The Authority: The Lost Year #7

“Wildcats” (No Spoilers)
I’m starting to think that this series is not giving itself enough time to develop. I was so pumped about the way last issue began because it was a new arc and Giffen had a chance to start fresh. We had a great set-up and a very cool alternate world introduced. But now we get it all resolved here in this issue! It definitely was not enough time to tell a story with this kind of set-up.
Let’s back-track a little. Issue 5 acted as sort of a prologue to this arc but not entirely. In reality it was more of a bridge between the first arc and this one. What happened in issue 5 was incredibly important to setting up what has happened in number 6 and 7.

Sparta U.S.A. #1

“Where We Are” (No Spoilers)
Wildstorm’s creator-owned releases have produced a few gems as of late which include but are not limited to titles like Mysterius the Unfathomable, North 40 and Victorian Undead. So here we have their most recent creator-owned offering with Sparta U.S.A. #1. Writer David Lapham is best known for his work on Young Liars and Stray Bullets. But honestly, this comic is the first time I’ve ever read any of his stuff. I’m not the first guy to try a new comic. I usually wait to see what others have to say about it. But at least with Wildstorm’s creator-owned stuff I am trying to change that.

The Authority #20

“Disorder” (No Spoilers)
This issue can be summed up in three words: chaos, chaos, chaos! Last issue saw The Carrier on a collision course with the planet Daemon, the planet of the Wildcats sworn enemies the Daemonites. It was a great cliffhanger and set-up a precarious predicament for our heroes to say the least.
The creative team has got this run broken down into beats. We alternate from story to action on a pretty frequent little cycle. It is a really refreshing pace. One thing I was interested to see was how this creative team was going to deal with so many characters.

Wildcats #20

“Red Blade 2 of 3: Red Flags” (No Spoilers)
Another incredible issue from the new creative team! This can be considered the “Empire Strikes Back” of this premiere 3-part arc that Adam Beechen and Tim Seeley have constructed. Things do not bode well for our heroes. They just witnessed The Red Blade forces defeat an entire fleet and now they’re returning to finish off our heroes!
Even though many heroes are present, Beechen wisely keeps the focus down to a few while the others are either in the background or have smaller roles. Fans of The New Dynamix mini-series that came out in 2008 will get a nice surprise in this issue. It is also noteworthy that mid-way through the issue, the events we saw in Gen 13 #34 a couple of weeks ago come into play.