Blogathon 18: The Eternal Return Part Four

[Concluding my discussion of The Authority: Revolution.]

By the end of Revolution, the Authority looks remarkably similar to the Authority we saw in the first issue back in 1999 by Warren Ellis, Bryan Hitch, Paul Neary, and Laura Depuy. Then: Jenny Sparks, Apollo, Midnighter, the Engineer, the Doctor, Swift, and Jack Hawksmoor. Now: Jenny Quantum, Apollo, Midnighter, the Engineer, the new Doctor, Swift, and Jack Hawksmoor with the new version of Rose Tattoo possibly (was she ever seen again?). Within that, Brubaker took some of the unique elements of the title and made them more watered down. The Doctors exist in a continuum of Doctors, going to the Garden when they're dead. That was established right away. Here, Brubaker creates an equivalent for the 'Jennys.' Granted, it seems to come into existence because Jenny Quantum wills it to do so, it also features a lot of groan-inducing bits with past 'Jennys.' Now, you'll note that Jenny Sparks was not named Jenny Nuclear or Jenny A-Bomb. So, we get such wonderful names like Jenny Inquisition and Jenny Steam. Hell, the only reason Jenny Quantum is named Jenny at all is because of Jenny Sparks. It's just... unfortunate.

What bothers me is the idea of a continuum of Century Babies like that. Does that mean there are also past versions of Elijah Snow? Doc Brass? It simply leads down a path where it's not but generation after generation of the same shit. It's the sort of thinking that leads to 27 Lantern Corps. It strikes me as incredibly lazy. I know, I know, Alan Moore started shit like this or something like that, but it needs to end at some point. It doesn't serve any useful purpose other than to have an easy out in the future when you need a whole lot of the same person.

The aging of Jenny Quantum is another convenient move to have her fill a set role. The Authority needs its Jenny after all...

My train of thought is falling apart a bit. Basically, where the first half of this series destroys anything I liked about this comic, the second half does everything it can to rebuild it as something I once liked. But, I liked it the first time. Why would I like a retread? What's the appeal of that? Where characters like Iron Man exist in universes that deny change, the Authority came out of a change: they were the third step in a grand narration that took a third-tier Image book that no one read and turned into a comic book that literally changed how other people made comics by the time Warren Ellis was done with it. The idea of it having an 'eternal return' to its 'status quo' seems counter to its very nature.

"Change or die," I believe the saying is. And this book fucking died. Grant Morrison couldn't save it. Endless reboots of the Wildstorm universe couldn't save it. Now, it returns as Stormwatch next month and we'll see how that one works.

In 30 minutes, I'll begin my random thoughts on event books and other trends of the past decade in superhero comics.

[Don't forget to donate what you can to the Hero Initiative! (Details in this post.) After you do, let me know via comment or e-mail (found at the righthand side) so I can keep track of donations -- and who to thank.]

Blogathon 17: The Eternal Return Part Three

[Continuing my discussion of The Authority: Revolution.]

Henry Bendix was the Weatherman in the first volume of Stormwatch. That's the name of the leader, by the way. He was almost killed at the end when he revealed himself to be a control freak that was working actively against the group of superhumans trying to change the world. He wanted to change the world, too, but wanted it on his terms. Now, I never quite saw him as a proper villain as a result. He had a different view and went a bit too far, but it was mostly about two sides in a conflict with such different views of what was 'right' that, of course, they're going to be at odds. It was a political argument through superhero fights. Are Conservatives evil? Well...

Anyway...

Bendix was thought dead, his brain and body electrocuted by Jenny Sparks at the end of Stormwatch volume two. Since that point, a past version of the character was used in The Monarchy, basically acting as a justification for Bendix's heel turn where that was part of evolving, freeing himself up to work behind the scenes. Death is the first step and all of that.

Well, nope, because he's back and that other Bendix was just an alternate reality version. They exchanged places years back, because... uh... and the Carrier was the property of that Bendix. That's why it's been anchored to Earth. It's been waiting for him to come back. Worse, he's gone from 'different views, questionable methods' to 'takes pleasure in being evil.' The only real callback to the idea that he has humanity's best interests at heart despite misguided views is a rant he delivers as the Authority begins to regroup about how he's used capitalism to effect positive change. Tell companies to do something and they'll hate you; make it profitable for them to do something and they'll jump at the chance. Otherwise, it's mustache-twisting old school villainy from a character that was never that sort of villain.

The plan he employs to get rid of the Authority is a clever one: convince the Midnighter that the group must break up or he will eventually become a mad dictator, and, at the same time, engineer a revolution against the group, building up to a nuclear explosion that destroys Washington DC. From there, the group is done and Bendix is clear to control things from behind the scenes. It's accomplished in a pretty standard arc: the first half of the series is the fall of the group, the second half is the rebuilding.

In 30 minutes, I'll discuss further cliches employed in the book.

[Don't forget to donate what you can to the Hero Initiative! (Details in this post.) After you do, let me know via comment or e-mail (found at the righthand side) so I can keep track of donations -- and who to thank.]

Blogathon 16: The Eternal Return Part Two

[Continuing my discussion of The Authority: Revolution.]

