The Authority:What the heck?

[Evil Toki]

Re: The Authority:What the heck?

 

Authority will be mine oh soon it sounds so kick ass... and no this is not sarcasm...

[Guest bblackmoor]

Re: The Authority:What the heck?

 

The description of this starship has more or less removed any chance that I will ever read Authority.

 

I wonder if anyone felt the same way about X-Men after hearing about Cerebro?

[Chuckg]

Re: The Authority:What the heck?

 

You can't put the entire population of Africa inside of Cerebro, either. Nor can you pull nigh-infinite wealth and material resources out of it like it was a city-sized Horn Of Plenty, either.

[Evil Toki]

Re: The Authority:What the heck?

 

You can't put the entire population of Africa inside of Cerebro' date=' either. Nor can you pull nigh-infinite wealth and material resources out of it like it was a city-sized Horn Of Plenty, either.[/quote']

Who cares it is a comic...

 

You people hate it or love it but either way I think Millar and Ellis set out to do what they intended make Authority famous or infamous...

[nexus]

Re: The Authority:What the heck?

 

I wonder if anyone felt the same way about X-Men after hearing about Cerebro?

 

I would imagine a few did. What's you point? People aren't allowed to have different tastes or like smaller scales than you?

[freakboy6117]

Re: The Authority:What the heck?

 

i thought THIS would be of intreast to those wondering about the response to the authority's coup

[Chuckg]

Re: The Authority:What the heck?

 

> Who cares it is a comic...

 

OK, let me yet again re-iterate why I hate this phrase.

 

It's because "it is a comic" is another way of pronouncing "it is only a comic"

 

As if comics were some inherently lesser form of literature, that *have* to settle for lame schlocky plot because they can never, ever, ever hope to be anything *good*.

 

I do not agree with this philosophy or any philosophy remotely akin to it. I do not believe that comics must forever be second-class citizens in the realm of storytelling. To steal an election year phrase, I will not surrender to the soft bigotry of low expectations.

 

To quote from David R. Henry's legendary Usenet review of X-MEN UNLIMITED #4

 

That may seem like a strange thing to say in a X-Man newsgroup. Because,

yeah, I know -- this isn't Cerebus. This isn't Grendel. This isn't some

high-falutin' alternative rant on the power structure of the dispossessed.

It's a superhero comic, dealing with bad guys with silly names parading

around in capes and being beat senseless by strong-jawed good guys. Okay,

fine, I accept that. When I read a X-Man comic, even though I know it could

be more, I know the current target ideal for Marvel isn't the high standards

of Sandman, or From Hell, or what have you. It's to provide a little bit

of social commentary disguised as a rousing conflict between Evil and Good.

Fine. Accepted.

 

With all of that, nothing of the above automatically disqualifies any of

these minor, inconvenient plot points:

 

--Believeable characterization

 

--Lucid plots

 

--Intelligent villains played intelligently (dumb ones should be dumb,

of course, but just perhaps we should be able to tell the

difference, right?)

 

--Good storytelling.

 

There. All I ask for from any story, be it a campfire ghostly-ghoulie,

a comic book, a movie, or what have you. Those four things. Actually, just

the last thing. The others are the candy that shapes the cake, if you

will. The force behind the hammer. The columns under the roof. And so on.

[Evil Toki]

Re: The Authority:What the heck?

 

> Who cares it is a comic...

 

OK, let me yet again re-iterate why I hate this phrase.

 

It's because "it is a comic" is another way of pronouncing "it is only a comic"

 

As if comics were some inherently lesser form of literature, that *have* to settle for lame schlocky plot because they can never, ever, ever hope to be anything *good*.

 

I do not agree with this philosophy or any philosophy remotely akin to it. I do not believe that comics must forever be second-class citizens in the realm of storytelling. To steal an election year phrase, I will not surrender to the soft bigotry of low expectations.

 

It is only a comic, but I love comics, I love the medium, especially the artwork. What I mean by it is only, or just a comic is that, there are some strong feelings here like this comic has insulted your momma, or Millar came and pissed in your yard. The venom thrown around is a little disconcerting but being the internet I am used to it, fans of all strips have their likes and dislikes and I agree with that.

 

But it is only a comic.

 

Just like Dune is only a book.

 

Just like Aliens is only a movie.

 

I don’t take any medium seriously, it is entertainment, and it is nice source material for a game, I except it for what it is. I enjoy it, abut I understand it isn’t perfect, but it is entertaining. Nit-picking the space craft is just, I don’t know tedious. My thing, if it is cool roll with it.

 

The ship to me sounds cool; I think for a hardcore over the top uber team it just the kind of ride to keep things interesting. It just sounds cool to me, and I was not raised on the Silver Age, so the Iron Age, Steel Age… Dark Black gut them Age is all I have and I love it.

 

So yes it is just a comic, but so what, I like comics. I just know anything I enjoy it is just that, a form of enjoyment, and a hobby I like to enjoy. I guess I don’t look to deep because I view everything I read as potential source material for my gaming.

