrical – get it?
The Doctor – ex-drug addict and hobo (Kemper take note). Channels all the previous shamans’ powers.
Swift – the Hawkgirl of the group
The Engineer – She looks like a nekkid silver statue.
Jack Hawksmoor – Has the power of cities. Big cities.
Apollo – Indestructible. Looks like Nuclear Man from Supeman IV: The Quest for Peace.
Midnighter – Kind of like Batman, but not really. He’s an item with the dude above.
The Authority are run through their paces by: A) A crazy dude who throws scores of flying killer people against the major cities of the world. B) An invasion from an alternate steampunk Earth. C) God slugs from outer space.
And for the most part it works. Ellis has a knack for characterization and dialogue. Hitch, who did the Ultimates is good, but some of his facial expressions are puzzling. Did character A just have sex or is he/she just happy to see character B. I dunno.
June 3, 2024
Still such a readable and iconic series, this graphic novel collection of the first three storylines of the Authority
On the surface it's Warren Ellis' continuation of Stormwatch, but most people will never read those issues and that's ok. It stands on its own as the first great 'widescreen' comic of the 21st century
Best to just enjoy for what it is, don't worry about too much backstory, and if you need a greater context just note how much this influenced later comics of the 2000s (including quite a few by no other than Bryan Hitch)
On the surface it's Warren Ellis' continuation of Stormwatch, but most people will never read those issues and that's ok. It stands on its own as the first great 'widescreen' comic of the 21st century
Best to just enjoy for what it is, don't worry about too much backstory, and if you need a greater context just note how much this influenced later comics of the 2000s (including quite a few by no other than Bryan Hitch)
September 29, 2013
Women in charge, People of Color, and a Gay Couple, Oh my! More like FUCK YEAH!
[I should preface this review by noting that the story lines of a few of these characters actually begin inStormWatch (Force of Nature: StormWatch Vol. 1). I recommend starting to read there, but The Authority can be read and enjoyed on its own.]
We start the story with Jenny Sparks looking to pick up the pieces after the demise of most of her StormWatch teammates. Along with her surviving teammate, Shen Li-Min (Swift) and Jack Hawksmoor, Sparks recruits the Doctor, the Engineer, Apollo and the Midnighter to forma new team known as The Authority. They are not just super powers, but rather protectors of Earth and innocents.
For those who are unfamiliar with Warren Ellis, this is a good place to start. It has the feel of a superhero book, with out all the beat-you-over-the-head heroic themes. This isn’t about the burdens of privileged, pretty, white men. hahaha, not by a long shot.
Let’s start with the line up:
Jenny Sparks is one of my primary arguments that not only is a female Doctor (on Doctor Who) overdue, but absolutely possible. Sparks is an immortal, with the power to control electricity. She is also an alcoholic, bisexual, chain-smoking soldier. She has sent more than a few people to die, and she feels the weight of command like few others, but she also has a very clear grasp of right and wrong. Not to mention she is not afraid to get her hands bloody in the pursuit of protecting the Earth.
Jack Hawksmoor is part Spiderman, part iron man, but something far more complex and interesting than either of them. Hawksmoor is an urban creature. He has a modified physiology that not only allows him to scale buildings barefoot, and to convert air pollution into food, but he can read the mind of a city.
This is one of many ways Ellis introduces and incorporates the idea of sentient inanimate objects. He does it again with the ship that The Authority uses.
Swift (Shen Li-Min) is a Tibetan woman who posses wings and taloned feet, due to a genetic quirk that was triggered by a comet passing earth. She was a pacifist, but sets aside those beliefs, deciding to defend Earth, no matter what. Swift is also bisexual.
Apollo is a bio-engineered super human, who charges his power from the rays of the Sun, hence the name. His lover, and team-member, the Midnighter is also bio-engineered, his ability is to foresee an opponents moves in combat. Oh yes, did you catch that?
They are teammates turned loves, and for old school fans of comic books they are a rather obvious illusion to the underlying homosexual subtext between Superman and Batman. Though, I would argue these characters rise above the tongue-in-cheek humor of their inspiration and become complex, empathetic characters. They are two of my favorite comic book characters EVER!
The Engineer is a scientist who replaced her blood with nanotechnology, and covered her body with liquid metal. Thus she can manifest solid objects via her will, fly and communicate with machinery. She is one of those characters who define the boundaries, or the lack of them, of this universe and grounds it in the realm of science fiction.
Then there is The Doctor, not to be confused with the lead character with the similar name in the popular BBC tv show. No, this character is all Warren Ellis. A drug addict, shaman who possesses the combined powers of countless shaman who came before him. That kind of knowledge and power is bound to fuck up a person on many levels. The Doctor of The Authority demonstrates just how fucked up that can be.
This first trade paperback covers first two missions of the team, battling a nation of super-powered terrorists and stopping an invasion from a parallel world. Both these story-lines break the boundaries of expectation and genre cliches. Which shouldn’t be surprising given this is a cast that is more gender and racially diverse than most of the casts of popular comic books, or even primetime TV shows today. Yet this title is fourteen years old. Add in Ellis’ dark, sarcastic humor and you get a comic book written for adults, in every sense of the word.
If you’re tired of all the comic books people say you should read, that are jam-packed with the same old boring story of a white, straight, man’s burden of greatness. Why not give The Authority a try?
[I should preface this review by noting that the story lines of a few of these characters actually begin inStormWatch (Force of Nature: StormWatch Vol. 1). I recommend starting to read there, but The Authority can be read and enjoyed on its own.]
