Rating:  -
While some of the stories included are not among Moore's best, this collection still represents a really good place to start when collecting his work. Obvious highlights include "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" and "For the Man Who Has Everything", "Tygers" (for Green Lantern fans), the story of Rot Lop Fan, and "The Killing Joke". I must admit that I'm not that fond of the Vigilante or other stories, but I'm a fairly casual comics reader and am not as well versed on those characters.
Overall, highly recommended, although many fans will probably have many of these stories in one form or another already.
Rating:  -
Although not Watchmen or From Hell by any means, the stories collected here are some of Alan Moore's most enjoyable. From the excellent Superman stories "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" and "For the Man Who Has Everything" to "The Killing Joke," a dark look at the cyclical Batman/Joker relationship, this collection never fails to entertain. Also within this volume are brief, inspired looks at the Green Arrow, the Vigilante, the Phantom Stranger, and the Green Lantern Corps. Alan Moore, comics god, never fails to leave a mark and that is strikingly apparent in the stories contained within this volume.
Rating:  -
So we read in the intro that after Moore left DC, he started on Swamp Thing and the rest is history. No words are truer since Swamp Thing is really where his glowing career really started and became such a big name in comics. None of these stories are really any good because during this time, he was still honing his skills.
For the Man Who Has Everything
Ok, if you read enough comics, you will not think this is any good. This is no different from all those "What-If" issues - What If Uncle Ben had Survived? What if Superman was Russian? etc etc. So here, we see what if planet Krypton did not explode and Superman remained there. We also see a little of what if Batman's parents have survived. Great if you never read such stories, boring if you have.
Night Olympics
Green Arrow goes against some wannabe vigilante. Snoozer.
Mogo Doesn't Socialize
This is a somewhat clever Green Lantern story (if you don't know Mogo), but way too short.
Father's Day
Who the heck is Vigilante? Wow, horrible, just horrible.
Brief Lives
From Omega Men comics. This is actually not bad and original. But quite short.
A Man's World
Omega Men, again. Doesn't make any sense.
The Jungle Line
Superman meets Swamp Thing. I think I can stop there.
Tygers
This is actually the best story of the whole book. Really smart Green Lantern story. Moore writes a pretty good Green Lantern.
Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?
Ok, this is supposed to be epic according to comic nerds. But here, Superman does not even sound like Superman. I have not read the other death of Superman involving Lex Luthor, but I read the death of Superman with Doomsday and that is a way better story than this one - at least the characters talk the way they should. Though I admit, the former is not an action story like the latter, everything about the former is really inconsistent and not Superman! If you put Watchmen characters in this story, it would still make sense.
Footsteps
From Secret Origins. Bad.
In Blackest Night
Green Lantern story. This one is bad.
Mortal Clay
Clayface is in love with a mannequin. Writer's block, perhaps?
The Killing Joke
I never thought this was any good. It is just a mediocre story with the Joker misbehaving like he never had. The last joke wasn't even funny. What makes this bad is actually telling the origin story of the Joker. The Joker is not supposed to have any origin, that's what makes him weird and dangerous. Noone can figure him out. The artwork is the only saving grace in this story as Bolland demonstrates some highly detailed and masterful cross-hatching skills. Some of the faces are just downright spooky, but nonetheless, clean and sharp illustrations. If you compare the pictures in this book which have the original colors to the new hard cover Killing Joke where Bolland recolors the drawings himself, you will really appreciate his talent - the two books are Night and Day.
Rating: -
Alan Moore is bubbling over with great ideas, but the short form of the DC universe isn't his strong suit, it's like asking Thomas Hardy to write for the Larry David show. In this book I found about half of the pieces impenetrable, and I would be surprised if Moore himself recalled some of them.
And sometimes a dull or mediocre story is saved by some great draftsmanship or spectacular inkwork--the Superman + Swamp Thing tale reprinted here is a good example of that. Superman is stricken by a deadly disease and goes South to die--why? Because it is the only area free of fellow superheroes--yes, you heard me. And while he's there in the swamp and collapses, Swamp Thing helps him while he's in a trance and afterwards, well, when he's back to his normal Superman self he--well, obviously I can't continue without a "spoiler warning," but when you read to the end you'll have those question marks floating in front of your eyes like bats in a cave.
In the longer stories, however, Moore really shines. The "Killing Joke" (Joker vs. Batman) is mordant to a fault, but Moore's convulsive energy manages to give a lift to even the most overdetermined of situations, so it never gets tiring and the transitions between Joker's past and present are beautifully staged and presented. Moore even thinks of a way to avoid getting locked up in the "origin story" trap, as the Joker realizes that his memories are so scrambled that what he imagines happened to him might not have in "real life," though some sort of trauma is indicated.
Best of all is the famous Superman dies story "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" which glories in a complicated yet credible sequence of tragic events, and a cast list that boggles the mind--nearly every important figure in the whole Superman saga gets to make an appearance, like the Hollywood stars poking through the narrative fabric of George Stevens' THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD.
All in all rather a mixed bag but with some real keepers easily worth the price of the collection.
Rating: -
I bought this collection of Moore's work after having read The Watchmen. They seem to have been written by a different person than the man who wrote The Watchmen. They are certainly entertaining (as light stories, gotchas, time machines even), but they show none of the brillinace of Watchmen.
|