[Mutant for Hire]

Re: The Authority:What the heck?

 

I wonder if anyone felt the same way about X-Men after hearing about Cerebro?

 

Last I followed the comic, I thought it was just a long range mutant detector (admittedly a deus ex machina for putting together new teams). What have I missed?

[Chuckg]

Re: The Authority:What the heck?

 

[snip]

> I don’t take any medium seriously, [snip]

 

Then why are you talking to *us*?

[nexus]

Re: The Authority:What the heck?

 

i thought THIS would be of intreast to those wondering about the response to the authority's coup

 

 

Cool. That might be interesting, even though given the books history it'll be a "Well, they were right all along" thing.

[Chuckg]

Re: The Authority:What the heck?

 

Yeah. Brubaker isn't likely to go making the Second American Revolution a bad thing /on his own initiative/...

 

... but do you really think that Wildstorm editorial direction will demand anything /else/? It's the Authority's comic, after all.

 

And somehow, creating an AUTHORITY comic that openly admits "OK, we're all psychopathic scum, we all suck, and we should all have Majestic rip out our eyes and skull-f**k us to death." is not something I think Wildstorm editorial is going to do any time soon.

[Evil Toki]

Re: The Authority:What the heck?

 

[snip]

> I don’t take any medium seriously, [snip]

 

Then why are you talking to *us*?

I don't think I need to justify why I am talking to anyone

[Guest bblackmoor]

Re: The Authority:What the heck?

 

And somehow' date=' creating an AUTHORITY comic that openly admits "OK, we're all psychopathic scum, we all suck, and we should all have Majestic rip out our eyes and skull-f**k us to death."...[/quote']

 

Oh, for pete's sake. Is there a point to this? Dude, if you don't like it, don't read it.

[Chuckg]

Re: The Authority:What the heck?

 

If you're going to repeat your posts from other threads, then I guess I can as well:

 

Oh, and restricting the right to comment about something only to those people who like it *won't* give a slanted impression?

 

 

Personally attacking the critic and uttering any variation of "If you don't like it, then stop talking about it" should both be regarded as Official Internet Signs Of Admitting That You Have No Other Possible Defense.

[Tom McCarthy]

Re: The Authority:What the heck?

 

I thought Ellis's Stormwatch run was an interesting way to look at costumed heroes and the limitations and compromises of the concept in a world of backroom politics, backwards treaties, and authority figures more interested in the sovereignty of their domain than in protecting their citizens. I didn't agree with all the themes or conclusions, but it was thought provoking and different. And the costumed heroes strove to do the right thing, the things they saw as black and white, while answering to the Weatherman who was all shades of gray in a world mired in shades of gray.

 

Ellis's 12 issue run on the Authority was just what he set out to make it. High octane excitement in issue 1 and the stakes just keep getting bigger and bigger until issue 12, when he figured he couldn't top himself and walked away (a good move, reminiscent of Alan Moore leaving Miracleman).

 

Millar's run was a jarring change of pace. Quitely's art took some getting used to, Millar's prose took some getting used to. And quite frankly, I finished many of the issues with the same feeling Millar frequently leaves me with: "Some good ideas, but it missed the mark and didn't quite gel."

 

The 'interlude' was just painful. Millar and Quitely can't even keep up with a 'not expected to be monthly' monthly ? Aargh.

 

And then Robbie Morrison. The art's passable fare, but I just keep feeling like the point is getting missed again and again and again. And yet Morrison's the only one to really break the mold. He made the Authority compromise and accept the lesser of two evils on occasion. A team who saw the world in black and white were not only mired in politics, but they began to see the world in shades of gray. The individual issues and stories weren't doing it for me, but I found the themes to be more challenging and potentially thought provoking (I say potentially, since I don't see the world in black and white and didn't need that wakeup call).

 

Obligatory inflammatory sidebar: For all his faults, Micah Wright managed to tell better stories in Stormwatch: Team Achilles than anyone since Ellis has done with the Authority. I feel sorry for GoO licensing Authority when it was past its peak and publishing the RPG when the book is near or at its lowest popularity.

[Chuckg]

Re: The Authority:What the heck?

 

I don't think I need to justify why I am talking to anyone

 

Justify? No.

 

Explain? It might help.

 

I can't understand somebody who says 'oh, no, I don't take this seriously' -- and then proceeds to spend his valuable time debating me on something that I *am* taking seriously. Dude, if you ain't serious, then go pop in a DVD or get a beer or sniff some roses or do something that you *enjoy*, rather than hang around debating with cranky serious fans, all right?

 

... of course, if you *enjoy* sticking around in threads to disrupt the proceedings when other people are trying to be serious and you couldn't give a damn... well, there's a word for that, too.

[freakboy6117]

Re: The Authority:What the heck?

 

its definatly a shame about team achilles it shoudl have done so much better it feels like it didn't get promoted enough im so glad i discovered it at issue 1 michah wright is an excellent writer and I hope he gets a bigger book next so he can show what he can really do. theres just something wrong when a book like authority which was just appaling for most of last year tyo be doing well while something as creatively and well written and with as good art as stormwatch is languishing with lousy figures.

