While it may not have been meant as Grant Morrison's final farewell to DC Comics, Superman and the Authority's first issue suggests that it'll make a worthy capstone to their time with the company. Mikel Jann's illustrations and Jordie Bellaire's colors are stupendous. The work this team is doing with Manchester Black is as exciting as it is intriguing. I cannot wait to see where this goes. Read Full Review

Superman & The Authority #1 is a complex, layered, and insightful look at superheroes that provides readers with initial satisfaction, only to become more rewarding with each subsequent read. For those worried that this might be as challenging as some of Morrisons works can be, do not fret. This is arguably his most accessible DC work since JLA. With a fascinating story that is brought to life by a brilliant art team, Superman & The Authority #1 is a must read. Read Full Review

Morrison writes a fun script that is a nice take on the mythos. He shows us some weird things but mostly it is just crazy fun. Mikel Janin does an amazing job drawing this story. The two work well together. Read Full Review

It has a wicked, subtle sense of humor that creeps in, and that's where Morrison is at their best. It's unlike anything else in DC's roster right now, and I imagine this will be one of the highlights of the next few months. Read Full Review

Powered by career-best artwork from Mikel Jann with colors by Jordie Bellaire, Superman and the Authority #1 is visionary writer Grant Morrisons take on The Authority, a take perhaps at odds with its source material. This first issue is fantastic, and we should all be excited to follow this story. Read Full Review

Though this issue mostly devotes itself to exposition and to establishing its world and status quo, Superman and the Authority #1 shows promise for an exciting take on a Superman who has been affected by the world's tragedies but remains at his core, apparently, a hero. The interactions between Superman and sometime-enemy Manchester Black are entertaining, as the two play off each other well, and the art and lettering are clean, yet striking and appealing. Readers should definitely be excited about what Morrison has planned for the remainder of this miniseries. Read Full Review

SUPERMAN AND THE AUTHORITY #1 delivers a fresh new take on a classic character with a nostalgic spin. Furthermore, Morrison's style isn't as polarizing or unconventional as many would expect with an average level of intensity and concept. That said, if you dig that Morrison-style approach, please don't be deterred. The story is clever, unique, and dangles some intriguing questions to be uncovered as the series progresses. Read Full Review

Classic and current Grant Morrison collide wonderfully in Superman and the Authority #1, a thoughtful and weighty introduction to a Superman's mission to create A Finer World. Read Full Review

To sum it all up, Superman and the Authority #1 is about the failure of the supposed Age of Aquarius as Morrison, Janin, and Bellaire turn from smiling, well-hewn Superman to a half-naked Manchester Black surrounded by detritus and targeted by the mooks of American imperialism. But there's always hope even the more commercially successful superhero team failed in their mission to make the world a better place. Read Full Review

With the drastic changes to Superman in other titles, its nice to see Morrison can quickly capture the core of the character even when throwing a wild card like Manchester Black in the mix. Read Full Review

This book promises a lot, and I really hope it delivers. It certainly feels epic. If it does, it could be the best thing Morrison's done for some time. High bar indeed. Read Full Review

Janin uses detailed drawings with an emphasis on character expression and form. This is highlighted by Bellaire's use of multiple color schemes that changes with the tone of the story. I really loved how the artwork reflected the different time periods. And the alternating palette's kept me fully engaged and emotionally involved in the story. Read Full Review

Black makes some calls to his circle of friends to see who will join the cause and he says he got a few people who are interested. Interesting.Again, this is a Superman who is depowered and almost seems desperate. I love how this Superman recognizes that he is recruiting one of the most vile villains to be part of a hero team. He admits to 'viscerally disliking' Black and he should. Black is horrible. But maybe just maybe Black can save the world. So this is a very good opening issue setting up the premise. It left me wanting more. Is there a story that can be told in just 3 issues? Will I want more? Or will this just be a premise to mull over. I guess we will find out. I do wonder if Black will be turned or eventually try a back stab. The art is gorgeous.  Janin draws a grizzled older Superman who still looks tough. The rough Zapruder film is well rendered. And he draws one hell of a thought beast!Bring on the next issue! Read Full Review

A very strong start, both in writing and art, for this hopefully fun little mini-series about a new take on Superman. Read Full Review

Superman and The Authority ultimately serves as abstract and introduction for the dissertation to come, and it sets expectations reasonably high. Read Full Review

Superman and the Authority #1 features the Man of Steel at his best, along with the promise of a classic Wildstorm team being resurrected. If you are a fan of Superman, the Wildstorm Universe, or the creative team's work, you'll definitely want to add this to your pull list. Read Full Review

Superman faces his mortality as the world needs more heroes. It's full of great ideas, cool designs and a lot of promise that's well worth picking up. Read Full Review

Grant Morrison kicks off his four-issue mini with some historical feels, intrigue, and great art by Mikel Janin.  Morrison fans will eat this up, but others might want to wait for another issue or two to see what's going on. Read Full Review

this was the surprise gift that i didn't realize that i needed in my life!!!

just wish that it had had a different artist. i'm just not a fan of traced 3D poser figures.

