The Secret History of The Authority: Hawksmoor 1 (of 6)

DC Comics
The Secret History of The Authority: Hawksmoor 1 (of 6)
By Patrick Oliver
May 20, 2008 - 05:37

DC Comics
Wildstorm Comics
Writer(s): Mike Costa
Penciller(s): Fiona Staples
Inker(s): Rob Leigh
Cover Artist(s): Cully Hamner & Randy Mayor

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.