“No Laughing Matter” (No Spoilers)
Writers: Grant Morrison, Keith Giffen, & J.M. DeMatteis
Pencils: David Williams & Kelsey Shannon
Letters: Rob Leigh
Editor: Scott Peterson
Cover: Gene Ha
I have to admit, I’ve struggled a lot with The Authority: The Lost Year. It has really been hit and miss for me. I believe there have been some great ideas presented in this series but I’m not really enjoying the way they’re being presented. However, with J.M. DeMatteis helping with the story this time we do get some humor which is very unusual for an Authority comic.
In visiting parallel worlds, the team has encountered several doppelgangers of themselves, both here and in past Authority stories. But this time, we get a more comedic take on the parallel Authority team encountered here. When DeMatteis did his Justice League of America series in 1987, it was kind of tongue-in-cheek. It took place in DC continuity but it was definitely very light-hearted. Basically what we have here is a light-hearted version of The Authority. This of course leads to some pretty funny moments where the characters react to situations in a more “classic” superhero way.
The Authority of the parallel Earth act as if they were in a sitcom rather than a comic. You can almost hear the laugh track appropriately placed as you read. While it was funny, it wasn’t laugh out loud funny. It’s kind of like a big name comedian that’s very popular making a movie and it receives lukewarm ratings. That’s what I feel here. I get what they were trying to do but I didn’t find it that amusing.
However, I will say David Williams and Kelsey Shannon’s art was perfect for this story. This is especially true with some of the facial expressions of the characters. At times I felt like I was reading a Mad Magazine parody of The Authority and the pictures went along perfect with that idea as I read.
Fans of J.M. DeMatteis will appreciate his take on The Authority but I think the idea fell a little short. But we still have the second part of this next month so we’ll see how this is all resolved.
Rating: 6 out of 10 (Slightly above average)