Code: Perfect

back in the '90s, when Image founder Jim Lee could do no wrong in the eyes of the fans, he launched his little imprint WildStorm, which got its name from his first Image creations WildCATS and StormWatch. Jim Lee (in a stroke of genius) gave the reigns to the exceedingly lame StormWatch over to british scribe Warren Ellis, who proceeded to take the United Nations Superhero team in a new direction, systematically killing off all the members and leaving behind characters he created, eventually growing into The Authority. but as good as The Authority was, the real brilliance was in its embryonic stages as StormWatch.
it was on StormWatch that Ellis- in dark, moody evocative single-issue stories drawn by Tom Raney (clearly at the height of his career!)- really showed me that he was an important writer, exploiting the framework of superhero continuity he inherited from earlier, less imaginative creative teams to etch out the mission statement that would eventually manifest itself in WildStorm books The Authority and Planetary. nowhere was Ellis' ingenuity showcased better than in Change Or Die, where we meet the superhero team so ahead of their time, they were branded villains. no wonder this is where we first meet previous incarnations of Authority team members The Doctor and The Engineer as members of the iconoclastic superteam The Changers, lead by messianic Shazam knock-off, The High.

Foreshadowing Ellis' transition from StormWatch to The Authority (whether he intended to or not),StormWatch members Rose Tattoo and (future Authority skipper) Jenny Sparks were formerly members of the Changers.
Anyways, Ellis' run on StormWatch is flawless, peaking with the opus-like Change Or Die, and (lucky for you) neatly packaged in volumes so you don't have to dig in the crates for single issues (unless that's your thing...). also, it'll throw you smoothly into Relentless, the first TPB of The Authority. if you like heady, sci-fi writing, political and philosophical debate, and steady amounts of ass-kicking, make it your business to cop Ellis's StormWatch trades (start with Forces of Nature,seen above. don't just jump straight into Change Or Die... you're not ready!)...

holla!
-gM