lesgles's review against another edition
4.0
I'd heard a lot about Alan Moore and gotten partway through his Watchmen, but found this to be a more accessible introduction to his style. Plenty of moving and philosophically intriguing stories, including both greater and lesser known superheroes. My favorites were "For the Man Who Has Everything," "Mogo Doesn't Socialize," and "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?"
boneyking's review against another edition
4.0
"Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" and "The Killing Joke" are worth the admission price, but there are enough oddities in here to keep you coming back to this great collection.
robin_dh's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
plaidbrarian's review against another edition
3.0
Alan Moore is one of the greatest writers to ever work in comics, but that doesn't mean everything is all that great, as this mixed-bag of a collection shows. Two of the Superman stories here, "For the Man Who Has Everything" and "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" are two of the best in the character's history, and the short Green Lantern and Vega stories are top notch, too, but the rest range from not-very-special to outright kind-of-bad. And while I know people love it, I will never, ever warm up to The Killing Joke (the Joker crosses a very uncomfortable line here, no matter what the "official" word from DC states).
bloodravenlib's review against another edition
3.0
This was a bit of a mixed bag. If you are expecting the Alan Moore of works like Watchmen, then this is not it. However, if you are looking for some pretty good comics, then this will do the trick. Moore did a run with DC Comics during the 1980s, and this volume collects those works. The edition does include What Happened to the Man of Tomorrow and The Killing Joke. I read and reviewed The Killing Joke previously.
The comics vary from nice and poignant to light humor to good quality storytelling. There is a bit of everything. Personally, I liked Man of Tomorrow and the story about the Green Lantern Corps member who had to deal in a world where there is no color (it is dark and all the inhabitants are blind). I thought that was a pretty original tale. A couple other stories were just lukewarm, but they were still ok to read. These are comics from the 1980s, which is clear in the art style. In a way takes me back to my younger days. Fans of Moore will likely want to read this whether because they are fans or just to complete their collections. More casual fans may want to borrow it. I liked it, but I know Moore has done better work. Still, I was glad to have read it.
The comics vary from nice and poignant to light humor to good quality storytelling. There is a bit of everything. Personally, I liked Man of Tomorrow and the story about the Green Lantern Corps member who had to deal in a world where there is no color (it is dark and all the inhabitants are blind). I thought that was a pretty original tale. A couple other stories were just lukewarm, but they were still ok to read. These are comics from the 1980s, which is clear in the art style. In a way takes me back to my younger days. Fans of Moore will likely want to read this whether because they are fans or just to complete their collections. More casual fans may want to borrow it. I liked it, but I know Moore has done better work. Still, I was glad to have read it.
vanessakm's review against another edition
5.0
Alan Moore is well known even to people outside of the comics world and there's a simple reason for that: he's an auteur who could just as easily work in literary fiction, mystery, science fiction. He chooses to write comics. And we love him for it.
This is a collection of some of his early work for DC. And what a collection it is. Just look at the cover art. I knew Alan wrote and revitalized Swamp Thing of course and everyone who reads the Batman-verse comics, particularly Birds of Prey, knows about "The Killing Joke" but he also wrote for Green Arrow, Green Lantern and Superman. There isn't a clunker in this collection (having said that, the Green Arrow is probably the weakest entry.)
The standout stories include the following:
"For the Man Who Has Everything"-art by Dave Gibbons (who would also collaborate with Moore on Watchmen.) Superman is given the chance to imagine a world in which Krypton didn't blow up and he has a family. But things aren't as rosy as they appear. Great one-off issue.
"Father's Day"-art by Jim Baikie. Hey gang! Remember Vigilante? Me neither. He's apparently a Batman-esque type of hero that works by day as a district attorney. His costume is silly but the story is a really affecting and surprisingly (for the time) gory page turner about a battered woman trying to protect her daughter from the violent, fresh-from-prison father who molested her years before. The art by Jim Baikie is a little reminiscent of Mary Worth but it compliments the story well and a few panels really hit you in the gut and stick with you.
"The Jungle Line"-art by Rick Veitch. This story is good but probably not great. Moore has certainly written better Swamp Thing pieces; however, adding Superman to the story just made it irresistible. When Superman loses his mind from an extraterrestrial fungal infection, who you gonna call? Swampy.
"Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow"-art by Curt Swan and George Perez. Curt Swan was a famous long-time Superman illustrator so it's fascinating he paired up with Moore for this brilliantly off-kilter epic that posits a future where Superman has died. This along with "The Killing Joke" is the best story in the bunch. Moore melds Superman-esque sensibilities (lines like "Superman! Thank heavens you're back!") with a deeply touching and occasionally odd and disturbing tale of Superman's last days which include a siege on the Fortress of Solitude, Jimmy Olson and Lana getting super powers and a Brainiac-controlled reanimated Lex Luthor. I defy you not to get out your Kleenex by the end. Not to mention Curt Swan seems to think that in the distant future of 1997, men will be wearing lace cravats.
"In Blackest Night"-art by Bill Willingham. I liked all the Green Lantern stories (including the one that introduces Mogo. Sniff, RIP) but this one starring Katma Tui is my favorite. Bonus: hear perhaps the only instance of a Guardian telling a joke.
"Mortal Clay"-art by George Freeman. In this Batman story, Moore is at his disturbing and funny best.
"The Killing Joke"-art by Brian Bolland. You can have your Dark Knight Returns. I love this infamous Batman story from the same era which features outstanding artwork from Brian Bolland. The story is deeply disturbing and emotionally powerful. This is the story that put Barbara Gordon (the original Batgirl) in a wheelchair after being shot by the Joker, a chain of events that turned her into Oracle. Some of the scenes from this are unforgettable: the look on Barbara's face right before she gets shot, Batman's face at the hospital, the final showdown between Batman and the Joker. This is the original version with colors done by John Higgins and Bolland, while gracious, was never quite happy with them. If you can, check out the Deluxe Edition of this story which Bolland colored himself. It's quite a difference to compare them side-by-side.
This is a collection of some of his early work for DC. And what a collection it is. Just look at the cover art. I knew Alan wrote and revitalized Swamp Thing of course and everyone who reads the Batman-verse comics, particularly Birds of Prey, knows about "The Killing Joke" but he also wrote for Green Arrow, Green Lantern and Superman. There isn't a clunker in this collection (having said that, the Green Arrow is probably the weakest entry.)
The standout stories include the following:
"For the Man Who Has Everything"-art by Dave Gibbons (who would also collaborate with Moore on Watchmen.) Superman is given the chance to imagine a world in which Krypton didn't blow up and he has a family. But things aren't as rosy as they appear. Great one-off issue.
"Father's Day"-art by Jim Baikie. Hey gang! Remember Vigilante? Me neither. He's apparently a Batman-esque type of hero that works by day as a district attorney. His costume is silly but the story is a really affecting and surprisingly (for the time) gory page turner about a battered woman trying to protect her daughter from the violent, fresh-from-prison father who molested her years before. The art by Jim Baikie is a little reminiscent of Mary Worth but it compliments the story well and a few panels really hit you in the gut and stick with you.
"The Jungle Line"-art by Rick Veitch. This story is good but probably not great. Moore has certainly written better Swamp Thing pieces; however, adding Superman to the story just made it irresistible. When Superman loses his mind from an extraterrestrial fungal infection, who you gonna call? Swampy.
"Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow"-art by Curt Swan and George Perez. Curt Swan was a famous long-time Superman illustrator so it's fascinating he paired up with Moore for this brilliantly off-kilter epic that posits a future where Superman has died. This along with "The Killing Joke" is the best story in the bunch. Moore melds Superman-esque sensibilities (lines like "Superman! Thank heavens you're back!") with a deeply touching and occasionally odd and disturbing tale of Superman's last days which include a siege on the Fortress of Solitude, Jimmy Olson and Lana getting super powers and a Brainiac-controlled reanimated Lex Luthor. I defy you not to get out your Kleenex by the end. Not to mention Curt Swan seems to think that in the distant future of 1997, men will be wearing lace cravats.
"In Blackest Night"-art by Bill Willingham. I liked all the Green Lantern stories (including the one that introduces Mogo. Sniff, RIP) but this one starring Katma Tui is my favorite. Bonus: hear perhaps the only instance of a Guardian telling a joke.
"Mortal Clay"-art by George Freeman. In this Batman story, Moore is at his disturbing and funny best.
