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DC Universe: The Stories of Alan Moore
Presents a collection of classic comic book stories about superheroes by Alan Moore.
303 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
25 people are currently reading
1,875 people want to read
About the author
Alan Moore
1,585books20.9kfollowersAlan Moore is an English writer most famous for his influential work in comics, including the acclaimed graphic novels Watchmen, V for Vendetta and From Hell. He has also written a novel, Voice of the Fire, and performs "workings" (one-off performance art/spoken word pieces) with The Moon and Serpent Grand Egyptian Theatre of Marvels, some of which have been released on CD.
As a comics writer, Moore is notable for being one of the first writers to apply literary and formalist sensibilities to the mainstream of the medium. As well as including challenging subject matter and adult themes, he brings a wide range of influences to his work, from the literary–authors such as William S. Burroughs, Thomas Pynchon, Robert Anton Wilson and Iain Sinclair; New Wave science fiction writers such as Michael Moorcock; horror writers such as Clive Barker; to the cinematic–filmmakers such as Nicolas Roeg. Influences within comics include Will Eisner, Harvey Kurtzman, Jack Kirby and Bryan Talbot.
As a comics writer, Moore is notable for being one of the first writers to apply literary and formalist sensibilities to the mainstream of the medium. As well as including challenging subject matter and adult themes, he brings a wide range of influences to his work, from the literary–authors such as William S. Burroughs, Thomas Pynchon, Robert Anton Wilson and Iain Sinclair; New Wave science fiction writers such as Michael Moorcock; horror writers such as Clive Barker; to the cinematic–filmmakers such as Nicolas Roeg. Influences within comics include Will Eisner, Harvey Kurtzman, Jack Kirby and Bryan Talbot.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 175 reviews
August 4, 2016
It’s impressive how much greatness in one book!
This TPB collects the most popular stand-alone stories by Alan Moore, previously published in several DC titles.
The general rating is an average sum of the ratings given to each story contained in this book.
FOR THE MAN WHO HAS EVERYTHING
Rating: ( 5 stars )
Writer: Alan Moore
Illustrator: Dave Gibbons
Originally published in “Superman Annual� #11.
Do you understand what you did to me?
Superman is celebrating his birthday, and Batman, Robin (Jason Todd) and Wonder Woman are coming to his Fortress of Solitude with gifts. Yes, I know, this sounds like something out of Superfriends (and hey, I love Superfriends!) but�
…people, it’s Alan Moore writing�
…so, don’t worry, this birthday party will be epic!
The Dynamic Duo and the Amazon Princess found the Man of Steel under a trance due an alien flower known as “Black Mercy�, courtesy of Mongul, one of the most powerful enemies of Superman.
The “Black Mercy� provokes the worst thing that you can experience�
…your deepest desire in life.
NIGHT OLYMPICS (Parts 1 & 2)
Rating: **** ( 4 stars )
Writer: Alan Moore
Illustrator: Klaus Janson
Letterer: Todd Klein
Originally published in “Detective Comics� #549-550.
I’ll be back in ten minutes with two ambulances.
…tɴ?
Yeah. One for you� one for him.
In a night routine patrol around the city, Green Arrow and Black Canary meet a crazy criminal armed with bow and arrows.
The criminal thinks that super-heroes are hoaxes and all those super-villains are hired to perform false arrests.
To prove his theory that super-heroes aren’t the real thing�
…he shoots an arrow against Black Canary, seriously injuring her.
The criminal made a grave mistake�
…and Green Arrow will prove him how real thing can be!!!
MOGO DOESN’T SOCIALIZE
Rating: ( 5 stars )
Writer: Alan Moore
Illustrator: Dave Gibbons
Letterer: Todd Klein
Originally published in “Green Lantern� #188.
…he intended to cap his dubious career by challenging the most feared and mysterious being of them all� …the Green Lantern known as Mogo.
Arisia, a young Green Lantern, is learning about the history of the Corps, when Tomar-Re tells her an old tale about the most powerful of all Green Lanterns�
…MDz.
And how foolish was the challenge made by Bolphunga the Unrelenting, a nasty space gunman, against Mogo.
Bolphunga didn’t know, but�
…he already lost since the very moment that he thought about such challenge.
FATHER’S DAY (Parts 1 & 2)
Rating: ( 5 stars )
Writer: Alan Moore
Illustrator: Jim Baikie
Originally published in “Vigilante� #17-18.
They’ll bust your ass outta the Justice League of America�
I’m not in the Justice League of America�
Oh, they threw you out already, huh?
Adrian Chase, Manhattan District Attorney by day�
…The Vigilante by night.
You get all the messy real life here, in this story, as only Alan Moore can tell it.
A dangerous killer is on a rampage to find her young daughter and killing her mother or any prostitute daring to protect her won’t be much trouble.
The Vigilante makes an alliance with Fever, a prostitute, to find the girl before the father would do anything bad to her.
While the security of the young girl is the essence, as I told you, this is real life and it’s messy and The Vigilante and Fever will realize too late that blood is thicker than water� or tears� or justice� or common sense.
A stranger who mess into family matters�
…got screwed.
BRIEF LIVES
Rating: *** ( 3 stars )
Writer: Alan Moore
Illustrator: Kevin O’Neill
Letterer: Todd Klein
Originally published in “The Omega Men� #26.
Life’s too short.
Everything is about perspective!
A wacky short tale about how different life can be perceived depending of your position in the circle of life�
…or your size on it!
A MAN’S WORLD
Rating: *** ( 3 stars )
Writer: Alan Moore
Illustrator: Paris Cullins
Letterer: Todd Klein
Originally published in “The Omega Men� #27.
We’re both humanoids, aren’t we? Even though I come from other-place-up-in-sky? We’re nearly the same.
Ha! You not-feller, Leeyo. Have body different than any-feller we ever see.
That’s because I’m a woman, Mopi. A woman is� well amongst other things, it’s something that has babies. You know? Babies? Little-tiny-feller-look-same-as-us? Babies come from women.
How?
Leeyo is a space explorer doing a anthropological study in the planet of Culacao, where there is a strange race that it seems no having female beings.
Leeyo forms a friendship with Mopi, one of the local Culacaons.
Mopi is naive and with a clean soul.
However, inter-cultural issues can take a very wrong turn, in special when it’s about two species from totally (and literally!) different worlds.
“Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus� gets too short in this wacky but chilling tale.
THE JUNGLE LINE
Rating: ( 5 stars )
Writer: Alan Moore
Illustrator: Rick Veitch
Originally published in “DC Comics Presents� #85.
The most powerful creature on the planet has gone mad.
In this story The Swamp Thing is helping Superman, but the task isn’t easy at all.
Clark Kent attends a scientific exposition where a sample of a Kryptonian fungus, the Bloodmorel, native of the famous Scarlet Jungle (in Krypton), sickening him.
The symptoms are: Fever, bouts of incapacitation, hallucinations, chronic overexertion, and eventually�
…dٳ.
This is not a job for Superman, since he is the victim�
…this is a job for the Swamp Thing!!!
TYGERS
Rating: **** ( 4 stars )
Writer: Alan Moore
Illustrator: Kevin O’Neill
Originally published in “Tales of the Green Lantern Corps� Annual #2.
I merely speak that which is true.
In a lost tale of the Green Lantern Corps, Abin Sur, previous GL of Sector 2814, found Qull of the Five Inversions.
Qull told Abin Sur about lost prophesies, that even the Guardians of the Universe fear.
The first seeds of wars of willpower against fear and death are spread.
Their growing are now unavoidable�
…the prophecies would happen in the future of the Green Lantern Corps, endangering its status quo and nothing would be ever the same!
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE MAN OF TOMORROW?
Rating: ( 5 stars )
Writer: Alan Moore
Ilustrator: Curt Swan
Inkers: George Pérez & Kurt Schaffenberger
Editor: Julius Schwartz
Originally published in “Superman� #423 & “Action Comics� #583.
