ReadOut

by Lawrence Ferber

PROUD AUTHORITY FIGURES

In a new comics series, two gay superheroes keep the world safe

Imagine if Batman and Superman were tossed into an alternate universe, made gay, got married, and adopted a baby. Well, then you would have The Midnighter, Apollo, and Jenny Quantum respectively, members of the don’t-f**k-with-us vigilante superhero legion, The Authority.

Striving to make the world a better place—through sometimes unorthodox means, battling outrageous enemies and threats as diverse as the sun, mad scientists, aliens, and even the earth itself—The Authority became the superteam to end all superteams. But for a while, the superteam faced its own end. The comic book series was canceled in early 2002. According to Wizard magazine, DC Comics and the book’s creative team at the time (Brian Azarello and Steve Dillon) felt a “brand of super-violent superheroes was inappropriate” in the wake of 9-11 (the fact that The Authority was going to fight Jesus Christ in the next planned story arc didn’t help).

Happily, The Authority has returned with a vengeance, compliments of a new creative team from DC’s adult-geared Eye of the Storm imprint.

The Authority originally sprung from writer Warren Ellis’s run on another edgy superhero series, StormWatch. Assembled and led by “spirit of the 20th Century” Jenny Sparks, The Authority’s members entail Jack Hawksmoor, a human fused with alien parts who draws power from cities; The Engineer, a woman made of living liquid machinery; The Doctor, an ex-junkie mystic; Swift, a fierce winged lady; Apollo, a near-indestructible flying man of steel; and The Midnighter, a leather-clad toughie who can predict your next move before you do. Sparks died with the turn of the millennium, so now the group—specifically Apollo and the Midnighter—are raising her infant, Jenny Quantum.

Since volume one came to a close, a pair of one-shots, Kev and Scorched Earth, hit stands. Readers wanted more. So the latter’s writer, Robbie Morrison, a straight Scottish scribe for cult UK hit Judge Dredd, picks up volume two’s torch, while artist Dwayne Turner supplies the book’s trademark wide-screen, stunningly detailed visual style. To get a sense of what they have in store for the un-PC team and our favorite gay heroes, I conversed with Morrison via e-mail.

So how did your becoming writer on the new Authority series come about?

I guess you could say I was headhunted. Scott Dunbier, the editor-in-chief at WildStorm, had been following my work in the UK—White Death, Nikolai Dante, Judge Dredd—and asked if I’d be interested in pitching for the new Authority series they were planning to launch in 2003.

What do you love best about The Authority?

The fact that the team’s basic purpose and motivation is to build a better world for everyone to live in. Speaking as the writer, that’s a great premise. Building a better world is an epic undertaking and offers the potential for any number of storylines. The Authority also pushes things beyond what’s usually expected of the superhero genre. The series is renowned for being bigger, bolder, and more bombastic than anything else on the market, not just in terms of sex, violence, and humor, but in terms of character motivation and political and social comment.

Apollo and The Midnighter are the only gay married couple/superheroes in mainstream comics. Your thoughts on that?

It’s pretty groundbreaking, I guess. There have been gay characters in comics before, but Apollo and the Midnighter are definitely the most high-profile couple to have appeared, and their relationship is crucial to the series in general. Their relationship is also portrayed in greater detail and with more honesty than has possibly ever been seen before—certainly in English-language comics. In many ways, I see Apollo, the Midnighter and Jenny Quantum—two gay men and the adopted child they’re raising—as almost being symbolic of The Authority’s ideals. They want to build a world in which these sort of situations have the freedom to flourish, free from bigotry, criticism, or persecution.

And Apollo/The Midnighter? Are they heroes to gays? Is that important?

I definitely see Apollo and the Midnighter as being heroes to gays, iconic and inspirational in their determination to live their lives in the way they want, regardless of what anyone else thinks. In fact, I see them as potential heroes to everyone, gay or straight, although their very public sexuality makes them a target for the small-minded, bigoted factions of society. That said, they are the two toughest guys in the world, so maybe it’s the bigots who should watch out. • As well as being superheroes, they’re high-profile public figures, celebrities almost. It’s as if two of the biggest male movie stars of the day—Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise, or maybe Ben Affleck and Matt Damon—had just gotten married in a shower of Hollywood-style glamor and then settled down to raise their adopted daughter. If something like that happened in the real world, it would cause a media storm! The kind of world where that sort of event can take place without raised eyebrows or outrage is the kind of world the Authority is trying to build.

Will you introduce any other gay characters?

As we explore Apollo and the Midnighter’s iconic effects on the world—amongst gay and straight communities—other gay characters will certainly feature in. As for whether or not any of them will actually join The Authority, I can’t really say, as it would reveal some of my plans for future stories, and I hate giving the game away too early. There is the distinct possibility of a dramatic love triangle developing later in the series.

Any directives from DC’s folks/editors regarding what you can and can’t do?

Sorry to disappoint anyone out there who likes a bit of behind-the-scenes controversy, but I haven’t been given any guidelines about what I can and can’t do, or been told to steer clear of any particular relationships, situations, or storylines.

Any new outfits in store for the team? Any surprises?

There are no major costume changes planned at the moment, though we do intend to make them pretty stylish and fashion-conscious when they’re out of costume. How could we get rid of Apollo’s skintight white leotard or the Midnighter’s head-to-toe black leather?

What will their first story arcs entail?

I hate going into too much detail about storylines, but the first story arc is entitled “Reality Incorporated,” and sees The Authority battle a menace that not only threatens our world, but the entire nature of reality in our universe. Apollo and the Midnighter also begin to face up to the responsibilities of parenthood. Fighting super-villains might be less stressful.

Finally, who’s the top and who’s the bottom in the Apollo/Midnighter relationship? Or are they versatile?

I’m actually going to make that question a lighthearted running debate amongst the straight members of The Authority throughout the series, so I can’t really go into too much detail at the moment. Remember, though, that Apollo and the Midnighter are both superhuman. One of them can even fly, which might make the usual positions of top and bottom—or even up and down—a bit redundant. It’d be like joining the mile-high club without a plane.

Lawrence Ferber reported on gay Orlando in the June issue.

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