The Authority Review Project Master List
Published by the now-defunct Wildstorm Comics from 1999 to 2011, The Authority was a wonderful, versatile, critically lauded comic book series plagued by censorship, editor complaints, scheduling conflicts, and jarring starts and stops in its various runs. Now on hiatus, but expected to return in the future as part of DC comics, there's not much for fans to do but spread the word on the title's awesomeness.
The Authority is a story of very flawed, much-too-powerful superheroes who decide they have the right to defend Earth from any danger, including our own governments if necessary. They have good intentions and help people, but their swelling God-complexes get them into as much trouble as any supervillain. Extremely versatile, The Authority has tackled almost any genre you can name. Diverse character types are represented, both classic and innovative stories are told--but usually in a different way than you expect.
From left to right on the picture at the top, the team is: brilliant scientist The Engineer, whose blood has been replaced by tiny nano-machines, letting her split into several bodies, make guns out of her skin, armor herself, process info at computer speeds, and that's just for starters; City King and team leader Jack Hawksmoor who vacillates between laid back and "I'll kill you" enraged with frightening ease for someone who can command cities to do anything he wants; Jenny Sparks/Quantum, a badass female without tits hanging out of a spandex bra who lives exactly a century and is the will of that century; Midnighter, a sociopath with a love of violence, leather, and a computer in his head that makes him the most efficient killing machine alive; his husband, the laid-back, fun-loving Apollo, who wields the power of the sun; and sex-loving, Buddhist Swift, who can, um, fly.
...She's cooler than she sounds. Trust me.
There are other team members who come and go, but those six are the mainstays.
Below are spoiler-free reviews of Authority titles I own; further reviews will be added as I obtain more of the books. Check 'em out, there's bound to be a story in a genre you're into. Suggestions, comments, corrections, whatever are welcome.
*
PROLOGUES
(Stories written or set before the Authority title officially began.)
StormWatch: A Finer World by Warren Ellis and Brian Hitch, 1999, Superhero Action, B+
PRIMARY CONTINUITY
The Authority vol. 2: Under New Management by Warren Ellis, Mark Miller, Brian Hitch, and Frank Quitely, 2000, Superhero Action/Parody/Comedy, B+
The Authority vol. 4: Transfer of Power by Mark Miller, Tom Peytor, Dustin Nguyen, Gary Erskine, Arthur Adams, and Frank Quitely, 2002, Superhero Action/Parody/Sci-Fi, A-
The Authority vol. 7 and 8: Revolution by Ed Brubaker and Dustin Nguyen, 2005-6, Superhero Action/Drama/Political Intrigue, B+
The Authority: Prime
The Authority vol. 9 and 10: World's End by DnA and Simon Coleby, 2009-10, Sci-Fi/Action, A-
OUTSIDE CONTINUITY
(Stories that don't fit anywhere in the regular timeline, alternate universe stories, or stand-alone stories.)
The Authority: Human on the Inside by John Ridley, Ben Oliver, and Wendy Broome, 2004, Psychological Drama, C
The Authority: Kev by Garth Ennis and Glenn Fabry, 2004, Screwball Comedy, A