The Authority The Magnificent Kevin # 2 Review

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Reviewer: Kevin S. Mahoney
Story Title: Who Cares Who Wins?

Written by: Garth Ennis
Penciled by: Carlos Ezquerra
Colored by: David Baron
Lettered by: Phil Balsman
Editor: Ben Abernathy
Publisher: Wildstorm

Last issue, we readers got a taste of what it’s like being a well-meaning (if incredibly inept) soldier in a world where alien creatures and super-humans exist. We also saw the majority of The Authority decommissioned by a buck-toothed creature that flings custard pies and stubbornly repeats one annoying sentence of dialogue. Unfortunately, we also saw an assassination/masturbation session gone horribly wrong. It was a lot to take in, but it was saved from hysterical hyperactivity by the well-depicted humanity of Kev Hawkins. This issue is almost as oddball, paced much slower, and continues the human-interest angle along its logical course.

Readers of this issue receive, in essence, a loser’s origin story. It’s not as flashy as Peter Parker’s, Wally West’s, or Adam Strange’s. The accidents that occur have unfortunate consequences, not fortuitous ones. It’s as depressing, in its own way, as some of the better dramatic fiction out there, Harlan Ellison’s “One Life, Furnished In Early Poverty” for the Euro ghetto set. The back-story of Kev Hawkins isn’t as epic as his screwball situation in the present (sent by his bosses to rescue the Midnighter) but it grounds the book and more than holds reader interest with its honest humanity. The twist at the end of the story seems a bit abrupt, what with the lack of motivation for the perps and the essentially two member cast throughout this installment, but there’s still enough tale left to tell to tie everything together before it ends.

The art in this issue is an improvement over the previous one if only because the style suits more reality based events than fantastic ones. The establishing shot of two poor Luton kids sniffin’ glue says so much about the environment without a word spoken, it ought to be used in a graphic arts textbook. The army scenes have the institutional look prone to large organizations high on manpower and dependent on careful budgeting. The only obvious error comes when Midnighter surprises Kev Hawkins at their out of the way meeting place, brandishing an arm that is literally in a sling the entire remainder of the issue. I suppose it’s possible the panel got flipped at the printer’s, but even then the editor ought to have caught the gaffe. Other than that, the gritty art style helps the reader identify the mood of the circumstances surrounding Hawkins’ entrance into the S.A.S. without distracting them away from the events themselves.

The story doesn’t really update us on the weird creature, or suggest the two plots tie together, at least not yet. And it seems unnecessary, as Kev Hawkins is in the process of really soaking up some spotlight. I suppose the writer has to either explain the thing away or dovetail it back into Kev’s present uncertain circumstances, but it almost seems a waste of space. This story is a perfectly good slice of life tale (with fantastic underpinnings just outside the main events) and can exist without a dessert-hurling monstrosity.