 The Authority began as Stormwatch, a comic book published
by Wildstorm Studios under the banner of Image Comics. It was a lackluster title that sold
mostly because of the wider high volume of comics sales and its assocation with the then-novel
Image Comics. That is, until
Warren Ellis
took over the title. Ellis, then nearly unknown, introduced new characters, escalated the
violence, offered more characterization, and introduced a political element. But the declining
comics industry as a whole, as well as the negative association that the earlier
Stormwatch issues had brought to the title, conspired to bring down the title. Ellis
concluded with a spectacular three-issue storyline, "Change or Die," that offered the view of
one of Ellis's original characters -- that of Jenny Sparks, spirit of the tumultous 20th
Century -- that super-heroes perpetuated the status quo, beating insane villains in tights and
restoring the order that benefited the powers-that-be, while never using their powers to
challenge those powers and their injustices.
Stormwatch was relaunched in a second series that hoped a new #1
issue would increase sales. The new series was a bit more political and introduced new
characters -- as well as the artistic team of Bryan Hitch and Paul Neary. But its sales also
lagged. Ellis took the opportunity that his writing of WildC.A.T.s / Aliens provided
and killed off most of Stormwatch in an inter-company crossover that focused, on the Wildstorm
side, on a team other than Stormwatch! After a final issue that followed this crossover,
Stormwatch was dead.
But Ellis couldn't get a few of its characters, including Jenny Sparks,
out of his mind. Together with Hitch and Neary, he put together The Authority, a
successor to Stormwatch that would feature four-issue storylines filled with widescreen
violence, the foes increasing storyline by storyline. The new series was a hit. Ellis, unable
to trump the foe of his third storyline -- in which the Authority fought Ellis's version of
God -- planned to leave the book, accompanied by the artistic team, with issue #12.
Ellis's chosen successor, the then-almost-unknown writer
Mark Millar and
the then-almost-unknown illustrator Frank Quitely, planned a second year that would begin
where all other super-team books left off, putting into practice Jenny Sparks' desire to make
a better world and not simply reinforce the status quo and the powers-that-be. Thus Millar's
run began with the Authority overthrowing a government known for killing dissidents and
starving its own people. The Authority even verbally put President Clinton in his place. In
response, government officials and the 2000 Presidential candidates condemned the team, which
had become overnight celebrities. As the Doctor said while pouring a libation on Jenny
Sparks's grave, the Authority had taken that brave step towards making a better world "and they
love us for it." But the repercussions of this step would be seen in Millar's final storyline,
"New World Order," which saw the G7 economies strike back at the Authority that had seemingly
overthrown their hedgemony.
Then Frank Quitely quit, Arthur Adams was selected as his replacement,
and a four-issue fill-in storyline was scheduled to give Adams time to complete his other
projects and get up to speed on The Authority. Then came the 11 September attacks on
the U.S. and the oversensitive attitude they created, combined with editorial concern over the
content of Millar's Authority. Then came the long-delayed second chapter of Millar's
final storyline and the controversy surrounding its censorship. Adams left the project after
two issues, and another artist was brought in to do the last issue of Millar's run -- and the
last of the title.
A couple months later, with The Authority in limbo, a new Stormwatch
series was launched, this one subtitled Team Achilles. Featuring military characters
without super-powers, dealing with a world of super-powered people who presented problems not
only to the governments of the world but to justice, this new book retained in its conception
much of the innovation and the implications of The Authority, while examining those
issues from an alltogether different perspective. During this time, The Authority
reappeared in two one-shots, as well as in the Stormwatch: Team Achilles title.
The following eras are available:
Following these eras is a list of other sites of interest.
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