Nobody has the right to kill. � Not you, not Superman� Especially not Superman!
It’s 1997, ten years later of the last sighting of Superman. Lois Lane got married, now she is Mrs. Jordan Elliot, and she had a child. A young reporter from the Daily Planet interviews her about her recollections of the last days of Superman�
The goofy enemies of Superman like Bizarro, The Prankster and Toyman gone berserk in an unbelievable outbreak of genocides, homicides and even suicides. And the close people to Superman were starting to get killed since his secret identity was exposed in the middle of all that crazy violence. So, the menace was clear, if the “absurd� villains were able of such gruesome acts�
…how far could go his greatest foes?
Lex Luthor, bald mad scientist (still Silver Age, remember?) is assimilated against his will, into an unholy fusion, with Brainiac’s brain, evolving him in the worst of both worlds, with a clear goal�
…to kill Superman and all his loved ones without mercy!
The Legion of Super-Villains made a time trip from the 30th Century, to have front seats in the fall of Superman, since it’s an already historic fact in their time period!
And the worst is still to come!
FOOTSTEPS
Rating: *** ( 3 stars )
Writer: Alan Moore
Illustrator: Joe Orlando
Originally published in “Secret Origins� #10.
Lonely inside our separate skins, we cannot know each other’s pain and must bear our own in solitude.
The Phantom Strangers walks in silent through a bizarre tale filled of angels and demons, men and monsters, life and death, life and pain.
IN BLACKEST NIGHT
Rating: ( 5 stars )
Writer: Alan Moore
Illustrator: Bill Willingham
Originally published in “Tales of the Green Lantern Corps� Annual #3.
It just couldn’t translate the words “Green� or “Lantern� into a language with no concept of color or light.
Katma Tui, Green Lanter of Space Sector 1417, is sent by the Guardians of the Universe in a mission to recruit a worthy candidate to become the Green Lanter of the space sector known as the Obsidian Deeps, where is a lightless void, without any single star, an absolute darkness, an eternal night, the ultimate obscurity.
Finding even a planet in such vast absence of light proves to be tricky, but being able of explaining to the selected lifeform what is a “Green Lantern� will be a real challenge for Katma Tui.
MORTAL CLAY
Rating: ( 5 stars )
Writer: Alan Moore
Illustrator: George Freeman
Originally published in “Batman� Annual #11.
I still loved her� …after all she’d done to me.
The third incarnation of Clayface (aka Preston Payne), who unlike previous versions of Clayface (Basil Karlo, first version. Matt Hagen, second version) that they can mold their bodies into other forms, Preston Payne (due a tragic experiment with Matt Hagen’s blood) lives permanently as a deformed man but he needs to keep his body in an isolated body-suit since his touch can transmit his decease and killing people turning them liquid protoplasm.
In this crafty tale, Clayface III, falls in love with the perfect woman (for him)�
…a mannequin in a department store.
Sadly, even in this bizarre and insane love couple, there’s not such thing as happily ever after.
In love and madness...
…everything goes!
THE KILLING JOKE
Rating: ( 5 stars )
Writer: Alan Moore
Illustrator: Brian Bolland
Colorist: John Higgins
Originally published in “Batman: The Killing Joke� Prestige Format Book.
Nothing’s going to be the same� …not ever again.
The Joker kills people in very theatrical ways.
The Batman protects people in very theatrical ways.
Gotham City is in the middle�
…in the hands of murdering clowns and costumed vigilantes�
…in the hands of mad men.
The only one that keeps Gotham City from falling deep into madness?
James Gordon.
The Joker will do everything (and I mean EVERYTHING!) to give to James Gordon, a bad day, a very bad day, and turned him crazy.
But that’s not the scariest thing�
…oh, no�
…that isn’t the killing joke.
The scariest thing is when two people, supposed to be opposites�
…they laugh for the same joke.
This TPB collects the most popular stand-alone stories by Alan Moore, previously published in several DC titles.
The general rating is an average sum of the ratings given to each story contained in this book.
FOR THE MAN WHO HAS EVERYTHING
Rating: ( 5 stars )
Writer: Alan Moore
Illustrator: Dave Gibbons
Originally published in “Superman Annual� #11.
Do you understand what you did to me?
Superman is celebrating his birthday, and Batman, Robin (Jason Todd) and Wonder Woman are coming to his Fortress of Solitude with gifts. Yes, I know, this sounds like something out of Superfriends (and hey, I love Superfriends!) but�
…people, it’s Alan Moore writing�
…so, don’t worry, this birthday party will be epic!
The Dynamic Duo and the Amazon Princess found the Man of Steel under a trance due an alien flower known as “Black Mercy�, courtesy of Mongul, one of the most powerful enemies of Superman.
The “Black Mercy� provokes the worst thing that you can experience�
…your deepest desire in life.
NIGHT OLYMPICS (Parts 1 & 2)
Rating: **** ( 4 stars )
Writer: Alan Moore
Illustrator: Klaus Janson
Letterer: Todd Klein
Originally published in “Detective Comics� #549-550.
I’ll be back in ten minutes with two ambulances.
…tɴ?
Yeah. One for you� one for him.
In a night routine patrol around the city, Green Arrow and Black Canary meet a crazy criminal armed with bow and arrows.
The criminal thinks that super-heroes are hoaxes and all those super-villains are hired to perform false arrests.
To prove his theory that super-heroes aren’t the real thing�
…he shoots an arrow against Black Canary, seriously injuring her.
The criminal made a grave mistake�
…and Green Arrow will prove him how real thing can be!!!
MOGO DOESN’T SOCIALIZE
Rating: ( 5 stars )
Writer: Alan Moore
Illustrator: Dave Gibbons
Letterer: Todd Klein
Originally published in “Green Lantern� #188.
…he intended to cap his dubious career by challenging the most feared and mysterious being of them all� …the Green Lantern known as Mogo.
Arisia, a young Green Lantern, is learning about the history of the Corps, when Tomar-Re tells her an old tale about the most powerful of all Green Lanterns�
…MDz.
And how foolish was the challenge made by Bolphunga the Unrelenting, a nasty space gunman, against Mogo.
Bolphunga didn’t know, but�
…he already lost since the very moment that he thought about such challenge.
FATHER’S DAY (Parts 1 & 2)
Rating: ( 5 stars )
Writer: Alan Moore
Illustrator: Jim Baikie
Originally published in “Vigilante� #17-18.
They’ll bust your ass outta the Justice League of America�
I’m not in the Justice League of America�
Oh, they threw you out already, huh?
Adrian Chase, Manhattan District Attorney by day�
…The Vigilante by night.
You get all the messy real life here, in this story, as only Alan Moore can tell it.
A dangerous killer is on a rampage to find her young daughter and killing her mother or any prostitute daring to protect her won’t be much trouble.
The Vigilante makes an alliance with Fever, a prostitute, to find the girl before the father would do anything bad to her.
While the security of the young girl is the essence, as I told you, this is real life and it’s messy and The Vigilante and Fever will realize too late that blood is thicker than water� or tears� or justice� or common sense.
A stranger who mess into family matters�
…got screwed.
BRIEF LIVES
Rating: *** ( 3 stars )
Writer: Alan Moore
Illustrator: Kevin O’Neill
Letterer: Todd Klein
Originally published in “The Omega Men� #26.
Life’s too short.
Everything is about perspective!
A wacky short tale about how different life can be perceived depending of your position in the circle of life�
…or your size on it!
A MAN’S WORLD
Rating: *** ( 3 stars )
Writer: Alan Moore
Illustrator: Paris Cullins
Letterer: Todd Klein
Originally published in “The Omega Men� #27.
We’re both humanoids, aren’t we? Even though I come from other-place-up-in-sky? We’re nearly the same.
Ha! You not-feller, Leeyo. Have body different than any-feller we ever see.