[Guest bblackmoor]

Re: The Authority:What the heck?

 

...while something as creatively and well written and with as good art as stormwatch is languishing with lousy figures.

 

I only read a couple of issues of Stormwatch, so maybe I did not have a representative sample, but I thought what I did read was pretty dull. As I recall, the issues I read revolved around the team killing some raving bald guy who wanted to take over the world. It wasn't horrible, but I don't recall it being anything special.

 

On the other hand, I think "Stormwatch" is one of the coolest superhero team names ever.

[freakboy6117]

Re: The Authority:What the heck?

 

Oh the raving bad guy was brilliant Citizen Soldier the immortal fighting spirit of America fought in every war America ever had.

 

Imagine captain America gone rogue all that tactical genius turned to rescuing the united states from the corrupt power brokers that had taken it over. For once a villain with a plan that actually worked most of the preliminary stages worked out storm watch stopped him from finishing but it was close.

Micah Ian Wright has all the scripts for the comic on his website you should check them out see what I mean about the writing.

[Guest bblackmoor]

Re: The Authority:What the heck?

 

Micah Ian Wright has all the scripts for the comic on his website you should check them out see what I mean about the writing.

 

Thanks, I will.

[RDU Neil]

Re: The Authority:What the heck?

 

Obligatory inflammatory sidebar: For all his faults, Micah Wright managed to tell better stories in Stormwatch: Team Achilles than anyone since Ellis has done with the Authority. I feel sorry for GoO licensing Authority when it was past its peak and publishing the RPG when the book is near or at its lowest popularity.

 

Nothing inflamatory there... I agree with your whole post, and said something similar (not as eloquently) as you did a few pages back in this thread. Ellis tried to create something that pushed the envelope in what was possible... seeing what superhumans might have to do in ultimately extreme situations. (Example, the sinking/ripping out of Alt-Earth Italy... that was war. The Earth had been at war with that Alt-Earth since something like the '30s, and this was only the latest in their attacks on the planet. While my personal distaste was for the ludicrousness of powerlevel given to the Doctor, I saw the actual action as the superhero equivalent of nuking Hiroshima. Extreme, controversial, killed millions of civilians, but essentially ended the war.) Millar came along and literally pissed all over this creation. The lack of strong editorial control at Wildstorm is clearly an issue. Putting Brubaker on the title is a step in the right direction... but while not as angry as ChuckG seems to be, I don't know if anything can be done to salvage a positive side to the inconsistently, badly written Authority that Millar and then Robbie Morrison created.

 

I actually liked Stormwatch, until recently, when it kind of lost it's way after the Coup D'etat storyline. Has that book ended? It just kind of stopped, as far as I can tell.

[Chuckg]

Re: The Authority:What the heck?

 

re: 'nuking Hiroshima'

 

If we had had a magic bomb available in 1945 that would have killed only Japanese Army combatants and let the civilians survive unscathed... *and*, right next to it, we had a perfectly ordinary nuclear bomb...

 

... would choosing to *still* drop bomb #2, as opposed to Magic Bomb #1, still be as justifiable as dropping the ordinary bomb was in our real-world history?

 

The two words that come to mind upon my hearing this question are "Hell" and "No".

[Tom McCarthy]

Re: The Authority:What the heck?

 

Stormwatch: Team Achilles, like most of the Wildstorm Universe lineup, was suffering from low sales at the time of Coup D'Etat. By one account (and that means take it with a grain of salt), the author handed in the script for issue 24 and was told 24 would be the last issue. Did he want to rewrite it a bit for some closure ? He said yes, and took it back with a new deadline.

 

Right about then it was revealed that he had lied in his resume/CV by claiming military experience (Army Rangers, IIRC) when he had none; he claims it was a spontaneous decision to stifle criticism and death threats directed at his anti-war books outside comics. All his future work was immediately dropped by various publishers (comic and book).

 

When he returned the script for the now final issue of Stormwatch, DC was in a position of having to resolicit due to the delay and chose not to. There was a hint (completely unsubstantiated) that the author went unpaid for issue 24, having missed the original deadline. No real details or evidence to back that up.

[Chuckg]

Micah Wright: What the heck?

 

For those who are morbidly curious, don't mind reading weblogs written by Michele Catalano (founder of the blogs "A Small Victory" and "Command Post"), and are willing to wade through a bit of heated rhetoric to get to the nice meaty fact nuggets, here's A Small Victory's archive of 'Micah Wright Is A Liar' posts.

 

Complete with source URLs, research, attributions, and lots and lots of analysis. And nice juicy ranting.

 

Oldest is on the bottom.

 

 

Addendum -- my own personal opinion on those who do "Stolen Valor" type lying about having been in the military, having been in special ops, having been etc, etc, when they actually haven't been -- is that such activities are beyond contemptible, are utterly wrong, and deserving of only the very finest loathing.