Comics: The Authority Vol. 1

Story

Let me be up front: Warren Ellis is one of my favorite writers working in comics and Bryan Hitch is likewise one of my favorite artists, so I’m a bit biased here.

The first story arc, “The Circle”, has unknown superhumans landing in Moscow and devastating it, and doing the same in London a short time later. The Authority respond to the London attack and are able to drive them off. They trace the source of the attack to Gamorra Island, a setting featured in other Wildstorm comics. A third attack in Los Angeles is also beaten back by a reduced team; the Midnighter goes to deal with the problem at its source.

In the second story arc, “Shiftships”, Los Angeles is again attacked, this time by advanced fighters. When the Authority arrives to again deal with the problem, Jenny Sparks recognizes their origin: it’s Sliding Albion, from a parallel dimension. After dealing with that attack and while trying to gather intel, the Authority is attacked on the Carrier, and Sliding Albion again invades our world. Apollo goes to deal with the invaders while the rest of the team invades Sliding Albion and deals with them in a permanent fashion.

In the third story arc, “Outer Dark” something comes from outer space and starts terraforming both the Moon and the Earth. The Authority finds out that it’s the creature/entity responsible for creating the Earth, back to discover that there’s an infestation of life on it that has to go. The Authority has to tackle a creature that’s larger than the Moon and keep it from wiping out all human life.

The first and second arcs are my favorites; the third, while still good, is lacking somewhat in drama and tension, particularly in the last half.

Ellis doesn’t often fall prey here to the too-common trope in comics of explaining everything in dialogue (see any X-men comic ever written by Chris Claremont for examples of what I’m talking about); rather, he sets the stage and then lets the art tell the story. You’re given pages that are completely “silent” with no (or minimal) word balloons, just art. The stories overall are action-driven, but we get enough characterization scattered throughout that it’s not completely devoid of it. It’s a smart, sometimes (darkly) funny action movie put to page.