Authority #0 Part A

Archive

Reviewer: Jesse Baker
Story Title: High Stakes Part 1

Written by: Robbie Morrison
Penciled by: Dwayne Turner
Inked by: Sal Regal
Colored by: David Baron
Lettered by: Richard Starkings
Editor: Ben Abernathy
Publisher: Eye of the Storm/Wildstorm/DC Comics

Note: Authority Volume 2 #0 is being published as a three part story with each installment appearing as a back-up story for three “Eye of the Storm” books. Part 1 is published as a back-up story in Stormwatch: Team Achilles #9.

Quick synopsis: An attack on unnamed city leads the Authority to a reality hopping satellite casino where the survival of Earth is in the hands of the casino owner, whose personal armada is the wager of the day.

Good: Dwayne Turner does an excellent job on the art and captures the characters with the only exceptions being Swift and Jack Hawksmoor. And it’s nice to see that DC has finally gotten over their homophobia regarding Apollo and Moonlighter’s relationship and let Robbie mention it.

Bad: As I fear, the book has started to explore the black hole of creative bankruptcy by introducing invaders from parallel earths. Granted Viceworld does have interesting potential as a villain, but odds of seeing him last past this three-part arc are slim to none.

Ugly: The Authority shown in this back-up story is the same Authority we have come to know over the past four years, and the stale nature of the team has started to show. The Authority needs to be drastically shaken up. Certain members need a visual makeover, characters relegated to the background or as punching bags for the bad guys, need to have the spotlight shown on them, and the deadwood on the roster (Jack Hawksmoor and The Doctor in particular) needs to be eliminated faster than you can say “Oh My God! They’ve Killed Jenny Sparks!”