Rating: 
Summary: Much Ado About Nothing
Review: I picked up this book (and its' sequel) primarily out of curiousity. I heard that the book had two gay characters and I was interested in seeing how they would be handled. I also read several rave reviews and wanted to know if it lived up to its hype. Sadly it did not.I tried to read the book but found it boring and unispired. I found that the Authority is a lot like Spawn. Big on violence and short on storyline. None of the characters are developed and seem to simply exist for wreaking havoc against their enemies. As for the two gay characters Appollo and the Midnighter, while they are there. There is no big deal or big play on their relationship, and should not in itself put off anyone who is adverse to such relations. The only thing I liked about The Authority is the character of the Midnighter, who can be described as a non-self absorbed Batman. I found that he had much substance and hopefully someone will give him his own book one day. If you are looking for a book with a good story and well plotted characters then avoid this book. However if you are looking for madness and mayhem then the Authority is for you.
Rating:
Summary: Revised review - A really bad "beginning"
Review: I was amazed by Warren Ellis' wonderfully-realized Planetary series. I learned afterwards that he was responsible for the Authority series as well, so I bought this trade paperback to check it out, hoping that I could get in on the ground level. Big mistake! Be warned that the story of The Authority does not begin with issue #1. You need to read Ellis' Stormwatch series in order to understand who the characters are and why they are in their present situation. Even then, Stormwatch doesn't provide enough information on the characters to truly prepare you for what you will experience with The Authority. In summary, there is no real beginning for this series, nowhere, nohow! Grant Morrison's introduction leads you to believe that The Authority is an amazingly original, even revolutionary series, based on its perspective of a superhero team that knows what's best for the world. I wanted to believe it, really, but it's just not the case. There have been many other superteams who impose their wills on the public and do as they wish... from Squadron Supreme to Kingdom Come to Miracleman, this is well-tread territory. Of course, they didn't have the gratuitous blood, violence, and T&A that The Authority has, so I guess that's what's so "groundbreaking" (well maybe Miracleman, though certainly not gratuitous). The stories serve mainly to set up situations which the heroes can address in their signature manner: death and wide-scale mayhem. The focus is on the action, definitely not character development. There's about 2 written pages worth of plot in the storyline, but don't worry - so many of the pages are only one or two panels with little dialogue. You won't notice it until you finish the book in about 30 minutes. Splash-pages galore in this book! Also, the villains are laughable, as they are cut from the same basic cloth as the Silver Age Doctor Doom or Magneto. Of course, those particular interpretations of the Marvel villains never engaged in mass-murder, so there's the only difference. So in the end, what is so amazing and original about this story? Not much, really. The concept of the super-team imposing its will for the good of the world is not new. Numerous others have done it much better. I can say, however, that upon reading subsequent trade collections of The Authority, I do like the team a bit more. Some characters finally develop a personality, plots finally appear and become much more interesting, and there is some fun poked at various major comic heroes (such as the Avengers in Volume 2 - excellent). All in all, this series is enjoyable over the course of the 4 Authority trades, 4 Stormwatch trades, and Jenny Sparks collection, but you must keep in mind that it takes all 9 of those books to even approach the depth of just 1 Watchmen or Kindgom Come collection. Not worth the money, in my opinion.
Rating:
Summary: Not as good as advertised
Review: I was told that I could enjoy this book without any prior knowledge of the 'Stormwatch' series that preceded it. Well, that series must have been extremely confusing, because this first collection of 'The Authority' had me scratching my head. First off, there is absolutely no introduction to any of the characters. They just appear and start bashing in bad guys heads. It's obvious that, disregarding what others have said, one should be familiar with 'Stormwatch' before attempting to read this. Otherwise, I am left to assume that readers are meant to just take these characters at face-value and understand why they are fighting a questionable villain. The entire point of the story is lost in ambiguity as well. What are these people doing? Who are the villians? It's all pretty silly and the plot is brought together by the loosest of reasons. I'm sure fans of 'Stormwatch' will have a ball with this comic. The fight scenes, however inexplicable, are still exciting, and the art is beautiful. The characters do have promise as well... if only we as readers had some idea of who the are.
Rating: 
Summary: Resurgence of Creativity
Review: I've read comics for years and then I stopped because of quite honestly Chris Claremont leaving the XMen. Pretty art never turned me on, interesting stories did. So I was feeling adventurous one day and I saw these trade paperbacks. Reasonable price, nice art so I jumped in.
Very, very good. This is very XMen with an R rating.
Kaizen's death at the end, hilarious.
"I only wanted to have some fun."
I agree with other reviewers that the reader got no fill in for who the heck everyone was. Jenny Sparks comes off as the strongest character but then she dies so I guess she kinda had too, huh? I think that the book suffers from a lack of depth in some ways. Depth not in story but in characterization. You have plot, characters and storyline. Plot and storyline are strong but I didn't get why they were all so dedicated and upset at the same time. Perhaps my problem is that I read normal books so I can see the de-evolution of the dumbing down of comics.
Don't get me wrong I bought teh next book the following day and started collecting subsequent issues but I did feel after awhile that I was watching mysteries do things. There's got to be a balance between comics saying something and good action, yes?
This whole big screen movie thing is for dunderheads who watch every big screen movie to come out, who wait in line for Spidey Man or Star Wars, FOR HOURS. Who watch TV. Well, I don't do those things but I enjoy a good story, a little fantasy every once in awhile and Authority gave me a nice jolt.
What I liked about the trade paperback route was that it gave me a solid chunk of issues, a full arc of storylines. Wouldn't it be nice if for the outrageous prices that are ultimately for coloring and "star artists" we actually got a book this size monthly? If writers had 200 pages to work out that months story I think the quality would improve. Not its down to what 18 pages and 14 pages of the latest bubblegum ads,PLaystation games and movie coming attractions?
So I like Authority but I do see a weakening of the idea without good characters backing it up. 4 stars for strength of plot and storyline being a bit more randy and raunchy and risque than normal.
Rating:
Summary: Resurgence of Creativity
Review: I've read comics for years and then I stopped because of quite honestly Chris Claremont leaving the XMen. Pretty art never turned me on, interesting stories did. So I was feeling adventurous one day and I saw these trade paperbacks. Reasonable price, nice art so I jumped in.
Very, very good. This is very XMen with an R rating.
Kaizen's death at the end, hilarious.
"I only wanted to have some fun."
I agree with other reviewers that the reader got no fill in for who the heck everyone was. Jenny Sparks comes off as the strongest character but then she dies so I guess she kinda had too, huh? I think that the book suffers from a lack of depth in some ways. Depth not in story but in characterization. You have plot, characters and storyline. Plot and storyline are strong but I didn't get why they were all so dedicated and upset at the same time. Perhaps my problem is that I read normal books so I can see the de-evolution of the dumbing down of comics.
Don't get me wrong I bought teh next book the following day and started collecting subsequent issues but I did feel after awhile that I was watching mysteries do things. There's got to be a balance between comics saying something and good action, yes?
This whole big screen movie thing is for dunderheads who watch every big screen movie to come out, who wait in line for Spidey Man or Star Wars, FOR HOURS. Who watch TV. Well, I don't do those things but I enjoy a good story, a little fantasy every once in awhile and Authority gave me a nice jolt.
What I liked about the trade paperback route was that it gave me a solid chunk of issues, a full arc of storylines. Wouldn't it be nice if for the outrageous prices that are ultimately for coloring and "star artists" we actually got a book this size monthly? If writers had 200 pages to work out that months story I think the quality would improve. Not its down to what 18 pages and 14 pages of the latest bubblegum ads,PLaystation games and movie coming attractions?
So I like Authority but I do see a weakening of the idea without good characters backing it up. 4 stars for strength of plot and storyline being a bit more randy and raunchy and risque than normal.
Rating: 
Summary: Really Great Comic Book
Review: I've seen a lot of bashing of this story, but you know what? I still love the stories so much. You can try to compare it to other stories but everything that's been done has been done but the stories Warren Ellis comes up with are out of this world, literally. If you want a typical good guy/bad guy story than read something else, I was tip toeing around getting into this book for fear of a waste of time and money, but this story comes through for me. The charecters are amazing and the concept of their place in the world blows my mind, I can't even begin to imagine how someone comes up with something as brilliant as this. Wildstorm Comics continues to amaze me and Warren Ellis isn't given enough credit for being such a fresh change from the usual. In my opinion, I love the story it's beging to become one of my favorite comic book stories. Go to a comic book store and just check it out, if you like it get it...that's what I did and I wasn't disapointed.
Rating:
Summary: It may seem to lack depth but it's so well done, who cares?
Review: In the '70's comic book writers began to add greater depth of characterization and take on adult themes, and for the most part this was a welcome change. Books like Alan Moore's Miracleman and V for Vendetta; Los Bros Hernandez' Love & Rockets; Garth Ennis work on Hellblazer and Preacher; (and so many others) did more than entertain, they actually enriched my life. It was (and still is) a great time to be reading comics. Yet the attempt to add meaning can become portentious or simply pretentious. Over-complex characterization can result in intermindable soap operas that go nowhere. And sometimes, you just want to "kick it" (in both senses of the phrase). In this sense, Warren Ellis & Bryan Hitch's twelve issue run on The Authority (the first 8 of which are reprinted here) represents a breath of fresh air. Yes, it helps to have read Stormwatch, but then it helps to have read Batman before reading JLA. Ellis does introduce interesting ideas & character development; but he does so in a piecemeal fashion the better to keep the emphasis on the action. And for once it's worth it. People called The Authority, "the JLA (or the Avengers) finally done right," and I have to agree. Ellis & Hitch do it so well! Realistic cinematic art with a touch of grandeur, incredible world-shattering threats, Jenny Sparks "appallingly bad attitude," and a group willing and able to force change on a global scale, not just to neutralize the enemy but to build "a finer world" whatever the vested interests arrayed against them. It's been a wild ride and great fun to boot: the comic book equivalent of a really well made summer blockbuster action movie. Turn off your brain and give it a try. (Again) for once, it's worth it.
Rating:
Summary: The Authority
Review: It seems that the majority of reviewers on this subject have their heads screwed on right, but there are a handful who simply missed the point. The Authority are unique because of the scale of their actions and the absolute brutality of their enforcement. The stories are complex and multifaceted, but not in a self-analysing I-must-never-take-a-human life way. This is not Superman or Batman, they are not DC characters with overdeveloped morals who fight pointless supervillains every week merely to send them to jail or conveniently, but temporarily disable them so that they can make a guest appearance in future issues. The Authority do precisely what any sensible group of people would do if they were gifted with the awesome, planetary powers that they possess - They make the world a better place.
The characters introduce new themes in the field of comic storytelling - A heroin addict with enough power to wipe out continents with a click of his fingers. Two homosexual superheroes that do not conform to the "sissy" stereotype, instead being by far the most masculine of characters. A man who can talk to cities and command the very bricks and mortar. A woman who can construct any machine imaginable from technology within her own body and finally a British, female smoker who provides the team with a rough, tough, liberal leader with flaws that we can identify with.
The Authority is everything that we would be if we had the chance.
Rating: 
Summary: Great, but...
Review: Let me start by saying that as a diehard fan of superhero comics, I found the Authority to be a wonderful read. The characters, especially Jenny Sparks, are interesting and the variety of powers in the group is good. However, that said, let me turn to what I didn't like. As intriguing as the characters are, they suffer from a lack of depth. Apart from a few tantalizing scenes, we get almost nothing of their personal lives. The Doctor in particular is a total enigma. Each of the two story arcs in this collection present the team with a massive threat to defeat, which they of course do. But what else if there? Warren Ellis is a fine writer, but here I think he allows the concept to take precedence over the characters. I would suggest to anyone who buys this volume that they continue with the ongoing series. Even though Ellis left four issues after the stories presented here, it continues to develop and even improve on what you get in Relentless. In conclusion, if you can only buy one collection, pick up Ellis' Planetary: Around the World instead and then start getting the ongoing monthly Authority series.
Rating:
Summary: Changing the world, one splash page at a time
Review: Make no mistake about it, boys and girls: The Authority is the promise of superhero comics fulfilled at long last. "Relentless" collects the first eight issues of Warren Ellis' run on The Authority, along with the efforts of his visual collaborators Bryan Hitch (who has come a long way since his uuuugly fill-in days on Uncanny X-Men), Paul Neary and Laura DePuy. Warren said it: "for twelve issues, we were the f***ing Beatles". That they were. Hitch's exquisite detail in each and every splash page is simultaneously epic and romantic, but also in-your-face visceral. But it'd all amount to nothing if not for the beautiful color job by DePuy, who has turned computer coloring into an essential element of the storytelling. There are those who criticize that Authority lacks in characterization and while these arguments do carry weight, these people plainly fail to realize one thing: superhero comics are not soap operas. This is a fact that seems to have been forgotten so much over the years of superhero comics, that the original intent of the genre has been lost: these are meant to be stories of action and wonder. If you're looking for Watchmen or Dark Knight Returns or any kind of deep, subtle, literary masterpiece ... look elsewhere (like Ellis' Planetary). If you want to see a 70-foot-tall woman made of electricity destroy a fleet of fighter jets from a parallel Britain... come on in. Besides, these heroes' personalities are so potent that, when they get a good one-liner in, it counts for so much more than balloons of pedantic dialogue in another title. The words are sharp, and so are these heroes. The sarcastic, world-weary leader, Jenny Sparks; the aloof drug-addict/shaman, The Doctor; and The Engineer, a woman with nine pints of micro-robots for blood, who is awed by the things she sees in a typical work day with The Authority ("Worth giving up a life for."). There's also Apollo and The Midnighter, fast becoming comics' most famous couple; Jack Hawksmoor and Shen Li-Min of StormWatch Black. "The Circle" is the story of The Authority facing their first global threat: thousands of superhumans, at the command of a mad terrorist, intent on annihilating three of Earth's major cities. The only thing that stands between them and their goal? The ex-members of StormWatch Black, two tremendously powerful rookies, and a pair of semi-retirees. "Shiftships" deals with a threat from Jenny Sparks' past that comes screaming into the skies over present-day Los Angeles. A stagnant, parallel Britain invades Earth, with a motive that is, sadly, all too realistic in this day and age. This forces The Authority to a solution that will forever change the scales of global political power if successful. Fans of intelligent, big-budget science-fiction will absolutely fall head-over-heels in love with The Authority. If you liked The Matrix, Aliens, Star Wars, The Terminator movies... heck, even Independence Day... you will not be disappointed by The Authority. Finally, this TPB edition of these stories is a godsend. Imagine an ad for a Sony Playstation popping up in at the climax of Star Wars. Maddening. These are the only comic books where I've been inclined to rip out each and every ad, and scotch-tape the double-spread ads together. It's a pain, but these are comics where you want nothing to affect the reading experience --- and now, thanks to this edition --- nothing does. So buy The Authority: Relentless TPB --- and feel your head get kicked in.
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