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The Stories of Alan Moore
This DC Comics collection of some of Alan Moore's most famous comics is a nice addition to anyone's bookcase. Often overlooked as just "funnybooks", Moore's writing and characterization came about in a time when comic books were being referred to as "graphic novels". From Superman and Batman, to Swamp Thing and The Phantom Stranger, this trade-paperback contains fifteen of Moore's stories that were writtten for DC Comics from 1985-88.
The Good: Some of Moore's most famous comics are reprinted in this collection. Included are the noteworthy The Killing Joke, showing The Joker at his most devious, insane, and possibly realistic. Also included are For The Man Who Has Everything (not only my favorite Superman story, but my favorite comic of all-time), and a very touching Vigilante two-parter about child abuse titled Father's Day. There are two separate Green Lanter Corps stories that are simple fun reads, showing that Moore's work doesn't always have to be gritty to be insightful.
The Bad: Since this is a collection of various work, it features several different artists. While you get beautiful work by Brian Bolland and Curt Swan, you also get some less than stellar artwork. But that's how it always was in the 1980s world of comics. God, I'm such a geek for knowing this. Also, this paperback edition doesn't feature Moore's most well-known works, The Watchmen or V For Vendetta, the latter of which you've all seen on DVD I'm sure. Mind you, if those large epics were in this collection it would have more pages than the Bible itself. Since some of the selected tales were already favorites of mine, I already had a few of them kicking around in their original comic book format. Not to say I wouldn't read them again, just that I already have them. It's a nice collection, but as with all trade-paperbacks, there's really nothing new here.
The Verdict: If you like Moore's work, and even if you already own a handful of it, there are some smaller stories in this collection that act as hidden gems amongst the more well-known Kiling Joke and Whatever Happened To The Man of Tomorrow?. Definitely pick this up to read the Green Arrow back-up and "Mogo Doesn't Socialize" (a short Green Lantern story). Let's not forget that at only $19.99 you get a bunch of stories that would cost over $100 to get the original comics.
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