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Underground > Comic Books >

GRANT Morrison and Gene Ha on The Authority

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14:23 / 24.02.07

Ah - he said he's still waiting for a script for Grant Morrison; he may have meant issue 3. Probably my misunderstanding of what he said.

His signature on his work actually just says "Ha!", you know.

And thanks for the info. on #2, by the way! Much appreciated.

rabideyemovement

14:46 / 24.02.07

If they don't have time for the stories, they shouldn't bother. Pass it on to another creative team.
It seems like its been six months since i've read the last issue of this... Just like the Incredible Hulk/Wolverine book that was last seen a year ago. How do they expect us to care enough to pick up the book if we can't follow it with any regularity?

01:22 / 25.02.07

The delay in WILDCATS and AUTHORITY has killed my interest in reading GM's runs as bimonthly serials, although I'll check them on as tpbs cuz him is durned clever righter.

Now that 52 is over, he's "dropped off the radar" (save for Batman) which leads me to hope that his 4th WORLD project is SO HUGE AND AMAZING that it's leeching up most of his DC writing time. Bigger that SSoV! More girthful that Fiddeytwo! New Gods Now!

17:04 / 01.03.07

Newsarama just reported:

>> In his latest e-mail newsletter, artist Gene Ha announced some of his upcoming work, writing:

According to the Wildstorm website Authority #2 is scheduled to come out March 7. Just to make sure you weren't disappointed I double checked this info with the charming and professional Kristy Quinn, WS Assistant Editor. The date is good. Unless supervillains attack the printing plant or your local shop owner misplaced his or her order there should be a pile of my new comics in your town that Wednesday. As a bonus, the team actually shows up on page 2 of their own book!

That's the good news. The bad news is that after that The Authority will be on hiatus for a bit. I've been shifted over to Brad Meltzer's The Justice League of America #11. I'll be experimenting with a new art and coloring style . Brad's doing his usual push at the edges of the art form. It will be pretty, it will be gritty, it will be witty. I wish I could say more but Brad's got some surprises up his sleeve and I don't want to ruin them.

After JLA #11 is drawn , I should be hard at work on more The Authority pages by Grant Morrison. Each artist on the series will do four issues, so I'll be end my run with issue 4.

My next project will be a Top 10 series written and laid out by Zander Cannon. I've been dying to draw a Zander script for years. I've read the first few issues and I'm pretty damn excited about this one.
--------------------------------------------------

17:16 / 01.03.07

I was rather hoping this would come out more regularly than, say, Scud, or Beanworld. Ah well, no-one's going to know how late the issues were when the TPB comes out IN THE YEAR 2525.

18:51 / 01.03.07

[sing it with me now] "....If man is still aliiiiivee....if woman can survive....they may fiiiiinnd...."

ONLY NICE THINGS

05:13 / 02.03.07

Well, as banner relaunches of key properties go, I can't help but feel that that could have gone very slightly better.

06:45 / 02.03.07

My response to this news is over in Headrage.

Haus of Mystery

12:08 / 02.03.07

For fuck's sake.

12:31 / 02.03.07

Oh well, what a shame, never fucking mind..... Honestly, I can't even work up mild annoyment over a late title that's only ever had one really un-engaging issue out. I mean, it's not like the Seven Soldiers delay, or ASBARTBW. Barely even worth working the bile up about.

18:53 / 08.03.07

Has anyone read issue 2? It just came out here in the Philippines. I know a lotta people are pretty disheartened by the delay in issue 3 and the slow burn of issue 1, but you guys should still (definitely) check this out. It's quite wonderful, Grant hitting on all cylinders again, and it's brilliantly progressive, as a book like The Authority should be, IMO.

20:19 / 08.03.07

Well, obviously, I've been holding a silent vigil for Captain America (BEST OF WEEK as they say elsewhere. Really awesome, and so glad I didn't read any spoilerzzz) but I did pick up the new Authority and was, well, moderately nonplussed. It's okay, I mean; I like the concept, but it was like something anyone could have put together faced with the premise of 'superheroes attempt to operate in the REEL WURLD'. Unsurprising. Which I, if not the non-comics internet perusing, non-GM obsessive, reader kind of fucking knew already. So, you know, the new Palestinian doctor Jedi's an assistant at FP New York into letting them walk off with the 'Relentless' and 'Under New Management' trades? A bit too cute, I thought, and really - why not Revolution, where Habib first appeared? Surely you'd want to read the comics you were in, even if Grant's pals didnae write them.

I like this Midnighter, so far, he's been the best. But for something that comes out 'just sometimes', like All-Star Superman, it should've shifted several more gears - straight into special treat mode as the aforementioned does every goddamn time - from the very ponderous (although likeable and engaging, I'd thought) first ish.

