Authority: Kev was originally written to be two issues of the regular Authority series, and it's still got a second splash page and title halfway through.  But the monthly book doesn't exist any more, so instead it stumbles out as part of the Eye of the Storm line.  (Yes, this is a mature readers book - although it only says so in microscopic print on the back cover.)

Garth Ennis is not a writer you would generally associate with superheroes.  The Punisher's a psycho vigilante, and he doesn't count.  His most prominent superhero work, come to think of it, remains the gloriously silly Punisher Kills The Marvel Universe one-shot.

While Mark Millar took the Authority relatively seriously and wrote them as an obnoxious political irritant, Ennis goes for a rather different angle and takes the piss.  Former SAS soldier turned assassin Kev Hawkins is despatched to kill the Authority, because they're annoying.  And he does rather better than you might expect, thanks to a combination of luck and luck.  Sick of seeing the Authority beat people up and get away with it?  You'll like this issue.

It's an outright comedy, happily mocking the regular book's "widescreen" action scenes and gibberish captions.  ("The Carrier: Flubbity-wub-wub, flubbity-wub-wub-flub-wub.")  It's also got some great material with the ex-SAS officers, all of whom have now got book deals. Glenn Fabry plays wonderful comedy scenes, albeit that he's not exactly a natural at the widescreen stuff.

There are a couple of elements that don't really work.  For example, Kev's apparent total ignorance of the Authority doesn't ring true, even with the rather elastic standards of disbelief that apply to this issue.  But given that the Authority tend to be seen as the cooler-than-thou response to traditional superhero comics, it's very refreshing to see Ennis put them back in their place.

Rating: A

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