"The Killing Joke"-art by Brian Bolland. You can have your Dark Knight Returns. I love this infamous Batman story from the same era which features outstanding artwork from Brian Bolland. The story is deeply disturbing and emotionally powerful. This is the story that put Barbara Gordon (the original Batgirl) in a wheelchair after being shot by the Joker, a chain of events that turned her into Oracle. Some of the scenes from this are unforgettable: the look on Barbara's face right before she gets shot, Batman's face at the hospital, the final showdown between Batman and the Joker. This is the original version with colors done by John Higgins and Bolland, while gracious, was never quite happy with them. If you can, check out the Deluxe Edition of this story which Bolland colored himself. It's quite a difference to compare them side-by-side.
rebus's review
3.5
The shorter features are fairly weak for the most part and much of the material was redundant to me and available elsewhere. Moore has some misapprehensions about America in 1985, as the character in the Vigilante story brags about having 40 kilos of good Columbian weed (even then, the only weed we thought of as worse than the Columbian was the Mexican, and prices reflected this, as Jamaican was the good stuff). Fever does however point out to the character that life is all about authority and that we shouldn't grow up and give in to it, that indeed most of our issues are due to external factors (such as bad parents). Even the perp in that tale says that no one points the finger at society, and that the man who does will be very lonely. It was also amusing to see that there was a Sony Surveillance cam in Arkham, and I enjoyed the Green Lantern material the most (aside from the Superman and Batman features I'd read in other volumes).
gregbrown's review against another edition
3.0
Re-read July 31, 2016:
This time I enjoyed the shorter stories more than the longer ones, which is a weird inversion from the earlier review further down! For the greatness of "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?", it leans a lot on being able to do Big Serious Things and has a really dark, almost cruel attitude towards the characters. These days I really prefer the warmth of something like All-Star Superman (or the animated series), at least when working with Superman and his enemies. And a lot of the short stories are just fun, like Superman's run-in with Swamp Thing or what it's like to have a Green Lantern who's never even seen light. There are still some ones that are just ~there~, but at least they're over quickly enough.
Also it is super-uncanny that I happened to re-read this exactly two years after the first time.
--------------
Original read July 31, 2014:
Moore's work is always formally brilliant, often juggling parallel stories and juxtaposing words in one scene against images from another. Yet as far as emotional content goes, most of these standalone stories fall flat.
Granted, there are a few gems here—"Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" is outstanding, and possibly the best Superman story outside of All-Star Superman. "The Killing Joke" was a tremendously influential take on the Joker, though for my money The Dark Knight did it one better. Too many of the other stories feel perfunctory, though, especially the Vigilante story. (The execution and structure are superb, but the subject matter kinda boring and drawn out as a result. You'll see what I mean.)
If you enjoyed another of Moore's works like Watchmen or V for Vendetta, this collection is at least interesting to see him use the more conventional DC characters. But if you're really looking to branch out with him, is really recommend From Hell or his run on Swamp Thing instead; he's at his best when he has room to work.
This time I enjoyed the shorter stories more than the longer ones, which is a weird inversion from the earlier review further down! For the greatness of "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?", it leans a lot on being able to do Big Serious Things and has a really dark, almost cruel attitude towards the characters. These days I really prefer the warmth of something like All-Star Superman (or the animated series), at least when working with Superman and his enemies. And a lot of the short stories are just fun, like Superman's run-in with Swamp Thing or what it's like to have a Green Lantern who's never even seen light. There are still some ones that are just ~there~, but at least they're over quickly enough.
Also it is super-uncanny that I happened to re-read this exactly two years after the first time.
--------------
Original read July 31, 2014:
Moore's work is always formally brilliant, often juggling parallel stories and juxtaposing words in one scene against images from another. Yet as far as emotional content goes, most of these standalone stories fall flat.
Granted, there are a few gems here—"Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" is outstanding, and possibly the best Superman story outside of All-Star Superman. "The Killing Joke" was a tremendously influential take on the Joker, though for my money The Dark Knight did it one better. Too many of the other stories feel perfunctory, though, especially the Vigilante story. (The execution and structure are superb, but the subject matter kinda boring and drawn out as a result. You'll see what I mean.)
If you enjoyed another of Moore's works like Watchmen or V for Vendetta, this collection is at least interesting to see him use the more conventional DC characters. But if you're really looking to branch out with him, is really recommend From Hell or his run on Swamp Thing instead; he's at his best when he has room to work.
duncanvb's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Real Galaxy Brain stuff (or Planet Guy?). I love how Moore will happily entirely rewrite a character's DNA but will still include like, Super Dog; he understands you can be sacrilegious and still take something absolutely seriously. And all major, end-of-the-lineage stories should end with someone closing the door on you so they can fuck their wife.
karsyn's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
Though I enjoyed the End of Superman-type comic and one other, I don’t think Alan Moore’s short-format writing works for me. And Marvel is def > DC