The descent in typical superhero comics fare has also struck a nerve with me. But, that's the point of "The Eternal Return." Like Iron Man: The Inevitable, this is about how far you can push a superhero concept before it must return to that eternal inevitable (god, I'm lame). I really like The Inevitable and don't like Revolution. Part of that is down to execution. Joe Casey makes it clear right away what his story is about. He actually avoids a lot of the stuff from Ellis's run, only showing a small bit of the Extremis's potential. Most of the time, it's like reading your average Iron Man comic. Revolution begins with a situation unlike most superhero comics: the Authority are in charge of America. Jack Hawksmoor is president and they are trying to make the current system work despite basically being dictators. Now, to me, the conflict of trying to keep the current system of government in the US and the desire to simply impose your will is a damn interesting one. But, that's not what this comic is about.

It's absolutely unfair for me to impose my wishes and desires on this comic. I recognise its goals and, yet, penalise it for not having the goals I want. It was always designed to be a book that takes the Authority in charge concept, get rid of it, and return the team to its original form more or less, except with the knowledge that simply taking over a government doesn't work for them. It's almost like Wildstorm decided to push the Authority to that logical conclusion everyone saw, show that it doesn't work, and return the team to a safe territory because that's what does work. Then again, can anyone say that the book worked post-Millar? (Hell, can anyone really say the book worked post-issue 22?) Because of the desire to keep characters going for ever and ever, The Authority could never become a book that reaches its natural conclusion and stays there. The endpoint is them as dictators that make the world better. Succeeding where the High and his group failed in "Change or Die." That's the end of the book: utopia through benevolent superhuman dictatorship.

But, that's a concept that doesn't encourage ongoing serialised narratives nor fit with our political and philosphic ideas of what's 'right.' We're meant to read this comic and see that the Authority taking over the United States is just wrong. Never mind a corrupt system or how they could make the country better -- it's taking away freedom and, therefore, it's wrong. I can't entirely argue against that. Personally, I find it more interesting. And given my personal views on the state of the world and the United States in particular, I don't really disagree with a bunch of 'pinko liberal commies' taking over and remaking the country in that image.

So, the comic, because the publisher and genre conventions demand it, had to be a reversion to what came before. If that was the goal, did it accomplish that goal well? I don't really think so, but that's only because it did it by using another overused genre convention: the return of a dead bad guy.

In 30 minutes, I'll discuss the return of Henry Bendix.

[Don't forget to donate what you can to the Hero Initiative! (Details in this post.) After you do, let me know via comment or e-mail (found at the righthand side) so I can keep track of donations -- and who to thank.]

Blogathon 15: The Eternal Return Part One

[Beginning my discussion of The Authority: Revolution.]

Despite the comic being called The Authority: Revolution, the actual title of the story told here is "The Eternal Return." This is a comic that I didn't really like when it first came out nor any of the times I've reread it. I don't hate it either, I just don't think it's particularly strong. Part of the problem stems from my view on comics and what I wanted from this comic don't match up with what the comic is. To explain that properly, you'll need a little history of The Authority...

The Authority began as spin-off (I'd call it continuation) of Stormwatch vol. 2, which was a continuation of Stormwatch vol. 1. Written by Warren Ellis, there was a progression from one series to the next. In the first volume of Stormwatch, the United Nations superhero team confronted a changing world, one that didn't respond to old-style superheroics. Overtly political and challenging, it concluded with the outstanding three-part "Change or Die" where they confronted a group of superhumans set on changing the world through radical means. Ostensibly another group of heroes (complete with analogies for Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern...) it brought to a head the question of what it means to be a superhero in the late 20th century. Volume two shifted things as the team was restructured and continued to have problems adapting to the different demands, including a story "Bleed" where they were faced with the problem: is it right to interfere with the events in an alternate timeline? The team was ultimately killed off mostly, Stormwatch was discontinued, and things looked hopeless.

The Authority, led by Jenny Sparks, rose out of the ashes of Stormwatch and acted as the world's protectors, unafraid to get their hands dirty. They slaughtered villains, killed an entire country on an alternate Earth, and even killed God. After Ellis left, Mark Millar took over and took the book in a slightly different direction as the group began to deal with problems on Earth more directly. Things like dictators and the Powers That Be. At times, those PTB struck back, ending with a very Grant Morrison-esque ending where the Authority made humanity solve a universe-threatening problem that it created without their help. They did.

After that, I lost track of the book a little. All I know is that, eventually, something happened and in a story called Coup D'Etat, the Authority took over the United States of America. They ousted the current president and put themselves in charge. That's where Revolution picks up.

What bothered me about this title was that it never seemed to really explore the idea of what the Authority in charge would entail, how they could actively change the country. Some lip service is paid in the opening issues, but even that's distracted by an enemy to fight. In the end, it becomes another typical superhero comic. Not quite the 'revolution' of the series's title, it's definitely 'the eternal return' of the story's title. And that's where the conflict lies, prompting the questions:

What do you do with a comic that's goals are ones you are opposed to? And is it fair to judge it on your expectations/standards?

In 30 minutes, I'll try to answer those questions.

[Don't forget to donate what you can to the Hero Initiative! (Details in this post.) After you do, let me know via comment or e-mail (found at the righthand side) so I can keep track of donations -- and who to thank.]