The Authority
Written by Warren Ellis, artwork by Bryan Hitch and Paul Neary, colors by Laura Depuy

Earth is endangered again. Ships coming from a dimension sideways to ours are attacking Los Angeles, and once again there is only one team who can save us all: The Authority.

Shiftships is the second story-arc of Warren Ellis's run on the Authority (which constitutes a total of three arcs) and is definitely one of the most fun and entertaining stories in recent comic history. It is basically Flash Gordon meets Independence Day head on. If you can imagine that, well, you at least have an idea of the dogfight sequence in the story.

As The Authority has been conceived as the perfect "superhero action movie thrill," it's quite easy to step into the story without having any knowledge of the characters. Events are all made clear very quickly. The Authority is an assemblage of seven heroes -- Jenny Sparks, Electric Spirit of the 20th century; Jack Hawksmoor, alien engineered-God of the cities; the Engineer, whose body is flowing with nanotechnology instead of blood; Swift, the fastest winged predator on Earth; the Doctor, Earth's Shaman; Apollo, the solar-powered superman, and the Midnighter, the most dangerous man on Earth. They are here to collectively kick the ass of anyone who might endanger, all the while trying to make a difference.

Once again (check out the review for The Circle, the Authority's first arc) the plot is deceptively simple, but a layer of complexity is added when the Authority has to discover why the villains, an army from a parallel Earth's England called "Sliding Albion," wants to conquer their world. Ellis slows down the plot a notch to explain what's happening with this parallel civilization and how the army is linked to Jenny Sparks, who fought them in the 1950s. This arc proves more interesting than the previous one because of an added element -- the villains. The villains of The Circle were really just a big army of super-clones under the order of one evil madman. In Shiftships, the villains add more to the story, since they are very much a part of the cool concept that makes The Authority such an intriguing read, rather than just a shoot `em up, big s'plosions blockbuster movie. Also, their main chief, Regis (not the millionaire one -- this one is blue, looks like a giant humanoid goat and eats children {EDITOR'S NOTE : So, like, where's the difference?}) is truly evil, and the discovery of his plans for Earth, make his imminent defeat all the more satisfying. These villains are indeed a treat for sci-fi fans. Another way in which Ellis ups the ante is with the team's original goal -- to change the world and make it a better place. In this storyarc, the Authority gets to do just that.

On the art front, Hitch and Neary shine again. They keep topping themselves with each issue and story arc. Their renditions of Sliding Albion's forces, quarters, and characters are nothing short of incredible. The opening scene is one of debauchery at Sliding Windsor castle and is filled with beautiful details. Each character's costume is wonderfully unique, consisting of a variety of regal military outfits with accessories that include old flintlock guns. Their design work on Albion's ships, whether the more Flash Gordon-ish ones of Jenny's flashbacks or the more ID4-ish modern ones invading our earth, are packed with details. They present the best dogfight sequences in comics. Laura Dupuy's hues are more than up to the task. Her coloring is used to a quieter effect in this story. Much like a good movie score, it's used to enhance and give mood to the scenes.

Once again, Ellis and the gang deliver the goods on The Authority, doing a better job than the first arc. With a smooth-flowing speed, The Authority reads really fast, therefore, you might find yourself re-reading it a lot. Art fans or those who appreciate the designs will find themselves going over them again and again to check out the details in the costumes or the interiors of Sliding Albion's ships. Giving us another slam-bang superhero summer movie, but this time with better, cooler villains, and with the Authority actually fulfilling more their mandate of changing the world, this book is very much recommended.

-- Yannick Belzil, who fought an easy "respect my autori-TAH" pun for this review.

The Authority, published by DC Comics, is currently available only through comic retailers.

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