This is easily the weakest issue of Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning’s Authority, but paradoxically give renewed hope for the series as whole. While the main story is an inconsequential run-around, the cliff-hanger revelation underlines both the creative team’s understanding of the book they inherited and how to tell a story in this unusual setting.

With Swift cornered by the remains of the British military, much of the issue is devoted to showing the Engineer’s ongoing scavenging in the derelict Carrier. There’s little character progression here aside from a brief moment of resolve by Jack Hawksmoor, and the re-cycling of the Warhol Virus from the first issue adds to the feeling that the action outside of Rendlesham is merely padding. Simon Coleby deserves credit for keeping to a monthly schedule with no sign of a dip in quality, but not even he can make Angie’s temporary opponent a source of interest. The end of the issue, however, takes a sharp turn leftfield, adding some much-needed intrigue to the post-apocalyptic world. The inclusion of an extra-dimensional “Door” in the final splash page is a sensible inclusion, given that some readers may not immediately recognise the figure revealed.

Given that successive writers have strip-mined Warren Ellis’s twelve issues on the title, it’s odd that the most perfect concept for further exploration has been ignored until now. First Mark Miller seized on the Jenny Quantum thread, before Winter was prised out of the sun by Robbie Morrison and Ed Brubaker built an entire maxi-series out of Henry Bendix’s temporary resurrection. Since Grant Morrison brought back Kaizen Gamorra in the pages of Wildcats, he’s become one of the Wildstorm universe’s foremost villains. Until now, however, Sliding Albion has been left untouched. The psuedo-British imperial aliens featured in Ellis’s second arc, before being dealt a heavy blow at the hands of Jenny Sparks and the Doctor. Their inclusion here makes perfect sense, with the Wildstorm Earth being exactly the sort of weakened target that would attack their attention, but more importantly, the concept itself still crackles with potential. It seems likely that Albion will be the permanent opposition in the book, providing structure to the threats to the team’s protectorate. Although the amount of plot filler in this instalment rankles, it’s hard not to look forward to the next issue.

Tags: Andy Lanning, Dan Abnett, Simon Coleby, The Authority
Publisher: Wildstorm