Entertaining Not Brilliant

books:

	• DC Universe: The Stories of Alan Moore Alan Moore DC Comics, 2006 - 304 pages average customer review:based on 23 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A good collection

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.

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Entertaining Not Brilliant

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.

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Pure Alan Moore fun!

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.

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Sometimes Laughably Dark

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.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

The Worlds Greatest Super-Heroes as interpreted by one of the most acclaimed authors in comics today.The work of Alan Moore (WATCHMEN, V FOR VENDETTA, LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN) in the DC Universe during the 1980s is now considered a benchmark for great stories with fresh approaches to iconic characters.This volume collects such well-known classics as The Killing Joke and Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?

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