We start the story with Jenny Sparks looking to pick up the pieces after the demise of most of her StormWatch teammates. Along with her surviving teammate, Shen Li-Min (Swift) and Jack Hawksmoor, Sparks recruits the Doctor, the Engineer, Apollo and the Midnighter to forma new team known as The Authority. They are not just super powers, but rather protectors of Earth and innocents.
For those who are unfamiliar with Warren Ellis, this is a good place to start. It has the feel of a superhero book, with out all the beat-you-over-the-head heroic themes. This isn’t about the burdens of privileged, pretty, white men. hahaha, not by a long shot.
Let’s start with the line up:
Jenny Sparks is one of my primary arguments that not only is a female Doctor (on Doctor Who) overdue, but absolutely possible. Sparks is an immortal, with the power to control electricity. She is also an alcoholic, bisexual, chain-smoking soldier. She has sent more than a few people to die, and she feels the weight of command like few others, but she also has a very clear grasp of right and wrong. Not to mention she is not afraid to get her hands bloody in the pursuit of protecting the Earth.
Jack Hawksmoor is part Spiderman, part iron man, but something far more complex and interesting than either of them. Hawksmoor is an urban creature. He has a modified physiology that not only allows him to scale buildings barefoot, and to convert air pollution into food, but he can read the mind of a city.
This is one of many ways Ellis introduces and incorporates the idea of sentient inanimate objects. He does it again with the ship that The Authority uses.
Swift (Shen Li-Min) is a Tibetan woman who posses wings and taloned feet, due to a genetic quirk that was triggered by a comet passing earth. She was a pacifist, but sets aside those beliefs, deciding to defend Earth, no matter what. Swift is also bisexual.
Apollo is a bio-engineered super human, who charges his power from the rays of the Sun, hence the name. His lover, and team-member, the Midnighter is also bio-engineered, his ability is to foresee an opponents moves in combat. Oh yes, did you catch that?
They are teammates turned loves, and for old school fans of comic books they are a rather obvious illusion to the underlying homosexual subtext between Superman and Batman. Though, I would argue these characters rise above the tongue-in-cheek humor of their inspiration and become complex, empathetic characters. They are two of my favorite comic book characters EVER!
The Engineer is a scientist who replaced her blood with nanotechnology, and covered her body with liquid metal. Thus she can manifest solid objects via her will, fly and communicate with machinery. She is one of those characters who define the boundaries, or the lack of them, of this universe and grounds it in the realm of science fiction.
Then there is The Doctor, not to be confused with the lead character with the similar name in the popular BBC tv show. No, this character is all Warren Ellis. A drug addict, shaman who possesses the combined powers of countless shaman who came before him. That kind of knowledge and power is bound to fuck up a person on many levels. The Doctor of The Authority demonstrates just how fucked up that can be.
This first trade paperback covers first two missions of the team, battling a nation of super-powered terrorists and stopping an invasion from a parallel world. Both these story-lines break the boundaries of expectation and genre cliches. Which shouldn’t be surprising given this is a cast that is more gender and racially diverse than most of the casts of popular comic books, or even primetime TV shows today. Yet this title is fourteen years old. Add in Ellis’ dark, sarcastic humor and you get a comic book written for adults, in every sense of the word.
If you’re tired of all the comic books people say you should read, that are jam-packed with the same old boring story of a white, straight, man’s burden of greatness. Why not give The Authority a try?
January 21, 2014
So Ellis took the old Stormwatch, and tweaked here, as I understand it. I've come across the Authority in a cross-over book, and I've read the New 52 Stormwatch, so I have a mild familiarity with some of the characters; however, this is much better than all those other cases.
Over 12 issues, we have 3 story arcs, each spanning 4 issues. This is the Justice League if it were more powerful, and less interested in all the politics of all that jazz. Also seems the JL always runs into problems, whereas here, everyone is powerful in their own way, and not afraid to push it to the limit. Jenny Sparks is the unquestioned leader; a human conductor of electricity, immensely powerful, "The Spirit of the 20th Century" a Brit with a colourful history; almost 100yrs old, but hasn't aged a day over 20. She chain-smokes and issues commands to her motley crew, who, if they have egos, put them in check, or simply don't have egos.
Apollo is Solar Powered, a Superman who isn't constrained by the 'Truth, Justice, American Way' crap of Clark Kent. His partner is Midnighter; an enhanced fighter who's 100 steps ahead in any hand to hand combat and has serious power. When I say partner, I mean life partner; Ellis isn't hinting at it, it's right there. What that says about the original Superman/Batman dichotomy is up to you the reader...
The Engineer is sort of like Danger (the Danger Room come to life in X-Men) and Cyborg; with all the ability to interface with technology and no dependence on things like eating, sleeping, or breathing, but yet still seems to be quite human.
The Doctor is a mysterious shaman, who is just the latest in a long line of humans who've been the shaman of Earth (a line, which, according to the artwork, seems to include Jesus Christ, Rasputin, Albert Einstein, and others). His connection to the earth is somewhat like Swamp Thing, able to change things into living matter (such as opposing fighters into trees).
Jack Hawksmoor is the 'God of Cities', who's powers derive from the life-force of cities, so as long as they fight in or near a city, he's got major power, the bigger the city, the bigger the power...no wonder he loves NYC so much. (He's one of the ones who was part of Stormwatch prior to this series).
