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| The
AUTHORITY |
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Volume
One:
RELENTLESS |
Written by Warren Ellis
Art and cover by Bryan Hitch & Paul Neary |
Paperback: 192 pages
DC Comics
ISBN: 1563896613 |
$17.95
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| Read THE
AUTHORITY from the very beginning
A stunning collection reprints
the first stories of the new team born from the ashes of the StormWatch!
Reprinted from THE AUTHORITY #1-8, this handsome volume collects the team's
first two astonishing adventures: "The Circle" and "Shiftships." |
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| Are we ready
for yet another take on superhero morality? Let's hope so, because The
Authority: Relentless retools old ideas for a new century. Warren Ellis
has his heroes think globally as they kick butt locally, stopping or slowing
down to consider how they can use their powers to "make the world a better
place." How he can pull this off in our oh-so-ironic age is an artistic
mystery, but the results are clear: superheroes with believable personalities
and community spirit. Two story arcs, each encompassing terror and evil
on a global scale, pit the group of seven against armies of superhumans
dispatched in scenes reminiscent of the best action movies. Many of the
characters from the older Stormwatch series reappear here, and fans will
be pleased to learn that Ellis has, if anything, improved his depth and
storytelling prowess. Bryan Hitch's penciling, Paul Neary's inking, and
Laura Depuy's coloring are all equally responsible for the gloriously lovely
artwork--from interdimensional spaceships to dismembered spinal cords,
they make saving the world beautiful.
--Rob Lightner
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| The
AUTHORITY |
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Volume
Two:
UNDER
NEW MANAGEMENT |
Written by Warren Ellis & Mark Millar
Art by Bryan Hitch & Paul Neary and Frank Quitely & Trevor
Scott
Cover by Quitely and Scott |
Paperback: 192 pages
DC Comics
ISBN: 1563897563 |
$17.95
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| Out With
the Old and In With the New
This volume is made up of
two stories, "the Outer Dark" representing the end of the Warren Ellis/Bryan
Hitch first year run of the book, and "the Nativity" the start of the controversial
Mark Millar/Frank Quitely run on the title. |
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| While it isn't
quite the breathless trip that the first two Authority story arcs were
(collected in the see "the Authority: Relentless" trade paperback), it
represents a fine ending to the Ellis/Hitch run and features the last bow
of a memorable character, one after my own ex-leftie heart. (By the way,
they take on God, but not the diety you're thinking of...)
"The Nativity" starts off
with the Authority lashing out against the government of Indonesia, which
had hired "irregulars" to brutalize East Timorese into sanctioning their
abusive regime in an upcoming election, and sending a message to the governments
of the world: "we will not tolerate the human rights abuses by anyone,
be they invaders from other worlds, "supervillains" or even, soveriegn
states"... and this triggers the first of a series of counter strikes,
this one launched by the ultimate cold warrior, a creative genius with
his own plans for humanity. Both a satire of the conventions of the comic
book superhero genre; the culture of celebrity in the this country; and
an indirect indictment of abusive governments everywhere; "The Nativity"
made both Mark Millar and Frank Quitely's careers in the US, and both rapidly
moved onward and upward to far more lucrative assignments; but to date
this remains some of thier finest work for American publishers, and its
well worth a read. |
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