That’s because I’m a woman, Mopi. A woman is� well amongst other things, it’s something that has babies. You know? Babies? Little-tiny-feller-look-same-as-us? Babies come from women.
How?
Leeyo is a space explorer doing a anthropological study in the planet of Culacao, where there is a strange race that it seems no having female beings.
Leeyo forms a friendship with Mopi, one of the local Culacaons.
Mopi is naive and with a clean soul.
However, inter-cultural issues can take a very wrong turn, in special when it’s about two species from totally (and literally!) different worlds.
“Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus� gets too short in this wacky but chilling tale.
THE JUNGLE LINE
Rating: ( 5 stars )
Writer: Alan Moore
Illustrator: Rick Veitch
Originally published in “DC Comics Presents� #85.
The most powerful creature on the planet has gone mad.
In this story The Swamp Thing is helping Superman, but the task isn’t easy at all.
Clark Kent attends a scientific exposition where a sample of a Kryptonian fungus, the Bloodmorel, native of the famous Scarlet Jungle (in Krypton), sickening him.
The symptoms are: Fever, bouts of incapacitation, hallucinations, chronic overexertion, and eventually�
…dٳ.
This is not a job for Superman, since he is the victim�
…this is a job for the Swamp Thing!!!
TYGERS
Rating: **** ( 4 stars )
Writer: Alan Moore
Illustrator: Kevin O’Neill
Originally published in “Tales of the Green Lantern Corps� Annual #2.
I merely speak that which is true.
In a lost tale of the Green Lantern Corps, Abin Sur, previous GL of Sector 2814, found Qull of the Five Inversions.
Qull told Abin Sur about lost prophesies, that even the Guardians of the Universe fear.
The first seeds of wars of willpower against fear and death are spread.
Their growing are now unavoidable�
…the prophecies would happen in the future of the Green Lantern Corps, endangering its status quo and nothing would be ever the same!
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE MAN OF TOMORROW?
Rating: ( 5 stars )
Writer: Alan Moore
Ilustrator: Curt Swan
Inkers: George Pérez & Kurt Schaffenberger
Editor: Julius Schwartz
Originally published in “Superman� #423 & “Action Comics� #583.
Nobody has the right to kill. � Not you, not Superman� Especially not Superman!
It’s 1997, ten years later of the last sighting of Superman. Lois Lane got married, now she is Mrs. Jordan Elliot, and she had a child. A young reporter from the Daily Planet interviews her about her recollections of the last days of Superman�
The goofy enemies of Superman like Bizarro, The Prankster and Toyman gone berserk in an unbelievable outbreak of genocides, homicides and even suicides. And the close people to Superman were starting to get killed since his secret identity was exposed in the middle of all that crazy violence. So, the menace was clear, if the “absurd� villains were able of such gruesome acts�
…how far could go his greatest foes?
Lex Luthor, bald mad scientist (still Silver Age, remember?) is assimilated against his will, into an unholy fusion, with Brainiac’s brain, evolving him in the worst of both worlds, with a clear goal�
…to kill Superman and all his loved ones without mercy!
The Legion of Super-Villains made a time trip from the 30th Century, to have front seats in the fall of Superman, since it’s an already historic fact in their time period!
And the worst is still to come!
FOOTSTEPS
Rating: *** ( 3 stars )
Writer: Alan Moore
Illustrator: Joe Orlando
Originally published in “Secret Origins� #10.
Lonely inside our separate skins, we cannot know each other’s pain and must bear our own in solitude.
The Phantom Strangers walks in silent through a bizarre tale filled of angels and demons, men and monsters, life and death, life and pain.
IN BLACKEST NIGHT
Rating: ( 5 stars )
Writer: Alan Moore
Illustrator: Bill Willingham
Originally published in “Tales of the Green Lantern Corps� Annual #3.
It just couldn’t translate the words “Green� or “Lantern� into a language with no concept of color or light.
Katma Tui, Green Lanter of Space Sector 1417, is sent by the Guardians of the Universe in a mission to recruit a worthy candidate to become the Green Lanter of the space sector known as the Obsidian Deeps, where is a lightless void, without any single star, an absolute darkness, an eternal night, the ultimate obscurity.
Finding even a planet in such vast absence of light proves to be tricky, but being able of explaining to the selected lifeform what is a “Green Lantern� will be a real challenge for Katma Tui.
MORTAL CLAY
Rating: ( 5 stars )
Writer: Alan Moore
Illustrator: George Freeman
Originally published in “Batman� Annual #11.
I still loved her� …after all she’d done to me.
The third incarnation of Clayface (aka Preston Payne), who unlike previous versions of Clayface (Basil Karlo, first version. Matt Hagen, second version) that they can mold their bodies into other forms, Preston Payne (due a tragic experiment with Matt Hagen’s blood) lives permanently as a deformed man but he needs to keep his body in an isolated body-suit since his touch can transmit his decease and killing people turning them liquid protoplasm.
In this crafty tale, Clayface III, falls in love with the perfect woman (for him)�
…a mannequin in a department store.
Sadly, even in this bizarre and insane love couple, there’s not such thing as happily ever after.
In love and madness...
…everything goes!
THE KILLING JOKE
Rating: ( 5 stars )
Writer: Alan Moore
Illustrator: Brian Bolland
Colorist: John Higgins
Originally published in “Batman: The Killing Joke� Prestige Format Book.
Nothing’s going to be the same� …not ever again.
The Joker kills people in very theatrical ways.
The Batman protects people in very theatrical ways.
Gotham City is in the middle�
…in the hands of murdering clowns and costumed vigilantes�
…in the hands of mad men.
The only one that keeps Gotham City from falling deep into madness?
James Gordon.
The Joker will do everything (and I mean EVERYTHING!) to give to James Gordon, a bad day, a very bad day, and turned him crazy.
But that’s not the scariest thing�
…oh, no�
…that isn’t the killing joke.
The scariest thing is when two people, supposed to be opposites�
…they laugh for the same joke.
December 11, 2012
Green Arrow: "That's my whole point... it's like Darwinism or something... we're gradually weeding out all the just-plain-average goons, gradually improving the strain..."superstar Alan Moore visited the DC Universe many times - and tore shit up with each visit. this graphic novel collects his takes on various iconic figures, including Superman & Batman & the Joker & Brainiac & lions & tigers & bears, oh my. he destroys and he rebuilds and then he exits - leaving everyone else to live in worlds of his own design. vastly improved worlds... but darker ones.
Phantom Stranger: "Blunting the sharp pebbles of memory with ten thousand years of footsteps, I walk."Moore visits the past and re-shapes it - yet nothing is lost and everything is gained. flimsy characters - conceits, really, like the Phantom Stranger - achieve surprising depth and are given lives filled with tragedy and despair and much else under his stern eye. and his revisions make so much sense that they were not only accepted by mainstream audiences, they served to guide those characters' destinies for many years to come. and happily, these tragic backstories are all delivered with a healthy dose of humor and irony. Moore is that charming guy who will crush your tidy worldview with a few choice bits of off-center insight into the true nature of things, and then will cap it off with some amusing banter so that you won't feel hollowed-out. well, not completely hollowed-out. just a little.
Vigilante: "And nothing's anybody's fault, right?"Moore can be ruthless, and in a way that i really do not like. to me, there is a difference between showing the true misery of the real world... and wallowing in it. not challenging that cruelty and sadism, but getting right in there, rolling around in the muck, wearing it like new clothes. and they were new clothes - it was visionaries like Moore and Frank Miller who understood that to achieve depth you have to show what is sordid and unclean. you have to achieve tragedy in real, understandable ways. i get it, but i don't have to like it, not all the time. the Vigilante story included in this collection is extremely distasteful - it has a callousness that comes across as almost complacent to me. and the most famous tale "The Killing Joke" is more of the same. that story is justly famous. indeed, it is brilliant. but it is also extremely disagreeable.
i have a friend who is an artist. once he made a piece of... i suppose you could call it "art". it was an old tv and on the screen he had put a print of that classic photo from the Vietnam war of a naked vietnamese child running away from a napalm attack, burned and crying. then he placed it where the tv that he had thrown out the window used to be, and kept it there for all to see, as a comment on violence and the media. i got the point. fuck, it was practically shoved right in my face. yeah, i got the point but i didn't appreciate the brutality of how that point was made. you can make a point without punching me in the head.