Morrison still shows that he's the best Superman writer out there, and the alliance between him and Manchester is fun. Superman has a way of seeing the best in people and this is a great example of that.

Morrison didn't retire. Morrison didn't retire! MORRISON DIDN'T RETIRE! Those were my initial thoughts when I picked up "Superman And The Authority". Happy that one of my favorite scribes and teachers was not going to hang his hat on a series about my least favorite (and most overrated) Green Lantern's. It appears that authors in all mediums have a tendency to pull the ol' bait and switch to get consumers to purchase more of their product. But with Morrison's ecletic bibliography - I do not mind playing the game right along with him.
The book begins with the type of mind-altering that one can expect with reading Milligan's run of "Shade The Changing Man", and once more a Vertigo-alumni's fascination with U.S. Presi. J.F.K. is present here in the opening sequences as Superman has a private conversation with Jack, that seemingly fuels the Man of Steel's motivations in this new limited.
The reader then gets introduced to Manchester Black (a character I have been familiar with since I was a kid and Ed McGuiness was still handling "Batman/Superman") in a standoff situation after a wild night complete with alcohol and a bed with a passed out paramour.
Black carries the attitude of Constantine, but is built like the main character of Ennis' "The Boys". And it's not a bad pairing, when Morrison has Black sitting in front of a Superman who is visibly aged, ran down, and worse for wear.
Not as bad as "Kingdom Come" Supes, aesthetically - but if it were a prizefight bet, Ross' Supes would be walking out the victor, as here Morrison's Superman even looks to struggle to hover in the air.
Turns out this Superman is working for the Feds and looking to hire Black for a new superhero team. This shocks Black, and he spends the remaining of the issue bad mouthing Supes , categorizing him as a fascist and a failure, while punctuating the conversation by essentially telling him to "piss off" while he walks away from The Fortress of Solitude , with one of the more gorgeous panels in the book.
Superman appears dejected, but the promise of other prospects brighten his visage up, if only slightly. As a reader though, the promise of the future prospects for the new Authority can only brighten this book to standout for my future pull.
The comedic timing between Black & Supes was mature in a way that I cannot expect from being a religious reader of Supes in Action. The scene where Black demands alcohol as a source of his life force, I could only see Constantine doing the same thing over a pack of ciggies !
And as can be seen from that previous sentence, the language is infectious. It's only proper to start the book off with one of U.K.'s finest , since it's penned by one of U.K.'s best.
Now I can't wait to see Morrison's spin on a character like Natasha Irons and of course to see Midnighter regain some testosterone, since his recent appearances in Action under Cloonan have softened one of DC's greatest gunslingers.
This premiere issue has set the bar and I expect much from what Morrison will be doing in this limited run - something that I have no doubt that Morrison will be able to deliver with the toys he has promised to let out the box.
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IG: @djcvrthebard




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I like the idea of an older Superman losing his powers and thus coming to terms with his imperfections. I think this was a strong start and I'm ready to see where it goes.

So Superman wants to ask Manchester Black's help because the Phantom Zone robots are going rogue, and it might make the Phantom Zone prisoners escape. Just a bit confused on why Manchester Black wants to help Superman.

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Fracadactyl - Jul 20, 2021

Best guess, he's got a conscience with nothing better to do.

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This was a great book!

The idea of mashing up Superman & the Authority made my head hurt at first glance, but I'm very glad I took a risk on this one. Morrison doesn't let me down.

This feels like a prologue to whatever the main story is going to be and appears set in a timeline that is outside of "normal continuity". I was happy that Superman is Superman and Manchester Black is Manchester Black (unless there is a big swerve coming up).

Loved the dialogue here and laughed on two occasions. Looking forward to the next issue.

I love how Grant Morrison is not afraid to get weird! Also screw mainstream continuity that doesn't make a big impression! It's part of why an older Superman from the 60s is around. I don't know if this is an Elseworlds story or not but I don't really care! Gathering underutilized heroes and villains for a smorgasboard is good in my book.