Rounding out the gang is Swift, who looks like Warren Worthington III, and has similar powers of flight, as well as an ability to sense how to ride the air, much like Aquaman has the sense of the oceans. She's also the pilot of the Carrier.
The Carrier...wow. A huge ship, harnessing the powers of a baby-universe yet to explode; it can travel through the timestream, and open portals anywhere on Earth (like Hank Pym's doors), which it seems to be tied to.
The bad guys are very interesting too; 1st story has a Mandarin like all powerful guy; 2nd has Alien/Human hybrids from an alternative Earth ruled by Albion (ancient England) and Blue Sicilian Aliens...; the 3rd 'bad guy' is God. Yes that's right.
This is a kick ass superhero book, as well as being a great philosophical book too. Ellis takes the team and members places other writers wouldn't, and the freedom leads to a much more interesting read. Nothing like a little existentialism alongside your fight scenes to actually make it worth more than one read.
Strongly recommended.
Over 12 issues, we have 3 story arcs, each spanning 4 issues. This is the Justice League if it were more powerful, and less interested in all the politics of all that jazz. Also seems the JL always runs into problems, whereas here, everyone is powerful in their own way, and not afraid to push it to the limit. Jenny Sparks is the unquestioned leader; a human conductor of electricity, immensely powerful, "The Spirit of the 20th Century" a Brit with a colourful history; almost 100yrs old, but hasn't aged a day over 20. She chain-smokes and issues commands to her motley crew, who, if they have egos, put them in check, or simply don't have egos.
Apollo is Solar Powered, a Superman who isn't constrained by the 'Truth, Justice, American Way' crap of Clark Kent. His partner is Midnighter; an enhanced fighter who's 100 steps ahead in any hand to hand combat and has serious power. When I say partner, I mean life partner; Ellis isn't hinting at it, it's right there. What that says about the original Superman/Batman dichotomy is up to you the reader...
The Engineer is sort of like Danger (the Danger Room come to life in X-Men) and Cyborg; with all the ability to interface with technology and no dependence on things like eating, sleeping, or breathing, but yet still seems to be quite human.
The Doctor is a mysterious shaman, who is just the latest in a long line of humans who've been the shaman of Earth (a line, which, according to the artwork, seems to include Jesus Christ, Rasputin, Albert Einstein, and others). His connection to the earth is somewhat like Swamp Thing, able to change things into living matter (such as opposing fighters into trees).
Jack Hawksmoor is the 'God of Cities', who's powers derive from the life-force of cities, so as long as they fight in or near a city, he's got major power, the bigger the city, the bigger the power...no wonder he loves NYC so much. (He's one of the ones who was part of Stormwatch prior to this series).
Rounding out the gang is Swift, who looks like Warren Worthington III, and has similar powers of flight, as well as an ability to sense how to ride the air, much like Aquaman has the sense of the oceans. She's also the pilot of the Carrier.
The Carrier...wow. A huge ship, harnessing the powers of a baby-universe yet to explode; it can travel through the timestream, and open portals anywhere on Earth (like Hank Pym's doors), which it seems to be tied to.
The bad guys are very interesting too; 1st story has a Mandarin like all powerful guy; 2nd has Alien/Human hybrids from an alternative Earth ruled by Albion (ancient England) and Blue Sicilian Aliens...; the 3rd 'bad guy' is God. Yes that's right.
This is a kick ass superhero book, as well as being a great philosophical book too. Ellis takes the team and members places other writers wouldn't, and the freedom leads to a much more interesting read. Nothing like a little existentialism alongside your fight scenes to actually make it worth more than one read.
Strongly recommended.
July 6, 2013
This is my second time reading this, and I have to say I'm less impressed with it than I was the first time. The ideas are huge and incredibly fun, and watching Ellis weave his team together to combat bigger and bigger threats to humanity makes for some great, page-turning storytelling. Having just read his run on Stormwatch, which supposedly led right up to this series, I notice a lot more kinks in the story.
First of all, he created two of the characters and "The Carrier," the near-magic spaceship the Authority call their base of operations, out of thin air. The Doctor and The Engineer are essentially reincarnations of minor characters he killed off in Stormwatch, seemingly tossed into this story because he saw potential. They end up being very interesting superheroes, but we don't have a clue who they actually are, so they're basically just powers wrapped in a skin suit.
To me, the Carrier is the bigger problem. The Authority own a spaceship that can easily and without fanfare travel between realities, teleport, and send people anywhere on Earth they want to go. It is a massive, built-in deus ex machina, and NO ONE EXPLAINS WHERE IT CAME FROM. Jenny Sparks literally says "Sure glad we found this thing." Um, yes. If I stumbled across a machine that allowed me to do anything I ever wanted, I would also be "glad."
What's more, this series doesn't seem to organically follow Stormwatch. They mention Stormwatch periodically throughout the series, but the series actually feels like Stormwatch either didn't happen or didn't matter. There were a lot of consequences laid forth in that series that all get tossed aside in the interest of doing huge, spectacular superhero set pieces.
And wow, those set pieces are great. They're why I'm still giving this 4 stars. Without the massive action pieces and mind-bendingly enormous plot lines, this would just be another superhero team series. But Ellis did a lot to set it apart in that vein. I mean, sure, you never REALLY feel like the Authority are going to lose. They basically have Superman AND Dr. Strange on their side, which in and of itself would make them all but unstoppable. But it's the way they win, the surprising uses of the team's abilities and strategy that make this a quick, extremely enjoyable read. If a little more work had been done on the back end, making this team's existence make a little more sense, this series could've been perfect. As it stands it's just very good.
