The Comic Book Bin
More Comics (705) Articles


TopShelf Month

Darkhorse Month

Women's Month


 
Comics : Comic Reviews : More Comics
Last Updated: Oct 28, 2009 - 14:03:25 PM




The Secret History of The Authority: Hawksmoor 1 (of 6)
By Patrick Oliver
May 20, 2008 - 5:37:07 AM

Wildstorm Comics
Writer(s): Mike Costa
Penciller(s): Fiona Staples
Inker(s): Rob Leigh
Cover Artist(s): Cully Hamner & Randy Mayor
Email this Article
 Printer Friendly Page
 Mobile Friendly Page

Add to Del.icio.us     Add To Reddit
Add To Digg     Add To Stumbleupon
Add To Technorati Favorites     Add To Ask


Hawksmr.jpg
Under The Boardwalk

Jack Hawksmoor 'talks' to cities. He really does! He has several alien implants (replacing most of his internal organs) which give him a variety of abilities. Conversing with and persuading cities to do things for him, being just two of them. While on a mission with the superhuman group, 'The Authority' that he is a member of, Jack discovers that due to an angry mysterious god, the city of Kiev refuses to talk to him.
Trying to save some civilians, something happens that leads us the reader to a flashback of the only other time a city refused to 'talk' to Jack. San
Francisco, in 1994, where Jack had found himself plunged into another mystery....

First Among Equals

This is the first issue and I can already see that I am going to like this series. Why do I say that? Well because it feels (to me) a little like an enjoyable classic detective movie from the 1940's. One that contains good, clever, and crisp writing and dialogue. Now, it could just be that I associate the tone of narrative in this issue with that of a Chandler or Hammett adaptation. If so, it is in good company. This, despite it being very definately set in both the present and in the mid 1990's.

Brush Strokes

Fiona Staples artwork, much like Hawksmoor himself seems no nonsense, but upon closer inspection has a rough charm and shows that there is much, much more going on than at first meets the eye. When we first see Hawksmoor with the team, the style is gritty and bedded in a dark oppressive looking Kiev. When we move to San Franscico, we have blue skies and panoramic views but danger is still present.
The style is no less gritty, but everything seems lighter in tone. That is until the evening, when we again are given a sense of foreboding. Excellent.

I've mentioned some of the reasons why I liked this issue and why I have have high hopes for the rest of the mini-series. All that remains to be said is that I hope that when you read it, you like it too.
Enjoy.



Related Articles:
DC/WildStorm: Dreamwar # 1 (of 6)
Countdown Presents the Search for Ray Palmer: Wildstorm # 1 (of 1)
Wildstorm's Sandra Hope
Interview With Wildstorm's Joel Gomez



Comment Script Join the discussion:

Add a Comment

Comments


© Copyright 2002-2009, Coolstreak Cartoons Inc. - All rights Reserved. All other texts, images, characters and trademarks are copyright their respective owners. Use of material in this document(including reproduction, modification, distribution, electronic transmission or republication) without prior written permission is strictly prohibited.

Top of Page

Richard Sala's Delphine #3
In the belly of...
Vampirella: The Second Coming #3 (of 4)
The real Vampirella returns to lead her army against the Chaos Plague, but has she returned in time?
The Order of Dagonet #1
Ozzy Osborne, Ian McKellen, and Neil Gaiman team up with Merlin to save Britain from Titania and Oberon of Faerie…sort of.
Sid Love
Sid Love is an engaging book that is greater than the sum of its pages.
Invincible #67
Invincible’s father with Allen the Alien are trying to recruit and obtain a collection of weapons capable of destroying Viltrumites
The Talisman: The Road of Trials #0
Stephen King and Peter Straub's novel, The Talisman, is now a comic book.
Vampirella: The Second Coming #2 (of 4)
Vampirella continues her return, just not in a way anyone expected…
Hector Plasm: Totentanz
An off-beat Halloween special starring the only Benandanti in comics. And a Benandanti is…?
Nick Simmons' Incarnate #2
Mot plays guard dog, so his colleagues decide to muzzle him.
Ball Peen Hammer
A dark, depressing, grim and grimy, post-apocalyptic, and intelligent graphic novel by novelist, playwright, screen writer, film maker and Pulitzer Prize Finalist, Adam Rapp.
Beasts of Burden #1
It stars puppies, supernatural investigative puppies. It's as bad as it sounds.
Transformers – All Hail Megatron # 15
This issue, Prowl shares his inner turmoil and plans to have the Autobots defeat their opponents the Decepticons by planting the seed of order in the midst of the Autobots
Athena #1
The Ancient Greek Goddess of Wisdom, War, The Arts, Industry, Justice, and Skill is reborn in the modern world.
Vampirella: The Second Coming #1 (of 4)
The sexist vampire of all time is reborn, even though she never really existed…?
The Surrogates
The intelligent and thought provoking graphic novel that inspired the major motion picture is a worthy read. Find out why.