What a great book. It's a mystery the way Wildstorm's mistakes sink fast into collective fan-memory, to be rehashed on message boards for ever, when inspired creations like this gem of a miniseries can pass under the radar completely. "Secret History of the Authority: Hawksmoor" is a rare thing, the perfect comic book: an original and intriguing story, carefully thought out, internally consistent and beautifully told.
This trade collects all 6 issues of the series, written by Mike Costa and drawn by Fiona Staples (both Wildstorm rookies at the time, now well-established on other Wildstorm projects like "Resistance" and the upcoming "North 40"). Notionally it's a companion to Mark Millar and John McCrea's "Secret History of the Authority: Jenny Sparks" mini which came out in 2000-2001. That book was fun but slight, featuring the first lady of the Authority in an unconnected set of 'Authority prequel' adventures that favoured set pieces and what-ifs over logic and continuity. This book is different – serious, cohesive and very writerly, with a strong story to tell. It starts in typical Authority fashion as the team finds an irritable pagan god harrassing the city of Kiev, but this storyline just brackets an extended flashback to Jack's life before Stormwatch. It begins in widescreen, with a giant robot menacing the Golden Gate Bridge, but with the arrival of a classic femme fatale it quickly evolves into a lean, fast cyber-noir tale of murder, loneliness, revenge, city-souls and self-discovery. It really is Jack's secret history.
The real success of this story lies in Costa's hugely inventive exploration of Jack's urban powers. All too often, these have been reduced to a vague superhuman mix of free-running and head-kicking, but Costa has made them fascinating again. His prose style is genuinely literary, with echoes of William Gibson in the technological punk-poetry of Jack's inner voice. "I know the dates of the newspapers burning in the trashcans near the Presidio... I feel the trains come in and out like blood in the chambers of the city's concrete heart." But a solid half of the book's impact comes from Fiona Staples' unique artwork. Jagged yet graceful, with a tense kinetic quality that makes everything look a little architectural, it complements the writing perfectly.