First of all, he created two of the characters and "The Carrier," the near-magic spaceship the Authority call their base of operations, out of thin air. The Doctor and The Engineer are essentially reincarnations of minor characters he killed off in Stormwatch, seemingly tossed into this story because he saw potential. They end up being very interesting superheroes, but we don't have a clue who they actually are, so they're basically just powers wrapped in a skin suit.
To me, the Carrier is the bigger problem. The Authority own a spaceship that can easily and without fanfare travel between realities, teleport, and send people anywhere on Earth they want to go. It is a massive, built-in deus ex machina, and NO ONE EXPLAINS WHERE IT CAME FROM. Jenny Sparks literally says "Sure glad we found this thing." Um, yes. If I stumbled across a machine that allowed me to do anything I ever wanted, I would also be "glad."
What's more, this series doesn't seem to organically follow Stormwatch. They mention Stormwatch periodically throughout the series, but the series actually feels like Stormwatch either didn't happen or didn't matter. There were a lot of consequences laid forth in that series that all get tossed aside in the interest of doing huge, spectacular superhero set pieces.
And wow, those set pieces are great. They're why I'm still giving this 4 stars. Without the massive action pieces and mind-bendingly enormous plot lines, this would just be another superhero team series. But Ellis did a lot to set it apart in that vein. I mean, sure, you never REALLY feel like the Authority are going to lose. They basically have Superman AND Dr. Strange on their side, which in and of itself would make them all but unstoppable. But it's the way they win, the surprising uses of the team's abilities and strategy that make this a quick, extremely enjoyable read. If a little more work had been done on the back end, making this team's existence make a little more sense, this series could've been perfect. As it stands it's just very good.
Read
January 21, 2014See my reviews for the two trades collected in this volume. Great stuff, love this stuff and look fondly back on it.
July 7, 2019
I was not really thinking this would be a great read but it was. Don't get me wrong, I love Warren Ellis works, but I thought this wouldn't rock hard for some reason I cannot describe. But it has been a great read. I would say this is a proto Planetary work, obviously not as good as, but a bit close.
Ellis is a science fiction fan and perhaps this is what makes his work unique. His superheroes are just a bunch of cynic people, prone to bring irony to every dialog, but don't get me wrong, they have this sense of justice in a way that is flawed and humane.
Ellis is a science fiction fan and perhaps this is what makes his work unique. His superheroes are just a bunch of cynic people, prone to bring irony to every dialog, but don't get me wrong, they have this sense of justice in a way that is flawed and humane.
September 23, 2018
3.75. Really good! Action packed! I will continue with the rest of the volumes.
February 22, 2016
Honestly, not the best book by Ellis. There are some nice character moments here, but they (characters) are mostly left underdeveloped in favour of big action. And there is nothing particularly exciting about the action here, not to my taste, at least. In all three arcs of this volume it all comes down to swarms of generic aliens, here to take over the world.
The team itself doesn't feel too original, either, although it is pretty cool to see gay Batman and Superman in a relationship. Jenny Sparks is an obvious favourite, although her abilities and backstory are not clearly defined, too. The rest of the team, I honestly can hardly recall after finishing the volume.
All in all, with all the hype around this series, I am left largely disappointed. Especially considering that this is the work of Warren Ellis. It's not bad, it's just nothing special.
The team itself doesn't feel too original, either, although it is pretty cool to see gay Batman and Superman in a relationship. Jenny Sparks is an obvious favourite, although her abilities and backstory are not clearly defined, too. The rest of the team, I honestly can hardly recall after finishing the volume.
All in all, with all the hype around this series, I am left largely disappointed. Especially considering that this is the work of Warren Ellis. It's not bad, it's just nothing special.
February 10, 2014
Building on Stormwatch, Warren Ellis finally gets to play with all the pieces he wants to play with rather than having to deal with everyone else's leftover characters, and the Authority is all the better for it. Huge set pieces, planet threatening problems, and a cast of compelling characters all backed up by Bryan Hitch's widescreen movie theatre artwork make The Authority excellent reading, and then it punches you in the gut 3 pages before the end for good measure.
February 3, 2017
No he encontrado la edición de ECC que es la que he leído así que estoy un poco perdida sobre dónde puntuar. En ECC son los números 1 a 12.
Sobre Authority en sí: una maravilla. Tiene todo lo que le pedía y un poco más. Jenny Sparks es de las heroínas más molonas que he visto, así que aunque al cómic le sobra sexualizacion he terminado muy feliz. y Apolo y Midnighter pues ❤. Creo que mi trama favorita ha sido la de Avalon.
Eso sí, aunque el dibujo me gusta a mí este tipo de color no me va.
Sobre Authority en sí: una maravilla. Tiene todo lo que le pedía y un poco más. Jenny Sparks es de las heroínas más molonas que he visto, así que aunque al cómic le sobra sexualizacion he terminado muy feliz. y Apolo y Midnighter pues ❤. Creo que mi trama favorita ha sido la de Avalon.
Eso sí, aunque el dibujo me gusta a mí este tipo de color no me va.
February 1, 2023
Not bad! I wish there was more character stuff to balance out all the action and bring the characters together, but it's a pretty interesting read.
September 28, 2020
Some epic level threats and very unique abilities for the heroes as well as the villains. Interesting characters as well. The Carrier powered by a baby universe and Jack Hawksmoor the King of Cities are the my favourites.