Aha! I am Klarion

22:15 / 08.03.07

I thought this issue totally redeemed the lack of excitement in the first issue. It completely does away with the super-decompressed style. There are a lot of neat tid-bits in the issue and a lot of possiblities that pop up in the content (Midnighter fighting the US military, the differing nature of magic in the Wildstorm U, the generative quality of our universe, predictions of dark things on the horizon, Jack losing his powers) though some of it may be old hat for the longtime Morrison fans--course it may strike a cord for exactly the same reasons. The art is amazing, amazing, amazing. Meanwhile, Morrison abosolutely nails everyone of the character's voices, really expressing their personalities extremely well. From Swift's inate sweetness to Apollo's benign heroism to Midnighter's perverse love of carnage. Morrison's midnighter reads like a combination of Dmitri-9 and his Wolverine--great.
For example he says:
"Evening all. Yes, I did it. I got bored and killed those terrorists in the submarine. I admit it, and I admit I enjoyed every second of it. Blame my upbringing. I dare you

Love the new doctor's sense of humor. The best line and moment goes to the new Jenny who responds to Midnighter's complaints of her smoking (which effectively apes Ellis in a very funny way):

"I seem to remember you saying lungs are a vastly overated organ. Anyway, it's a lollipop! With smoke coming out the end."

Great.

P.S.

Did anyone read Mighty Avengers...i only mention it because Tony stark pulls a rebis.

Hallo, Paper Spaceboy

22:45 / 08.03.07

I really do prefer Quantum to Quarx, Ha's art looks a bit funny in places (I really can't stand his Doctor), and, yeah, the thing felt a bit "meh" to me. Other than the one panel of machinery submerged in the Engineer's armoured eye...

23:56 / 08.03.07

anyone else think Jenny Quarxz looks like Jenny Everywhere?

00:31 / 09.03.07

Based on this, I'd rather eat rat poison than read issue three.

Which I dare say means I have long and fruitful years ahead of me, godamnit.

Aha! I am Klarion

01:34 / 09.03.07

Isn't the resemblance to Jenny Everywhere kinda an "all cartoon asians look alike" pseduo-rascist thing. Still...kinda of fits since (and only since) the Everywhere character works everywhere...like the Eternal Champion.

To be fair...I am very excited about what's going to happen...but when it comes to how Morrison's comics turn out (plot wise) I am almost always suprised or wrong in my predictions...but since we have Seven people here, it makes me thing George's theory about the 7 traits of people is going to come into play and, to cut to the chase, it begs the question "Who's the traitor?" and "who's going to die? Hopefully Morrison will go in a more complex or different direction, but it could always go that way

just hope the book comes out more often

03:31 / 09.03.07

Got 1 and 2, and it looks like 3 will be where the action kicks off. Issue one reminded me of a Warren Ellis setup issue, two was pretty good just to show where they are in the book, the differences between our worlds, magicks, power levels here, introduced readers like me who haven't read the series in awhile to the new doctor and teenage Quark. So I'm looking forward to three.

Hallo, Paper Spaceboy

03:43 / 09.03.07

Normally I like Ha's work, but bloody hell, this isn't doing much of anything for me. And Quarx, well, she was simultaneously amusing ("I got tired of menstruating.") and irritating.

Part of it comes down to Ken in the Carrier, meeting Shen and then the Authority. It's sort of a similar problem to what's happened so far over in Ellis's newuniversal -- the world in question is supposed to be "our" world or Earth-Prime or only the barest of steps removed from ours, only characters don't react according to normal psychology, they react according to dramatic psychology ... which would be all well and good if the basic premise wasn't that this is supposed to be (almost) our world. Ken's reaction to the Authority was bordering on banal, even with a few references to there being only so much gawking awe he's capable of...it was blandly false and jarred me out of the narrative. I know if I ran ended up on a space ship with a woman with very real wings I'd probably react a little more dynamically. But not Ken, apparently.

Why?

Was it not as interesting as the Authority mostly -- ah -- sitting around arguing about their "mission statement" without Shen or Angie getting any good dialogue? Hawksmoor not having usable powers was paid only lip service, the others' diminshing powers as well?

Enh. The whole thing felt tired and saggy. I'd rather GM devoted more time toward A*S or his Batman or some other project.

03:58 / 09.03.07

#2 wasn't bad. I've never read any Authorities before, but I know the generalities about everybody, well, except for Nu-Doctor and Jenny Whatsherface. But it seems alright to me, as it stands. #3 promises to be exciting. Can't wait to read it come October.

The whole thing was worth it, though, for the blink-and-you'll-miss it Kirby OMAC cameo.

