Jenny Sparks: The Secret History of the Authority


By Mark Millar, John McCrea, James Hodgkins & Ian Hannin (WildStorm)
ISBN: 978-1-84023-310-0

Evolving from the comic-book Stormwatch, The Authority are a team of super-heroes who take their self-appointed duty to its only logical – if extreme – conclusion. As god-like super-beings they have eschewed the traditional societal role in favour of a pre-emptive strike policy, and a no-nonsense One-World paternalism, that allows them to tackle real problems such as hunger, pollution, genocides and corporate piracy as well as demented super-villains and alien invasions.

They have set themselves above the Machiavellian dances of world politics in a mission to save the entire planet, and naturally, that doesn’t endear them to the entrenched Interests of Government and Business.

When the team first formed the most intriguing member was easily the brittle, cynical English woman Jenny Sparks whose electrical powers were an expression of her metaphysical position as the incarnate “Spirit of the Twentieth Century”. This collection gathers the five issue miniseries that revealed her 100-year life (born at midnight, December 31st 1899…) but it’s less a secret origin and more a handy guide to the history of the alternate world that the Authority inhabit.

By flashing back to key moments with her fellow crusaders Swift, The Doctor, Apollo and the Midnighter, Jack Hawksmoor and The Engineer creators Miller and McCrea cleverly deliver subtle moments and insights into a feature mostly known for excess and spectacle.

This tale is a must-see for fans of the brand, but also a clever and entertaining fantasy adventure for lovers of good storytelling everywhere.

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