April 11, 2021
L'essenza del fumetto supereroistico mainstream.
Intrattenimento puro.
Perfetto nel suo genere.
Disegni stupendi di un Hitch favoloso.
Scorre che è una meraviglia.
Intrattenimento puro.
Perfetto nel suo genere.
Disegni stupendi di un Hitch favoloso.
Scorre che è una meraviglia.
April 16, 2015
We read this for our March comic-bookclub, because we hadn't read anything superhero yet.
Most of the club had a tough time getting into it but I love me some Ellis after reading Nextwave and the writing and characters didn't disappoint. You got a great sense of who everyone was, even by the end of the first issue. My favorites were Jenny Sparks, Midnighter and Apollo. I know Midnighter and Apollo were just pastiches of Batman and Superman but their relationship elevated them above that.
I love that Ellis tells a tight story in 4 issues, while still carrying a broader story through the first volume. I also love how weird he can be (ship travelling the subconscious dreamscape) while still being kind of plausible.
For some reason the art was off-putting the first time through but thumbing through it once more, it actually was better than I remembered. Hitch isn't my favorite artist but it's definitely decent art.
Most of the club had a tough time getting into it but I love me some Ellis after reading Nextwave and the writing and characters didn't disappoint. You got a great sense of who everyone was, even by the end of the first issue. My favorites were Jenny Sparks, Midnighter and Apollo. I know Midnighter and Apollo were just pastiches of Batman and Superman but their relationship elevated them above that.
I love that Ellis tells a tight story in 4 issues, while still carrying a broader story through the first volume. I also love how weird he can be (ship travelling the subconscious dreamscape) while still being kind of plausible.
For some reason the art was off-putting the first time through but thumbing through it once more, it actually was better than I remembered. Hitch isn't my favorite artist but it's definitely decent art.
Read
September 18, 2019The best part of this book is how damn fun it is. Sure, the plots are about as epic as they come, with visuals that are straight out of a movie; The Authority certainly deserves praise for its ambitious scope and subversion of the superhero team. But the character interactions, one-liners, and action scenes make this book for me. I laughed and cheered at multiple points while reading. It’s just bursts with energy, and I had a blast from start to finish.
(I suggest reading Ellis’ StormWatch run before The Authority. It’s not essential, but you’ll have a better understanding of the characters.)
(I suggest reading Ellis’ StormWatch run before The Authority. It’s not essential, but you’ll have a better understanding of the characters.)
July 28, 2013
This is one of the best superhero books ever. I love the personalities; a man with the power of cities ( a great power that leaves lots of room for interpretation without being too ambiguous), a trippy shaman who used to be a drug addict, and Superman and Batman knock offs that happen to be significant others. The last story arc where the Authority has to save humans from extinction because the being/race that created the planet is back and sees humanity as a bacteria that has spontaneously covered Earth is the best. But it's all good.
February 15, 2016
The authority centres around a superhero team saving the world now surprisingly for this overseen genre this was fresh and AMAZING.
I loved the characters, at first I was so bombarded I had no idea who was who, who could do what and I was so worried I would end up not enjoying this. But it works you get everyone down and by the end of this volume (which covers all of Ellis run on it) I was in love. I want more!
I loved the characters, at first I was so bombarded I had no idea who was who, who could do what and I was so worried I would end up not enjoying this. But it works you get everyone down and by the end of this volume (which covers all of Ellis run on it) I was in love. I want more!
July 16, 2024
Great artwork, bad everything else.
This is what all the Authority hype is about? I assume the Mark Millar/Frank Quitely run gets much better because this volume is one of the most lackluster "Justice League Analogue" comics I've ever read, and certainly doesn't justify the high opinions people seem to have about the series.
For starters, all the main characters have extremely ambiguous powersets that are barely distinguishable from one another.
There's a robot woman with: an unspecified degree of super-strength and unspecified mechanical/computer powers that work however the plot demands.
There's a Superman analogue with: an unspecified degree of super-strength and unspecified light-based powers that work however the plot demands.
There's a Batman analogue with: an unspecified degree of super-strength and unspecified artificial enhancements that work however the plot demands.
There's a shaman guy with: an unspecified degree of super-strength and unspecified magic powers that work however the plot demands.
There's an winged woman with: an unspecified degree of super-strength and unspecified flight-related powers that work however the plot demands.
Starting to see a pattern here?
Then there's a guy who is connected to the cities of the world and channels their power into himself. What can he do you may ask? Let's see...
Unspecified degree of super-strength and unspecified city-related powers that work however the plot demands.
When your Batman analogue and your Superman analogue can both fistfight the same superhuman villains with the same ease, there's something really wrong with the powerscaling in your comic.
And how's the characterization? It's just as interchangeable as the super powers.
Every member of the Authority talks with the same quippy, Joss Whedon-esque style. Their personalities are barely there. In fact, every bit of character development consists of a character describing another character. No one seems to have a unique voice or attitude unless they are being described by someone else. Most of the dialogue in this comic consists of the Authorithy throwing random insults at one another in the middle of an exposition session. It gets old really fast.
The plot, or rather, the individual story-arc plots, are completely paper-thin. There's a bad guy, the Authority faces them, the end. There are no stakes, there is no variation, there is no originality. Ellis tries to introduce Grant Morrison-esque concepts into the comic, using vague metaphysics or broad scientific concepts to justify the existence of some character or device, but he completely fails at emulating Morrison's best qualities and comes across as a pale imitation biting off more than he can chew. Even Morrison's lesser works far surpass the writing in this.
