16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
It may seem to lack depth but it's so well done, who cares?, June 21, 2000
This review is from: The Authority Vol. 1: Relentless (Paperback)
In the '70's comic book writers began to add greater depth of characterization and take on adult themes, and for the most part this was a welcome change. Books like Alan Moore's Miracleman and V for Vendetta; Los Bros Hernandez' Love & Rockets; Garth Ennis work on Hellblazer and Preacher; (and so many others) did more than entertain, they actually enriched my life. It was (and still is) a great time to be reading comics.
Yet the attempt to add meaning can become portentious or simply pretentious. Over-complex characterization can result in intermindable soap operas that go nowhere. And sometimes, you just want to "kick it" (in both senses of the phrase). In this sense, Warren Ellis & Bryan Hitch's twelve issue run on The Authority (the first 8 of which are reprinted here) represents a breath of fresh air. Yes, it helps to have read Stormwatch, but then it helps to have read Batman before reading JLA. Ellis does introduce interesting ideas & character development; but he does so in a piecemeal fashion the better to keep the emphasis on the action. And for once it's worth it.
People called The Authority, "the JLA (or the Avengers) finally done right," and I have to agree. Ellis & Hitch do it so well! Realistic cinematic art with a touch of grandeur, incredible world-shattering threats, Jenny Sparks "appallingly bad attitude," and a group willing and able to force change on a global scale, not just to neutralize the enemy but to build "a finer world" whatever the vested interests arrayed against them. It's been a wild ride and great fun to boot: the comic book equivalent of a really well made summer blockbuster action movie. Turn off your brain and give it a try. (Again) for once, it's worth it.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good but has more potential rhan results, September 28, 2001
This review is from: The Authority Vol. 1: Relentless (Paperback)
The Authority is a secret global-protection group ('superheroes') who protects the earth from things 'normal' human agencies can't handle. Things that aren't known to the general public. With a wide variety of superpowered 'humans' they are pretty well equiped in every situation.
Although this series spawned off the earlier 'Stormwatch' title, you needn't be too familiair with it. Knowledge about what happened in Stormwatch is a pre, not a must. It's not like you'll miss out on anytthing vital in here if you haven't read it, only you'll know some more on the back-ground of SOME characters if you have (not all).
This first collection collects #1-8 of the series, which are basically divided in two four-part sub-plots (the complete Warren Ellis run/storyline goes on for another four issues in the second volume, along with the first four Mark Millar-written issues).
Storywise intro:
The first sub-arc is called "The Circle". A dictator/tyrant ruler of the island called 'Gamorra' is trying to put his mark on the rest of the world in a rather brutal, unconventional way. It's up to the top-secret global defensive group "Authority" to put him to a stop. In this arc the group is forming and deciding who it's members are gonna be. It's mostly used as an explanation to the reader who the characters, led by Jenny Sparks, are and what they are about (powers, a little background and such).
The second story-arc is called "Shiftships". Earth is under attack by creatures from an alternative earth. Jenny Sparks knows these creatures (half humans) from her past, but she was convinced they were long dead. The question is how to stop them, but luckily Jenny has an ace up her sleeve which should give her group a fair chance. The intentions of the invaders get revealed to be even worse than first pressumed though.
In here you learn more about the ways of the Authority. It's wise to pay good attention here on subjects as 'the bleed' (in which they travel) because it is pretty vague at first but important in the long haul.
Overall my conclussion is that this is a pretty nice title. It's not ALL that but it's certainly above average and won't be a waste of your money (which is a good thing in this day and age of comicdom). Compared to the other Warren Ellis Wildstorm title (Planetary) this one is artwise a little better. Having said that I'll be quick to add that storywise Planetary is better by far. The biggest problem with Authority is lack of debt character-wise. These people do the things they do but miss an explained motivation. Were Planetary is very slow in revealing it's characters fully, it has a certain thing that makes you curious about them, making every revelation anticipated and welcome. It keeps you wanting to read on. That doesn't happen at all here and curiousness isn't sparked. That's a shame because otherwise it could have been great I think. But still, worthy of 4 outta 5 stars.
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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Changing the world, one splash page at a time, July 12, 2000
This review is from: The Authority Vol. 1: Relentless (Paperback)
Make no mistake about it, boys and girls: The Authority is the promise of superhero comics fulfilled at long last.
"Relentless" collects the first eight issues of Warren Ellis' run on The Authority, along with the efforts of his visual collaborators Bryan Hitch (who has come a long way since his uuuugly fill-in days on Uncanny X-Men), Paul Neary and Laura DePuy. Warren said it: "for twelve issues, we were the f***ing Beatles". That they were. Hitch's exquisite detail in each and every splash page is simultaneously epic and romantic, but also in-your-face visceral. But it'd all amount to nothing if not for the beautiful color job by DePuy, who has turned computer coloring into an essential element of the storytelling.
There are those who criticize that Authority lacks in characterization and while these arguments do carry weight, these people plainly fail to realize one thing: superhero comics are not soap operas. This is a fact that seems to have been forgotten so much over the years of superhero comics, that the original intent of the genre has been lost: these are meant to be stories of action and wonder. If you're looking for Watchmen or Dark Knight Returns or any kind of deep, subtle, literary masterpiece ... look elsewhere (like Ellis' Planetary). If you want to see a 70-foot-tall woman made of electricity destroy a fleet of fighter jets from a parallel Britain... come on in.
Besides, these heroes' personalities are so potent that, when they get a good one-liner in, it counts for so much more than balloons of pedantic dialogue in another title. The words are sharp, and so are these heroes. The sarcastic, world-weary leader, Jenny Sparks; the aloof drug-addict/shaman, The Doctor; and The Engineer, a woman with nine pints of micro-robots for blood, who is awed by the things she sees in a typical work day with The Authority ("Worth giving up a life for."). There's also Apollo and The Midnighter, fast becoming comics' most famous couple; Jack Hawksmoor and Shen Li-Min of StormWatch Black.
"The Circle" is the story of The Authority facing their first global threat: thousands of superhumans, at the command of a mad terrorist, intent on annihilating three of Earth's major cities. The only thing that stands between them and their goal? The ex-members of StormWatch Black, two tremendously powerful rookies, and a pair of semi-retirees.
"Shiftships" deals with a threat from Jenny Sparks' past that comes screaming into the skies over present-day Los Angeles. A stagnant, parallel Britain invades Earth, with a motive that is, sadly, all too realistic in this day and age. This forces The Authority to a solution that will forever change the scales of global political power if successful.
Fans of intelligent, big-budget science-fiction will absolutely fall head-over-heels in love with The Authority. If you liked The Matrix, Aliens, Star Wars, The Terminator movies... heck, even Independence Day... you will not be disappointed by The Authority.
Finally, this TPB edition of these stories is a godsend. Imagine an ad for a Sony Playstation popping up in at the climax of Star Wars. Maddening. These are the only comic books where I've been inclined to rip out each and every ad, and scotch-tape the double-spread ads together. It's a pain, but these are comics where you want nothing to affect the reading experience --- and now, thanks to this edition --- nothing does. So buy The Authority: Relentless TPB --- and feel your head get kicked in.
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