In my previous post, I described how Warren Ellis renovated StormWatch. Well, critics loved it, and Ellis developed a loyal cult following, but it still wasn't lighting the sales charts on fire. So he ended the series and began a new series with the same creative team and some of the same characters that he introduced in StormWatch. He wrote scripts with less political intrigue and more "explodo". The series was called The Authority, and it was a huge hit with fans.
The team is led by Jenny Sparks, "the spirit of the 20th Century," a 99-year-old British woman who looks about 20. Like most of Ellis' protagonists, she's a hard-drinking, chain-smoking cynic. She is joined in her quest to create a better world by her former StormWatch teammates Jack Hawksmoor ("The God Of The Cities") and Swift (a winged huntress), former StormWatch antagonists The Apollo and Midnighter (picture Superman and Batman as an openly gay couple), and two new heroes: The Doctor (a wizard/drug addict) and the Engineer (who can create weapons out of thin air).
The two stories in this first volume are not very deep. Some things destroy a city, and the Authority beats up on those things, as well as whatever sent the things in question. This series isn't about depth, though. It's about atmosphere, style, and explodo. Lots and lots of explodo.
Recommended for: people who enjoy mindless entertainment from time to time.
Not Recommended for: homophobes; conservatives.
2 comments:
...Jenny Sparks... Like most of Ellis' protagonists, she's a hard-drinking, chain-smoking Mary-Sue.
She's still an interesting character, regardless.
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