Also I realize why Manchester Black is around! Aside from acting as a foil, it can challenge reader's expectations. With Superman able to tackle the absurd like those weird aliens with help, what about the more complicated stuff? Would Black seeing Superman do what he normally would cause a change of heart? That's what I wanna find out!

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Fracadactyl - Jul 20, 2021

Could've fooled me and yes, I did mean those Phantom Zone robots because a title like that doesn't appeal as much as weird aliens. Besides that's what they are.

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Hmm, I'm really not sure how to feel about this. I'm also confused where this takes place in continuity. I assume it's in the future, separate from the current Superman comics. I know Jon is getting a new series soon, but I feel like I'm missing something. Regardless, the premise of the book is cool: Superman is losing his powers (Grant Morrison really likes that concept), and he needs help that he knows the Justice League can't provide, but other unsavory folks can. And it's admittedly cool, Grant Morrison once again shows they can still write witty entertaining dialogue while also not decompressing any of the story. The issue feels like the first 30 minutes of a standard action superhero movie, which is great, considering this is just a limited series. The only issue I have with it is that confusion that I mentioned above: is this in continuity? When does this take place? Also didn't like that Morrison tied this to the 1960s and JFK. It really kind of took me out because I always assumed DC was just about an unspoken truth that reboots and their universe was separate from normal time, but adding a date just brings into question the rest of DC continuity, like when does any of this stuff take place. At the end of the day though, these are minor complaints. Overall, it's a good first issue, setting up a mystery that will hopefully be interesting throughout. more

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maelstron - Jul 20, 2021

this may be a 5G left over

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Interesting first installment, DC really likes to put villains helping heroes, so I don't see Black's intervention so bad, even though it may give to Superman headaches, we'll know in the next numbers.

I am not a Superman reader but I picked this up because of Morrison. The artwork is top tier but the story was just OK. I didn't follow some of the dialogue probably due to not being familiar with Black. I'm not sure whether I will pick up the next issue unless I hear good things about it.

This was pretty good but I really don't know what the point of this miniseries will be. Where does it fit in continuity? Is it even in continuity? And like, just how many Constantine clones are there? I feel like DC has at least 18 clones of Constantine. It's really distracting, honestly.

It was a really strange start, the situation with Kenedy was interesting. Morrison has given good success in some of his comics and according to what I read this will be the last one before taking a break, so this must be a good series in the future, we will know as we progress.

This is pretty interesting. Seeing the JFK stuff, doing the space race talking with the Man of Tomorrow was a pleasant change to the superman mythos. Two prominent figures talking about the future of mankind & the steps needed to strive really resonates with me. It set's up that superman takes on the personal responsibility to see not just America, but the world's future generations, have a way to prosper & flourish. And I'm so curious to see, since superman has seen failure after failure such as, JFK's murder, MLK's murder, his own failures with the Justice League, I'm curious to see how he finally reaches the promises he made to JFK...& king Arthur. How far will he be willing to go? I like Manchester Black in this. He feels like the ordinary person in this story. Someone who's been seeing life from the actual ground. The every day folk essentially. I think he'll test superman's moral resolve & idealistic beliefs about the world & could potentially change how superman thinks. The artwork is great as well.


Updated Review - 10/24/2021

Definitely more intriguing reading this a few months later. It resonates a little more with me. The story feels different, fresh & kind of hopeless? we're dealing with a superman who's on his last ditch effort. Everything else has failed so now it's time to call in the people he dislikes the most...Manchester Black, who I think is a better villain for superman than most. He represents those who are essentially beneath superman. The everyday person. Also it appears that the big threat of the story isn't actually coming from the Phantom Zone, but actually within their own world. more

A very boring beginning.

This first installment feels unconvincing and at the same time curious about what will happen next.
I didn't like the integration of a historically important character in a comic, that made me very uncomfortable. But that's me.

I will always appreciate a book with Mikel Janin's art but Morrison is a hard sell lately. This wasn't bad or anything and the idea is interesting but for a first issue out of four, I feel like we didn't get much. Manchester Black has always been poor man's Constantine and that tracks here, too. Also I found Superman's voice odd at times. I hope this gets better but I can't say I believe that, if Green Lantern was any indication, it will get worse actually.

I don't like it, sorry. It is not the most terrible thing, there are issus that are so bad that I prefer to ignore them. But simply this union between Clark and Black is a nonsense, erroneous. Doesn't the super have much better support?

Nice art, as usual, by Janin. Uninteresting story, as usual, by Morrison.

Story and art are crap. What a waste.