|
Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jul 7, 2018 1:54:10 GMT -5
The Authority #3"The Circle (Part III of IV)"Cover Date: July, 1999 Writer: Warren Ellis Artist: Bryan Hitch Featured Character(s): The Authority (Jenny Sparks, Jack Hawksmoor, Swift, Apollo, The Midnighter, The Doctor, & The Engineer Villain/s: Kaizen Gamorra & The Children of Gamorra Guest Star/s: Jackson King, Chrstine Trelane, & Shinya Hoshino Official Plot:The Authority help rescue London residents from the wreckage of the city after the battle with Kaizen Gamorra's superhuman army. Swift and the Doctor save two people from underneath a load of rubble as a disbelieving London official looks on. The Authority return to the Carrier, where Apollo persists on finding a way to break the Gamorran Curtains. Jenny Sparks reveals to him that the Carrier's Doors can open up anywhere on Earth, because the Carrier exists both on Earth and outside of it. Jack Hawksmoor and the Engineer discover Kaizen Gamorra's plan. Kaizen is planning to cut his family's symbol, a circle with three knots, onto the planet. The first knot was Moscow, the second was London, and the third is to be Los Angeles. On Gamorra Island, Kaizen Gamorra is confronted by Shinya Hoshino, a negotiator for the United Nations. He laughs at Shinya, and at the United Nations hypocrisy of blaming Gamorra for innocent death when Henry Bendix killed over two hundred innocent Gamorran citizens. Back on the Carrier, Jenny Sparks sends the Midnighter into Gamorra to try and discover a weakness in Kaizen's forces. The rest of the Authority heads for Los Angeles, as Jenny comments how "this mess might turn into an actual team yet." The Midnighter arrives in Gamorra just as the rest of the Authority arrive to find a battalion of several hundred Gamorra clones speeding towards Los Angeles. Brodie's View: We get quite a bit of information in this issue, as well as hearing the mission statement from our main villain, Kaizen Gamorra, as to why he's committing these acts of terrorism; Short Answer....because he can (and payback for Henry Bendix's payback for his actions in STORMWATCH #40---killing hundreds of Gamorrans in retaliation for Gaizen's terrorist attack in England that killed a similar number). Meanwhile, Jenny and the others figure out that Kaizen is planning to cut the Gamorran Clan symbol into the planet, and through that figure out where his next target is, Los Angeles, and they arrive (sans one member, but I'll get to that in a second) just in time to see hundreds of superhuman Gamorrans approaching ( ). Going back earlier in the issue, however, we get to discover some interesting things about both the Authority (or at least certain members of the team) and the sentient ship they use as their headquarters, The Carrier. We get a bit more information as it relates to the newer characters, the newest incarnations of The Doctor and The Engineer, at least where it relates to their powers. We also hint at the relationship between Apollo and The Midnighter, as Jenny, chiding them for not having first names, suggests Bert and Ernie . Of course, more on this as this run continues. As for the Carrier (and The Bleed that it sails through), we find out that even though the ship is sailing through the arterial walls of reality itself, it is attuned to the Earth of "our" reality, which allows the ship to be able to teleport people where they need to be. While the rest of the team goes to confront Kaizen Gamorra's "Children," Jenny sends The Midnighter secretly into Gamorra to find out all he can about Kaizen and the defenses of the island. Of course, despite promising subtlety, The Midnighter is immediately found out moments after he arrives....lol. In the next issue, we get the big conclusion to this first arc, which will both involve a LOT of action, but also will close the door on one hanging STORMWATCH plot thread....before tackling another. GRADE: A-
|
|
|
Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jul 7, 2018 2:34:39 GMT -5
The Authority is one of the few late 90s/early 2000s superhero comics I enjoyed. Ellis took the ideas that Rick Veitch talked about in his King Hell stuff and made them a bit more palatable for your average comic fan that only reads stuff from the big two. And when this series started it got lots of comic fans talking. I can remember the people that up until this time were only reading stuff like Marvels X-titles and Batman/Superman/JLA from DC having their minds blown. Kinda surprised that since their revamping of the DC universe no one has brought back the Authority. Honestly, I think it really depends on the writer on who uses them and how. 1) The Authority in the DCU.....flips the script, so to speak. They're not afraid of killing their foes(and the guys they have fought were utter assholes) so that puts them on a collision course with.... 2) The Justice League of America(& 90% of the DC Good Guys). There's no way we ain't getting a JLA/Authority fight and I'm afraid someone will just try to make the other side look like losers to justify the other team. The main DC Universe did create their own "Authority" inspired team called The Elite. This initially was done to prove traditional super heroics (in the form of Superman) was superior to the tactics used by teams like The Authority. The leader of that group, the very Jack Hawksmoor influenced Manchester Black, actually became a continuing Superman villain for a while before realizing that in the attempts to show how flawed Superman's moral code was, he became a typical super villain, and killed himself. His sister, who also was a superhuman named Sister Superior (and was definitely influenced somewhat by Jenny Sparks), wound up replacing him as leader of The Elite (or what remained of the original team), which eventually was absorbed into The Justice League as Justice League Elite.
|
|
Ultimo Gallos
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Dreams SUCK!Nightmares live FOREVER!
Posts: 15,315
|
Post by Ultimo Gallos on Jul 7, 2018 17:01:39 GMT -5
Finished the Pacific run of Captain Victory,well I read the issues I have which was 6-13 and Special #1. Really only 4 issues stand out. A double sized issue for the normal price. This issue finishes up the first storyline and gets the second one started. The final 3 issues tell Captan Victory's origin. Now I had heard that somehow Captain Victory is tied into Kirby's Fourth World stuff. IN these 3 issues we find out that Captain Victory is Orion. Darkseid shows up,only in shadow form but it is obvious who it is. Plus lots of renamed New Gods lookalikes. I hope the later Captain Victory stuff carries this storyline on. Cause it is the best one in the series. Also read Superman Unchained #3 Saw the creative team and well I don't like Jim Lee's art. And never been impressed by Scott Snyder. Figured I would read 3 pages get bored and just skim the rest. Was surprised when I read the entire thing and saw that Lee has finally learned some minor storytelling skill for his art. Might grab the rest of this series if I find a trade for cheap. The idea of the US government having a Superman level alien that they have been using since the 30s is a neat idea. One that I don't think has been done before in Superman.
|
|
|
Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jul 9, 2018 0:38:59 GMT -5
The Authority #4"The Circle (Part IV of IV)"Cover Date: August, 1999 Writer: Warren Ellis Artist: Bryan Hitch Featured Character(s): The Authority (Jenny Sparks, Jack Hawksmoor, Swift, Apollo, The Midnighter, The Doctor, & The Engineer Villain/s: Kaizen Gamorra & The Children of Gamorra (Apparent Death of All) Guest Star/s: The Last Doctor Official Plot:The Midnighter is busy making his way towards Kaizen Gamorra's compound, and has to beat up several people to get there. All the while, the Authority is busy fighting off the largest number of Gamorra clones yet. The Doctor takes out about half of the opposing force, but must return to the Carrier after he passes out from the strain. The Engineer creates a web of knives that split the atoms of several more attackers. Apollo has trouble fighting off a huge number of them, but gets help from Jack Hawksmoor and Swift. The Midnighter discovers that Kaizen has some kind of Genetic Reactor that is pumping out superhumans at an exponential rate. He doesn't know how to destroy it, until after a short conversation with Kaizen Gamorra himself. He returns to the Carrier, and rams it right into Gamorra's tower. The tower is destroyed, along with the Reactor inside. Presumably, Kaizen perished as well, although nothing is certain. The Authority saves Los Angeles, and Jenny Sparks delivers a message to the Earth on behalf of the Authority: "This is Jennifer Sparks speaking for the Authority. You are not alone." Brodie's View: Mass destruction are the key words for this, the last part of our first story arc, with most of The Authority taking on the seemingly endless "Children of Gamorra," as The Midnighter takes the fight to Kaizen Gamorra himself. The second happens after The Midnighter discovers that Kaizen is indeed cloning superhuman soldiers (by the hundreds) using the genetic material left behind by his late brothers (who he killed) and his mother. The Midnighter knows that Kaizen must be stopped, so, he winds up using The Carrier to crash into Gamorra's tower, taking out his cloning operation and seemingly Kaizen Gamorra himself (and as far as this run is concerned, we might as well say that it is so, although, I guess he does survive this). Meanwhile, the rest of the team battle the already made Gamorran clones throughout L.A. We get to see nice little moments with each of the members of the team taking out mass numbers of Kaizen's "Children" in various interesting ways. The most interesting would be The Doctor, who after a moment of doubt that requires the previous Doctor (and every previous Doctor) to give him a pep talk. The Doctor then casts a spell, which turns a huge number of the superhuman clones into first shards of glass, and then giant trees. The Engineer has a similar moment of doubt, but she wind up soldiering up as well. This is nice, as it solidifies the two new characters' place in the team, although, as we'll find out as this run continues, while the two characters have crazy time spanning powers, both characters have very human flaws (as do the rest of the team, as Ellis and other writers will explore), which makes them far more interesting and complex than the worst criticisms of this book/these characters would suggest. Speaking of human flaws, or mistakes that would have been made in the past, we see a bit of Jenny Sparks' come back to haunt her, as see the return of a potentially major threat from her past, and the stakes are raised for this team as a whole. GRADE: A-
|
|
|
Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jul 11, 2018 2:06:29 GMT -5
The Authority #5"Shiftships (Part I of IV)"Cover Date: September, 1999 Writer: Warren Ellis Artist: Bryan Hitch Featured Character(s): The Authority (Jenny Sparks, Jack Hawksmoor, Swift, Apollo, The Midnighter, The Doctor, & The Engineer Villain/s: Regis Guest Star/s: Christine Trelane Official Plot:In Sliding Albion, an alternate Earth where aliens and humans coexist together and London runs the rest of the world, Yngvi, a "blue blood" tells his king (a human of the Windsor family) that they need a war. The king insults Yngvi for being part alien and tells Yngvi that he's in his kingdom now, as the two of them walk into the throne room where a drunken party is taking place. All of a sudden, the king starts hearing voices. Someone, a blue blood, is taunting him, saying that he gave the Windsor the kingdom and that he's isn't respecting the gift he received. The king becomes deeply scared, pulls out his gun and starts firing wildly, killing all his guests. As he's shooting, a hand grips his head and crushes it. Regis, the owner of the hand, appears out of thin air and tells Yngvi that he can rule now before saying that they're going to war. He goes to eat the former king's children. On board The Carrier as it cruises over the mind barrier reef, Angie reminisces with The Doctor and Jack Hawksmoor about life before she became The Engineer. In the air above the-still-being-rebuilt Los Angeles, several hundred ships come from Sliding Albion and start destroying everything in sight. Christine Trelane phones Jenny Sparks and informs her of the situation and The Authority quickly leaves for L.A. As they appear through a rift, Jenny recognizes the ships as coming from Sliding Albion. The team starts to fight the ships and Jenny tells them that the world is being invaded by a parallel Earth. Brodie's View: Threats start to get bigger as we continue on with the second of three story arcs Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch would give us to give THE AUTHORITY a great start as a super hero(ish) book. However, like with the first arc, Ellis decides to revisit a plot thread left over from STORMWATCH, and even then only a hint of a plot thread that was only revealed via flashback in STORMWATCH #44. In that issue, Jenny Sparks revealed pieces of her backstory/history, and part of that history involved our reality's secret involvement with an alternate reality known as Sliding Albion. Eventually, the alternate Earth is seemingly destroyed by a massive biological attack (that they tried to shift to Earth, but only partially succeeded, with the fallout from that attack creating British superhumans), but as we find out in this issue, the Sliding Albion's did indeed survive. In the first part of this issue, we see this reality, in which humans and aliens live together under a truce, and a political take over that puts the aliens in charge of this reality (led by a monstrous being known only as Regis)....and they are pissed at "ours." Hungry for a war, they end up coming through a portal to attack Los Angeles, which is still recovering from last issue's attack, and the team once again "assembles" to stand against another attack on that city. This is when Jenny Sparks realizes that Sliding Albion is the one attacking, as she realizes that the report of their death was a HUGE exaggeration. Of course, there is much more to be revealed about how close Jenny Sparks got to the Sliding Albions when the two realities were on better terms. We'll find all of this out over the next few issues. In the meantime, let's mention the bit of character stuff we get with The Engineer, who talks to some of her teammates about what she gave up in her life to become "The Engineer," but that she knows it was for good purpose. Once again, we're getting a bit more build for the newer characters, which becomes important as we both continue Ellis' run and mention what comes after it. Speaking of the future, in the next issue, we'll see The Authority battle the forces of Sliding Albion, as well as Jenny revealing her secret past with that reality, including a little tid bit that I'm sure she never thought she would have to reveal. GRADE: A-
|
|
|
Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jul 12, 2018 2:17:02 GMT -5
The Authority #6"Shiftships (Part II of IV)"Cover Date: October, 1999 Writer: Warren Ellis Artist: Bryan Hitch Featured Character(s): The Authority (Jenny Sparks, Jack Hawksmoor, Swift, Apollo, The Midnighter, The Doctor, & The Engineer) Villain/s: Regis/Shiftship forces of Sliding Albion Guest Star/s: Saul Baxter (In Flashback) Official Plot:In a flashback of Jenny Spark's past from the 1920's to the 1950's. Jenny Sparks narrates that the British government and herself encountered an alternate reality dominated by blue, alien hybrids codenamed as "Sliding Albion." In 1953, Jenny Sparks meets Saul Baxter (Lord Emp) at a secret gathering which includes "blue bloods". She reveals that the British government has been hiding the existence of the Sliding Albion since they first appeared in the 1920's. Later, Jenny receives word that Sliding Albion has gone to war with Europe on their parallel Earth and that they stand on the verge of Parallel World War One. In an act of desperation, Sliding Albion opens a rift between the two worlds, effectively deflecting a biological attack on the populace of Wildstorm's London. In the present, the forces of America's air force, the Authority and the shiftships of Sliding Albion continue to battle each other over Los Angeles. Jenny Sparks stop the invading forces by projecting a giant electrical spectrum of herself in which many of the enemy shiftships are disable in midair. Sparks then warns the remaining invading forces and force them to retreat back to their reality. Back on the Carrier, Jenny Sparks informs her teammates a brief explanation of the reality of Sliding Albion: in a parallel Earth, a group of aliens known as the "Blue" visited the planet during the Renaissance in which the royalty of Europe and the visitors coexisted and interbred. By the early twentieth century the resultant fusion of culture led to the establishment of a imperialistic society based in England known as Albion. However, this society was becoming stagnated in which the denizen of Sliding Albion seek to invade other parallel realities. Eventually they discover and made contact with the British government of the Wildstorm universe. After Jenny finish her story of Sliding Albion's withdraw from the Wildstorm universe in 1953, she figure that contacting a known "indigene" from Sliding Albion who is held as a prisoner will explain as to why Sliding Albion is invading Earth again. After contacting a listening post of British Intelligence in seeking access to the prisoner, Jenny brought Swift and the Engineer to see the prisoner in Rendelsham, England. The three Authority members meet the prisoner known as Lorenzo, who is reveal to be Jenny's ex-husband. Brodie's View: This is, of course, an information issue (with a huge battle as the cream between the information cookie given). The first part of this information comes in the form of flashbacks (with a Bryan Hitch reproduction ) to STORMWATCH #40, specifically where it concerns Jenny Sparks and the Alternate Earth known as Sliding Albion. This is important, as it definitely connects to the massive attack occurring in Los Angeles, with The Authority (and the U.S Air Force) doing battle with a Shiftship (Futuristic alien versions of B1 Bombers) fleet from that alternate dimension. Later, after The two forces from "our" world manage to repel the fleet (after much damage is done to them), and Jenny gives the team....the rest of the story. It seems that on this Earth, blue skinned aliens make direct contact with humans in the 1500's, and the present version seems like a somewhat futuristic (but still living in the Nineteenth Century, style (and leadership) wise) human/alien/ hyrbid setup (Ellis would also play with the idea of human alien hybrids in his greatest work (IMO), TRANSMETROPOLITAN). Their society (which somehow survived a biological weapon being dropped on them) has kind of grown stagnant, so, war is declared, but their deeper reason is unknown to Jenny, so, she reveals that one of the blue skinned hybrids had been captured by "our" Earth's authority, and has been kept prisoner in a secret facility hidden in England. However, there's one more piece of information that isn't given until the very end of the issue, and it's a big one; the alien human hybrid is Jenny's husband. Needless to say, we continue to get information next issue, but we also start building towards the big finish of this arc. This was a pretty awesome issue, as I especially loved seeing Bryan Hitch redoing the STORMWATCH flashbacks. Anyways, we get more information next time, as Regis and the forces of Sliding Albion prepare their invasion of Earth, and we find out their motivations as to why their invading the Wildstorm reality (and trust me....it's a pretty horrible reason). Plus, we get some married bliss with Jenny Sparks and her hubby. "Love and Marriage....." GRADE: A
|
|
|
Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jul 13, 2018 1:30:24 GMT -5
The Authority #7"Shiftships (Part III of IV)"Cover Date: November, 1999 Writer: Warren Ellis Artist: Bryan Hitch Featured Character(s): The Authority (Jenny Sparks, Jack Hawksmoor, Swift, Apollo, The Midnighter, The Doctor, & The Engineer) Villain/s: Regis/Shiftship/horseback forces of Sliding Albion Guest Star/s: Yngvi & Lorenzo Official Plot:In Sliding Albion, Regis converse with Yngvi in a graveyard, talking and lamenting about their (Blue) race being close to absolute extinction. Yngvi relates the events of the invasion raid in Los Angeles and the intervention of the Authority, in which infuriates Regis even at the mention of Jenny Sparks. However, Yngvi informs that according to their advisors, they have tracked the Authority's door frequency to the Carrier, in which allowing their soldiers to counterattack on their enemies, enlightening Regis. In Rendelsham, England, Jenny Sparks and her friends interrogates Lorenzo. It is learned from both Jenny and Lorenzo is that Spark severely wounded Regis in 1925 by castrating him, and that after fifty years of devastation in Sliding Albion Regis have rebuilt his empire and plans to conquer the WildStorm reality of Earth in order to make room for the Blues and to propagate more numbers of the Blue race by turning Earth into a "rape camp". Meanwhile over northern Europe, multiples of shiftship fleets from Sliding Albion emerges and begins their invasion of Earth. In the Carrier, the four members of the Authority detects the emergence of the shiftships. Suddenly the interior of the Carrier is beset by doorways and allowing a cavalry from Sliding Albion to attack. The Authority fends off the waves of cavalry troops long enough for Apollo to annihilate them, but at the cost of extinguishing his solar energy. Jenny Sparks, the Engineer, and Swift returns to the Carrier and are met by the remaining Sliding Albion cavalry in which the Engineer quickly kills them. The Authority regroups and bears the situation of the second invasion in northern Europe. Jenny plans out by having Apollo to destroy the invasion fleet alone; Jenny assures to the others that despite Apollo's health, he will soon be restore, while she and the others will invade Sliding Albion. Brodie's View: We get the motivations behind Sliding Albion's invasion of "our" Earth in the third part of this story arc. This is partially revealed by Regis, who is the Big Bad (and the leader of Sliding Albion) of this storyline, and the other half is figured out by Jenny Sparks, as she, The Engineer, and Swift visit Lorenzo (a blue skinned Alien/Human hybrid that was also, briefly, Jenny's husband) in a cell hidden somewhere in England. In short, the war that Jenny thought destroyed Sliding Albion in the 1950's was somewhat successful, with their England being the one country left relatively unaffected. However, this came at a cost as well, especially to the blue skinned alien/human hybrids, that are slowly being phased out by the regular humans. Earlier Regis tried to solve this problem by going to SA's China and turned it into a Rape Camp/Breeding Center, and the reason he's invading the Wildstorm Earth is to do the same. To make things worse, the SA scientists are able to tap into The Carrier's ability to open doors to alternate Earth's, and sends a horsebound attack force into The Carrier to try and take the rest of the team out, while Jenny and the other female members of the team are visiting Lorenzo. That force is repealed, but this brings us to our second problem for our team; Apollo, who like Superman is powered by Earth's sun, has reached the limit of his powers due to his spending a huge amount of time on The Carrier, and it will take some time for him to power up again. Unfortunately, this is time both The Authority and "our" Earth doesn't have, as Regis sends another fleet through to attack again. This all sets the stage for next issue's Big Finale, as Jenny and the others are going to have to make due against the forces of Sliding Albion without their heaviest hitter, or at the very least, with their heaviest hitter in a weakened condition. However, as we'll see, the rest of the team are no slouches themselves, and we'll once again see a mass battle break out both on Sliding Albion on "our" Earth as well. After that, we will move on to the last story arc of this run. GRADE: A-
|
|
|
Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jul 14, 2018 2:31:01 GMT -5
The Authority #8"Shiftships (Part IV of IV)"Cover Date: December, 1999 Writer: Warren Ellis Artist: Bryan Hitch Featured Character(s): The Authority (Jenny Sparks, Jack Hawksmoor, Swift, Apollo, The Midnighter, The Doctor, & The Engineer) Villain/s: Regis (Dies)/Shiftship forces of Sliding Albion Guest Star/s: Yngvi Official Plot:Midnighter is reluctant in letting a weaken Apollo to fight, but Apollo assure him that he will be alright. At the bridge, the Engineer have herself linked up with the Carrier and able to convince it to travel to the reality of Sliding Albion. Meanwhile Apollo is sent back to Earth but is unconscious as he free-fall in the sky. The Carrier eventually arrived directly above Albion's London. Jenny Sparks then use her power to cause a strong lightning strike on Buckingham Palace, destroying the building along with several other shiftships. In the burnt rubble of the Palace, Regis survives the strike. Seeing him on the Carrier's monitor Jenny informs her team on planning their attack on Regis. Back at the home reality, Albion shiftships forces bombards Helsinki, Finland. Fortunately a fully energized Apollo attacks the shiftships. In Sliding Albion, Midnighter and Jack Hawksmoor fights Regis with little success. After swatting away Jack, Regis badly pummels Midnighter. Regis then notice Jack's absence and is split mid-waist in half by Jack from underground, killing him. After Regis' death and Apollo's devastation to the shiftship fleet, the Carrier's bridge is repaired by the Engineer and Jenny Sparks directs it to Italy, the other seat power of the Blues. Once over Italy, the Doctor magically conjures the Mediterranean sea to engulf the entire peninsula. In an all-frequencies message, Jenny Sparks broadcast her message to the people of Sliding Albion to take advantage of a second chance from being freed from the Blues and finally sternly telling "We are the Authority. Behave." As the Carrier travels through The Bleed Jenny informs the reunited team that they have succeeded in "changing" Sliding Albion for the better good and explicitly imply that they will change their world as well. Brodie's View: A few very interesting things happen in the last part of our second (of three) story arc. The most important to the story deals with The Authority pretty much owning the forces of Sliding Albion, as once Apollo has been decently repowered, he pretty much slices through SA's Shiftship fleet like a hot knife through butter. Jack Hawksmoor and The Midnighter are able to (after a good fight) able to take out Regis, as Jack basically uses his ability to literally blend into cities to re-materialize into Regis, tearing him apart from the inside. Then the rest of the team pretty much ends the threat of Sliding Albion, as Jenny Sparks uses her electricity to destroy SA's Buckingham Palace ala INDEPENDENCE DAY. It's after this that the fight with Regis occurs, as he is the lone survivor of that attack. Once the Blues (the alien/human hybrids that rule SA) are taken out in SA's England, The Authority take out the other major stronghold of the Blues, Italy, with The Doctor using his magic to keep that country still as the rest of that Earth rotates, flooding the country and wiping it off of the map. (Double ) This really doesn't sit right with The Engineer, but Jenny and the others explain that by doing what they did, they not only saved "our" Earth, but Sliding Albion's as well, as now they will no longer be ruled by the war loving Blues/Regis. Thus, in their view (and Ellis'), they used extreme methods to try and make the world a better place. Needless to say, these are methods that the believers in the older form of heroics would definitely frown on, as one couldn't imagine The Justice League or The Avengers doing something like that. I'll, however, leave the debate of whether the end justifies the means entirely up to you. The other major thing that happens in this issue is another major statement Ellis delivers, and that is the revelation that The Midnighter and Apollo are indeed lovers, which I can only imagine what DC (who had recently bought Wildstorm) thought of this moment, as, let's face it, here was Wildstorm's version of Batman and Superman being revealed as not being the 100% hetro heroes (despite all the badly dating moments of the past that one could definitely argue presented those characters as not being such) DC had presented their "Big Two" heroes as being. It was pretty fantastic and clever how Ellis pulled this off, as he established Midnighter and Apollo as being bad ass characters before revealing their sexuality, thus instantly making any homophobe look stupid for trying to hate on the two characters for being "less than manly." Later writers will go much further with this, but in the next arc, the love lives of our heroes will have to mostly go into the background, as the team will face the biggest threat Warren Ellis could end this whole run with. For our last story arc, The Authority will battle.....God. (Triple ) GRADE: A-
|
|
|
Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jul 15, 2018 2:36:22 GMT -5
The Authority #9"Outer Dark (Part I of IV)"Cover Date: January, 2000 Writer: Warren Ellis Artist: Bryan Hitch Featured Character(s): The Authority (Jenny Sparks, Jack Hawksmoor, Swift, Apollo, The Midnighter, The Doctor, & The Engineer) Villain/s: "God" Guest Star/s: The Previous Doctor, Albert Einstein, Jesus Christ, John Constantine, Grigori Rasputin, and other former Doctors Official Plot:It is December 29, 1999 as the New Year is within three days. On the Carrier, Jenny Sparks worryingly checks herself in her bathroom and gives herself a toast for the long century she has experienced. Somewhere 6.8 billion miles from Earth, the Voyager I satellite is suddenly destroyed by fasts unknown objects. Meanwhile in the Garden of Ancestral Memory, Jeroen Thornedike tells his predecessor that something old is coming to Earth, which the thing recognized the planet before. Above Earth, the space shuttle Endeavour is attacked and destroyed by the same objects that attack the Voyager, which reveal to be giant space parasites. Some of these parasites enter Earth and lands in Central Africa. From where they land, the parasites began to converge and reproduce. Meanwhile in New York City, Jack Hawksmoor visits Angela Spica's apartment home. Angela suddenly changes back to the Engineer as she detect an environmental change on Earth. The Engineer and Hawksmoor prepares to head back to the Carrier to inform the Authority some grave news. From all over the world people began to see something visibly appearing on Earth's moon. On the moon, large tentacles sprout out from its surface. Back in the Garden of Ancestral Memory, Jeroen learns from the past Doctors that humanity do not own the Earth. On the Carrier, Jack and Angela report to Jenny Sparks of what Angela detected. Jenny then contact Jeroen to relay this information which Jeroen's predecessor states that Earth's original owners have come back. Jenny, Angie and Jack travels to the Garden and learns from a overwhelmed Jeroen that the owners are preparing to "shell" Tokyo, Japan. Before going unconscious, Jeroen tells Jenny that he knows something about her. On the moon, the parasites launches multiple projectiles containing their ilk to Earth. Brodie's View: In this, the last story arc of the Warren Ellis STORMWATCH/AUTHORITY run, Warren tries to drop the biggest threat he could on this "World Beater" team he's slowly assembled.....God Itself. In "Outer Dark," it's revealed that Earth is the product of an alien being trying to create a planet (and a solar system) for it and the life forms within it to come back to one day, only to find, due to a freak accident (which also created The Moon) knocking that planet out of orbit, the planet's atmosphere had changed, which resulted in life on that Earth. It decides to rectify that, and starts trying to terraform (or deterraform) the Earth to suit itself. This is all actually fully revealed later, but I thought it important to say up front. The Doctor and The Engineer, due to their kind of joining in certain ways to the planet (and beyond, in The Doctor's case, as a lot of this is revealed to him in the spectral realm, where he talks to many of the previous Doctors, and how he starts to understand what is happening), are able to instantly detect what is happening, as "God" sends various creatures down to attack/start the terraforming process to Earth. The Authority tries to fight off what it happening, but it's made pretty clear, even in the first part of this storyline, that it's going to take more than the team has had to do against Kaizen Gammora or Regis and Sliding Albion. It might take everything, at least as far as the team staying as it currently is. This, of course, links to the other thing going on in this story line, as it takes place in the last few days of 1999. Specifically, what that means for Jenny Sparks who is the "Spirit of the Twentieth Century" (and is as old as that century, despite not having aged physically since 20). We see a brief scene of Jenny acknowledging her mortality in the mirror, as I think she knows what is coming. The Doctor does, and he secretly tells Jenny as she rescues him later in the issue. It's Warren Ellis slamming the door behind him in many ways, and forcing the team to have to go in a new direction, which the following writer/artist team, Mark Millar and Frank Quitely, definitely does, while remaining true to what Warren and Bryan Hitch started. However, we still have three more issues before that end. In the next one, The Authority tries to fight off the various creatures "God" has sent, and discover that the terraforming process has already begun in some parts of the world. Plus, "God" itself is approaching. We're building to a big finish here, Folks. GRADE: A-
|
|
andrew8798
FANatic
on 24/7 this month
Posts: 106,135
|
Post by andrew8798 on Jul 15, 2018 2:42:48 GMT -5
That cover reminds me of a horror movie but can't place it
|
|
|
Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jul 15, 2018 2:56:54 GMT -5
That cover reminds me of a horror movie but can't place it Ex Machina?
|
|
andrew8798
FANatic
on 24/7 this month
Posts: 106,135
|
Post by andrew8798 on Jul 15, 2018 3:00:04 GMT -5
Can't say but I know I seen it before
|
|
andrew8798
FANatic
on 24/7 this month
Posts: 106,135
|
Post by andrew8798 on Jul 15, 2018 3:00:30 GMT -5
So how do you choose what comics you review
|
|
|
Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jul 15, 2018 3:07:22 GMT -5
So how do you choose what comics you review Usually two factors: 1. I like the run at least enough to try and say something about it. I don't want to Hate Review, though. Usually I try to get some decent-great stuff, issue wise. 2. I own a physical copy of it. I need to refer to it at times, and I hate reading the shit on a computer. I will say that the next longer run will be either the Original Ghost Rider or Werewolf By Night. I'm hoping to get the first Marvel Essentials by the time that it gets to that, but if I don't, I'll do the Ghost Rider run. But there will be a week break after I (hopefully) get to finish THE AUTHORITY in a few days, as I'll be in South Carolina for a week. Then I'll do a few short burst things....and then the next run.
|
|
|
Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jul 29, 2018 1:55:21 GMT -5
The Authority #10"Outer Dark (Part II of IV)" Cover Date: February, 2000 Writer: Warren Ellis Artist: Bryan Hitch Featured Character(s): The Authority (Jenny Sparks, Jack Hawksmoor, Swift, Apollo, The Midnighter, The Doctor, & The Engineer) Villain/s: "God" Guest Star/s: The Previous Doctors Official Plot:Leaving off from the last issue, the parasitic missiles that were launched from the moon heads for Japan. On the said nation, Midnighter and Apollo teleports to Tokyo. Apollo doesn't see anything wrong but Midnighter detects the incoming parasites. Apollo quickly flies into the sky and attempt to destroy every parasitic objects. Coming to the last projectile, Apollo is about to destroy it until the parasites within the projectile burst, some of them attacking Apollo and many others attacking the Tokyo streets as they slaughter any human being on sight. In communication with Jenny Sparks, Midnighter requested to not allowing any reinforcement to eradicate the parasites and quarantine Japan should the aliens breed and multiply. However, Jack Hawksmoor teleports in and joins the fight, detailing to Midnighter that Jenny wouldn't allowed it. Apollo then later crashes into where they are. Meanwhile, after receiving reports from Christine Trelane about the parasites that landed in Africa, Jenny, Swift, and The Engineer arrives at the site of the impact. There they discover that the air surrounding the area is poisoned. The Engineer urge Jenny and Swift back to the Carrier as she can built a replace lung for her to breathe to allow her stop the alien infestation from terraforming the area. After this, Angie flies across the changed and bizarre landscape and finds the source of the infestation, confronting the organism as she forms her weapons. On the Carrier, Jenny assess from Midnighter that the situation in Tokyo is under control, and she wants Apollo to assist the Engineer to eradicate the infestation in Africa. Swift, however, informs her to put down the later as Jackson King and Trelane just received information from the NSA and the U.S. space command that the parasites came from the moon. With this, Jenny then instead orders Apollo to travel to the moon and "sterilize" it. In Japan, the three Authority members are surprised of this, which Midnighter questions Jenny of whether having the Doctor to complete the task. Jenny reply that Jeroen is "working on the plan"... In the Garden of Astral Memory, Jeroen learns from his predecessors that the Earth cannot be retaken by a being that is closer to "God". Unbelieving in hearing this, Jeroen is untethered that Earth's enemy is "God". However, the previous Doctors elaborate that the being "God" created the solar system and Earth for it to live. Except the Earth is not 'corrected' during its early lifeless creation forcing the "God" being to leave and come back for Earth when it is habitable. With its very long absence, a rogue planet that became Earth's moon impacted the planet and allowing life to spawn. By now, "God" finds its "retirement home looks like hell", it wants to change Earth to what it was suitable to it by annihilating the six-billion "infection" (i.e. humanity) off the planet. Learning from this, Jeroen quickly awakens from his slumber and alerts to Jenny that they need to take the Carrier into real space. It is now December 30th, 1999 as Apollo flies above the moon sterilizing all of "God's" parasites ('spores'). In Africa, the Engineer eradicates the infestation there. As she briefs to Jenny of having herself turning the devastated land back to it was before, she then alarmingly sees a large pyramid-like object eclipsing the sun... Brodie's View: We get the explanation I gave you in the last review in this issue, as the various other Authority members not named The Doctor try to deal with "God's Children," who are trying to transform Earth back into the environment more suited to it/them. One major battle on this regard happens in Tokyo, as Apollo, Midnighter, and Jack Hawksmoor battle parasitic eel looking aliens, that are attacking and killing everything in their path. It seems for a minute that Japan will have to be sealed off and "sterilized," but Jack and the "World's Finest" duo are able to get things somewhat under control. Finally, Jenny gives Apollo the order to sterilize the Moon instead, as that is where the creatures are coming from. Apollo ends up using his very Man of Steel-ish heat vision to do this, thereby cutting off at least one section of "God's" invading forces. In Africa, the other (non Doctor) members of the team try to deal with another section of that "attack," but Jenny and Swift are instantly sent back, as "God's" spore creatures have already started to transform the atmosphere. Only The Engineer is able to "manufacture" new lungs to be able to breath the new air, and with her weapons, she ends up destroying the alien creatures in Africa. However, as she tries to convert the atmosphere back to normal again, she sees God itself heading to Earth. In the next issue, we will see The Authority try to figure out how to kill "God," and I will say that the methods they use are very similar to the ones The Guardians of the Galaxy use to kill Ego in the second GOTG movie, but, y'know, without the 70's hits and goofiness. After that, we will come to the end of this run, as Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch will both shut the door firmly behind them as they leave, while leaving quite a bit left for the writer/artist teams that will follow....well, the ones that were original enough to not just undo what Warren did during his STORMWATCH/AUTHORITY run. GRADE: A-
|
|
|
Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jul 30, 2018 3:35:10 GMT -5
The Authority #11"Outer Dark (Part III of IV)"Cover Date: March, 2000 Writer: Warren Ellis Artist: Bryan Hitch Featured Character(s): The Authority (Jenny Sparks, Jack Hawksmoor, Swift, Apollo, The Midnighter, The Doctor, & The Engineer) Villain/s: "God" Guest Star/s: Jackson King & Christine Trelane Official Plot:The Engineer witness the massive object ("God") eclipsing the sun. The Authority on the Carrier receives Angie's report which Swift also scan and discover that the object is larger than the moon and its organic. Worse, its moving to Earth's orbit in about a day. Jenny Sparks momentarily relapse of the situation and then contacting the Engineer if she is capable for space flight and needs to be at the moon. Angie confirms it, but may take an hour to construct. But Jenny needs her at "five minutes". Also Jenny then contacts Apollo to await for Angie. On Earth, the Engineer constructs a space suit for space flight and launches to the moon where she reunites with Apollo. After being impress with being on Earth's moon, the Engineer and Apollo are then order to recon on the incoming object. There they surprisingly discover that "God" is a gigantic organic pyramid. On the Carrier, the Doctor informs his team that the being closest to God, of its intention to cleanse its original home from the humans which it regards as pest, given with the event in Tokyo. Now given that its spores that were to cleanse the humans are destroyed, it plans another alternative. Jenny then contacts the Engineer of planning any possible solution to kill "God" such as ramming the Carrier and allowing it baby universe to explode. Angie dropped down that plan as the release of the infant universe would destroy all of existence, but also pointing out that they had never convinced the Carrier to move out of Earth's orbit. After hearing this, Jenny has a plan... Meanwhile in Manhattan, Jackson King is frustrated with everything that is happening in response to the appearance of "God" that is causing people to panic and riot. Christine Trelane quiet him and they both listen a world wide broadcast from Jenny Sparks. Sparks tells the entire world about the creature that is threatening the Earth and that the Authority will attempt to stop this thing and may never be back. In her last words, Jenny then tells that everyone must be "bloody good" when she is gone. After finishing her announcement, Jenny ask her most expert team of whether they can convince the Carrier to leave Earth. Jeroen and Swift elaborates that the Carrier has sentient feelings and it is reason that it stayed near Earth because in the hopes of being found by its original owners. Though the task would be difficult, the Engineer connects with the Carrier as the Doctor helps her guide her thoughts. Moments later, the Carrier is convinced and Swift pilot it out of Earth's orbit. Out in space, Jenny and the Doctor are alone together. Jereon tells her that he knows what will happen to her at the end of 1999, and that there is nothing for him he can do to help her. Jenny then tells the Doctor that he must never talk to anyone about it and simply help her to stop "God". The Carrier finally arrives to the organism. After the Engineer regroup and tells that they are in the being's field of gravity. Jenny then tells Swift to find a pore or an orifice so the Carrier can enter into "God" as fighting the organism from the outside would do nothing. Furthermore, killing the being from the inside is substantial as the Carrier enters into "God". Brodie's View: We're one issue removed from the end of our run, and as the alien being known as "God" approaches the Earth, intent on wiping out the life on it, and remaking the planet in its image, The Authority must find a way to stop it before it gets there. Time is also running out for Jenny Sparks, but only she and The Doctor know that. The reason for this being that being "The Spirit of the Twentieth Century," her lifespan was pretty much that century, and as our story takes place on December 31st, 1999, she realizes that her clock is running out. Of course, so is the Earth's, if she and the rest of her team can't figure out how to stop this "Living Planet"-like entity. However, despite this internal drama, the team does what it has done since it began (and we find out that the beginning really kind of started with The Doctor and The Engineer finding The Carrier (too many "The's"....I feel like I'm talking about mid 2000's alternate bands ), and that's whatever they have to, to protect the Earth and its citizens from the various mammoth threats they've come up against since Kaizen Gammora launched his clones against the planet's major cities 11 issues ago. However, that's not to say that some of the team doesn't have fun doing some of this, as we see Apollo and The Engineer bonding over their enjoyment of being able to fly to the moon like it was no big deal, and, of course, that wonderful Warren Ellis banter that we've come to enjoy throughout this entire run. After running options, and making an announcement to the populace of the Earth that The Authority was going to do their damnedest to stop the planet's (or at least all life on the planet's) eradication (in which we also see our old friends, Jackson King and Christine Trelane from STORMWATCH), Jenny and the others figure that the key is going to be taking The Carrier out of the bleed and into "our" reality, and then flying into "God," and destroying the entity from within. That's how we end this issue, with The Carrier flying into one of "God's" pores, and heading towards its brain. However, "God" will not go down without a fight, and in the next review, which will be the end of this run, we will see Jenny Sparks' finest hour, as she takes her team on one last mission: Kill "God," or Die Trying. GRADE: A-
|
|
|
Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jul 31, 2018 2:14:47 GMT -5
The Authority #12"Outer Dark (Part IV of IV)"Cover Date: April, 2000 Writer: Warren Ellis Artist: Bryan Hitch Featured Character(s): The Authority (Jenny Sparks, Jack Hawksmoor, Swift, Apollo, The Midnighter, The Doctor, & The Engineer) Villain/s: "God" Guest Star/s: Jenny Quantum (1st Appearance) Official Plot:The Carrier continues to cruise into "God's" veins. Inside the Carrier, Jenny orders intel on a entire map of the being and its vulnerable organs that they can destroy and kill the being. Swift analyze the Carrier's information on the being and finds that it has four thousand hearts, nulling the idea of killing via its heart(s). Jenny then decides on finding its brain and suggest of exploding the Carrier's baby universe there. Midnighter then converse with her concerning that they will fight "God's" immune system and that the Carrier needs weapons. Jenny ask the Engineer if the Carrier is armed with weapons. Angie states that it is originally a merchant-class vessel, but it is possible that like trading ships that were armed with cannons in the past it is possible that the Carrier is also armed. Jenny then brings the Engineer to the Carrier's core engine room, displaying the caged infant universe. The Engineer elaborates that it is what powers the Carrier and that exploding it to kill "God" would consume and destroy everything in the known universe. Jenny, however, thanks Angie for showing her. At the Carrier's bridge, Jack Hawksmoor and Midnighter witness a sort of organic city. The Doctor explains that the city is constructed and lived by the being's sapient parasites. Now the parasites are about to attack the Carrier after learning of the Authority's intention of killing their host. Midnighter ask Swift if the Engineer has the Carrier's weapon system on. Swift confirms it, but will not utilize as she will not kill these beings. She then communicates to the parasites in a suitable for late type zero civilizations, telling them that the Authority pose no harm to them and only wanted to destroy the organism called "God". Initially the parasites bombard the Carrier but soon gained Swift's message and relent peacefully. However, the Authority's peaceful moment is cut short as the being's antibodies attack the Carrier. Swift desperately steers and direct the Carrier to the being's brain, in an attempt to outrun the antibodies. Apollo quickly provides defense as he flies out of the Carrier and engages the antibodies. After the Engineer have the Carrier's weapons to create a path to the brain, Jenny's time is close. Suddenly some of the antibodies reaches to the Carrier and breaches the vessel's bridge. The Authority fights off the invading antibodies as the Carrier reaches to the brain. Jenny Sparks tells "God" that she is sworn to protect humanity in the lasting days of the 20th century, and that Earth isn't belong to it. She then electrocutes the creature's brain via its electrical fluids, thus killing it. The antibodies cease and dies, and the Authority rush to a weaken Jenny Sparks. Jenny explains that she is dying as being the Spirit of the 20th Century, she is destined to pass away at the end of the century. She assures everyone and finally tells to only save the world for the better or "I'll come back and kick your heads in" before expiring. As she dies, Earth celebrate the new century as a spark of electricity streak across the sky and a baby is born. Brodie's View: So, here we are at the end of another run, and this has really been a high quality run, with only a few minor missteps (and most of that was due to inferior art). Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch end great here, as one can tell being at the end of this particular run gave the writer/art team the freedom to go all out. Luckily, being inside an alien planet type being (called "God") gives Hitch the freedom to go nuts with the images he presents; such as the city the creature's parasites have created (as they have existed so long they've become somewhat civilized), or the anti bodies the creature's body sends against both The Carrier and the team within. However, the invading creatures is only half of the problem. The problem is that time is running out for Jenny Sparks, as her entire lifespan has been the Twentieth Century, but with that century ending, so is her life, so, she and The Authority are in a race against time, as only she can truly do what needs to be done before "God" reaches Earth and ends all life on it. Ellis creates a great sense of drama, as the ship tries to make a bee-line towards the brain of this "Living Planet." Finally, they do reach the brain and Jenny fries it, killing it flat out, and ending the threat. However, it was the last bit of energy Jenny has, and she ends up dying at the feet of her teammates, but not without passing her mission of making the world a better place to them. Little do they know (but will soon, as the incoming writer, Mark Millar, will jump right on that plot thread in his first arc)that back on Earth, a new superhuman that will born that will be the Spirit of the Twenty-First Century; Jenny Quantum. However, that will be a tale for another reviewer to review. Mark Millar and Frank Quietely will take over the book after this, and as I don't have that entire run (and the fact that I was only really reviewing the work of One writer here), this is where I jump off as far as continuing to review THE AUTHORITY. However, I will say that Millar and Quitely's run was good, being definitely more extreme than what Ellis was doing, which is saying something. After that, the team would kind of blend into the background as far of importance, as both Jim Lee and DC kind of lost interest in continuing it, and the line ended by the end of the decade. Unfortunately, it's legacy would be more of a negative one, as future comic writers and artists would try to mimic the style done here in the two major companies, but mostly neglecting what made THE AUTHORITY so good when it began. Of course, a lot of that is probably due to talent levels of writers, but that's completely debatable. Anyways, that's the end of this run. The next few reviews will be some short burst stuff, but the next major run will take us back to a far less cynical (at least in comics) time....the 1970's. GRADE: A
|
|
Ultimo Gallos
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Dreams SUCK!Nightmares live FOREVER!
Posts: 15,315
|
Post by Ultimo Gallos on Jul 31, 2018 4:02:59 GMT -5
Ok so 70s is next. You gonna do Human Fly or maybe some stuff from Atlas/Seaboard?
|
|
|
Post by BrodietheSlayer on Jul 31, 2018 16:33:37 GMT -5
Ok so 70s is next. You gonna do Human Fly or maybe some stuff from Atlas/Seaboard? Sadly no, as I don't have any of that in my possession. No, we'll be doing some 70's Marvel Horror next, with either WEREWOLF BY NIGHT or GHOST RIDER, but that will come after a bit of short stuff. Still haven't decided on what, but I will, and it will be cool stuff.
|
|
Ultimo Gallos
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Dreams SUCK!Nightmares live FOREVER!
Posts: 15,315
|
Post by Ultimo Gallos on Jul 31, 2018 17:19:36 GMT -5
Ok so 70s is next. You gonna do Human Fly or maybe some stuff from Atlas/Seaboard? Sadly no, as I don't have any of that in my possession. No, we'll be doing some 70's Marvel Horror next, with either WEREWOLF BY NIGHT or GHOST RIDER, but that will come after a bit of short stuff. Still haven't decided on what, but I will, and it will be cool stuff. Did you get that Essential Marvel Horror vol 1? The one that is basically Son of Satan. No clue how much it would cost now. I grabbed it years ago from IST for 10 or 12 bucks and it is great. But as you know I am a huge Damien Hellstorm fan.
|
|