It doesn't help that this work makes full use of decompression. An entire issue (or in book format, a chapter) can be fully read in five minutes because almost all of the page space is taken up by Bryan Hitch's (remarkable) artwork and not by anything resembling text.
I would have no problem with even a completely wordless Bryan Hitch action comic extravaganza, except the action here is just lame. Apollo flies against ships making them explode, then he flies against missiles and makes them explode, then he flies against even more ships and makes them explode. Every other character punches with super-strength (because they all have super-strength) and if Warren Ellis was feeling particularly inspired, Jenny Sparks creates a big lightning blast at the end. This is a description of every single arc.
How could an action comic with godlike beings drawn by Bryan Hitch have such boring and uninspiring action scenes is mind-boggling.
Ellis has always come across as a strongly opinionated writer, his criticism of religion being particularly narrow-minded, and this book is yet another example. In one particularly baffling sequence, a character with magical powers and a teammate who can literally communicate with the spiritual manifestation of cities, claims to know with absolute certainty that there is no God. He is then corrected and told that a biological alien entity completely devoid of personality, intent or even a decent design, is actually God because... it's ancient? I don't even know. I guess in Ellis' mind saying that a pyramid shaped alien lifeform with no personality is "the" God makes more sense than relating God to the fact that cities in that world have souls.
I suppose that entire arc is meant to be some sharp attack on religion since the Authority is trying to kill God, but in truth their "God" is just another lame alien with a generic design and nothing interesting about it. All the talk about killing God just comes off as attempted edginess.
But even edginess isn't this book's strong suit. There is a lot of potential in the idea of a superpowered team performing world-altering deeds and making life-or-death choices with no regard for political consequences. But those themes are left completely unexplored here. If I didn't know, I'd say the Authority was just as politically correct as any other superhero team.
I'm expecting the Millar/Quitely run to be a significant improvement over this one, otherwise I really don't understand what all the fuss was ever about.
This is what all the Authority hype is about? I assume the Mark Millar/Frank Quitely run gets much better because this volume is one of the most lackluster "Justice League Analogue" comics I've ever read, and certainly doesn't justify the high opinions people seem to have about the series.
For starters, all the main characters have extremely ambiguous powersets that are barely distinguishable from one another.
There's a robot woman with: an unspecified degree of super-strength and unspecified mechanical/computer powers that work however the plot demands.
There's a Superman analogue with: an unspecified degree of super-strength and unspecified light-based powers that work however the plot demands.
There's a Batman analogue with: an unspecified degree of super-strength and unspecified artificial enhancements that work however the plot demands.
There's a shaman guy with: an unspecified degree of super-strength and unspecified magic powers that work however the plot demands.
There's an winged woman with: an unspecified degree of super-strength and unspecified flight-related powers that work however the plot demands.
Starting to see a pattern here?
Then there's a guy who is connected to the cities of the world and channels their power into himself. What can he do you may ask? Let's see...
Unspecified degree of super-strength and unspecified city-related powers that work however the plot demands.
When your Batman analogue and your Superman analogue can both fistfight the same superhuman villains with the same ease, there's something really wrong with the powerscaling in your comic.
And how's the characterization? It's just as interchangeable as the super powers.
Every member of the Authority talks with the same quippy, Joss Whedon-esque style. Their personalities are barely there. In fact, every bit of character development consists of a character describing another character. No one seems to have a unique voice or attitude unless they are being described by someone else. Most of the dialogue in this comic consists of the Authorithy throwing random insults at one another in the middle of an exposition session. It gets old really fast.
The plot, or rather, the individual story-arc plots, are completely paper-thin. There's a bad guy, the Authority faces them, the end. There are no stakes, there is no variation, there is no originality. Ellis tries to introduce Grant Morrison-esque concepts into the comic, using vague metaphysics or broad scientific concepts to justify the existence of some character or device, but he completely fails at emulating Morrison's best qualities and comes across as a pale imitation biting off more than he can chew. Even Morrison's lesser works far surpass the writing in this.
It doesn't help that this work makes full use of decompression. An entire issue (or in book format, a chapter) can be fully read in five minutes because almost all of the page space is taken up by Bryan Hitch's (remarkable) artwork and not by anything resembling text.
I would have no problem with even a completely wordless Bryan Hitch action comic extravaganza, except the action here is just lame. Apollo flies against ships making them explode, then he flies against missiles and makes them explode, then he flies against even more ships and makes them explode. Every other character punches with super-strength (because they all have super-strength) and if Warren Ellis was feeling particularly inspired, Jenny Sparks creates a big lightning blast at the end. This is a description of every single arc.
How could an action comic with godlike beings drawn by Bryan Hitch have such boring and uninspiring action scenes is mind-boggling.
Ellis has always come across as a strongly opinionated writer, his criticism of religion being particularly narrow-minded, and this book is yet another example. In one particularly baffling sequence, a character with magical powers and a teammate who can literally communicate with the spiritual manifestation of cities, claims to know with absolute certainty that there is no God. He is then corrected and told that a biological alien entity completely devoid of personality, intent or even a decent design, is actually God because... it's ancient? I don't even know. I guess in Ellis' mind saying that a pyramid shaped alien lifeform with no personality is "the" God makes more sense than relating God to the fact that cities in that world have souls.
