Absolute Authority, The: Vol. 2

Rating:
Summary: Pay allegiance, or get your head kicked in.
Review: Lay your fears to rest. There is life after Ellis, Hitch, and Neary on The Authority. Mark Millar, Frank Quitely, and Trevor Scott are more than worthy heirs to one of the most ambitious monthly titles the industry has ever seen.

Quitely's art is bigger than life. The panels are daring and beautifully detailed. You truly get the scope of the group's shiftship (The Carrier) and the magnitude of the 'Giant-Man' in the issue's last page. Trevor Scott's inks refine the penciling work and add a powerful and pleasing look. The visuals still have that widescreen format that catapulted Hitch and Neary into one of the premiere art teams of the industry. David Baron's coloring and separation gives the art a first class look. Simply put, the eye-candy is breathtaking.

Millar makes his intent loud and clear right off the first page. Why do super people never go after the REAL bastards? Millar obviously intends to go where The Dark Knight and Watchmen successfully ventured: write a story of how the real world would be affected if super heroes really existed. Instead of battling faceless super villains, the group's focus is now on dictators and tyrants who deny human beings the basic rights to happiness and freedom. This causes very favorable media coverage for the team which the members play into. My favorite moment from this issue is the exchange between President Bill Clinton and group leader Jack Hawksmoor. This hologram meeting between Clinton and the heroes of the Wildstorm Universe indicates neither will tolerate any transgression.

Ellis' hard-edged dialogue grabbed you by the crotch but Millar will kick it into pulp. If you were face to face with a 40 story tall villain, I doubt that "Fuddle Duddle" are the words that would sprout from your lips. Wildstorm realizes that there are readers who want realistic dialogue in a super hero team book and deliver the goods (or maybe the bads in this case). Millar even creates a super villain team that is the antithesis of the Avengers, a group that has no scruples about violating human dignity and life. Millar is offering mature readers a super hero book that is neither juvenile or simplistic. A great alternative to Fantastic Four which constantly recycles and rehashes plots to younger audiences.

Mark Millar's writing talent and ability has long been proven to me on the Swamp Thing series. Authority will revolt and shock those who resist change to the super hero genre just as it will be a Godsend to readers who want to see it progress beyond its current boundaries.