THE AUTHORITY #26
"Transfer of Power"
Highly Recommended (9/10)
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DC Comics/Wildstorm Productions
Writer: Tom Peyer
Pencils: Dustin Nguyen
Inks: Richard Friend, Jason Martin, Derek Fridolfs & "the Dustin"
Colors: David Baron
Letters: Bill O'Neil
Editor: John Layman
Price: $2.50 US/$4.25 CAN |
Blasted egg. Got it all over my face.
In my review of the previous issue of this title, I complained that Peyer left us hanging on a rather predictable, even cliched, note. I misjudged his intentions and the story completely. "Transfer of Power" ends unexpectedly. Evil is not punished. The bad guys win. The world is a scarier place than when the story started. Good stuff.
With their newfound, reality-altering powers, the Asian refugees that the new Authority dumped into the other-dimensional void has wished the original team back to life, forming them out of the bodies of their replacements. Unfortunately, the refugees didn't count on the power of the prejudices of one of the new "heroes," and it proves to be their undoing. The new Authority returns to its own dimension, and their leader, the Colonel fears reprisals from their superiors for failing them.
Nguyen's art conveys the surreal nature of the refugees' other-dimensional home and the effects of their new power. The colors also conveys that contorted sense of the bizarre. More importantly, though, he conveys the intensity of emotion of the characters, from the Last Call's savage rejection of his predecessor's lifestyle to the Colonel's despair.
Peyer has approached one of the central themes of the series -- the notion that those in charge are corrupt -- from a new angle. While previous writers Warren Ellis and Mark Millar chose to show the title characters opposing and punishing those that absolute power has corrupted absolutely, Peyer focuses on a new group of oppressors. Their actions seem more horrible as they are free to do as they please. There are no saviors.
That's the central power of this issue. Hope is not realized. Supermen do not arrive to beat up the wicked, to help the kitten down from the tree. The villains were on the brink of eradication, but now they're back, stronger than ever, still disguised as heroes. It's chilling, and it makes for exciting reading.
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