What do you think?
Rate this book
The Authority #12
The Authority: World's End
The WildStorm Universe has been shattered by an apocalyptic event and the world is devastated. Does the Authority have a hope of rebuilding their "finer world," or is that dream dead and gone?
Don't miss this beginning of an astounding new direction for the super-team. Find out what the group that was created to protect Earth from threats of a global scale must do after they fail in their mission.
Don't miss this beginning of an astounding new direction for the super-team. Find out what the group that was created to protect Earth from threats of a global scale must do after they fail in their mission.
136 pages, Paperback
First published August 11, 2009
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
August 20, 2016
4.3 stars
What I like about The authority is that it doesn't maintain status quo constantly.There are unexpected turns and deaths of main cast members but turn this big I didn't expect.
In World's end The Authority becomes very gritty post-apocalyptic tale with most of Authority members losing their abilities.It's big turn but this kind of world fit this set of characters and I generally like post-apocalyptic tales a lot so this volume was huge enjoyment.This isn't The authority's best but it's close.
What I like about The authority is that it doesn't maintain status quo constantly.There are unexpected turns and deaths of main cast members but turn this big I didn't expect.
In World's end The Authority becomes very gritty post-apocalyptic tale with most of Authority members losing their abilities.It's big turn but this kind of world fit this set of characters and I generally like post-apocalyptic tales a lot so this volume was huge enjoyment.This isn't The authority's best but it's close.
June 28, 2020
The world is in tatters, the Wildstorm universe is now a dystopian post apocalyptic place! Is the 'finer world' dream of The Authority dead and buried? The Authority failed in their core mission to protect Earth, what can they do now in this barren failed place? A shocking place to move on from as Wildstorm once again exceeds anything done by Marvel or DC, by literally blowing up their civilisation! 6 out of 12
November 8, 2015
This was a much needed reboot for the series. The Carrier has basically crashed into Britain and destroyed it. This turns the Authority series into a post-apocalyptic book. A thick smog has cut the sun off, so Apollo has to stay out of London and in the sunlight or he'll die. The remaining authority members are attempting to save what remains of humanity in a desolate wasteland with death around every corner.
I thought the series was getting a little stale, but this new direction is very interesting. Also the artwork fits the tone of the book perfectly.
This series takes the Authority back to its roots, and if you enjoyed the first few volumes, you will probably enjoy this one.
I thought the series was getting a little stale, but this new direction is very interesting. Also the artwork fits the tone of the book perfectly.
This series takes the Authority back to its roots, and if you enjoyed the first few volumes, you will probably enjoy this one.
March 20, 2011
Wildstorm decided to do what main stream comic universes won't... it had the heroes lose, big time... and the world is destroyed. The remaining heroes are left to figure out how to pick up the pieces and fix what they can. Great premise, and the story execution is not half bad. In this volume, we get the biggest, baddest of the heroes, the Authority, left in total disarray as they failed to save the world, lose all their cosmic technology, and find that simply punching things really hard doesn't solve much.
Abnett and Lanning are a kick as writing duo, and thy keep up their solid work, laying out not only a decent commentary on what it means to "save" someone, as well as laying the groundwork for a classic conspiracy of powers trying to manipulate each other in the ashes of the world.
Good stuff.
Abnett and Lanning are a kick as writing duo, and thy keep up their solid work, laying out not only a decent commentary on what it means to "save" someone, as well as laying the groundwork for a classic conspiracy of powers trying to manipulate each other in the ashes of the world.
Good stuff.
December 8, 2019
I think we all know that I only read this for the angsty Apollo/Midnighter romance, and it definitely delivered on that front. As I read I was kind of surprised that it actually ended up delivering on pretty much every front, which is a nice change of pace.
Unsurprisingly, I haven't read any of the comics that precede this so I have no context for the event taking place, but I'm used to jumping into comics in media res. Basically the Earth's gone to shit and the Authority are at an all-time low. Apollo needs to stay above the clouds to get sunlight, Jack is wheelchair-bound and miserable, and Angie is more or less human. Everyone's sad and angsty, and it actually really works. There's some good character stuff in here and the plot is pretty engaging considering how generic the premise is.