Swamp Thing: "Forget the scarlet and the heat... touch my hand and let the inferno within you be... extinguished... by cool darkness... by endless green..."fortunately, Moore is a lot more than a cynical guy who donkey punches you. his vision is usually bleak, but it is also often full of tenderness, a wry take on things, a true love for his characters and an understanding of what makes them icons. i was not too into Moore + Batman, but Moore + Superman is something else altogether. there i can see the complete vision - one that includes darkness and ugly irony and tragic trajectories, of course, but it is a vision that can be forward-looking, full of warmth and understanding, full of compassion for mortals and immortals and everything inbetween. it is possible to strip everything bare, to take away sentiment and easy comfort and cliche... and to still reach for truth, or a kind of truth, and so be lifted. it doesn't always have to be ugly; it can also be transcendent.
that is the Moore that i love.
Abin Sur: "Begone, illusions. You have nothing that I desire."
March 26, 2021
8.6/10
Great collection of short stories that showcase Moore's writing abilities. After you done reading one story and before you head to the next one, you'll take a few moments, to think about what you read, let it sink a bit in your thoughts.
Even the ones that are very short, have some depth and meaning.
The thing that stood out the most is Moore's Superman stories, they feel so different than anyone else's take on the character.
* The version i read doesn't include " Whatever happened to the Man of tomorrow" and "The killing joke"
Great collection of short stories that showcase Moore's writing abilities. After you done reading one story and before you head to the next one, you'll take a few moments, to think about what you read, let it sink a bit in your thoughts.
Even the ones that are very short, have some depth and meaning.
The thing that stood out the most is Moore's Superman stories, they feel so different than anyone else's take on the character.
* The version i read doesn't include " Whatever happened to the Man of tomorrow" and "The killing joke"
April 25, 2018
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.
July 22, 2008
When I was around 10, my uncle gave me three phonebooks each featuring the adventures of Batman, Superman, and Captain Marvel from the 30s to the 70s. I loved reading and re-reading the volumes, but the stories were meant for children and four years later, they seemed juvenile to me.
Alan Moore is one of the few writers whose work, when I read it today, makes me feel as if I am a kid picking up a superhero comic for the first time. Moore's stories are filled with the usual explosive antics, but there are always consequences that feel very real and serious and that, however unpleasant, his heroes are forced to confront. Reading Moore's superheroes is like looking at something familiar in a very strange light.
Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? is a case in point. It has all the familiar, goofy aspects of an old-school Superman story. It has dialogue like "Great Scott!" There's a supervillain team-up between Lex Luthor and Brainiac. Lana Lang takes a radioactive bath and gains super powers (love it when that happens).
But the Luthor-Brainiac team-up is parasitic and disturbing, happening when Brainiac latches onto Luthor's head and drills into his brain. And after super-strong Lana Lang snaps Luthor-Brainiac's neck (Yes. She does that), Brainiac discovers he's unable to puppet the corpse once rigor mortis sets in.
What makes reading this story particularly odd is that it's illustrated by Curt Swan, who pencilled most of the Superman comics from the 60s to the 80s. His style is associated with more clean-cut, simplistic representations of the character.
Anyway. This collection includes all of the one-shots and individual issues that Alan Moore wrote for DC. There was a previous compilation, but it left out both Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? as well as Moore's seminal one-shot The Killing Joke. This volume is complete.
There are also two or three short introductions to selected chapters that offer a little bit of historical context, just in case you were wondering why in the hell Alan Moore wrote a Green Arrow story.
Some stories are slighter than others, but that diversity is one of the strengths of this anthology. After all, comparing these stories to the epics and prolonged narratives that made Moore famous is pointless. With the exception of the Killing Joke, Moore was mostly a guest-writer and he probably treated the majority of these stories as one-offs. So it's sort of surprising how good most of them are. This collection is highly recommended both for people who enjoy superhero comics today and for people who only read them when they were children.
Alan Moore is one of the few writers whose work, when I read it today, makes me feel as if I am a kid picking up a superhero comic for the first time. Moore's stories are filled with the usual explosive antics, but there are always consequences that feel very real and serious and that, however unpleasant, his heroes are forced to confront. Reading Moore's superheroes is like looking at something familiar in a very strange light.
Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? is a case in point. It has all the familiar, goofy aspects of an old-school Superman story. It has dialogue like "Great Scott!" There's a supervillain team-up between Lex Luthor and Brainiac. Lana Lang takes a radioactive bath and gains super powers (love it when that happens).
But the Luthor-Brainiac team-up is parasitic and disturbing, happening when Brainiac latches onto Luthor's head and drills into his brain. And after super-strong Lana Lang snaps Luthor-Brainiac's neck (Yes. She does that), Brainiac discovers he's unable to puppet the corpse once rigor mortis sets in.
What makes reading this story particularly odd is that it's illustrated by Curt Swan, who pencilled most of the Superman comics from the 60s to the 80s. His style is associated with more clean-cut, simplistic representations of the character.
Anyway. This collection includes all of the one-shots and individual issues that Alan Moore wrote for DC. There was a previous compilation, but it left out both Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? as well as Moore's seminal one-shot The Killing Joke. This volume is complete.
There are also two or three short introductions to selected chapters that offer a little bit of historical context, just in case you were wondering why in the hell Alan Moore wrote a Green Arrow story.
Some stories are slighter than others, but that diversity is one of the strengths of this anthology. After all, comparing these stories to the epics and prolonged narratives that made Moore famous is pointless. With the exception of the Killing Joke, Moore was mostly a guest-writer and he probably treated the majority of these stories as one-offs. So it's sort of surprising how good most of them are. This collection is highly recommended both for people who enjoy superhero comics today and for people who only read them when they were children.
November 27, 2011
Now what's to be done? Each of these stories makes me desire to read more by Alan Moore. So many graphic novels, so little time! I need to find more Batman because the last two stories: Mortal Clay and The Killing Joke, were excellent. I've never read Batman, but it hearkens me back to my childhood. Happy memories from the telly show (which was probably very lame, but I was just a kid). The Vigilante story was creepy and good. The Green Lantern stories were both excellent. If I HAD to pick a favorite it would be from Omega Men: Brief Lives. It was thought provoking and humorous. "Farewell guildmasters. May the fateweb blight your eggs". (Can't wait to use that in real life ;)
March 30, 2009
Not all stories are equally good, but the Superman and Batman ones are excellent. "The Killing Joke" remains one of the best Batman stories I've read, and it's still shocking and impressive and, well, good even after having read it a bunch of times. "Whatever Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow" was good, but in that case my expectations were a little too high, I think; the Superman story I liked best in this collection was "For The Man Who Has Everything".
January 18, 2025
Withholding long-form DC universe classics like Swamp Thing, Killing Joke, What Ever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow which are all personified classics - Moore also did a bunch of random short tales.
My favourite being his Green Lantern tales, which feel similar to the short stories he did for 2001AD.
The longest story is a Vigilante tale, I'm not sure if I've heard of this character before. It's well written if not very impactful.
The latter stories in this volume are pretty forgettable and seem to just have a lot of nudity and violence. Moore writing for a paycheque perhaps.
My favourite being his Green Lantern tales, which feel similar to the short stories he did for 2001AD.
The longest story is a Vigilante tale, I'm not sure if I've heard of this character before. It's well written if not very impactful.
The latter stories in this volume are pretty forgettable and seem to just have a lot of nudity and violence. Moore writing for a paycheque perhaps.
