The Authority: The Lost Year #12

“Reality” (No Spoilers)

Here we are finally and so ends half (looking at you Wildcats) of the redemption for Worldstorm and this titled which had been put on hold since Grant Morrison left it in 2006. It has been a bumpy ride to say the least but it is very interesting how they chose to end this.

All of you who have been following our coverage of this title know that for the most part we’ve been really frustrated with it. Morrison had a strong start when he worked on it, so when Keith Giffen was announced to take it over it seemed like a good fit. Giffen, after all, had already written these characters several times. But somewhere along the way, it seemed that this series as a whole just started to fall apart. One thing that was evident was the story arcs were way too short. There were several alternate worlds that the team visited that were really cool but only lasted two issues. This led to a lot of great set up being resolved super fast in order to move on to the next alternate reality.

The Authority: The Lost Year #11

“Damage Control” (No Spoilers)

In-freaking-credible! I wish all of Lost Year had been like these last two issues. Everything came together in this issue; the story was engaging and once again we’re treated to amazing art by Brandon Badeaux.

Badeaux’s art is what really made this arc for me. It is incredibly detailed and combined with Jonny Rench’s colors makes for some of the best art in a comic I’ve seen in a long time. Plus, Badeaux’s designs for the alternate reality Authority are just wicked! I’ve heard people say they don’t think Badeaux could handle a monthly book because his art is so detailed. Personally, I’d wait on a bi-monthly book if he were doing the art. It’s that good.

The Authority: The Lost Year #10

“The Seventh Day” (No Spoilers)
FINALLY! An issue of Lost Year I really like! I haven’t liked an issue this much since issue 6 (which ultimately let me down with the following issue). The difference here is I now know this little arc will be resolved next issue. Would I like for it to run longer? Hell yeah! Especially with Brandon Badeaux drawing it. But for now I’ll take what I can get.

I’ll start with Brandon Badeaux. He is an incredible artist! Wildstorm fans have seen his work in the “Dane: Loyalties” back-up story which ran in the early World’s End titles and also in The Authority #10. Not since Gene Ha opened up this series have I come across art I loved this much. He is extremely detailed and I think that may be his blessing and his curse. I’m not sure if he could do a monthly because he spends so much time on his art but even if it were bi-monthly, I’d wait for a title with his art.

The Authority: The Lost Year #9

“Punch Drunk”
I am truly shocked but I actually thought this issue was okay. Last issue really frustrated me to no end and I dreaded picking this one up. But there were several factors that were different about this issue that I think slightly improved it from the last one.
First off, we get J.J. Kirby as the artist this time. I didn’t think David Williams and Kelsey Shannon’s art from last issue was horrible at all. In fact I stated in my review for that issue that I thought it was perfect especially with some of the facial expression they did. But I think Kirby’s art suited the story just that much more. I remember first seeing J.J. Kirby’s work in the Backlash series.