they/them but any pronouns are fine | adult | tme | too much time on my hands sometimes | i experience art and talk about it | more info coming soon :)
Born from the late 90s and early 00s trend towards darker superhero stories, The Authority debuted in 1999 with The Authority #1 by Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch for WildStorm. The Authority fights for what they see as best for the world regardless of the cost. The Authority was one of DC’s best-selling books under Mark Millar and Frank Quitely. The team appeared in their series, as well as other WildStorm and DC titles. Their last appearance came months before the launch of DC’s The New 52. Since the N52, most Authority characters have been retconned or forgotten. Only the team’s breakout star Midnighter (and sometimes Apollo) remains active in comics.
This is a comprehensive guide to every appearance of The Authority's main characters: Jenny Sparks, Jack Hawksmoor, the Engineer (Angela Spica), the Doctor (Jeroen Thornedike, later Habib bin Hassan), Swift (Shen Li-Men), Apollo, the Midnighter, and Jenny Quantum.
Issues marked with an asterisk (*) don't feature Authority characters but do provide context.
Issues marked with New Button emoji (🆕) are newly added as of the most recent update. The emoji will be removed when the guide is updated again.
StormWatch
WildStorm was an independent studio established by Jim Lee in 1992. It was bought by DC Comics in 1998 and ran as an imprint until being shut down in 2010. Before The Authority debuted, there was StormWatch. StormWatch (1993) and StormWatch (1997) are the first appearances of most of the Authority’s original lineup.
Garth Ennis’s “Kev” tetralogy follows Kevin Hawkins, a terrible person with terrible luck, and his misadventures with the Authority. Where this series is in the chronology is unclear.
The Authority: Kev (2002) — #1
The Authority: More Kev (2004) — #1-4
The Authority: The Magnificent Kevin (2005) — #1-5
The Authority: A Man Called Kev (2006) — #1-5*
Solos
Jenny Sparks: The Secret History of the Authority (2000) — #1-5
Secret History of the Authority: Hawksmoor (2008) — #1-7
Midnighter (2007) — #1-20
Grifter and Midnighter (2007) — #1-6
Crossovers and Events
World War III was part of Marvel’s 1996 Heroes Reborn initiative. The Marvel and WildStorm universes crossed over for the 4-issue event.
Fantastic Four (1996) — #13 [CAMEO]
Avengers (1996) — #13 [CAMEO]
Iron Man (1996) — #13 [CAMEO]
Captain America (1996) — #13 [CAMEO]
Grifter (1996) — #11
Planetary/The Authority: Ruling The World (2000)
Cybernary 2.0 (2001) — #5-6
The Monarchy (2001) — #4, #11-12
Gen13 (1995) — #68-69
The Establishment (2001) — #8 [CAMEO]
Gen-Active (2000) — #6 [BACK-UP]
WildCats Version 3.0 (2002) — #8
Sleeper (2002) — #3, #5
Point Blank (2002) — #3
Stromwatch: Team Achilles (2004) — #4-6, #8-9, #20, #22
Wildstorm Winter Special (2005)
Intimates (2005) — #1 [CAMEO]
Planetary (2005) — #5 [CAMEO]
WildCats (2006) — #1 [CAMEO]
The Authority vs. Lobo: Jingle Hell (2004)
The Authority vs. Lobo: Spring Break Massacre (2005)
Ion: Guardian of the Universe (2006) — #10 [CAMEO]
Worldstorm was a 2006 relaunch of the WildStorm universe. It was originally intended to be a full reboot but partway in WildStorm turned it into a “soft reboot”. The reboot is widely considered to have been a failure. Sources on this era are difficult to find and it can be a confusing reading experience.
Captain Atom: Armageddon (2005) — #1-9
An Essential Guide to Worldstorm (2006)*
The Authority (2006) — #1-2**
The Authority: The Lost Year (2010) — #3-12
The Authority: Prime (2008) — #1-6
StormWatch: P.H.D (2006) — #5 [CAMEO]
Gen13 (2006) — #8, #27
**The Authority (2006) was written by Grant Morrison who dropped the series after 2 issues due to their focus on other projects. Three years later, Keith Griffen continued the storyline under the new title The Authority: The Lost Year based on Morrison’s scripts. The Authority: Prime was published between Morrison and Griffen’s runs.