August 17, 2015
For anyone that wants to see exactly what makes Alan Moore such a special writer, this collection is the perfect starting point. While Moore's longer works usually require a fair bit of contextual knowledge to fully appreciate, the stories here show off his ability to instantly get to the heart of what makes comic book characters tick. It is a rare thing to be at once game-changing and true to a character. Average stories usually manage one or the other but great stories do both. Moore manages this with Batman and the Joker in , twice with Superman in and and with the Green Lantern Corps with the creation of Mogo and the tale of a Green Lantern from a world with no understanding of light or colour. Moore takes liberties with characters in all of these stories, but they never feel like liberties. Not every story in this collection is as great as those above. The Vigilante story feels pulpy and exploitative and probably simply hasn't aged as well as the others. That's a tiny gripe though. Considering that you also get some great art from the likes of and , you can't really go wrong.
January 26, 2013
This is a collection of stories told by Alan Moore for DC Comics from 1985 to 1988. The stories are all over the board ranging from mediocre to exceptionally good with most of them falling in above average to somewhat good.
The story titles are as follows (compliments of Wiki):
1.1"For the Man Who Has Everything"
1.2"Night Olympics"
1.3"Mogo Doesn't Socialize"
1.4"Father's Day"
1.5"Brief Lives"
1.6"A Man's World"
1.7"The Jungle Line"
1.8"Tygers"
1.9"Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?"
1.10"Footsteps"
1.11"In Blackest Night"
1.12"Mortal Clay"
1.13"The Killing Joke"
Obviously “The Killing Joke� is the best of the bunch simply because it rocked DC Comics and was ranked by IGN Comics as the third best Batman graphic novel to read. I would say this one was the best of the bunch but soft stomachs would likely be upset. Note that this tale had some end influence on recent Batman video games.
“Footsteps� had the most promise but fell flat. I can only presume the series didn't go anywhere partly because the war between the angels was more interesting than the current tale.
“For the Man Who Has Everything� had some interesting spins on Krypton.
“Tygers� was good Green Lantern history.
“Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow� had a very interesting twist at the end.
“Mortal Clay� was a good play on insanity.
ARTWORK PRESENTATION: B minus to B; CHARACTERS/DIALOGUE: B; STORY/PLOTTING: B; CONCEPT/IDEAS: B to B plus; WHEN READ: early to mid August 2012; OVERALL GRADE: B.
The story titles are as follows (compliments of Wiki):
1.1"For the Man Who Has Everything"
1.2"Night Olympics"
1.3"Mogo Doesn't Socialize"
1.4"Father's Day"
1.5"Brief Lives"
1.6"A Man's World"
1.7"The Jungle Line"
1.8"Tygers"
1.9"Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?"
1.10"Footsteps"
1.11"In Blackest Night"
1.12"Mortal Clay"
1.13"The Killing Joke"
Obviously “The Killing Joke� is the best of the bunch simply because it rocked DC Comics and was ranked by IGN Comics as the third best Batman graphic novel to read. I would say this one was the best of the bunch but soft stomachs would likely be upset. Note that this tale had some end influence on recent Batman video games.
“Footsteps� had the most promise but fell flat. I can only presume the series didn't go anywhere partly because the war between the angels was more interesting than the current tale.
“For the Man Who Has Everything� had some interesting spins on Krypton.
“Tygers� was good Green Lantern history.
“Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow� had a very interesting twist at the end.
“Mortal Clay� was a good play on insanity.
ARTWORK PRESENTATION: B minus to B; CHARACTERS/DIALOGUE: B; STORY/PLOTTING: B; CONCEPT/IDEAS: B to B plus; WHEN READ: early to mid August 2012; OVERALL GRADE: B.
April 14, 2012
I never read many comics as a kid. I guess I skipped them and went straight to novels. But I think I missed a lot. Friends later introduced me into to them and now I'm starting to find they're a lot more complex than I thought. Alan Moore is an excellent example of a writer that gives comics a lot more than one would except. This collection has not only his famous Killing Joke but also the near equally famous Superman ultimate ending. The others are also quite good and show a depth of character many may not have realized could be found in this medium.
“I am but a stranger ... as we all are. Lonely inside our separate skins, we cannot know each others pain and must bear our own in solitude. For my part, I have found that walking soothes it; and that, given luck, sometimes we find one to walk besides us ... at least for a little way.- The Phantom Stranger ('Footsteps', secret origins no 10)”�- DC Universe: The Stories of Alan Moore.
“I am but a stranger ... as we all are. Lonely inside our separate skins, we cannot know each others pain and must bear our own in solitude. For my part, I have found that walking soothes it; and that, given luck, sometimes we find one to walk besides us ... at least for a little way.- The Phantom Stranger ('Footsteps', secret origins no 10)”�- DC Universe: The Stories of Alan Moore.
July 13, 2008
Any book that contains Whatever Happened to the Man of Steel? has to get five stars, straight off the bat. It's one of the greatest comics ever written, and the finest send-off a character could have (it relates the final story of the original Superman, prior to the John Byrne reboot). Since this also includes For the Man Who Has Everything and The Killing Joke, this is one of those times when five stars aren't nearly enough.
The rest of the contents may not reach those high standards, but still, any fan of Alan Moore's work will count themselves lucky to find them so conveniently gathered together. The Green Lantern and Omega Men short stories are DC-branded Futureshocks. The Green Arrow and Vigilante stories won't change your life, but better to find that out here rather than after paying over the odds for the back issues!
The rest of the contents may not reach those high standards, but still, any fan of Alan Moore's work will count themselves lucky to find them so conveniently gathered together. The Green Lantern and Omega Men short stories are DC-branded Futureshocks. The Green Arrow and Vigilante stories won't change your life, but better to find that out here rather than after paying over the odds for the back issues!
December 26, 2007
I read this mostly because I think I've read Alan Moore's 'essential' books: , From Hell, V for Vendetta, Swamp Thing, Promethea (surely there are many others but I just haven't found it).
This compilation book of short stories turned out to be as essential as his 'essential' ones. Stories like "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?", "The Killing Jokes", "Mogo Doesn't Socialize", "Vigilante" are just proves that Moore was and is still a comic legend. He wrote superhero stories like they're never written before (fighting scenes I mean), the way they're beautified with absurdness, great writings, and complex plots.
Guess I'm gonna buy all of his books.
This compilation book of short stories turned out to be as essential as his 'essential' ones. Stories like "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?", "The Killing Jokes", "Mogo Doesn't Socialize", "Vigilante" are just proves that Moore was and is still a comic legend. He wrote superhero stories like they're never written before (fighting scenes I mean), the way they're beautified with absurdness, great writings, and complex plots.
Guess I'm gonna buy all of his books.
April 5, 2008
I love Alan Moore. Snake worshipping madman though he may be, but I'd never read any of his superhero work before.
The book is an interesting view of an artist developing. And it's chock full of the metaphysical archetype busting (the still classic The Killing Joke and For The Man Who Has Everything) goodness that one comes to expect of Moore.
However, the book is padded by some more pedestrian superhero work, which means that for every story about Aliens living in a different time stream, or Boschian world we visit, we also get a story about The Green Arrow fighting a burglar.
Still to get such a wide range of work for twenty bucks is more then a fair deal.
The book is an interesting view of an artist developing. And it's chock full of the metaphysical archetype busting (the still classic The Killing Joke and For The Man Who Has Everything) goodness that one comes to expect of Moore.
However, the book is padded by some more pedestrian superhero work, which means that for every story about Aliens living in a different time stream, or Boschian world we visit, we also get a story about The Green Arrow fighting a burglar.
Still to get such a wide range of work for twenty bucks is more then a fair deal.
