Authority: Revolution
The Authority: Revolution (issues 1 – 9)
Written by Ed Brubaker;
Art by Dustin Nguyen & Richard Friend
Published by Wildstorm (DC Comics)
Released on June 15th, 2005. (issue #9)
The Authority is not an easy assignment for a creative team. It’s not a really old title but has a very devoted fan base that has not been satisfied since the original run and the first two teams. Also, this isn’t an average superhero book; the last relaunch, by writer Robbie Morrison and artist Dwayne Turner, didn’t really work for most fans and was soon put to sleep. To be honest, the only Authority I’ve enjoyed lately have been both “Kev” books, by Garth Ennis and Glenn Fabry, and those were mostly parodies. Morrison’s looked like more of the same but worse, although apparently his run was full of editorial interference.
The Authority: Revolution brings us the talents of writer Ed Brubaker (Gotham Central, Captain America, Sleeper) and artist Dustin Nguyen (Wildcats v3.0). For a start the art is an improvement. I truly believe that this book works better when drawn by artists with a very personal, non-generic, style; there’s also great coloring work all over the book.
Now, the story. After taking on the government of the U.S.A., and becoming rulers of the nation, the Authority are trying to create that finer world they always wanted. The problem is people are not that willing to have change forced on them and they are not going to be as successful as Miracleman when changing the world. The Authority walks a fine line between benevolent dictators and absolute fascists, which leaves some of the team uncomfortable; worsened when a visit from the future shows Midnighter that the world’s only chance is to dissolve the team
Helped by a mysterious brain in the shadows, a group of rejuvenated patriotic heroes from WWII and beyond start a revolution. Faced with the disastrous consequences, the Authority disband. Years pass: a member dies, a couple is broken, an old foe returns from the dead and Jenny keeps growing up and getting powerful. So far, so good.
Revolution works mostly because it doesn’t try to be like the Authority that Ellis and Morrison wrote: it’s not trying to be that book again or recapture those end of the world menaces over and over. Brubaker is crafting a story in which character development, and dealing with the consequences of what The Authority is about, matter. Trademark Authority stuff is still here from great action, to over the top one liners not really meant to be taken seriously and sex jokes (blowjob in the Oval Office anyone?) Also the characters still sound and behave like themselves, but moving forward, evolving, and, in this age of decompression, something happens in every issue.
One of the things I like the most about this book is that we see the team defeated, not in the usual beaten up sense: but defeated in their ideas, their beliefs. They are unable to accomplish what they always wanted without becoming the kind of monsters they were trying to destroy. It’s ironic how after failing, some of the characters go back to being vigilantes, in a more traditional superhero way.
I’m glad to see how Jenny Quantum is being dealt with and evolving as a character. She has become a fleshed out character now and not just the plot device she’s been before.
The story is not yet over, but is unfolding nicely; it may not all be fresh and original but what is these days? I just hope the ending will be worthy of what’s being going on until now but I can happily say that The Authority, after the end of Millar’s run, is interesting once more.
Carlos Fraile. After a failed attempt at studying psychology, where he learnt a lot about role playing, Carlos Fraile left universty to study Broadcasting and pursue a career as DJ and music journalist. Television lured him with offers of a steady pay packet and he is currently a Programming Coordinator for an international TV channel.