Books : The World's Greatest Super-Heroes

In association with Amazon.com

Rating:

- Paul Dini and Alex Ross combined: The Audience is sure to win.
Actually, this edition is more a 7 and a half stars worth of material. The writing, which is both accesible to children as to adults, tells the very human stories of legendary DC Universe heroes like Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman among others trying to make the world a better place in their own respective ways.
The writing by Dini is excellent, showcasing an understanding of the human qualities of the superheroes few writers seem to understand let alone place on paper.
The real reason why anyone would buy this would be Alex Ross' artwork. Its stunning realism and attention to detail makes the worlds of the heroes come to life in ways seldom seen in comic books.
This book also comes with plenty of supplemental material by Ross such as unused artwork and promotional material for DC.
Rest assured, however, that Dini's writing and Ross' artwork are reson enough to shell 50 dollars (less even from certain sellers here on amazon). You won't be disapointed. Highly recommended.

Rating:

- infallible
based on the strength of the Kingdom Come graphic novel illustrated gorgeously by Alex Ross, I picked up this gem of story-telling. The chapters contained within the book are treasures of narrative that will keep one's attention without any trouble at all. I am a fan of the X-Men from 'that other Comic Book company'. But I get too caught up in the megalomania of those stories that I realized how much I saw that superheroes dealing with common criminals and situations are as much, if not more, compelling.

Each Hero or Heroine here deals with their own problems with as much panache and intensity as if they were dealing with super-powered villains and you see they must also reflect on the results and possible consequences of their invlovement. While I loved them all, I particuarly liked Captain Marvel's story participating as a 'guest visitor' at a hospital for recovering children. He could be fighting Superbaddies #1 and #2 but involved his time with issues such as re-educating an abusive father. A class story through and through.

And needless to say, Alex Ross's artwork was as awesome literally from cover to cover as it was on Kingdom Come. I really wish Comic Book companies take a look at examples of Graphic Novel masterpieces such as this and realize why the comic book format can be in better shape than maybe it is today. Five stars and then some.

Rating:

- Just Gorgeous
This book reprints 6 special comics and does them justice. Alex Ross's art not only looks great, but tells the story well.The pretty pictures do not get in the way of the story. The book is smaller size than the originals, which were the size of the old LIFE magazine, but the art is not impaired in the least and the production values are top of the line.What makes the book worth having, though, are not the pretty pictures but the stories.Paul Dini writes stories which make each of the characters examine themselves, bringing us along in a thoroughly entertaining manner. He makes them very human, complemented by the art which is very lifelike (Ross uses human models.)The Batman story is the best, the Justice League story the weakest, although that is a relative judgement since it is a pretty good story.At the time the stories were first published, I had wished that the 5th volume would be a Plastic Man story and still feel that would have been a better way to go, but such was not to be. Regardless, this book will remind you why we love superheroes.

Rating:

- If you love comics, don't miss this...
This fantastic volume comprises all the seperate "treasury size" comics produced by Ross and Dini. These wonderful tales feature the breathtaking art of Alex Ross, and the stories themselves focus essentially on the iconaclastic elements of the individual characters. The motivations of Batman, Superman, Wonde Woman, etc, are revealved to the reader without the mess of having to adhere to the rigid soap opera continuity that is the focus of modern-era comics. These are simply great stories accompanied by great art; in a sense, what comics should be.

Rating:

- Book Review
If you are into Super-Heroes and those specifically related to DC, this is a must have book. The quality of the illustrations is worth every penny.

Paul Franco

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