I suppose that entire arc is meant to be some sharp attack on religion since the Authority is trying to kill God, but in truth their "God" is just another lame alien with a generic design and nothing interesting about it. All the talk about killing God just comes off as attempted edginess.
But even edginess isn't this book's strong suit. There is a lot of potential in the idea of a superpowered team performing world-altering deeds and making life-or-death choices with no regard for political consequences. But those themes are left completely unexplored here. If I didn't know, I'd say the Authority was just as politically correct as any other superhero team.
I'm expecting the Millar/Quitely run to be a significant improvement over this one, otherwise I really don't understand what all the fuss was ever about.
May 6, 2014
Ellis isn't afraid to ramp it up.
For this and Nextwave, I owe him so much. Well, at least a couple drinks.
For this and Nextwave, I owe him so much. Well, at least a couple drinks.
October 6, 2014
Slow to start but fun toward the end.
March 22, 2016
A bunch of dudes in superhero costumes smoking cigarettes and discussing theoretical physics.
May 30, 2018
This is intense. I probably should have started elsewhere so I understood where the characters came from more. I really only knew Apollo and Midnighter. One of my all-time fave superhero couples. I picked this story up for them and went on to really love these characters. They are two of my favorite comic characters.
This is not your average superhero team. The former Stormwatch team members along with The Doctor, The Engineer, Apollo, and Midnighter are a lot more ruthless. Their version of justice is an unforgiving one. It's something I'm used to with Midnighter but was cool to see from a team.
The threats were big. Really big threats to humanity and the universe that they were taking on. They all really did what was necessary to stop them. This is a comic book for adults. That is what it feels like at least. It's really on a different level than things I've been reading recently.
Jenny is an amazing leader. She has led many people to their deaths and feels the weight of what saving the world can mean but still does what is needed to protect people. Jenny is also Bi which I did not know going into the story. That's pretty awesome. I don't have a full grasp of her powers but loved seeing her in combat. She rocks.
I was a bit lost about some things but again I never read the Stormwatch comics which gives the background and beginnings of some of the characters on the team. I also felt like it was so much at times there wasn't room for character development. Just action action action. Still a great read, though.
This is not your average superhero team. The former Stormwatch team members along with The Doctor, The Engineer, Apollo, and Midnighter are a lot more ruthless. Their version of justice is an unforgiving one. It's something I'm used to with Midnighter but was cool to see from a team.
The threats were big. Really big threats to humanity and the universe that they were taking on. They all really did what was necessary to stop them. This is a comic book for adults. That is what it feels like at least. It's really on a different level than things I've been reading recently.
Jenny is an amazing leader. She has led many people to their deaths and feels the weight of what saving the world can mean but still does what is needed to protect people. Jenny is also Bi which I did not know going into the story. That's pretty awesome. I don't have a full grasp of her powers but loved seeing her in combat. She rocks.
I was a bit lost about some things but again I never read the Stormwatch comics which gives the background and beginnings of some of the characters on the team. I also felt like it was so much at times there wasn't room for character development. Just action action action. Still a great read, though.
May 10, 2017
Super hero comics!
What I liked about it:
1. Apollo and Midnighter, this universe's Superman and Batman, are married and raising a daughter, and seem to be just really kind and loving to each other despite brutally murdering tons of people all the time. It may be exactly that juxtaposition that makes their moments of tenderness with each other all the more sweet.
2. The appearance--and demise of-- The Americans, a one-for-one analog of the Avengers, except they're a demented, murderous, cold war era government hit squad. Kind of an easy and obvious gag, but one I enjoyed.
3. The fact that, in addition to fighting monsters from space and stuff, the Authority also quickly turns to toppling dictators and corrupt governments with extreme prejudice. "If we're going to save the world, we're going to make sure it's worth saving." Draws into questions of where authority comes from, and what to do with power.
To nitpick, it feels like they're mishandling the character of the Doctor. It's as though they didn't really think through the consequences of having a magic user with god-level powers on the team, and their solution was to give him a crippling drug habit to make him unreliable. Otherwise, in most cases, he'd immediately just magic the problem away, whatever it is, and there wouldn't be much story.
In all though, a really fun, refreshing, modern spin on the superhero team genre.
What I liked about it:
1. Apollo and Midnighter, this universe's Superman and Batman, are married and raising a daughter, and seem to be just really kind and loving to each other despite brutally murdering tons of people all the time. It may be exactly that juxtaposition that makes their moments of tenderness with each other all the more sweet.
2. The appearance--and demise of-- The Americans, a one-for-one analog of the Avengers, except they're a demented, murderous, cold war era government hit squad. Kind of an easy and obvious gag, but one I enjoyed.
3. The fact that, in addition to fighting monsters from space and stuff, the Authority also quickly turns to toppling dictators and corrupt governments with extreme prejudice. "If we're going to save the world, we're going to make sure it's worth saving." Draws into questions of where authority comes from, and what to do with power.
To nitpick, it feels like they're mishandling the character of the Doctor. It's as though they didn't really think through the consequences of having a magic user with god-level powers on the team, and their solution was to give him a crippling drug habit to make him unreliable. Otherwise, in most cases, he'd immediately just magic the problem away, whatever it is, and there wouldn't be much story.
In all though, a really fun, refreshing, modern spin on the superhero team genre.
March 25, 2025
This comic-book has more than 25 years and I think it has not aged that well. It was essential to push forward the way comics were made, there is no reasonable way to deny that. However, after this reading, I have to admit that the only true influence coming out of here was strictly widening the field for authors to play with in their stories.