As usual, I come to a crossroads with the art style. I think that Simon Coleby's work is incredible when it comes to wide shots and action; there were a couple panels of Swift flying that genuinely took my breath away. But as with far too many comic artists, the face work is... not great to say the least. Definitely not the worst these characters have had to endure (cough Frank Quitely cough) but still has serious room for improvement.
I actually really enjoyed this story and will probably continue onto Rule Britannia because this left the storyline in a really interesting place. It also has no r*pe which is a serious upgrade from the last Authority comic I read!
Unsurprisingly, I haven't read any of the comics that precede this so I have no context for the event taking place, but I'm used to jumping into comics in media res. Basically the Earth's gone to shit and the Authority are at an all-time low. Apollo needs to stay above the clouds to get sunlight, Jack is wheelchair-bound and miserable, and Angie is more or less human. Everyone's sad and angsty, and it actually really works. There's some good character stuff in here and the plot is pretty engaging considering how generic the premise is.
As usual, I come to a crossroads with the art style. I think that Simon Coleby's work is incredible when it comes to wide shots and action; there were a couple panels of Swift flying that genuinely took my breath away. But as with far too many comic artists, the face work is... not great to say the least. Definitely not the worst these characters have had to endure (cough Frank Quitely cough) but still has serious room for improvement.
I actually really enjoyed this story and will probably continue onto Rule Britannia because this left the storyline in a really interesting place. It also has no r*pe which is a serious upgrade from the last Authority comic I read!
June 5, 2019
I'm not too familiar with the "World's End" WildStorm comic event, but it's easy to appreciate the sheer gist of things given it was an apocalyptic level event that has left the planet scrambling to stay alive. And through all this, we have the last vestiges of The Authority trying to keep humanity alive as an effort to atone for the sin of not having been able to stop the apocalypse in the first place. Thus we have a Carrier fused with London and without power, Apollo forced to stay above the impenetrable cloud of pollution that robs him of his solar powers, and the other members of the Authority largely powerless to do more than survive. It's a pretty grim world but these are pretty hardy heroes who have never developed the habit of giving up.
July 29, 2023
Stuck and the Carrier isn't working. Jack has been disease-crippled, Angie, no tech power, Jenny's not around, Apollo can't live in Earth Smog, Midnighter's still mad and Swift is able. Where is the Doctor?
Nanite zombies, a backdoor DOOR to the Carrier and a disease breach. Who's the old lady in the middle of nowhere!?
Hope to find the rest of series.
Nanite zombies, a backdoor DOOR to the Carrier and a disease breach. Who's the old lady in the middle of nowhere!?
Hope to find the rest of series.
July 18, 2018
Post-apocalyptic superheroes trying to get through the day, interesting premise.
July 23, 2014
I picked up The Authority at the worst possible time, when WildStorm was close to shutting down. They were in the midst of their World's End cross over event and any new readers were left to their own devices. I mainly picked up the single issue because the format of the cover was appealing and featuring some good art by Simon Coleby.
The experience was marred by the wacky elements of the story that I just found hard to digest. The Authority is known for its loopy tales and I know that now but even with that knowledge there were simply baffling events that I can scarcely remember. One key thing I liked was that Jack Hawksmoor who can control cities was reduced to a wheelchair bound Elephant Man character since the city which he drew his power from was destroyed. The rest of the story elements were so scattered I can't even remember them.
The art by Coleby is good but at times it seems he has trouble rendering some scenes. Coleby can draw some pretty epic scenes usually ones featuring the character Apollo who truly looks like a god but other scenes are clustered and lacking an sharper attention to detail.
The experience was marred by the wacky elements of the story that I just found hard to digest. The Authority is known for its loopy tales and I know that now but even with that knowledge there were simply baffling events that I can scarcely remember. One key thing I liked was that Jack Hawksmoor who can control cities was reduced to a wheelchair bound Elephant Man character since the city which he drew his power from was destroyed. The rest of the story elements were so scattered I can't even remember them.
The art by Coleby is good but at times it seems he has trouble rendering some scenes. Coleby can draw some pretty epic scenes usually ones featuring the character Apollo who truly looks like a god but other scenes are clustered and lacking an sharper attention to detail.