January 11, 2013
A Great collection, bringing together Moore's DC work, including Killing Joke and Man of Tomorrow. A great book that has much of what you need to see in terms of what Moore did at DC. Very enjoyable range, as it covers tons of characters (Green Lanterns, Green Arrow, Batman, Superman, Vigilante, Phantom Stranger, Swamp Thing, etc.) Also the stories themselves are much more interesting than your usual fare. Highly recommended for one stop coverage of Moore at DC highlights (but not the Swamp Thing series)
March 21, 2013
Ah DC, they never tire of making a quick buck off Alan Moore's handful of years in their employ, despite his very public hatred for them. And here were are, after all the big ones have been sold, they're back riffling through the trunk of old clothes that he left behind. There's got to be something worth selling in here, right? Some of these shirts look good, but there are some pretty threadbare sweaters in there too. In fact, I was originally going to give this a three, but the ratio is uneven enough in favor of the better stuff for me to rethink that. There's nothing too weak here, but some of it, particularly the Vigilante story and the Green Arrow, Omega Men and Green Lantern (except the obviously memorable Tygers) snippets, are not prime Moore. But this also tends to be the shorter stuff. And it's offset by the brilliant For the Man Who Has Everything and the hilariously deadpan Mortal Clay, not to mention Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow and The Killing Joke. In fact, let's go in greater detail on those for a sec.
Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?
When some people (ahem, Grant Morrison) trot out the tired old story that Moore's famous super hero deconstructions (none of which are to be found in this volume, by the way) are a sign of his utter contempt for the genre, I want to point them to this. Yes, it's pretty sad and seems to take an awfully dark approach to the Superman mythos (it absolutely killed me when I first read it as a teen, and even now I found myself getting pretty choked up), but that's what the assignment called for. He was assigned to write the finale of the silver age Superman, of course it's a tear jerker. But it seems to me to be so obviously the work of a man who reveres those old Superman comics, and even if the takes them in a darker direction, it's done with respect. And that darkness is tempered with a subtle, beautiful optimism which is very much in line with the tone of silver age Superman.
The Killing Joke
This could potentially be a better argument for the Moore hates super heroes thesis, but I still don't buy it. I actually want to hate this comic, because it relies heavily on cheap shock. But dear god is it well-written. It's a wonderful sample of how brilliant Moore's technique is. The ironic subtext to the dialogue, the repeating images that link each scene, the sheer emotional and visceral impact (the introduction praises Moore for writing stories that succeed both intellectually and emotionally, and I think that's spot on). And if it depends a bit on cheap shock, it never falls fully into cheap nihilism, and I think that's something that many of Moore's critics miss. Also Brian Bolland's mind-bogglingly detailed art is a treat. It does, however, feel a bit thin. It runs nearly fifty pages but could be summarized in two or three sentences, and I think the shock of it gives readers the impression that they've read something more substantial than they have. But again, the craftsmanship behind it forgives a lot. It's just not quite the classic it's often presented as. And while this is not a criticism of the story itself (which should be judged on its own merits), I do think it's had a negative impact in the long run. It's become increasingly common since The Killing Joke's publication for writers to fill their comics with horrible events happening to the main character and their supporting cast, because it gives the element of substance or depth, when in fact, without Moore's skill, it comes across as shallow and childish.
Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?
When some people (ahem, Grant Morrison) trot out the tired old story that Moore's famous super hero deconstructions (none of which are to be found in this volume, by the way) are a sign of his utter contempt for the genre, I want to point them to this. Yes, it's pretty sad and seems to take an awfully dark approach to the Superman mythos (it absolutely killed me when I first read it as a teen, and even now I found myself getting pretty choked up), but that's what the assignment called for. He was assigned to write the finale of the silver age Superman, of course it's a tear jerker. But it seems to me to be so obviously the work of a man who reveres those old Superman comics, and even if the takes them in a darker direction, it's done with respect. And that darkness is tempered with a subtle, beautiful optimism which is very much in line with the tone of silver age Superman.
The Killing Joke
This could potentially be a better argument for the Moore hates super heroes thesis, but I still don't buy it. I actually want to hate this comic, because it relies heavily on cheap shock. But dear god is it well-written. It's a wonderful sample of how brilliant Moore's technique is. The ironic subtext to the dialogue, the repeating images that link each scene, the sheer emotional and visceral impact (the introduction praises Moore for writing stories that succeed both intellectually and emotionally, and I think that's spot on). And if it depends a bit on cheap shock, it never falls fully into cheap nihilism, and I think that's something that many of Moore's critics miss. Also Brian Bolland's mind-bogglingly detailed art is a treat. It does, however, feel a bit thin. It runs nearly fifty pages but could be summarized in two or three sentences, and I think the shock of it gives readers the impression that they've read something more substantial than they have. But again, the craftsmanship behind it forgives a lot. It's just not quite the classic it's often presented as. And while this is not a criticism of the story itself (which should be judged on its own merits), I do think it's had a negative impact in the long run. It's become increasingly common since The Killing Joke's publication for writers to fill their comics with horrible events happening to the main character and their supporting cast, because it gives the element of substance or depth, when in fact, without Moore's skill, it comes across as shallow and childish.
March 23, 2014
Alan Moore has been one of the giants of comic books for thirty-odd years, and this book showcases some of his best work for DC Comics. Several of the stories are tender, some are funny, others are just odd, but there are a few which are disturbing. While The Killing Joke is justifiably a great story, it is very disturbing. There's the casual violence towards Barbara Gordon, what happens to Commissioner Gordon, and, for me, especially the last few panels. Excellent storytelling, but disturbing.
I also found Father's Day, a story of The Vigilante (a character I've never heard of) disturbing. It feels almost nihilistic in some ways, asking what the point of life is, in the same way as The Killing Joke. But Moore seems to answer himself in other stories. Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow and In Blackest Night both seem to be deeply humanist stories about survival, life and finding things to fight for.
There are also some very funny stories here. I really enjoyed the black humour in the Green Arrow story Night Olympics, while Brief Lives is a tale of how mighty empires mean nothing on some scales (reminding me of the story of the two mighty battle fleets swallowed by a dog in ' wonderful . And Mogo Doesn't Socialise is laugh-out-loud funny in its revelation.
Moore is a writer I have a lot of respect for. I find him difficult at times, but this collection showcases his flexibility and his versatility. Even if you're not hugely familiar with the DC canon, it's still damn fine storytelling, even if it is disturbing at times.
I also found Father's Day, a story of The Vigilante (a character I've never heard of) disturbing. It feels almost nihilistic in some ways, asking what the point of life is, in the same way as The Killing Joke. But Moore seems to answer himself in other stories. Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow and In Blackest Night both seem to be deeply humanist stories about survival, life and finding things to fight for.
There are also some very funny stories here. I really enjoyed the black humour in the Green Arrow story Night Olympics, while Brief Lives is a tale of how mighty empires mean nothing on some scales (reminding me of the story of the two mighty battle fleets swallowed by a dog in ' wonderful . And Mogo Doesn't Socialise is laugh-out-loud funny in its revelation.
Moore is a writer I have a lot of respect for. I find him difficult at times, but this collection showcases his flexibility and his versatility. Even if you're not hugely familiar with the DC canon, it's still damn fine storytelling, even if it is disturbing at times.
September 15, 2010
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.
October 5, 2024
Having recently completed ingesting the masterful Swamp Thing run of Alan Moore, two realizations finally penetrated my force-field of pathetic, uninformed hubris. First, it finally registered that Moore’s body of work was significantly more significant than merely Watchmen and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen which are often placed on a pedestal, Providence which outdoes Lovecraft in sheer, creepy horror, and the Tom Strong and Tomorrow Stories from the short-lived America’s Best Comics experiment, which may have been homages to Doc Savage and pulp science-fiction but kept me checking comic store shelves. Second, my distaste for the mainstream of the DC Universe had cheated me out of some interesting stories that might have pulled me back in. So, I picked up this marvelous anthology called DC Universe: The Stories of Alan Moore.
