The AuthorityVol 1: Relentless
Written by Warren Ellis
Art by Bryan Hitch and Paul Neary
2000
Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/
The AuthorityVol 2: Under New Management
Written by Warren Ellis and Mark Millar
Art by Bryan Hitch, Paul Neary, Frank Quietly and Trevor Scott
2001
Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/
The AuthorityVol 3: Earth Inferno and Other Stories
Written by Mark Millar
Art by Frank Quietly and Chris Weston
2002
Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/
The AuthorityVol 4: Transfer of Power
Written by Mark Millar and Tom Peyer
Art by Frank Quietly, Dustin Nguyen, Arthur Adams, Gary Erskine, Trevor Scott, Richard Friend, Jason Martin, Derek Fridolfs, and Tim Townsend
2002
Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/
Led by Jenny Sparks - the spirit of the Twentieth Century (who bears a striking resemblance to Kate Moss) and flaked by Apollo and the Midnighter (who bear a striking resemblance to that guy with the cape and that other guy in the cowl) plus a woman made of liquid metal, the shaman of the Earth and the God of cities oh - and a woman has wings (is that all?) The Authority are the Britpop of superhero teams: taking lots of well-worn moves and replaying them (in a quintessentially nineties way), with more attitude, bigger and way louder than everyone else. Using an impressive bunch of tricks to stimulate that feeling you get watching a big budget, over-blown Hollywood blockbuster (dubbed "widescreen" comics by those who know) this is a book that reveals completely in making things explode and - with Warren Ellis writing it as least - it always wants you to know just how much all the characters love being superheroes and doing wild and crazy things ("I love this!" being the most frequent line of dialogue). Although the first time you read it all feels "new" - the character relationships are the same thing you get with every other superhero team out there (and everyone always has a snazzy one liners etc) what makes The Authority different is that unlike other books of the same ilk - it really likes taking it's time with it's action sequences - and it really likes blowing them up to ever more absurd scales. It starts off small - with blowing up cities - and then starts zooming out until they're travelling through the veins of God. Then - with the writing duties handed over to Mark Millar - things take a turn for the political (or - as political as a mainstream superhero comic can get) when they start to realise that after they save the world - they don't actually have to restore things to the way they were before ("Because traditional superheroes always put the flag back on top of the White House, don’t they?"). And with the help of the ever reliable Frank Quitely (who's probably the best artist out there for detailed superhero artwork that never skimps on energy or legibility). Probably the best action comic out there. If you haven't already - it's well worth having a try.
...................................................................................................................................................
Links: Wicker Man Studios Mark Millar Interview, Bleeding Cool: Unexpurgated Gay Times Mark Millar Interview, The M0vie Blog Review of Absolute Authority Vol 1 / The M0vie Blog Review of Absolute Authority Vol 2, Zubon Review of Vol 1, Ninth Art Review of Vol 2, Mindless Ones Article: TALES FROM THE MILLARDROME: Monument to a Forgotten Future.
Further reading: The Boys, Black Summer, Planetary, The Ultimates, Nemesis, No Hero, Thunderbolts: Faith in Monsters / Caged Angels, Marvel Boy, The Avengers: The New Avengers: Illuminati.
Profiles: Warren Ellis, Mark Millar, Chris Weston, Frank Quitely.
All comments welcome.
No comments:
Post a Comment