Out of the ashes of Ellis's Stormwatch came The Authority - a group of superheroes who take a zero tolerance approach with any threats that come their way.
They police The Bleed, the space between space, in their colossal sentient ship - The Carrier. The Authority goes up against foes that threaten our universe, parallel universes, and existence itself.
They police The Bleed, the space between space, in their colossal sentient ship - The Carrier. The Authority goes up against foes that threaten our universe, parallel universes, and existence itself.
On the creation of the series, Ellis noted:
"One of the reasons I turned their STORMWATCH into THE AUTHORITY is that I found out that, despite the fact that no-one was buying STORMWATCH, they kept it going because they liked reading it in the [WildStorm] office and wanted to keep me employed. And I felt so bloody awful about that, and at the same time had been so struck by Bryan Hitch’s STORMWATCH issues, that the train of thought that led to THE AUTHORITY began."
Vol. 1
The Authority (Vol. 1) ran for 29 issues, from 1999 to 2002.
Collected editions (Vol. 1):
Trade Paperback
Absolute Edition
Trade Paperback
- #1-8: Relentless;
- #9-16: Under New Management;
- #17-20: Earth Inferno and Other Stories;
- #21 & The Monarchy #01-04: The Monarchy: Bullets Over Babylon;
- #22-29: Transfer of Power.
- #1-12: Volume 1;
- #13-29: Volume 2.
Absolute Edition
- Vol. 1 (#1-12);
- Vol. 2 (#13-20, 22, and 27-29).
Vol. 2
The Authority (Vol. 2) ran for 14 issues plus a #0 (cover dated October 2003), from 2003 to 2004.
Collected editions (Vol. 2):
- #0-5: Harsh Realities;
- #6-14: Fractured Worlds.
Revolution (mini-series)
The Authority: Revolution is a 12-issue mini-series (2004-2005) by Ed Brubaker, Dustin Nguyen and Richard Friend.
Collected editions:
- #1-6: Revolution, Book 1;
- #7-12: Revolution, Book 2.
Vol. 3
In February 2006, it was announced that Grant Morrison would write The Authority, Volume 3 with art by Gene Ha.
The first issue was released in December 2006; The second issue came out five months later. In September 2007, Gene Ha was quoted at Newsarama as saying that he did not believe his run with Morrison would continue. "...I don't think The Authority #3 by Grant Morrison and Gene Ha is ever coming out. Grant is busy redesigning the DC Universe and I've moved onto new projects. Most importantly, it seems that editor Scott Dunbier has been forced out of Wildstorm. There is no #3 script, there may never be a #3 script."
Scott Peterson announced at Wondercon 2008 that he had talked to Morrison two weeks earlier about The Authority, and there was "very serious progress" and it would start shipping again toward the end of the year. When asked to comment upon his inability to complete further issues of The Authority, Morrison has said that '"Authority was just a disaster." He said that they were doing it and running late when 52 started, but when he saw the reviews to the first issue, "I said fuck it."
The first issue was released in December 2006; The second issue came out five months later. In September 2007, Gene Ha was quoted at Newsarama as saying that he did not believe his run with Morrison would continue. "...I don't think The Authority #3 by Grant Morrison and Gene Ha is ever coming out. Grant is busy redesigning the DC Universe and I've moved onto new projects. Most importantly, it seems that editor Scott Dunbier has been forced out of Wildstorm. There is no #3 script, there may never be a #3 script."
Scott Peterson announced at Wondercon 2008 that he had talked to Morrison two weeks earlier about The Authority, and there was "very serious progress" and it would start shipping again toward the end of the year. When asked to comment upon his inability to complete further issues of The Authority, Morrison has said that '"Authority was just a disaster." He said that they were doing it and running late when 52 started, but when he saw the reviews to the first issue, "I said fuck it."
This series was later continued under the volume titled The Authority: The Lost Year.
The two issues by Morrison/Ha were also collected in a single issue to catch new reader's up;
The two issues by Morrison/Ha were also collected in a single issue to catch new reader's up;
- The Authority: The Lost Year Reader.
The Authority: The Lost Year
The Authority: The Lost Year is a 2010 continuation of the title begun by Grant Morrison and Gene Ha in 2006, which was reprinted (in The Lost Year Reader) a week before this series was launched.
Keith Giffen took over writing chores based on Morrison's notes and was accompanied by several different artists for the 12-issue series.
Collected editions:
Keith Giffen took over writing chores based on Morrison's notes and was accompanied by several different artists for the 12-issue series.
Collected editions:
- The Authority: The Lost Year - Book 1 (Collects: The Authority #1-2 by Morrison/Ha + The Authority: The Lost Year #3-7 by Giffen);
- The Authority: The Lost Year - Book 2 (Collects: The Authority: The Lost Year #8-12).
The Authority: Prime
In July 2007, it was announced that Christos Gage and Darick Robertson would do a mini-series due to the scheduling problems with the Morrison/Ha run on the title, resulting in this six-issue mini-series (2007-2008) entitled The Authority: Prime.
Collected edition:
Collected edition:
- The Authority: Prime (#1-6).
Vol. 4
In May 2008, The Authority was relaunched in the wake of the "World's End"; a 2008-2009 comic book crossover storyline published by Wildstorm and taking place in the Wildstorm Universe. The event takes place in the issues of all of Wildstorm's Wildstorm Universe ongoing series.
This volume ran for 29 issues, from 2008 to 2011.
Collected editions (Vol. 4):
This volume ran for 29 issues, from 2008 to 2011.
Collected editions (Vol. 4):
- #1-7: World's End;
- #8-16: Rule Britannia.