Action/Adventure

Authority | Revolution | Volume 2

Without a doubt that is the single best Authority story I’ve had the pleasure of reading since Warren Ellis wrote his 12 issues of pop thrill package. What makes it all different however is that Brubaker cleverly decided to step away from the established 4 issue story arcs where things blew up more and exploded even more. If you’ve not read the first review of the book then go read that first.

Also this review is FILLED WITH SPOILERS. I don’t know how to say this even more, don’t read this review if you’d like to enjoy the story that Ed Brubaker decided to craft. I don’t want to ruin anything for anyone so I’ll say it again, THIS REVIEW IS FILLED WITH SPOILERS.

One of the things that Ed and Dustin do extremely well is taking this series back to it’s widescreen roots. It’s hard to top Bryan Hitch’s work on the very first Authority storylines because that was just lightning in a bottle however the latest Authority team injected some much needed widescreen visuals into a series that had lost it’s direction and excitement in recent years.

When we last left off in the first volume, the Authority had disbanded. Midnighter had split from the team and it was revealed that Henry Bendix (the original hardcore bastard of the Wildstorm Universe, go read the Stormwatch collections to see what I’m talking about) is actually still alive and kicking. In fact it would seem that he orchestrated this whole deal. Meanwhile it seems that Jenny Quantum, Jenny Spark’s replacement is getting visits from her future self.

One aspect of the story that I was very pleasantly surprised by is the addition of the first (to my mind) Palestinian Superhero. How he was shown is a bit iffy to be honest, portrayed as a suicide bomber, erm in the Gaza strip. That didn’t really fly with me for several reasons, but I won’t get into it to be honest because this is neither the time or the place.

What I really love about Brubaker is that he both understands and cares about Wildstorm continuity. He doesn’t force you the new reader to really care about that stuff, however those of us that have been reading this for years will get that extra kick. The re-introduction of Rose Tattoo back to the WSU was a great little move. However my favourite addition that Brubaker gives was the development of the Jenny Quantum character. She’s got the cool characteristics of Jenny Sparks excet she’s a lot more interesting and fun to listen to. She’s a girl that’s been forced to grow up early. Her two foster fathers are a couple and she’s taken the reigns of the Authority.

Finally I’ll get to Dustin. I’ve waxed lyrically about the man before. I’m a fan of his works and I’ve seen him evolve and develop his style. This Authority run was without a shadow of a doubt a high point in his career as a comic book artist. His previous Wildcats run was exceptional, however he took these characters and made them his own. He new characters designs for the new Doctor and Rose Tattoo were superb. He’s also got a great grasp of body language. His characters flow and he splatters their world with little details. The artistic highlight of the entire book however was without a doube Infinity City, which fans of Terry Pratchett will smile a great deal when they see it. Like I said, he’s taken these characters and made them his own, much in the same way that Frank Quitely did after Bryan Hitch, much as I would hope and know that Gene Ha will do for his upcoming run on these characters with Grant Morrison. It was also nice to see the continuing addition of Scott Dubnier in WS books, a tradition first started off by JScott Campbell in the pages of Danger Girl.

After completing this series I was reminded how I felt at the end of both Warren Ellis’s run and Mark Millar’s run, where was the new writer going to take all of this? How was he going to top what was written in these pages? I’m glad that the next creative team to tackle the Authority will be Grant Morrison and Gene Ha. Only A-list talent should be allowed to play around in this sandbox because it’s so difficult to get wrong, but when it’s done correctly like this story, it’s magic.