At the time Moore was writing Superman and Batman annuals, I wouldn’t have touched them with the proverbial one-story maypole. So, I missed out on the creepy psychological horror associated with the alien Black Mercy plant given to Superman on his birthday. I was amazed at the crafting of this story and the emotional impact when I finally read it in this anthology, DC Universe: The Stories of Alan Moore. I was totally mesmerized by “Mortal Clay,� the Batman annual where one of the successive Clayfaces (III, to be exact) becomes insanely infatuated with a department store mannikin and irrevocably, violently jealous of the mannikin’s alleged desire for Batman. The writing style from Clayface III’s demented perspective, the frenetically envisioned art style of George Freeman (even better suited to the story than John Byrne’s (seemingly) hastily drawn cover), and the absurd, but haunting, nature of the story made it endearing to me.
I kept on having to admit that I had written off this era of DC Comics too hastily. I thought the idea of the Green Lantern Corps was puerile and sophomoric. Uh…what kind of a pompous…er…what was the matter with me? A collaboration with Bill Willingham’s (of Fables (classic Vertigo title, not mainstream DC) fame) pencils and Terry Austin’s (prolific, award-winning inker for both DC and Marvel) inks published in Tales of the Green Lantern Corps Annual No. 3 completely blew my mind. “In Blackest Night� tells the tale of one member of the corps trying to recruit an unsighted alien on a planet with no light source to become a Green Lantern. But the usual analogies of color and vision cannot apply. The result is a truly other-worldly experience. I hope science-fiction fans don’t shoot me, but it is the graphic equivalent of Jack Vance’s or Jack Chalker’s alien world-building.
One thing I always disliked about the DC Universe was the event crossovers. Legends was no exception. In this anthology, I would have skipped over the story originally published as a Legends spin-off if it had not been about the Phantom Stranger. To be sure, it was Secret Origins Starring The Phantom Stranger and I thought (without reading them, mind you) that the idea of “secret origins� was gimmicky. Hey, it’s all right to judge me. I’m being honest here. But, wow! Moore blends his vision of Milton’s Paradise Lost and its account of Lucifer’s fall with a rebellion in the subterranean subway tunnels of New York and the fall of some of its Subway Angels. Let’s just say that if Moore has a reputation for being “dark,� this story may be one of his “darkest� (outside of the literal black in “In Blackest Night� and the subject matter of Watchmen and Providence, of course). It’s called “Footsteps� and showcases some of Joe Orlando’s best art (particularly in the other-worldly scenes).
And, as long as I’m dining on the proverbial quiche of humility, I have a few intriguing Elseworlds titles in my collection, but even in my childhood, I often felt cheated by what Julius Schwartz was known to have disliked from Mort Weisinger’s reign, imaginary stories. So, I was amazed to find that I was intrigued by this two-part imaginary story of the “end� of Superman which was, indeed, in an interesting reversal of editorial philosophy, the close of the Schwartz-led era. That Moore collaborated with Curt Swan’s and George Perez’s special Superman artwork made this extra-intriguing. And with great amazement, I loved it! I probably factored in that this was Schwartz� (pardon the pun) “Swan Song� on the title, but I enjoyed it in this collection as I read that these two volumes closed out one era and cleared the way for John Byrne’s rethinking of The Man of Steel.
Okay, I’ve only mentioned a few of the titles for which I was very, very wrong. I must as well go for the Royal Flush of mea culpas. I didn’t buy The Killing Joke when it came out in 1988. Even set off in prestige format, I wasn’t having it. The more famous and acclaimed the Brian Bolland and Alan Moore collaboration became, the more stubbornly I refused to read it. The more rumors about it I heard, the more stubbornly I managed to cling to my unfounded prejudice against that era of DC Comics. Yet, reading The Killing Joke in this anthology has rubbed my face in the by-product of my prejudice much like one might shame a dog for an antihygienic act. This story reverberates in terms of the human condition on nearly every page. It underscores the “senseless� in the “senseless violence� hendiadys while it illuminates the cost of violent crime on even more than the victim.
DC Universe: The Stories of Alan Moore may have humiliated my irrational avoidance of the DC Universe for a time but reading these, possibly cherry-picked, jewels was an exhilarating experience of seeing, once again, what well-conceived, cleverly crafted, and brilliantly executed comic art can be. One can criticize me for being as unsophisticated, acritical, and foolish in my exuberance in rating this volume as I was in my long-term avoidance of mainstream DC. That’s okay. As I’ve proved conclusively in my multiple errors of judgment through this review, I’m perfectly capable of making mistakes.
At the time Moore was writing Superman and Batman annuals, I wouldn’t have touched them with the proverbial one-story maypole. So, I missed out on the creepy psychological horror associated with the alien Black Mercy plant given to Superman on his birthday. I was amazed at the crafting of this story and the emotional impact when I finally read it in this anthology, DC Universe: The Stories of Alan Moore. I was totally mesmerized by “Mortal Clay,� the Batman annual where one of the successive Clayfaces (III, to be exact) becomes insanely infatuated with a department store mannikin and irrevocably, violently jealous of the mannikin’s alleged desire for Batman. The writing style from Clayface III’s demented perspective, the frenetically envisioned art style of George Freeman (even better suited to the story than John Byrne’s (seemingly) hastily drawn cover), and the absurd, but haunting, nature of the story made it endearing to me.
I kept on having to admit that I had written off this era of DC Comics too hastily. I thought the idea of the Green Lantern Corps was puerile and sophomoric. Uh…what kind of a pompous…er…what was the matter with me? A collaboration with Bill Willingham’s (of Fables (classic Vertigo title, not mainstream DC) fame) pencils and Terry Austin’s (prolific, award-winning inker for both DC and Marvel) inks published in Tales of the Green Lantern Corps Annual No. 3 completely blew my mind. “In Blackest Night� tells the tale of one member of the corps trying to recruit an unsighted alien on a planet with no light source to become a Green Lantern. But the usual analogies of color and vision cannot apply. The result is a truly other-worldly experience. I hope science-fiction fans don’t shoot me, but it is the graphic equivalent of Jack Vance’s or Jack Chalker’s alien world-building.
One thing I always disliked about the DC Universe was the event crossovers. Legends was no exception. In this anthology, I would have skipped over the story originally published as a Legends spin-off if it had not been about the Phantom Stranger. To be sure, it was Secret Origins Starring The Phantom Stranger and I thought (without reading them, mind you) that the idea of “secret origins� was gimmicky. Hey, it’s all right to judge me. I’m being honest here. But, wow! Moore blends his vision of Milton’s Paradise Lost and its account of Lucifer’s fall with a rebellion in the subterranean subway tunnels of New York and the fall of some of its Subway Angels. Let’s just say that if Moore has a reputation for being “dark,� this story may be one of his “darkest� (outside of the literal black in “In Blackest Night� and the subject matter of Watchmen and Providence, of course). It’s called “Footsteps� and showcases some of Joe Orlando’s best art (particularly in the other-worldly scenes).
And, as long as I’m dining on the proverbial quiche of humility, I have a few intriguing Elseworlds titles in my collection, but even in my childhood, I often felt cheated by what Julius Schwartz was known to have disliked from Mort Weisinger’s reign, imaginary stories. So, I was amazed to find that I was intrigued by this two-part imaginary story of the “end� of Superman which was, indeed, in an interesting reversal of editorial philosophy, the close of the Schwartz-led era. That Moore collaborated with Curt Swan’s and George Perez’s special Superman artwork made this extra-intriguing. And with great amazement, I loved it! I probably factored in that this was Schwartz� (pardon the pun) “Swan Song� on the title, but I enjoyed it in this collection as I read that these two volumes closed out one era and cleared the way for John Byrne’s rethinking of The Man of Steel.
Okay, I’ve only mentioned a few of the titles for which I was very, very wrong. I must as well go for the Royal Flush of mea culpas. I didn’t buy The Killing Joke when it came out in 1988. Even set off in prestige format, I wasn’t having it. The more famous and acclaimed the Brian Bolland and Alan Moore collaboration became, the more stubbornly I refused to read it. The more rumors about it I heard, the more stubbornly I managed to cling to my unfounded prejudice against that era of DC Comics. Yet, reading The Killing Joke in this anthology has rubbed my face in the by-product of my prejudice much like one might shame a dog for an antihygienic act. This story reverberates in terms of the human condition on nearly every page. It underscores the “senseless� in the “senseless violence� hendiadys while it illuminates the cost of violent crime on even more than the victim.