Because everything else here, beyond that higher scale, is not brilliant. The characterization is great, but scarce. There is no secondary characters that matter (in fact, there are only two supporting characters that are not villains), there is no secondary plot, and there is no time spent exploring what the governments, or anyone in fact, is reacting to the Authority taking over the planet’s security from above.
The book is organized in three 4-chapter stories. The first one opens with a villain talking to himself just because Ellis wanted to avoid using supporting text or thought texts. At the same time, Ellis could not thought of any better way of planning this scene, with some secondary characters maybe. Laizy.
The second story is the only one I found satisfactory.
The third one, an alien invasion, would have been far better with more space to make it more intricate.
In summary, a glorified book that is at the same time exciting and has very rewarding action, but disappointing in terms of narrative innovation, characterization, and plot.
Because everything else here, beyond that higher scale, is not brilliant. The characterization is great, but scarce. There is no secondary characters that matter (in fact, there are only two supporting characters that are not villains), there is no secondary plot, and there is no time spent exploring what the governments, or anyone in fact, is reacting to the Authority taking over the planet’s security from above.
The book is organized in three 4-chapter stories. The first one opens with a villain talking to himself just because Ellis wanted to avoid using supporting text or thought texts. At the same time, Ellis could not thought of any better way of planning this scene, with some secondary characters maybe. Laizy.
The second story is the only one I found satisfactory.
The third one, an alien invasion, would have been far better with more space to make it more intricate.
In summary, a glorified book that is at the same time exciting and has very rewarding action, but disappointing in terms of narrative innovation, characterization, and plot.
November 24, 2018
I found this title absolutely accidentally and the sole reason I took an interest in it was that I saw Midnighter and Apollo on the cover. And I love Midnighter and Apollo. So I got my hands on this and once I started reading it, I couldn't stop. It blew my mind, big time. The whole conception is exciting, with the Authority being a group of superheroes that operates outside of the law and any country, not exactly caring about politic and what not. The characters are very diverse, we have a lot of representation regarding race and sexuality, but the thing that amazes you the most is the tone of this book. It's so heavy and dark and serious. I wouldn't recommend it to everyone because some of the stories are extremely upsetting, the art is mature and doesn't lack gore so please if you look into it and you feel it's not your cup of tea, it's absolutely okay to leave it. I feel like there is only two ways with this book, you either can't make yourself read it or you will not be able to stop. There is no in-between.
(I know, technically this is a Wildstorm comic book and not DC but since currently the situation is different than it was when this book has been released, I took the liberty to sort it like this in my own system.)
(I know, technically this is a Wildstorm comic book and not DC but since currently the situation is different than it was when this book has been released, I took the liberty to sort it like this in my own system.)
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August 3, 2022Con razón supuso una revolución en el medio cuando se publicó. Ahora estamos más que acostumbrados a los superhéroes pasados por filtros cínicos/realistas y más edgy, pero sus autores están en su salsa y construyen un blockbuster chulísimo. Porque aunque tenga el rollo de "los superhéroes se comportarían así si existieran" se meten en unos embrollos de aúpa, con Ellis dando rienda suelta a lo que se le ocurra.
La mayor pega que le pongo es que sus personajes están poco desarrollados. El mayor intento es con Jenny Sparks, y la Ingeniera, Apolo y Midnighter me gustan, pero el resto de miembros del equipo no me han dicho gran cosa. También digo que Bryan Hitch no ha hecho un mejor trabajo en su vida y que el entintado y color lo elevan a otro nivel.
Pd: ningún otro cómic busca justificar "tan bien" el genocidio como éste. Es algo que sale natural, sin darle muchas vueltas al asunto.
La mayor pega que le pongo es que sus personajes están poco desarrollados. El mayor intento es con Jenny Sparks, y la Ingeniera, Apolo y Midnighter me gustan, pero el resto de miembros del equipo no me han dicho gran cosa. También digo que Bryan Hitch no ha hecho un mejor trabajo en su vida y que el entintado y color lo elevan a otro nivel.
Pd: ningún otro cómic busca justificar "tan bien" el genocidio como éste. Es algo que sale natural, sin darle muchas vueltas al asunto.
May 18, 2020
Definitely a great read! From start to finish every 4-parter was exciting and I was unsure what was gonna happen next. Even so if I would give this 3.5 stars I would. Because we never learn enough about the characters backgrounds and specific powers. I wanted to look it up but I thought it might spoil things for me as well. Therefore a lot of the plot was very exciting but also very confusing because we got very few details. We never learn how this team was formed in this volume. Those things took away some of the badass coolness for me. (So far this also seems to not be in the original DC universe.) But I am interested to see what happens next, and the team has great comradery so I gave it 4 stars.
November 27, 2021
A pretty solid big action Justice League type book. I don't have much familiarity with these characters, but I still found this to be a lot of fun. It feels like Ellis was definitely reigned in a bit, so while there are moments when you can tell it's clearly him, it's definitely him toned down and put into a PG-13 box, which isn't a bad thing, necessarily. I did feel like some characters went underutilized, but that's just the way it goes with a team book I guess. I'm not huge on Bryan Hitch's art; it's decent and there's nothing wrong with it, and there are actually a few moments when I thought it was great, but for the most part, I find it kind of meh, though the coloring is really nice.
Overall, solid book.
Overall, solid book.
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