The Authority: Revolution #11 [Archive]

Dr. Slim

08-17-2005, 06:01 PM

The penultimate issue of Brubaker's run on this title features an extended battle between a mind-controlled Midnighter and the rest of the team, now augmented by the new Doctor and the prematurely aged Jenny Quantum. That's pretty much it. The fighting isn't too shabby, but whatever.

This is probably the least exciting of Brubaker's recent projects (Cap and Sleeper come to mind) and a weak year of The Authority compared to the first two seasons under Ellis and Millar. It's not bad, but it isn't exceptional, and it should be given the careers of the creators and the history of the series (give or take Robbie Morrison's tenure).

Oh well.

whippis

08-17-2005, 06:19 PM

I must say I am totally unimpressed with this series. I thought Morrison's run was bad, at least that didn't come with expectations. To me Bru phoned this one in. It has none of the depth or tension of Sleeper. His tribute and poking fun at the superhero genre comes across as just bad storytelling- time travel, team members fighting each other, people back from the dead. Those concepts are so over used, even it the name of making fun of their use, you really have to knock it out of the park just to make it a worthwhile read. At this point I only buy the issues out of a complusive need to see it through not because it is any good- I know I know stop buying and they'll stop making it. I wish that were true. I bought stuff like Wildcats 3.0, 21 Down, Sleeper and The Intimites and it didn't seem to help so I doubt the reverse is true.

The Authoirty has become a property and thus little will be done with it that is fresh and new. Ellis's StormWatch was so much fun because he'd introduce new characters and then kill them reorganize things constantly so you really never knew what the hell was going to happen or who would live or die. Millar tried to keep that going. The Authoirty as-is is just like what it was when Millar left. No one has changed anything. Even the take over of the US lasted all of 5 minutes. Unless they plan on undoing this current series so we revert back in which case I will like it even less.

exultant801

08-17-2005, 07:43 PM

i am just thankful something is finally happening in this series. i had high hope for this run as well after some of the most god-awful comics ever written by robbie morrison. but it has been boring up until the last couple of issues. it still feels so rehashed though.

BaronSamedi

08-17-2005, 08:25 PM

This is the first thing by Bru that I have just outright disliked. It's, as the previous poster mentioned, just boring. Entire issues go by where nothing happens. This series could seriously have been 6 issues tops, no doubt. Also, the whole "Shen gets taken out first" thing has been done to death. She get taken out five minutes into every encounter. I thought she might actually contribute to the showdown with Bendix, but she was taken out immediately by Rose Tattoo.

Also, making the new doctor a suicide bomber just smacks of desperation too. That really pissed me off, because suicide bombers are UNREDEEMABLE. The ultimate cowards. They strap bombs to themselves, then walk into areas usually populated by civilians, then detonate with the goal of murdering innocent people, non-combatants. For Brubaker to elevate one of these remorseless killers into becoming the next doctor in a desperate, radical, leftist ploy to generate sympathy for suicide bombers is pretty wretched when you think about it. As I said, they are not redeemable.

Dr. Slim

08-17-2005, 11:06 PM

Originally posted by BaronSamedi
Also, making the new doctor a suicide bomber just smacks of desperation too. That really pissed me off, because suicide bombers are UNREDEEMABLE. The ultimate cowards. They strap bombs to themselves, then walk into areas usually populated by civilians, then detonate with the goal of murdering innocent people, non-combatants. For Brubaker to elevate one of these remorseless killers into becoming the next doctor in a desperate, radical, leftist ploy to generate sympathy for suicide bombers is pretty wretched when you think about it. As I said, they are not redeemable.

Well, it might not be the most tasteful move available, but I severely doubt that this plot point reasonably qualifies as "a desperate, radical, leftist ploy to generate sympathy for suicide bombers." That just reeks of Fox News.