DC/Wildstorm: DreamWar (2008) — #1-6
Action Comics (1938) — #884 [BACK-UP] [CAMEO]
World’s End was a 3-year WildStorm event culminating in DC's Flashpoint. It made major changes to the WildStorm universe, notably a post-apocalyptic setting and grittier tone.
Wildstorm: Armageddon (2007)
Wildstorm: Revelations (2008) — #1-2
Number of the Beast (2008) — #3, #6-8
The Authority (2008) — #1-6
StormWatch: P.H.D (2006) — #18-19
The Authority (2008) — #7-17
WildCats: World’s End (2008) — #19-23
The Authority (2008) — #18-29
WildCats: World’s End (2008) — #24-30
Wildstorm: A Celebration of 25 Years collects published and unpublished material from across WildStorm titles including The Authority.
Wildstorm: A Celebration of 25 Years (2017)
The New 52 and Beyond
In addition to rebooting the mainline DC Universe, the New 52 "streamlined" DC's multiple continuities by combining everything into one timeline. The result of this for the Authority was Stormwatch (2011). Swift, the Doctor, and Jenny Quantum are absent from this point forward.
Countdown Presents: The Search for Ray Palmer (2007) — #1
Countdown: Arena (2007) — #1-4 [CAMEO]
Flashpoint (2011) — #5 [CAMEO]
StormWatch (2011) — #1-6
Voodoo (2011) — #5 [CAMEO]
Deathstroke (2011) — #6
Grifter (2011) — #7, #13-14, #16
StormWatch (2011) — #7-10
Red Lanterns (2011) — #10
I, Vampire (2011) — #12, #13 (Issues are separated by issue #0)
StormWatch (2011) — #11-30
The New 52: Futures End (2014) — #1
Harley Quinn (2014) — #20 [CAMEO]
Grayson (2014) — #1-2, #4-7
Midnighter (2015) — #1-7
Grayson (2014) — #13-14
Batman & Robin Eternal (2015) — #23-26
Grayson (2014) — #18-20
Midnighter (2015) — #8-12
Convergence (2015) — #7 [CAMEO]
Nightwing: Rebirth (2016)
Midnighter and Apollo (2016) — #1-6
Justice League of America (2018) — Annual [CAMEO]
Infinite Frontier (2021) — #0 [CAMEO]
The Swamp Thing (2021) #11-13
WildC.A.T.s (2022) — #12 [CAMEO]
Action Comics (2016) — #1029-1034 [BACK-UP]
Future State: Superman: War of Worlds (2021) — #1-2
Outsiders (2023) attempts to further incorporate WildStorm ideas and continuity into the main DC timeline. Authority characters do not appear in the series except for the Carrier.
Outsiders (2023)
Absolute Power (2024) — #1 [CAMEO]
Apollo and Midnighter in Specials
Outside of Superman and cameo appearances, Apollo and Midnighter have been mostly relegated to anthology specials. They are the only Authority characters to still appear in comics.
Young Romance: A New 52 Valentine's Day Special (2013)
Love is Love (2016) — [CAMEO]**
DC Cybernetic Summer (2020)
DC Pride (2021)
Wildstorm 30th Anniversary Special (2022)
DC Pride (2023)
DC’s Harley Quinn Romances (2023)
DC’s ‘Twas the 'Mite Before Christmas (2023) [CAMEO]
DC Pride 2024 (2024) [CAMEO]
DC's I Know What You Did Last Crisis (2024) 🆕
**Love is Love was a charity anthology and tribute to the Pulse nightclub shooting in 2016. It was produced by IDW in collaboration with DC. Read with caution and respect.
Other Timelines
Four non-canon iterations of WildStorm characters have been published in recent years. The Wild Storm came out in 2017, followed by Authority character appearances in DC vs. Vampires, and finally Waller vs. Wildstorm which is not relevant to this guide. Jenny Sparks began publication in August 2024.
Warren Ellis’s The Wild Storm is a 24-issue self-contained series reimagining the WildStorm universe.
The Wild Storm (2017) #1-24
DC vs. Vampires: All-Out War was a spinoff from the 2021 DC vs. Vampires set on Earth-63.
DC vs. Vampires: All-Out War (2022) — #2, #5-6
Jenny Sparks is a 7-issue mini-series following Jenny after she is revived following 9/11.
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