Around the time DC first acquired the Wildstorm in 1999, The Authority was one of the imprint's hottest books. When Mark Millar and Frank Quitely took over the title from issue #13 in 2000, sending its heroes against "the real bastards," it became hotter still -- and, ultimately, too hot for the comfort of its new publisher.

Millar and Quitely's opening storyline, which included violence that was all-too-graphic and bad guys that were either too real (such as the then-recently ousted President of Indonesia, Muhammad Suharto) or too accurately fictional (such as the pair's off-brand version of Marvel's Avengers), was extensively tweaked for initial publication and subsequent collection.

Now, the opening two issues of their run -- The Authority #13 and 14 -- will be available in their original unadulterated form as part of the upcoming Wildstorm: A Celebration Of 25 Years hardcover, some 16 years after their initial publication. According to the solicitation for the upcoming trade, the issues will be "presented in black and white, in their original, unedited versions."

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In addition to the two Millar and Quietly issues, the hardcover will also feature a plethora of pin-ups by former Wildstorm artists and fans-turned-pros, as well as a brand new ten-page Authority story written by Warren Ellis with art by Bryan Hitch and Paul Neary.

For hardcore fans of the comic, it would seem that the Wildstorm: A Celebration Of 25 Years hardcover offers Authority fans the closest glimpse yet of Millar and Quitely's original vision for the title.

(via BleedingCool)