Besides, the origin of the new Doctor is a fairly apolitical fantasy. Who doesn't want a would-be mass murderer to suddenly realize the value of human life moments before lighting the fuse (and then go on a join a team of super-powered mass-murderers...but I digress)? This clearly isn't a statement being made about real events except in a general and hypothetical way...that it's too bad people get twisted around to the point where they blow things up when they could be fixing the world instead.

Besides, the Authority has never been about Good and Evil in big broad outlines. It's about competing ideas of how to forge a better world, and how they can go wrong.

Darth Tigris

08-18-2005, 12:11 AM

Originally posted by Dr. Slim
Well, it might not be the most tasteful move available, but I severely doubt that this plot point reasonably qualifies as "a desperate, radical, leftist ploy to generate sympathy for suicide bombers." That just reeks of Fox News.

Besides, the origin of the new Doctor is a fairly apolitical fantasy. Who doesn't want a would-be mass murderer to suddenly realize the value of human life moments before lighting the fuse (and then go on a join a team of super-powered mass-murderers...but I digress)? This clearly isn't a statement being made about real events except in a general and hypothetical way...that it's too bad people get twisted around to the point where they blow things up when they could be fixing the world instead.

Besides, the Authority has never been about Good and Evil in big broad outlines. It's about competing ideas of how to forge a better world, and how they can go wrong.

Agree with most everything you said. Suicide bombers are redeemable if they don't complete the act. That's what happened here and he ended up bring peace to the Middle East. Don't think this is the sympathy card at all. Just a way of showing people that there are other ways make a difference.

Personally, this was such a small part of the story to me that I didn't even remember it until it was brought up here. I partly regret giving it more air time. This ish was decent, but this series would've done better if it was in the old Authority format of 3 four issue arcs. That was always fun and this seems like its been going on forever.

CountD

08-18-2005, 10:13 AM

wow, I agree with Whippis.

toolverine

08-18-2005, 11:45 AM

whippis

08-18-2005, 11:49 AM

Originally posted by CountD
wow, I agree with Whippis.

The smart ones always do.

About this whole Suicide Bomber thing- Technically they guy was not a suicide bomber since he never actually commited the act. Besides, as has been pointed out he changed his plans and became a peace maker. One could read all sorts of things into that: the morality of thoughts vs. actions, redemption, cheaply capitalizing on current headlines, etc. In fact, that is the one soild aspect of this series. That is the only thing that speaks to the quality of Ellis's Authority- taking a nearly taboo idea and twisting it to provoke reaction.

I have no idea if Bru intending this and it really doesn't matter as the conversation has been started anyway.

I must stop now becasue saying nice things about this series is starting to annoy me.

fsguzek

08-18-2005, 12:04 PM

I am hoping and praying that at least something serious will happen in the last issue. Wildstorm claims issue 12 will have people talking "for years to come..." (Years?) It would be great if something genuinely changed or progressed in this series.

One problem is that the Wildstrom Universe doesn't have a decent stable of lasting villains like Marvel and DC. I don't think monsters like Defile or Helspont really resonate with the allegedly "mature" readers of the Wildstorm line. In the absence of a Joker or Magneto we have to deal with a quick setup of a new villain or evil supergroup, then wait while the Authority kills them off in three or four issues. Why care? You'd never seen "Reality Incorporated" before and you never will again. "NEXT BAD GUY !"

(Henry Bendix is still around. But he's such a Lex Luthor clone that it's instantly tiring to see him. And wasn't he actually dead in the Monarchy? I guess I'm the only one who read it...)

BaronSamedi

08-18-2005, 12:35 PM

He was indeed a suicide bomber because he definitely *was* going to go through with the act and commit the murders until the spirit of the doctors stopped him as he was detonating. This is an important difference: He didn't stop himself because of some epiphany at the last minute which caused him the know at his core it was wrong. He went through with it like the rest of these monsters (9/11, London, Spain, American Embassies, SE Asian nightclubs, Israel constantly, etc, etc, etc) always do by detonating expolsive devices attached to themselves in high traffic areas to ensure maximum *civilian* casualties. He was only stopped because of a sphere of influence *outside* of his own. That is the only reason he stopped. This is a paramount difference that I believe defines Brubaker's choice in using a suicide bomber as a sympathetic character/hero. He is choosing to celebrate a suicide bomber, the lowest form of life and one that is beyond redemption. Sorry, but I think it's pretty vile.

Oh, and to the "Fox News! Fox News!" reactionary liberal who sniffs out right-wing conspiracies where there is only logic: Say whatever you like about Fox News, but if I recall they weren't the ones humiliated and discredited for outright lying about the other side (you know, because everyone has to be on a "side" these days...*sigh*) like, I dunno, Dan Rather and 60 Minutes on CBS. Dan Rather's storied 30+ year career came crumbling down around him because of lies about the other side. He resigned in humiliation. How many heads rolled over at 60 Minutes? Several, and all because of biased reporting. I don't recall anything like that ever happening on Fox News. Do you?

:rolleyes:

whippis

08-18-2005, 12:48 PM

Originally posted by fsguzek
I am hoping and praying that at least something serious will happen in the last issue. Wildstorm claims issue 12 will have people talking "for years to come..." (Years?) It would be great if something genuinely changed or progressed in this series.

One problem is that the Wildstrom Universe doesn't have a decent stable of lasting villains like Marvel and DC. I don't think monsters like Defile or Helspont really resonate with the allegedly "mature" readers of the Wildstorm line. In the absence of a Joker or Magneto we have to deal with a quick setup of a new villain or evil supergroup, then wait while the Authority kills them off in three or four issues. Why care? You'd never seen "Reality Incorporated" before and you never will again. "NEXT BAD GUY !"

(Henry Bendix is still around. But he's such a Lex Luthor clone that it's instantly tiring to see him. And wasn't he actually dead in the Monarchy? I guess I'm the only one who read it...)

For me the whole joy of the WU is that there are no "villains" and that the "heroes" use the same brutal tactics. Check out Sleeper and tell me who exactly the "good" guys are. Making the WU more like the MU or the DCU would kill the whole thing- not that it is exactly thriving but ambiguity is what makes it unique. I prefer the WU when people are getting killed and there is constant talk of hundreds of casualties. In a world of superpowers deaths from collateral damage would be frequent and numerous. I would love to read and Astro City style story set in the WU.

More of the same is exactly NOT what we need in comics.

whippis

08-18-2005, 12:52 PM

Originally posted by BaronSamedi
He didn't stop himself because of some epiphany at the last minute which caused him the know at his core it was wrong. ... He was only stopped because of a sphere of influence *outside* of his own. That is the only reason he stopped.

That is a good point. I haven't read that issue in a few months so I had forgotten that- apologoies. It is an important difference.
But then the core question still remains- can this person ever be redeemed by future acts now that they have "seen the light?"

fsguzek

08-18-2005, 12:52 PM

The difference is that no one takes Fox News seriously enough to worry about the quality of their reporting. They ran several stories last year about groups supporting John Kerry. One of them was "Communists for Kerry" and Fox News gleefully told how the group approved of Kerry's totalitarian plans for America. The group turned out to be a conservative hoax and Fox quietly retracted the story. No outcry. No rolling heads. No surprise. No one expects Fox to check their facts or try to honestly cover a story. That's only the responsibility of the reviled "mainstream press." Fox is EXPECTED to slant and twist the news to fit their bias.

(It's a British/Murdock thing. All their news outlets are either Labor or Tory.)

I'd much rather talk about how weak the Authority is...

BaronSamedi

08-18-2005, 01:22 PM

Originally posted by whippis
That is a good point. I haven't read that issue in a few months so I had forgotten that- apologoies. It is an important difference.
But then the core question still remains- can this person ever be redeemed by future acts now that they have "seen the light?"

Not to expose myself as an uber-geek or anything, but if Anakin Skywalker can be redeemed I suppose truly anyone can.
;)

And I re-read the first two Authority trades and it is truly remarkable the stories that can be told with those characters when handled properly.

Darth Tigris

08-18-2005, 01:34 PM

Originally posted by BaronSamedi
Not to expose myself as an uber-geek or anything, but if Anakin Skywalker can be redeemed I suppose truly anyone can.
;)

And I re-read the first two Authority trades and it is truly remarkable the stories that can be told with those characters when handled properly.

The book was never one for characterization. It was about widescreen action and did it better than anyone else by far. Each story arc was a big screen $200 million summer blockbuster. Of course, it got to the point were there was no way they could top themselves, so the shelf life of that concept is admittedly short. Still, I feel this story is a bit too long to capture that movie feel of the Ellis/Hitch and Millar/Abunchaartists runs. Its not bad comics, just not exactly the Authority in the way they work best.

whippis

08-18-2005, 01:48 PM

Originally posted by BaronSamedi
Not to expose myself as an uber-geek or anything, but if Anakin Skywalker can be redeemed I suppose truly anyone can.
;)

Who says he was redeemed? I'm not sure if in the karmic balance saving one guy (and your own son) makes up for all he did.

And to Tigris- Bru's version of Authority IS bad comics. Failed cleverness, worn out Cliches, draw out and aimless story, pointless character motives. Bad.

Some things are bad, really.

BaronSamedi

08-18-2005, 02:50 PM

Originally posted by fsguzek
The difference is that no one takes Fox News seriously enough to worry about the quality of their reporting. They ran several stories last year about groups supporting John Kerry. One of them was "Communists for Kerry" and Fox News gleefully told how the group approved of Kerry's totalitarian plans for America. The group turned out to be a conservative hoax and Fox quietly retracted the story. No outcry. No rolling heads. No surprise. No one expects Fox to check their facts or try to honestly cover a story. That's only the responsibility of the reviled "mainstream press." Fox is EXPECTED to slant and twist the news to fit their bias.

(It's a British/Murdock thing. All their news outlets are either Labor or Tory.)

Fox News ain't the only media outlet slanting things to appease the viewpoints of the people in charge. The LA Times was basically a daily endorsement for John Kerry (not that he needed it here in CA), so was the NY Times and The Miami Herald, and the Boston Globe, and The Chicago Tribune, etc. Also note, subscriptions are waaaaay down on all of these publications because people are tired of the constant spinning to suit the politics of the publishing conglomerate what spews this stuff that passes for news out there. Everyone slants the news. If you think that unbiased new reporting even exists anymore, I've got a bridge to sell you. It's a real peach of a deal too.

Dr. Slim

08-18-2005, 03:59 PM

Originally posted by BaronSamedi
Oh, and to the "Fox News! Fox News!" reactionary liberal who sniffs out right-wing conspiracies where there is only logic...etc.

Uh...there's nothing political about goofing on bad news or looking askance at purple prose on the good old comics board...although I would like to be able to smell the difference between reason and conspiracy...that would be a sweet power. Perhaps the new Doctor can do it. I bet reason smells like porkchops.

Anyway, I think the problem with this run is that all the ideas are pretty good, but for some reason they just aren't connecting on the page. It's probably a pacing problem. The island of old Jennies was nice. Aging Jenny Quantum was clever. The new Doctor isn't a terrible idea. The fighting is alright. The initial counter-revolution premise was sound. Whenever I describe this arc, I keep feeling as if I should like it...then I read some of it, and it's kinda blah.

Nguyen is an odd choice to be sure. His stuff always looks good, but it's a little too slouchy and ironic for a book like this. It's a slouchy and ironic book, but that might be part of what isn't working. Those Ellis issues weren't unironic, but he played things straight enough for the jokes and the guilty pleasure to stand side by side. Millar went far enough that whether he meant it or not (or how) was never too important. Eh, at least there's Kev.