Aha! I am Klarion

14:35 / 09.03.07

Disagree with you about the character's reacting in terms of normal versus dramatic pyschology. I read it as the Authority not only having comic book powers, but also having comic book personalities and a certain quality of allowing themselves to become emeshed in drama--doing what they do because that is either their nature or the role they must fufill in the group dynamic rules of comic book super-teams. Conversely, Ken's reaction is skeptical and "realistic" in that he is not sold on their reactive problem solving and idealism (which will surely play havoc on people's lives). Ken is basically saying to himself, "Are these guys for real? Are these guys serious?" Also, Ken is the only person who doesn't pass out. So his reaction isn't banal, its rational and doubting of the mostly un-self-conscious super heroes.

16:27 / 09.03.07

>> Isn't the resemblance to Jenny Everywhere kinda an "all cartoon asians look alike" pseduo-rascist thing. Still...kinda of fits since (and only since) the Everywhere character works everywhere...like the Eternal Champion.

Well, I would say that Jenny Quarx looks a lot different than, say, the way Bryan Hitch drew Janet/The Wasp over in The Ultimates. Wally West's wife, Linda Park, is Asian IIRC and she doesn't look like Jenny Q. or the Ultimate Wasp.

16:48 / 09.03.07

Am I the only person who thinks the new Doctor is a bit of a step down from the old one?

Clearly, that self-righteous workaholic Brubaker couldn't live with the old Doctor's antics, but I still miss him.

17:40 / 09.03.07

I miss The Doctor from 'Stormwatch', personally, but then, it's not like they really go away, is it? They're in the Garden of Ancestral Memory or the Open University or something hanging out wiht DMT fairies and trying to get Religimon the rehab he needs.

I just like the idea that the global shaman, the world's diagnosis and repair guy, is virtually every time, every iteration, a kinda fuck-up. Explains the world.

22:29 / 09.03.07

Ok, the only Authority I've read is Grant's issues. I'm a little distant on the characters and thier story. Is there a trade or specific back issues that is essential reading to get an idea of why Jenny has changed, why there is a new doctor ect....?

01:07 / 10.03.07

the new Doctor is a Grant M. creation, new with this series, correct?

Cowboy Scientist

01:10 / 10.03.07

Nah, he's from 'Revolution'.

01:14 / 10.03.07

mephisto - to answer the two specific quandaries - I'd get i)'Under New Management', which features what remains clearly my favourite Authority story so far, 'The Nativity', and possibly - in retrospect - the only genuinely excellent Mark Millar comics ever, and ii) 'Revolution', which features the new, non-junkie Doctor. These also both happen to be the only ones really worth a damn, imho.

06:00 / 10.03.07

On the other end of the spectrum: get the first two trades, as they introduce the team, have three stories written by Ellis, which are the best the team was ever handled back in the day, and also include 'The Nativity' which is interesting as the introduction to Millar's era. Much of the team actually comes out of Ellis' earlier stint on 'Stormwatch' but they don't in many ways reflect the earlier series or even their own selves in that series, so...

The new Doctor comes from 'Revolution' but as I seem to recall not really caring for the series at all, I wouldn't suggest paying for the trade if you can get away with borrowing, scoring from a library, or just reading it in a bookstore.

09:26 / 10.03.07

I'd have to add my agreement that that first Ellis / Millar run is the only one really worth a damn. Pretty pretty pictures too courtesy of Hitch / Quitely / Adams.

16:46 / 10.03.07

Waiting for the trade, and so forth. Has the new Rose Tattoo been showcased yet?

Janean Patience

16:52 / 10.03.07

For a two-minute read in the shop, that was pretty unsatisfying.

Hallo, Paper Spaceboy

19:22 / 10.03.07

No Rose Tattoo, I get a vibe that GM's trying to pare things down to the "Essential" Authority, whatever that is.

The new Doctor -should- be interesting; the suicide bomber transformed by suddenly overwhelming global empathy. Only, he's treated blandly here and I didn't really get any sense of who he was from his dialogue. A very indistinct voice. I agree with Grams - miss the old Doctor.

Regrettable Juvenilia

21:20 / 10.03.07

'The Nativity', and possibly - in retrospect - the only genuinely excellent Mark Millar comics ever

So, so true. I'd advise everyone to skip the last Mark Millar Authority story, though - what an enormously rapid decline!

Hallo, Paper Spaceboy

21:43 / 10.03.07

Earth Inferno and Other Stories is also pretty good, mostly for the back-up short stories that dealt with the Engineer's sex drive and Apollo & Midnighter's history a little bit. Ellis does a really nice little Hawksmoor story. "Earth Inferno" itself is a little...up and down...but it's got the Quitely for at least part of it, although Chris Weston does some of it and I've never been a big fan of his.

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