(No Spoilers)

I’m starting to think that this series is not giving itself enough time to develop.  I was so pumped about the way last issue began because it was a new arc and Giffen had a chance to start fresh.  We had a great set-up and a very cool alternate world introduced.  But now we get it all resolved here in this next issue!  That is not enough time to tell a story with this kind of set-up.

Let’s back-track a little.  Issue 5 acted as sort of a prologue to this arc but not entirely.  In reality it was more of a bridge between the first arc and this one.  What happened in issue 5 was incredibly important to setting up what has happened in number 6 and 7.  But now I feel like we didn’t need an entire issue to establish what happened in issue 5.  Even if you consider that this will be the last issue in the first trade (just announced for June) it still would read very fast once you got past the first arc.

I guess I’m just disappointed that Giffen took the time to establish a very cool alternate reality Authority team and we barely get to enjoy them.  I thought the alternate Earth Doctor was probably the most interesting of the group.  Speaking of him, the motives for his actions against the alternate version of Swift are not clear.  I would’ve liked a little more explanation as to why he did what he did. 

Also, after I praised Brian Stelfreeze & Joel Gomez last issue for doing a great job with cooperating on the art, I feel like the quality went down a little bit in this issue.  If I knew their distinctive styles well enough, I could probably pick out who did which panel.  Last issue, I didn’t feel I could do that.  There is still some great art in this issue but it felt a little uneven.

Now, there were some good parts in the issue.  I loved the confrontation by the Wildstorm Earth Doctor & Midnighter against the alternate Doctor.  There is also a very heart-felt scene between the alternate Midnighter and the Wildstorm Earth Jenny Quantum. 

This is by no means a horrible issue.  Overall, I do like the story.  It just made me feel cheated because I wanted more.  I just think these little 2-issue story arcs are not the way to go here.   And from the solicitations it looks like that’s what we’re getting as we move into the second half of this mini-series.  Hopefully, the next arc will come together in a better way without feeling so rushed.

Synopsis:

http://wildstormresource.wetpaint.com/page/Authority%3A+The+Lost+Year+%237