The Authority #19

“Destination Unknown” (No Spoilers)
Marc Bernardin & Adam Freeman continue the adrenaline rush from last issue as this one opens up. But they soon slow things down enough to give the reader (and the characters) a chance to catch their breath. For now, The Authority consists of a smaller cast of characters than what we saw in the latest issue of Wildcats (#19). This allows for some really good characters moments in this issue. But fear not, because we do still get some action here.
One of the first great character interactions is Christine Trelane and Jack Hawksmoor. With Jenny Quantum gone for some time now, Jack has stepped up and taken leadership of The Authority.

Wildcats #19

“Red Blade 1 of 3: Red Dawn” (No Spoilers)
I have to say I was blown-away with this issue! Marc Bernardin & Al Barrionuevo did a great job introducing this situation in The Authority #18, but Adam Beechen & Tim Seeley have perfected it here. The story is fast-paced, the characterization is spot-on, and on top of that, it’s new-reader friendly!
First off, we get probably the best “Status Report” yet as the opening page catches us up on what’s been going on not only in Wildcats, but also The Authority and the recently cancelled Stormwatch PHD (#24 being the last issue). It is important to note that usually when a title is cancelled, their storylines are dropped. However, in the case of Stormwatch PHD, the final storylines are carried over into The Authority and Wildcats.

The Authority: The Lost Year #5

“Blood Brothers” (No Spoilers)
A new story arc begins for The Authority and Keith Giffen is free to start fresh without Grant Morrison’s start on the series over-shadowing him, right? Well, not exactly. First off, this is still based on stories Morrison outlined and which Giffen is going to use through-out the rest of this mini-series. But that’s ok because we already knew that. The problem is we get a slight overflow of events from the last arc. This is not a big deal if you’ve followed since the beginning but it might throw new readers off who are jumping on this issue because it’s being toted as a new story arc.
One thing that is evident in this issue from the start is that this is definitely the pre-World’s End Authority. Before Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning’s World’s End run humbled the team and hopefully taught them a few things about being heroes, the Authority were basically powerful jerks.

The Authority #18

“Homecoming-Part 1” (No Spoilers)
Wow! What a great way for the new creative team to come on board! The story was fast-paced and very engaging. Writers Adam Freeman and Marc Bernadin did a great job of conveying the urgency of the situation through their dialogue and the scenes they set-up. Artist Al Barrionuevo did a good job with his layouts and picking just the right moments to show.
Basically, a strange energy source from space is calling The Authority’s massive ship, The Carrier. Although they know nothing about the signal or its origin, the heroes split, with some deciding to board The Carrier to find out where it’s going while others stay behind to defend the planet.