ugmug's review
2.0
Not my favorite Warren Ellis comic. There are three 4 issue story arcs here and, unfortunately, all are a bit bland. Not bad, not all that good.
mapatchli's review against another edition
challenging
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
philippmk's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
gohawks's review
5.0
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.
al_capwned's review
3.0
The art is great but there's literally no character development. Although, the "good guys" are just the lesser evil it seems, so maybe the whole distant thing about those characters was on purpose? I highly doubt it.
fangirljeanne's review
5.0
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?
buffalokid's review against another edition
3.0
Story: Ejoyed it, didnt love it. Like many have said, the characters are unique in their tough-guy attitude and definitely more bad ass than usual. I'm not usually a super hero person but this proved to be more entertaining than most due to the creative imagination in the details. The variety of creative little twists n turns makes this book a step above the average even though it is facing stereotypical bad guy story lines and numbskull dialogue.
Art: Great work. Classic late 90s style (??) with some, again, imaginative portrayals of the characters. Really enjoyed the artists ideas of what the main bad guys looked like and all the wild areas the Carrier went through. Definitely kept me reading and will carry me to the next.
Good but not a top for me. Definitely is something different in the super hero world. Will keep you guessing even though you know the ending.
Art: Great work. Classic late 90s style (??) with some, again, imaginative portrayals of the characters. Really enjoyed the artists ideas of what the main bad guys looked like and all the wild areas the Carrier went through. Definitely kept me reading and will carry me to the next.
Good but not a top for me. Definitely is something different in the super hero world. Will keep you guessing even though you know the ending.
sandy27's review against another edition
3.0
Los colores son fabulosos y las salidas de los personajes en ocasiones están bien y te ríes un poco.
chrisvigilante's review
3.0
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.
dozens's review
4.0
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.