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The Authority #K3
The Authority: A Man Called Kev
After murdering his boss in a nasty government scheme, Kev Hawkins is banished from the United Kingdom under pain of death, but as he is searching for what to do next, the past catches up with him in a most violent and terrifying way.
112 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
119 people want to read
About the author
Garth Ennis
2,627 books3,175 followersEnnis began his comic-writing career in 1989 with the series Troubled Souls. Appearing in the short-lived but critically-acclaimed British anthology Crisis and illustrated by McCrea, it told the story of a young, apolitical Protestant man caught up by fate in the violence of the Irish 'Troubles'. It spawned a sequel, For a Few Troubles More, a broad Belfast-based comedy featuring two supporting characters from Troubled Souls, Dougie and Ivor, who would later get their own American comics series, Dicks, from Caliber in 1997, and several follow-ups from Avatar.
Another series for Crisis was True Faith, a religious satire inspired by his schooldays, this time drawn by Warren Pleece. Ennis shortly after began to write for Crisis' parent publication, 2000 AD. He quickly graduated on to the title's flagship character, Judge Dredd, taking over from original creator John Wagner for a period of several years.
Ennis' first work on an American comic came in 1991 when he took over DC Comics's horror title Hellblazer, which he wrote until 1994, and for which he currently holds the title for most issues written. Steve Dillon became the regular artist during the second half of Ennis's run.
Ennis' landmark work to date is the 66-issue epic Preacher, which he co-created with artist Steve Dillon. Running from 1995 to 2000, it was a tale of a preacher with supernatural powers, searching (literally) for God who has abandoned his creation.
While Preacher was running, Ennis began a series set in the DC universe called Hitman. Despite being lower profile than Preacher, Hitman ran for 60 issues (plus specials) from 1996 to 2001, veering wildly from violent action to humour to an examination of male friendship under fire.
Other comic projects Ennis wrote during this time period include Goddess, Bloody Mary, Unknown Soldier, and Pride & Joy, all for DC/Vertigo, as well as origin stories for The Darkness for Image Comics and Shadowman for Valiant Comics.
After the end of Hitman, Ennis was lured to Marvel Comics with the promise from Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada that he could write The Punisher as long as he cared to. Instead of largely comical tone of these issues, he decided to make a much more serious series, re-launched under Marvel's MAX imprint.
In 2001 he briefly returned to UK comics to write the epic Helter Skelter for Judge Dredd.
Other comics Ennis has written include War Story (with various artists) for DC; The Pro for Image Comics; The Authority for Wildstorm; Just a Pilgrim for Black Bull Press, and 303, Chronicles of Wormwood (a six issue mini-series about the Antichrist), and a western comic book, Streets of Glory for Avatar Press.
In 2008 Ennis ended his five-year run on Punisher MAX to debut a new Marvel title, War Is Hell: The First Flight of the Phantom Eagle.
In June 2008, at Wizard World, Philadelphia, Ennis announced several new projects, including a metaseries of war comics called Battlefields from Dynamite made up of mini-series including Night Witches, Dear Billy and Tankies, another Chronicles of Wormwood mini-series and Crossed both at Avatar, a six-issue miniseries about Butcher (from The Boys) and a Punisher project reuniting him with artist Steve Dillon (subsequently specified to be a weekly mini-series entitled Punisher: War Zone, to be released concurrently with the film of the same name).
Taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garth_Ennis
Another series for Crisis was True Faith, a religious satire inspired by his schooldays, this time drawn by Warren Pleece. Ennis shortly after began to write for Crisis' parent publication, 2000 AD. He quickly graduated on to the title's flagship character, Judge Dredd, taking over from original creator John Wagner for a period of several years.
Ennis' first work on an American comic came in 1991 when he took over DC Comics's horror title Hellblazer, which he wrote until 1994, and for which he currently holds the title for most issues written. Steve Dillon became the regular artist during the second half of Ennis's run.
Ennis' landmark work to date is the 66-issue epic Preacher, which he co-created with artist Steve Dillon. Running from 1995 to 2000, it was a tale of a preacher with supernatural powers, searching (literally) for God who has abandoned his creation.
While Preacher was running, Ennis began a series set in the DC universe called Hitman. Despite being lower profile than Preacher, Hitman ran for 60 issues (plus specials) from 1996 to 2001, veering wildly from violent action to humour to an examination of male friendship under fire.
Other comic projects Ennis wrote during this time period include Goddess, Bloody Mary, Unknown Soldier, and Pride & Joy, all for DC/Vertigo, as well as origin stories for The Darkness for Image Comics and Shadowman for Valiant Comics.
After the end of Hitman, Ennis was lured to Marvel Comics with the promise from Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada that he could write The Punisher as long as he cared to. Instead of largely comical tone of these issues, he decided to make a much more serious series, re-launched under Marvel's MAX imprint.
In 2001 he briefly returned to UK comics to write the epic Helter Skelter for Judge Dredd.
Other comics Ennis has written include War Story (with various artists) for DC; The Pro for Image Comics; The Authority for Wildstorm; Just a Pilgrim for Black Bull Press, and 303, Chronicles of Wormwood (a six issue mini-series about the Antichrist), and a western comic book, Streets of Glory for Avatar Press.
In 2008 Ennis ended his five-year run on Punisher MAX to debut a new Marvel title, War Is Hell: The First Flight of the Phantom Eagle.
