Corporal Kev Hawkins has been an interesting mix of surprises and disappointments--but nothing could have prepared him for his repeated run-ins with the super-hero team knows as "The Authority"! After committing a debacle in his early career with the S.A.S, Kev was reassigned to a shadowy British intelligence agency as their "cleaner," taking care of the worst problems imaginable. No wonder he spends every night at the pub with his mates! His latest assignment: He must kill the most powerful super-human group on the planet -- armed only with a gun!

    But until now the inner origins of how the most powerful team in the WildStorm Universe came together has never been revealed. Seen through the eyes of Jenny Sparks, "The Spirit of the Twentieth Century" and Authority team leader, we experience Jenny's first meetings with all of her teammates and learn how each encounter took place during pivotal points in Twentieth century history. From stealing mystical artifacts from the Nazis to working with government covert op teams during the '80s, the true beginnings of the Authority are finally told.

    Led by hot-tempered, electrically powered Jenny Sparks and headquartered in a fifty-mile-wide spaceship that exists outside space and time, the Authority explodes into action, first against a global attack of genetically engineered super-human clones, and then against an invasion from another reality.

    -- p. [4] of cover.

    He uses the god-like Void's powers to access an alien dimension to create never-failing batteries, and sets out to take over the world for the greater good. Meanwhile, others on the team aren't adjusting to the stuffy suit-and-tie lifestyle so well as Grifter begins wishing he could go back to kicking butt. So even though he's a Vice President in the new WildCats endeavor, he routinely disappears to do so until he breaks his back and decides to train a mild-mannered accountant to take his place! The top superteam in the WildStorm Universe continues turning traditional genre tropes on their ears with this exciting new direction that fans have been clamoring for for years!

    What is she plotting? No one quite knows, but by manipulating both Batman and his enemies Killer Croc and Catwoman tensions are high and no one is to be trusted in Gotham City tonight!Originally published in BATMAN #608-612.

    Whether it's pirates in Los Angeles or demons in Opal City, Steve Orlando (Midnighter, Supergirl) continues the adventure and brings the fighting duo center stage! But when the duo are torn apart by a mysterious villian who sends Apollo to the underworld, Midnighter faces the gates of hell for his lover.Collecting: Midnighter and Apollo 1-6

    (And fans of Rucka--assuming they get around to reading this at all--will still likely hold the opinion that Atticus Kodiak could take Batman in a standup fight any day.) DC shook up Gotham--literally--in its 1999 Batman plot arc: a 7.6 earthquake rocked Gotham City, wreaking enough destruction to bring the broken, crime-ridden, runt kid-brother of Metropolis and New York to its knees. In the story line's most indulgent liberty, those fat cats in Washington decide to write off Gotham, à la Escape from New York, blowing up the connecting bridges, mining the surrounding waterways, and signing into law the Federal Declaration of No Man's Land, which makes it a crime to even set foot in the city. The usual suspects from Arkham Asylum, Two-Face and the Penguin, the Riddler and Dr. Freeze, Poison Ivy and Mr. Zsasz, file out to begin running the show, strong-arming and manipulating the block-by-block turf battles that envelop the now-ultraviolent city. A conflicted Batman shows up fashionably late, only to find that these lunatics are the least of his worries: Lex Luthor, Superman's archfoe, has nefarious designs on Gotham too. Could this possibly get any better? Sure, No Man's Land is derivative fiction, but the appeal of Rucka--and, of course, Batman--can make this one worth the read. --Paul HughesCollecting BATMAN: NO MAN'S LAND #1, BATMAN #563-564, BATMAN: SHADOW OF THE BAT #83-84, DETECTIVE COMICS #730-731 and BATMAN: LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #116.

    But Jordan lost control, allowed himself to be corrupted and transformed into the villainous Parallax. Later, Jordan reappeared and made the ultimate sacrifice - a sacrifice that allowed him to become the Spectre, the Wrath of God.After several years of activity on Earth, The Spectre became restless and sought a way to prove himself worthy of that noble reputation. See how a man born without fear and seeking to rebuild his life puts cosmic forces into motion that will have repercussions not only on Earth but across the universe. This volume also features an introduction by best-selling author Brad Meltzer and a new cover by Van Sciver!Collecting: Green Lantern: Rebirth 1-6

    As an undercover agent in a complex super-villain organization, Holden Carver has become caught in a web of moral uncertainty. After being forced to kill someone to preserve his cover, the self-loathing operative looks to be pulled out of his assignment, but the only man who knows he is really a secret agent is in a coma. Now with the world believing him a traitor to his country and his cover about to be blown, Carver must find a way to survive his mission and regain his identity. SUGGESTED FOR MATURE READERS.

    While Morrison is no stranger to writing the Superman character, having won three Eisner Award's for his work on All-Star Superman, Action Comics will be something new for both old and new readers and present humanity's first encounters with Superman, before he became one of the World's Greatest Super Heroes.Set a few years in the past, it's a bold new take on a classic hero.Collecting: Action Comics 1-8

    verso..Billionaire eco-terrorist's Ra's al Ghul is on a mad quest to remake the world in his own image. With the juggernaut clone of Superman known as Bizarro and a deadly rogue Amazon by his side, this troika of terror casts an ominous shadow over the very future of mankind!Witness the birth of a legendary alliance, as Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman join forces to defend Earth against an apocalyptic fate!

    Vaughan (PRIDE OF BAGHDAD, Y: THE LAST MAN) uniquely combines big city politics and superheroes in this criticially acclaimed series. Set in our modern-day world, EX MACHINA tells the story of civil engineer Mitchell Hundred, who becomes America's first living, breathing super-hero after a strange accident gives him the power to communicate with machines. Eventually Mitchell tires of risking his life merely to maintain the status quo, retires from masked crime fighting and runs for mayor of New York City, winning by a landslide after the events of 9/11.Illustrated by Tony Harris, EX MACHINA BOOK ONE is the first chapter of one of the finest series ever from Vertigo.Collects Ex Machina issues #1-11.

    For Logan, the century-old mutant known as Wolverine, that time is now. The loss of his healing factor and the traumatic events of "Three Months To Die" have all led to this, the single most important X-Men event of the decade. Over the years, Logan has been a warrior, a hero, a renegade, a savage, a samurai, a teacher - and so much more. Logan has spent decades being the best there is at what he does...but even the best fade away eventually. And now, the greatest X-Men hero will play a role he's never played before in this solemn special event brought to you by industry superstars Charles Soule and Steve McNiven.Collecting: Death of Wolverine 1-4

    Written by Andy Diggle Art and cover by Jock Oliver Queen has been a faithful member of the Justice League of America and defended Star City with his trusty bow and an arsenal of deadly arrows for years - now thrill to the definitive tale of how he became Green Arrow in this hardcover volume collecting the acclaimed 6-issue miniseries by Andy Diggle and Jock! Advance-solicited; on sale April 9