The Authority: The Lost Year, Vol. 1

The Authority #9

by Grant Morrison, Keith Giffen, Gene Ha (Illustrator)

Best-selling writers Grant Morrison and Keith Giffen co-plot this extraordinary series filling in the gaps to explain where The Authority was just before the “World’s End” event that relaunched the WildStorm Universe, how they escaped from a horrifying alternate reality, and at what cost.

From Morrison’s first two issues revitalizing the team as WildStorm’s marquee heroes, Giffen took over chief writing duties with a story that saw the team’s interdimensional ship the Carrier power down and strand The Authority on an Earth in a reality they don’t recognize. Their powers barely work, and to add insult to injury, in this universe, they’re not only unknown to the population, they’re – horror of horrors – comic book characters. Will they make it back home? And if they do, will there be a home left to make it back to?

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book, Dc Comics, Fiction

168 pages, Paperback

First published June 29, 2010

About the author

Grant Morrison has been working with DC Comics for twenty five years, after beginning their American comics career with acclaimed runs on ANIMAL MAN and DOOM PATROL. Since then they have written such best-selling series as JLA, BATMAN and New X-Men, as well as such creator-owned works as THE INVISIBLES, SEAGUY, THE FILTH, WE3 and JOE THE BARBARIAN. In addition to expanding the DC Universe through titles ranging from the Eisner Award-winning SEVEN SOLDIERS and ALL-STAR SUPERMAN to the reality-shattering epic of FINAL CRISIS, they have also reinvented the worlds of the Dark Knight Detective in BATMAN AND ROBIN and BATMAN, INCORPORATED and the Man of Steel in The New 52 ACTION COMICS.

In their secret identity, Morrison is a "counterculture" spokesperson, a musician, an award-winning playwright and a chaos magician. They are also the author of the New York Times bestseller Supergods, a groundbreaking psycho-historic mapping of the superhero as a cultural organism. They divide their time between their homes in Los Angeles and Scotland.

Reviews

[Baba · Rating 3 out of 5]

What were The Authority doing before The Authority: World's End? Grant Morrison's work was cancelled and then resumed with added work by Keith Giffen, Morrison's work, he wrote all this volume is very superior to Giffen's which wrecks the next volume! 6 out of 12

2011 read; 2017 read

[Ivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok this was very pleasant surprise.I expected a total crap and what I got was solid The Authority story arc.

My paths crossed Morrison's only once and that was with Batman: Arkham Asylum - A Serious House on Serious Earth and that was only comic out 200+ on GR that I given 1 star so it's safe to say I had no expectations at all but I am determined to read Authority in order. This might not be the best if Authority but it was far from worst.After this I am temporarily removing Morrison from my " avoid like a plague" list.

[David Palazzolo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was looking forward to twelve issues of Grant Morrison goodness with him breaking down the team to its component parts and reassembling them, but he only wrote the first two chapters. I don’t know why he left in mid story—I think this was around the time he took up editing Heavy Metal and was exclusive to them but not sure. Also don’t know why Gene Ha didn’t stay on either, except that he might have been progressing too slow to keep with deadlines, but that is pure speculation on my part. Anyway Keith Giffen did a great job continuing with the series and artists Darick Robertson, Jonathan Wayshack, Brian Stelfreeze and Joel Gomez doing good work as well.

[Koen Claeys · Rating 1 out of 5]

Crap!

[Sam Quixote · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stranded on our world c.2010 without the power to make the jump back into the Bleed, The Authority set about trying to find a power source to jumpstart the Carrier. Not finding a baby universe they settle on one of the new characters' which presents them with a moral choice - kill a few to save many. After much debate they make it back to the Bleed only to have the Carrier attacked by Lovecraftian horrors intent on eating it. They jump from the Carrier into the nearest universe, a place where The Authority in their reality has fractured into pairs and each are vying for absolute power over the world. And the battle to liberate this world from a power mad Authority begins...

Grant Morrison and Keith Giffen have dreamt up an epic plot for this great collection of characters. Jumping from everyday situations into abstraction has always been Morrison's strength as a writer and his enormous imagination is a perfect fit for The Authority's stories. The events rack up but never become convoluted or difficult to follow. Morrison pens the first two issues and the Giffen takes over seamlessly for the remainder of the series. He finishes Book One on a tantalising finale with the Carrier at stake and a weakened Authority under attack.

The artwork is sensational throughout. Gene Ha's work is superb as always while Darick Robertson's pencils are always gorgeous. Brian Stelfreeze, Trevor Scott and Jonathan Wayshak do some great work here too. The Authority's vast plotlines of parallel universes and larger than life battles serve to bring out the best in these artists.

"Lost Year" is a brilliant saga well suited to a superb series. Highly recommended for fans of The Authority and superhero comics. Roll on Book Two!

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Carrier is being eaten by a parasite that exterminated the rest of its kind. Apollo is dead (in an alternate reality... or possibly the main one). Shen is pregnant with the alternate doc's baby??

I have to admit, there was a lot of what-the-hell-is-going-on happening in my brain during this read. I had trouble figuring out which doctor was my doctor and why Jenny Sparks sometimes had brown hair and sometimes blond. There were enough hints that I knew it would all eventually come together, but I do prefer a storyline that's a little closer to linear than what Morrison offered up this time.

Artwork - good, but not particularly noteworthy in my opinion. Didn't detract from the work, but rather allowed the story and characters to be front and center, which takes quite a bit of skill. Perhaps that sort of humble respect for the characters is noteworthy in and of itself; I've seen artists do some crazy things with my Authority superheroes.

Writing - good, again. I wasn't exactly blown away by the story or the writing, but it got the job done and kept me engaged. There were a few cultural references that made me laugh - along the lines of, "These aren't the droids you're looking for." Additionally, I enjoyed the emotion of the carrier's storyline; it was well-developed with a subtle sadness... Even though the carrier isn't exactly a character in the series, its steadfast protection of our heroes has made it a cornerstone piece of the world and I was much more in-tune with its plight than I thought I'd be.

All-in-all, definitely worth dishing out the $ for... a nice addition to the Authority saga.

[***Dave Hill · Rating 1 out of 5]

Grant Morrison on the Authority should have been amazing, but production / timing issues meant a six month spread for the first two chapters (issues) here, and then Morrison's notes were handed off to Keith Giffen (a capable writer, but not someone I'd pick for the assignment), and thing just sort of spiraled down through the remaining five issues collected here. Add in constantly shifting artists of various talent levels, and the book ends up being a disappointing mess, ending in what it feels like should have been another two or three issues of book distilled down into a monologue over five pages of art.

Sigh.

Not likely to reread, so it will make for a donation to the local library.

[Cale · Rating 2 out of 5]

This collection of the Authority just felt flat. Part of it is the story, which depowers them a bit, but the characters just didn't seem to be as sharp edged and dangerous as they usually are. And when you have multiple versions of the character, you would expect it to make them even more entertaining, but honestly these issues just felt really dull. That coupled with the collection not coming anywhere near to giving any sense of closure all add up to one of the more underwhelming outings for the team. It seemed that everything that make the characters intriguing was left out.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard to pin down if I like this or not. The overall story seemed a bit hurky-jerky, and the parade of artists that span the book were all interesting but hard to sustain a rhythm. I think I like the overall story but it was a bit depressing. Giffen writing Morrison's story concepts wasn't bad but it didn't feel like an authentic voice was behind it. More like it was a TV script than blockbuster Hollywood.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite the strong writing team, this volume feels mainly like a rehash of work done better by Warren Ellis. It's still enjoyable, just not great. Morrison's issues are also surprisingly weak. The volume only takes off at all when Giffen comes aboard.

(And it was sufficiently mediocre that I gave up before reading the second half; DC closing down the Wildstorm universe probably played into this decision too, as it all no longer had a purpsoe.)

[Timo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bit of a so-so collection. The further the story went, more and more tedious it got. Same with art. Start beautiful, got afwul.

[SA · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Authority go hurtling through parallel universes and encountering different versions of themselves, posing some hard questions about their methods and their choices. Good read.

[Daniel Etherington · Rating 1 out of 5]

The combination of the notoriously problematic production along with some terrible art make this perhaps the shoddiest Authority run. What a shame.

[Erik · Rating 2 out of 5]

I knew nothing about The Authority before this and only read it because of Morrison's name. It doesn't give any sense of who the characters are for new readers, and that, coupled with a story entirely built around alternate versions of those characters and wildly inconsistent, often poor art, meant I never cared at all about anything that was happening.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

World Storm was such a missed opportunity. Wildstorm had written itself into a corner of the escalation after Warren Ellis and Mark Millar Authority runs, then cancelled Azzarellos run and scaled back ambitions with Brubakers "Revolution" run.

Robbie Morrison's and the rest were kind of forgettable.

Grants Wildcats run seemed like a synthesis of Wildcats 3.0 with the authority. As such, he needed a reason for the Authority to be out of the picture for,the run---hence this story.

Giffen writs a competent story but it doesn't reach the height of previous volumes. It's basically the Authority vs. other version of the Authority across the Multiverse.

[Jamil · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5
The authority grants continuous excellence

[Serene · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt the story was inconsistent. Characters looked different depending on who was doing the pencils. No one drew Jenny right, as she looked much older than 10 throughout, and sometimes looked audlt. I did hope to see Apollo/Midnighter do a bit of parenting as Jenny was very free range, and the smoking got on my nerves. I realize that was the same habit Sparks had, but it got old for me. She is supposed to embody the spirit of the 21rst century and not many kids these days are smoking like chimneys.

Apollo looks ugly throughout the story, and either was portayed as an imbecile or just a real second stringer. Only towards the end did I feel anything got really resolved.

[Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Huh. I really expected to not like this. Grant Morrison and I rarely connect. It always feels to me like he's trying just a little too hard. I guess when he's using characters that are basically just assholes with an agenda he's a little more fun.