July 4, 2013
This is was my favorite Authority book until #2. I felt after #2, the rating of this book kind of plummeted because of Abnett's sharpening his talent and his focus. The book itself places the team in a post-Apocalyptic world where they and the reader great insights into not only despair but better yet character dynamics and their relationships. He truly shows how they how cope as individuals but also how they relate to one another and work together to improve the world. This was a 4 star book until Authority #2 and that's when Abnett's genius really started to shine and you could see how much more he was capable of doing. This is still great development, great style, great characters, wonderful art.
February 13, 2012
Millar managed to take over Warren Ellis's delicious opening run on The Authority with aplomb. Abnett and everyone else who has tried to carry the series since then has just used a candy coating of their legacy to mask their literary turds. The fact that Stormwatch is treated as equals to the Authority in the post Millar volumes seems to be an attempt to elevate Stormwatch to the kind of relevance that Ellis gave The Authority, but instead it only demeans the titular characters, reducing them to the level of the second rate team of generica that was left after Ellis took his characters over to this series.
It kind of made me sad.
It kind of made me sad.
March 11, 2012
I'll confess to loving The Authority in almost any form, but even I will say that the World's End run was hit and miss (and that can be said for all the World's End titles). It's nice to see them depowered, and the physical divide between Midnighter and Apollo is as heartbreaking as the emotional divide between Angie and Jack.
The inclusion of the Establishment is a nice touch, they were underused in Wildstorm and it was nice to see them remembered at the end.
The art is dubious in places, but the writing is solid.
The inclusion of the Establishment is a nice touch, they were underused in Wildstorm and it was nice to see them remembered at the end.
The art is dubious in places, but the writing is solid.
June 27, 2011
Good. Tense. Depressing. Hard to see how they'll pull themselves out of this one.
I'm not exactly Abnett's biggest fan, but I appreciate his efforts here. This is suitably world-scale story here, and while I don't exactly recognise my friends in the Authority here, I think it's easily explained by the fact that they're so closed to utterly defeated here.
Art is good - not always 100% clear what's going on, but it's well-rendered apocalypse.
I'm not exactly Abnett's biggest fan, but I appreciate his efforts here. This is suitably world-scale story here, and while I don't exactly recognise my friends in the Authority here, I think it's easily explained by the fact that they're so closed to utterly defeated here.
Art is good - not always 100% clear what's going on, but it's well-rendered apocalypse.
March 12, 2016
My favorite thing about this book is the sort of Ladyhawke situation between Apollo and Midnighter. It's so heartbreaking, but at the same time, life-affirming to see two people who are so different and with so much adversity still be there for each other and find strength in that. The world is a complete hell, but love prevails. It's exactly the kind of story to fit my mood when I worry about the state of the world.
June 27, 2024
This book is teeming with creative ideas constantly!
The concept of The Authority living in a post apocalyptic version of their world they failed to save is all over compelling.
The Midnighter and Apollo angle stood out as the most tug on the heartstrings aspect!
I see why people say this is the one worth it to see and can largely jump in while missing all those hard to find Authority issues and paperbacks that are between this and the other famous Authority stories.
The concept of The Authority living in a post apocalyptic version of their world they failed to save is all over compelling.
The Midnighter and Apollo angle stood out as the most tug on the heartstrings aspect!
I see why people say this is the one worth it to see and can largely jump in while missing all those hard to find Authority issues and paperbacks that are between this and the other famous Authority stories.
January 24, 2012
I really like what I've read so far of the World's End storyline - I kind of wish there was fanfic for it. I may have to go track down some of the other Wildstorm titles now, like Gen13 and Wildcats. But mostly I love what they're doing to Midnighter and Apollo. I always felt like they were a really well-handled gay couple, especially considering the genre.
July 8, 2011
Oh my god Midnighter and Apollo oh my god.
...and then my brain switched off the rest. I have limited tolerance for extended apocalypse stories.
...and then my brain switched off the rest. I have limited tolerance for extended apocalypse stories.
June 12, 2014
Trying to save a world that's already broken? Impossible odds
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews