If, sometime in a mythical future when humans can actually learn from their mistakes, Wildstorm’s set of mistakes with the Worldstorm and the other changes in their universe will rank as one of the stupidest sets of blunders committed by any comic-book producer. Wildstorm was once my favourite imprint; it is now an object of my pity and scorn. Having disposed, one after the other, of each of the books that offered something new – Wildcats 3.0, Stormwatch: TA, The Boys – Wildstorm started a relaunch, featuring new versions of classic characters – mainly classic in the sense that they were boring. Wildcats was only interesting when it became 3.0; Stormwatch was never interesting until Elils wiped the team out…and even then, it was just another superhero team.

The Authority, the bad boys of the Wildstorm Universe, were hotly tipped as the best of the up-and-coming new-series-that-just-happens-to-be-old books. The premise sounded very good – ‘welcome to the real world’ – and Grant Morrison is a safe pair of hands. Unfortunately…there has been too many delays in the various flagship products for any real interest to build up; the fact that the team itself made no appearance in Issue #1 – months ago – dented the book. A monthly release might have made it worthwhile; now…the title has given us an awesome cliff-hanger…and left us waiting a year for the next part. F*** this for a game of soldiers, I say; I’m not ashamed to admit that I read it in the comic book store first.

The idea is basically simple; the Authority has been tossed into a world without superheros, or indeed anything outside our own experience. In the last issue, salvage expert Kenny Kincard discovered a massive crashed spacecraft under the sea; now, the Authority are coming to grips with the real world. Some of the ways are amusing, such as Jack and the Doctor’s visit to a Forbidden Planet comic book shop; one wonders if they were berated for their late comics. Jack’s astonishment at seeing his life written down as a comic is countered by the Doctor’s gloom. The Doctor warns that they don’t belong in the real world…and they have to get out before ‘something terrible’ happens.

In the meantime, Ken has been brought onboard the Carrier, trying to come to grips with what the Authority actually are. He’s disturbed by Midnighter’s suggestion that the Authority should try to ‘fix’ the world they have entered – asking the standard question of how do they know they’re the good guys – and seems to be in a mild state of shock throughout most of the comic. Everything changes when a flying Apollo is shot down by the US Military…deep in Afghanistan. Uh-oh…

The artwork is actually very good, blending the mundane in with the supernatural. The carrier is very well drawn, along with New York and the undersea exploration team. The artist falls down a little with the depiction of the Doctor, who seems to have lost his Arabic appearance, and Jenny, who seems badly drawn. She’s also had a name change; a continuity slip or something else? Angie is drawn very – very – well, particularly when she’s deploying her multiples around, and Ken definitely comes across as life-sized.

Overall, despite a handful of continuity errors, it’s not a bad book.

Now, if they actually managed to keep it going, I might buy it.