In June 2008, at Wizard World, Philadelphia, Ennis announced several new projects, including a metaseries of war comics called Battlefields from Dynamite made up of mini-series including Night Witches, Dear Billy and Tankies, another Chronicles of Wormwood mini-series and Crossed both at Avatar, a six-issue miniseries about Butcher (from The Boys) and a Punisher project reuniting him with artist Steve Dillon (subsequently specified to be a weekly mini-series entitled Punisher: War Zone, to be released concurrently with the film of the same name).
Taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garth_Ennis
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
September 22, 2022
A. Man. Called. Kev! After killing his line manager, Kev's banished from the UK, so he looks to seek pastures new, not realising that his past hasn't finished dealing with him yet! More of Garth Ennis's tongue-in-cheek 'Kev' series, which is a great, but unlikely companion for The Authority Omnibus series with its semi-comedic satire on the military, and daring to look at Northern Ireland and the Troubles. 6 out of 12
2017 read; 2011 read
2017 read; 2011 read
February 15, 2022
This was probably the weakest of the Kev books, with The Authority not even playing a role in this book as we go on a Kev solo adventure. This is a send-off to the character, and while it does lose a bit of it’s charm due to not having The Authority around, it’s still a great send-off to one of the biggest assholes in the Wildstorm universe.
July 19, 2016
The third and final volume of the Kev series leaves the Authority behind along with Kev's penchant for blundering into incredibly unlikely shit luck. It's a pretty standard story: Old Soldier Tries to Start a New Life but His Past Catches Up to Him. (It's the commando version of Retired Master Thief Forced to Do One Last Job.)
A Man Called Kev is unusually straight for Ennis (he must have run out of weird after dumping so much of it into volume 2). No warped shenanigans by those in power, no shocking sexual proclivities. Just a bit of personal growth, a few flashback scenes, and a lot of people killing each other. And a good ending to the series.
A Man Called Kev is unusually straight for Ennis (he must have run out of weird after dumping so much of it into volume 2). No warped shenanigans by those in power, no shocking sexual proclivities. Just a bit of personal growth, a few flashback scenes, and a lot of people killing each other. And a good ending to the series.
April 13, 2020
The full focus is on Kev this time around. His past still haunts him, but it's the bullets all around him that are more of a concern. He loses his last old friend in this story, but only after a good bit of shooting bad guys. There are a few laughs here and there, like always. Overall, though, Kev's story is a tragic one. This final volume is a good fare well for our favorite SAS bloke.
The British government wants Kev out of the country. He finds out about his mate Danny - the one with the tiger - living in San Francisco. He soon finds he is being hunted again by men who will gladly kill his friends as well.
The British government wants Kev out of the country. He finds out about his mate Danny - the one with the tiger - living in San Francisco. He soon finds he is being hunted again by men who will gladly kill his friends as well.
January 24, 2021
Whenever these two collaborate, only money stops me from picking the book immediately off the shelf. I’m a long time fan of both and I am always glad they found each other.
This book is a lesson on who to write a good “bro-mance” story. The beauty of the book literally is how Ennis writes his dialogue and visually how Carlos executes the art.
This feels like an organic book, one that was made from a lot drinks and a lot of chit chat and to me it shows.
I got the single issues when I was younger and the story still feels fresh all these years later compiled into this TPB.
I’d recommend it.
This book is a lesson on who to write a good “bro-mance” story. The beauty of the book literally is how Ennis writes his dialogue and visually how Carlos executes the art.
This feels like an organic book, one that was made from a lot drinks and a lot of chit chat and to me it shows.
I got the single issues when I was younger and the story still feels fresh all these years later compiled into this TPB.
I’d recommend it.
July 10, 2024
a fun read. the humor is cynical but funny, it's a nice story for anyone who likes action, good stakes, and grit in the mix! it kept me on edge the whole time while reading it. kev's an asshole but a lovable one
November 5, 2018
Maybe 4.5
December 5, 2021
Classic ennis
August 12, 2024
No more superheroes, just the man they call Kev. Surprisingly heartwarming by the end, but still with that slice of violent anarchy that we all enjoy.
May 2, 2014
I originally picked up the first and third Kev books used at a game/comic shop. I didn't realize that there was a book 2. So I ordered this one online. What I also didn't realize was that this book doesn't have anything to do with the Authority, which was the reason I picked up the books in the first place. So this one was kind of a disappointment compared to the first book which did focus on Kev but also had huge plots like most Authority comics.
This is really bloody and graphic stuff so if you're not into that I would avoid it. The dialogue is good (and extremely vulgar at time) and even though Kev is kind of a wanker you still find yourself routing for him.
Looking forward to book 3 since that definitely does involve the Authority.
This is really bloody and graphic stuff so if you're not into that I would avoid it. The dialogue is good (and extremely vulgar at time) and even though Kev is kind of a wanker you still find yourself routing for him.
Looking forward to book 3 since that definitely does involve the Authority.
November 5, 2010
Great, gritty story of one of my favourite anti-heroes (or is that sombre non-hero?). Hard tale, no apologies, but well worth reading. Takes Kev to where he couldn't help but face his mistakes and sins and come clean with them. Great read, good art. Thanks to Grant for a well-told wrap-up to the series.
July 29, 2011
awesome graphic novels. Story of an ordinary guy fiding himself in awkward scrapes and always hanging on by sheer luck.
December 12, 2011
Not so much funny things as in the previous Kev-stories, more touching story of friendship.
With brilliant Esquerra art.
With brilliant Esquerra art.
October 3, 2016
Profane, violent and gross, but entertaining.
May 9, 2012
Another good story with art that matches the narrative.
July 26, 2012
Garth Ennis - writer
Carlos Ezquerra - artist
3.5/5 stars
Carlos Ezquerra - artist
3.5/5 stars
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews