1503 ( )

You know a comic series is going to be good, at least as long as it still has its original creative team on the job, when the (almost inevitable) awkwardness of the establishing arc is almost undetectable, and when the immersion is almost seamless. There was one rather awkward moment, where someone said something that didn't make sense for the character to say -- it very obviously only existed as exposition for the reader, and it wasn't even all that necessary -- but the main reason it stood out is probably the fact it was the only significant case like that in this entire volume.

Warren Ellis set up a grand design very quickly, and pulled it off smoothly. These are the issues of The Authority that I read years ago, and I enjoyed them back then even more than I do now. The issues covered by the second collection were new to me, and as far as Warren carried them they were true excellence in comic book storytelling. I don't always find that I agree with Warren's ideological stances as expressed in The Authority, but his stories make a great case for them. It carries some visceral joy to the reader at a level that is rare in comic books, and it prompts the thoughtful reader to think more deeply than usual.

There is not much more to want from a comic book series, I think. ( )

Volume 1: Bogotac
Volume 2: Pretty good.
Sve posle toga samo downhill. Pod tim mislim na Coup d'Etat (kol'ko-tol'ko), Revolution i posebno, Volume 4, which is utter shite. Wildstorm Armageddon, Wildstorm Revelations i Number of the Beast sam preskocio. To su neki end of world crossover-i.
Volume 3 (The Lost Year) je zapoceo Grant Morrison, al' batalio posle dva broja, a kasnije su drugi zavrsili. To cu verovatno procitati completion-a radi, ako ne poludim od krša. Ne bih jos stavio da sam zavrsio citanje, al' sad sam vec kliknuo i napisao sve ovo, so too late. ( )

Kinda missed out on these the first time around. I remember sampling the WildStorm thing when Jim Lee was involved right at the beginning, but I soon lost interest so that when these titles and characters were evolving, I wasn't really paying attention. Came to The Authority through Garth Ennis and Kev and found the first two volumes going relatively cheap. This was good enough, I suppose, apart from the weirdly racist villain of the first arc. Refreshingly violent and mildly fascist in a way that I guess was meant satirically but which may have flown over people's heads. I can't say this was essential, but it was fun. ( )

A really fresh new take on what it means to be a superhero. No longer willing to obey nationalism over morals, The Authority sets out to right the wrongs of the world. ( )