The Authority #1 is yet another one of these new Wildstorm titles as a part of the massive Wildstorm re-launch. The Revolution has been particularly kind to the new Wildstorm titles up to this point. Wildstorm has a 0-2 record and really needs to register a title in the win column. Now, I am confident that The Authority can register the first win for Wildstorm for one reason alone: Grant Morrison. I dig Morrison’s stuff, so I’m expecting this title to be a pretty good read.
Having said that, I know nothing about The Authority. I have never read any previous volumes of The Authority. So, I will be approaching and grading this title as a brand new reader. And this is actually probably a good thing. If Wildstorm’s re-launch is to be successful then it will be imperative that these new titles attract plenty of new readers. If these re-launches aren’t new reader friendly, then they will have a tough time achieving good sales numbers or any longevity. Let’s do this review.
Creative Team
Writer: Grant Morrison
Artist: Gene Ha
Art Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Story Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Synopsis: This issue starts with a Norwegian submarine calling in a mayday alert. We see men with guns shooting some of the crew members on the bridge. A fire breaks out as the sub appears to be damaged.
We then cut to some middle aged guy named Ken getting up in the morning. He has the usual tough time getting going in the morning. Ken argues a bit with his wife, Joan. Ken gets a call on his cell phone. Evidently, it is an emergency and he has to leave immediately. Joan tells Ken that he doesn’t know what it is like to be on her own. Ken asks her to not make it hard on him.
We shift to Ken on board a helicopter getting briefed on the situation that occurred with a Norwegian Navy submarine, the Uredd. Their crew reported an anomalous geological feature south of Jan Mauen Island. Something that should be there. Something previously uncharted. There was an explosion in the engine room just before the sub went down. Shots were fired. There are two men, members of the catering staff thought to be involved. Ken asks if this was a terrorist plot. Ken is then informed that he will take a team with him to go look around the submarine crash site.
We cut to later in the day with Ken trying to call his wife Joan at home. We see Joan packing up all her clothing and leaving a letter for Ken as she leaves their home. And that marriage is officially over.
We shift to Ken and two other guys in a small submersible making its way to the submarine wreck site. They arrive at the submarine and get into their diving suits and swim into the wreckage of the submarine. There was a 300 man crew, but only a few bodies are found in the sub. One of the divers, Tor, tells Ken that he has found something. It is some type of bright energy.
We cut back to Ken and the other back in the submersible. Tor vanished in the wreckage. Ken rants that a person can’t just disappear in a confined space. Suddenly, Ken gets radioed from home base. NASA has informed them that the “anomalous geological feature” is not geological. It is 50 miles long and 20 miles high and 8 miles across and it is artificial. We pan back and see a massive UFO in the water next to the submarine wreckage. Ken looks out the window of the submersible and asks “Where did that come from?”
Comments
The Good: The Authority #1 was a wonderfully subdued yet very emotional issue. Morrison demonstrates that a writer does not need to try and “shock” the reader or to overload the issue with a massive brawl. Morrison takes a low keyed approach of delivering a realistic character in Ken and his normal modern day marital problems. Even the big twist at the end of this issue concerning the massive UFO was delivered in a delightfully restrained and understated fashion. Delivering the big hook at the end in such a subdued style only made the impact of its presence even more stunning to the reader.
Morrison’s dialogue is well crafted. The dialogue has such an enjoyable natural and realistic flow. Such strong dialogue is able to quickly connect the reader to Ken and Joan so that we can their emotions. We feel Joan’s loneliness. We feel Ken’s hopelessness and frustration. Morrison does a great job with the character development and it helps to pull the reader into the story and to get the reader to quickly connect with the characters.
I’ll be honest, on my first reading of this issue, I was rather unimpressed. But, after reading it a second time, I found myself enjoying this issue more and more. I like the eerie detached feeling that Morrison weaves in this issue. I like the subtle movements of this story. Authority #1 is a stylistic departure from most comics currently on the market.
I have never really been a big fan of Gene Ha’s style of art. I don’t like how he draws people and I think his overall look is a bit boring. However, I think Ha delivered a great looking issue in Authority #1. I absolutely loved Ha’s layouts for this issue. The panel layouts and the various angles, use of muted colors and shadows was incredible. The overall look was extremely powerful and charged this comic with plenty of emotion. Ha’s art matched Morrison’s subdued yet powerful story perfectly. This was a very dramatic looking comic book.
The Bad: There is something to be said for taking your time and building a solid foundation and creating tension in a story. And then there is simply delivering an extremely slow issue. Authority #1 was slow personified. I have no problem with a writer wanting to carefully lay out the groundwork for his storyline. I have no problem with taking a measured pace that build tension and curiosity in the reader. However, it is never a great idea to have the debut issue of a new title start with a crawl.
It is important to try and hook the reader with the first issue in order to get them to come back for more. First impressions are huge and there is a lot of competition in the comic book industry. Authority #1 walks the fine line between a slow and boring debut issue and a carefully measured story that subtly hooks the reader into coming back for the next issue. I’m sure that some readers will love this unconventional approach to a first issue and others will be turned off from it. It will be interesting to compare the sales numbers between Authority #1 and Authority #2 to see if Morrison’s gamble paid off.
I’m not too sure how new reader friendly Authority #1 was. I felt totally lost in this first issue. Now, maybe I’m not supposed to recognize any of the characters from this issue. However, I felt too in the dark about Ken, his wife and his job. Authority #1 was a bit too murky. I think that Morrison could have done more to give just a little bit more background for new readers to get their bearings. I don’t know if Morrison did enough to introduce me to the world of the Authority with this first issue. I didn’t get enough in this first issue to even know what type of comic book the Authority is going to be. Is it super hero? Is it “realistic?” Is it X-Files alien style stories? I wouldn’t know. This first issue did nothing to define to a new reader what the identity of this title is going to be.
I also don’t know if Morrison did enough to get a new reader interested in whatever storyline Morrison is attempting to kick off with this debut issue. Yeah, we got the cool revelation that the geological anomaly is actually a giant space ship. But, other than that, what else happened in this issue that was supposed to hook me into buying the next issue? What characters or relationships am I supposed to be interested in reading about? What direction is this story moving in that is supposed to be me to purchase the next issue?
Overall: There is no doubt that this was a well written issue. However, I just don’t know if it did enough to get the interest of new readers and make them want to purchase the next issue. I am going to give The Authority another issue to hook me. Why? Because I don’t think Morrison unveiled enough of his story or the characters to allow me a full sense of what he is trying to do with this title. Also, since Authority #1 was well written, I feel that I should give it more than one issue. Was Authority #1 finally a “win” for Wildstorm? No. I’d say it was a draw. That brings Wildstorm’s record here at The Revolution to 0-2-1.
Who would I recommend The Authority to? If you like comic with good character development, solid dialogue and a measured pace with a subdued feel then you will probably enjoy this issue. If you prefer more dynamic artwork and a story that moves at a brisker pace and has a bit more action then you probably won’t get into this issue.