Product Description

Before the Authority...Meet Stormwatch, humanity's government-sanctioned super-team, its members keeping a brooding vigil from on high. But for this team, the end is nigh, the seeds of destruction sown, and from the ashes will rise The Authority. Join us now as Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch (acclaimed creators of The Authority) chart the final days of Stormwatch and the beginnings of a higher authority. Guest-starring Apollo, Midnighter and Jack Hawkesmoore (from The Authority), two awesome tales take us to a nightmarish, twisted vision of a utopian world and to a world on the brink of utter devastation. Epic, widescreen action and adventure with a dark edge, this is super-hero storytelling as we know you like it. Prepare to be left utterly gobsmacked. Guaranteed!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #533422 in Books
• Published on: 2001-04-20
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 144 pages

About the Author
Warren Ellis is the acclaimed writer of Transmetropolitan, The Authority and Planetary. His work has included memorable runs on Hellblazer and Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, and he's currently helping to revamp the X-Men for Marvel. Bryan Hitch has drawn The Authority, Superman, Batman, WildCats and X-Men among many other titles. He is currently drawing DC's bestselling JLA.

Customer Reviews

Good, but not great
StormWatch was the precursor to the ever-more-popular "The Authority", and this volume in particular introduces two characters who will later become members of the latter team.

The two stories in this volume are both good, but neither really gripped me as much as those features in the first three volumes of Ellis' groundbreaking run on the book.

Still, the art is thoroughly excellent, almost worth the purchase on its own, and the writing retains Ellis' realistic and hip dialogue.

There is absolutely no reason not to own this book, however if your cashflow is limited, then there's no reason to put it straight to the top of your purchase list.

Ellis hates superheroes...
Warren Ellis often makes a point of declaring how much he hates superhero comics. I don't know if he says this for effect but that hatred is never apparent in his work. Instead he writes sparky, exciting stories that combine a love of weird science, pulp sensibilities and a wicked sense of humour to provide a much-imitated but ultimately refreshing take on the cape and cowl crowd.

Part of this is that Warren believes that heroes should change the status quo, and as such his stories always feature a journey for the characters. Nowhere is this more apparent than in his Stormwatch work, which took a concept that while interesting had never really excited the comic buying public, and deconstructing it and superheroes so that it eventually metamorphosised into the watershed known as the Authority.

A Finer World is about conspiracy, weapons of mass destruction and the horrific things man will do to man, as well as the need for optimism and idealism if the world is to change. The characters are fabulous, you feel like you can walk around them, and the plot is gripping.

But I haven't mentioned Bryan Hitch's superb artwork. Bryan's art is of the kind that makes you forget that there is an artist behind it, because you cannot conceive of how a man can produce it with just a 2B pencil. The inking and colouring is excellent as well.

If you like sophisticated superheroics, this is an essential purchase!