DC Universe: The Stories of Alan Moore may have humiliated my irrational avoidance of the DC Universe for a time but reading these, possibly cherry-picked, jewels was an exhilarating experience of seeing, once again, what well-conceived, cleverly crafted, and brilliantly executed comic art can be. One can criticize me for being as unsophisticated, acritical, and foolish in my exuberance in rating this volume as I was in my long-term avoidance of mainstream DC. That’s okay. As I’ve proved conclusively in my multiple errors of judgment through this review, I’m perfectly capable of making mistakes.
April 10, 2008
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).
April 24, 2011
Solid stories that boast of narratives better than most, sardonic (British?) sense of humour, tight plotting , and a far greater degree of pathos than the normal level associated with such characters. The best are of course the two big novellas: "Batman:The Killing Joke", and "Whatever Happened to The Man of Tommorrow", but overall, the stories are entertaining reads in a thoughtful manner uniquly associated with Alan Moore. Recommended.
February 20, 2019
Alan was a part of the British Invasion of DC comics in the late 80's and though Swamp Thing and Watchmen are well known to fans this volume collects stories throughout various books that fans might have missed. I especially loved his Superman and Green Lantern stories. What's great is how these stories have a timelessness to them that new fans can connect with.
September 29, 2015
Great collection, although The Killing Joke may be the most overrated comic ever.
May 6, 2020
First off, if you want to read this, try to track down an edition that contains "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow" and "The Killing Joke." Some of them don't, because whenever possible DC shits the bed when it comes to collected editions.
Next, I have to say that, as far as Alan Moore goes, I think he is a supremely gifted craftsman, but that I don't always find his work particularly appealing. And that's where I'm at with his DC Universe output. It's all well-done, if not my style. That being said, let's take a look at the short stories contained in the collection:
1)Superman: For the Man Who Has Everything. Short version: Mongul traps Superman in a fantasy world that gives him his heart's desire, and Batman, Robin, and Wonder Woman have to snap him out of it. Well-executed, but serves as evidence that Alan Moore and I do not see Superman in the same light. Granted, this is pre-Crisis Superman and I am familiar with post-Crisis Superman, who self-identifies as an Earth-man because he was raised here. To me, Superman's connection to Krypton is more academic than emotional, and therefore while he longs to be a part of Krypton, his greatest fantasy wouldn't be a mediocre life on Krypton that forgets his Earth contacts entirely. Maybe it was different pre-Crisis.
2)Green Arrow: the Night Olympics. This is basically backup filler material, and it's good. Green Arrow's confrontation with the would-be supervillain is pretty badass. Not the best story in the whole collection, but maybe the best moment.
3)Green Lantern: Mogo Doesn't Socialize: Moore does the Green Lantern franchise credit by expanding the scope what it means to be a Green Lantern. It's telling that some of the biggest beats of Geoff Johns' and Dave Gibbons' Green Lantern run decades later use Moore's stories as fodder.
4)Vigilante: Father's Day. I have never read anything about the Vigilante other than this story, so I have very little frame of reference for it. It was a crime story about a gangster who was released from jail who then killed his wife and abducted his daughter, whom he had previously apparently sexually assaulted. It was up to the Vigilante, along with a female drug dealer/prostitute to rescue the girl and stop the bad guy. This was an "adult" story, so it was a bit more graphic than the others in this collection. Naturally, things ended pretty miserably.
5)Brief Lives and A Man's World. These were Vega backup stories from Omega Men. Brief Lives was a clever look at the relative perceptions of time between species. A Man's World was Alan Moore's version of a horror-type twist ending where an anthropologist bites off more than she can chew.
6)Superman/Swamp Thing: The Jungle Line. Superman is going crazy and dying because of exposure to a Kryptonian fungus. (As we know, all life on Krypton sucks and we're all safer because the place blew up.) The Swamp Thing intercepts him and helps him fight off the infection, and Superman leaves the next day with no memory of Swamp Thing's intervention, thereby enhancing Superman's reputation of a dumb spud. Thanks for that, Alan Moore.
7)Green Lantern: Tygers. See the description of Mogo Doesn't Socialize.
8)Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? I'm sorry but I don't put this on the pedestal that so many do. Like, everything else in this collection, it is a well-constructed story. And it does have a number of stong emotional bits. (Krypto's sendoff is just so sad.) Along with some forced ones (Nobody loved him better than us.) But what gets me is that is just a relentlessly bleak take on Superman, whose whole thing is hope and inspiration. It is a sad and violent deconstruction of Superman's world, figuratively and literally. Also, I am disappointed that Superman walks into the Gold Kryptonite Room and apparently turns into Joe the Fucking Plumber. I realize that this is heresy, but I did not enjoy this as much as I am supposed to.
9)Footsteps. Alan Moore's take on the origin of the Phantom Stranger, and because it's Alan Moore's take, a lot of fandom accepts it as the "real" origin. The premise is that the Stranger was an angel who sat out the war between God and Satan and was therefore not welcome in either dominion and had to walk the earth alone forever. This story parallels something with some disgruntled social workers organizing the homeless people living in the subway tunnels into an army and the hesitant social worker getting their face kicked in. The Phantom Stranger gives the beat-up social worker a hand up and some cryptic advice. Hard pass on this one; it's not an interpretation of the Phantom Stranger I can get behind and the story itself feels like it's trying too hard.
10)Green Lantern: In Blackest Night. Alan Moore could have written the shit out of the Green Lantern Corps if DC hadn't screwed him over with the rights to Watchmen. This story asks the question of how can a Green Lantern can recruit someone who understands neither the concept of "green" nor "lantern" and it comes to a novel solution.
11)Batman: Mortal Clay. Did you know that there were multiple Clayfaces? I knew it on some level, but had never encountered one other than the version featured on the Animated Series. Having read this, I understand why. This Clayface kind of sucks. He's fallen in love with a mannequin and has, as a result, taken to hiding in a department store and projecting all kinds of emotions and insecurities upon said mannequin. He then kills a guy who he thinks the mannequin is having an affair with, which gets Batman's attention. Batman defeats Clayface and arranges it so that he can keep the mannequin in Arkham Asylum with him, but Clayface has fallen out of love with the mannequin because a story this colossally annoying just needs an O. Henry ending.
12) Batman: The Killing Joke. Probably the best full-length story in this collection. It serves as a possible origin for the Joker, and as a repudiation of the Joker's own philosophy, which was a nice touch. Barbara Gordon's treatment in the story is by far the most unsettling thing to me in this story, and that's with an evil carnival as a background for the last act.
As a whole, this DC Universe: The Stories of Alan Moore is not the best collection of stories ever. They just happen to be all the DCU short stories Alan Moore wrote before moving on to other things. Despite including several "iconic" tales, this collection is largely cold, depressing, and joyless. It is also demonstrative of impeccable craftsmanship. But you're not going to see Moore at his best in this collection. Watchmen, V For Vendetta, LXG, and even Tom Strong are all better demonstrations of what the man can do.
I would give it 3.5 Stars if I could, rounding down to 3.
Next, I have to say that, as far as Alan Moore goes, I think he is a supremely gifted craftsman, but that I don't always find his work particularly appealing. And that's where I'm at with his DC Universe output. It's all well-done, if not my style. That being said, let's take a look at the short stories contained in the collection:
1)Superman: For the Man Who Has Everything. Short version: Mongul traps Superman in a fantasy world that gives him his heart's desire, and Batman, Robin, and Wonder Woman have to snap him out of it. Well-executed, but serves as evidence that Alan Moore and I do not see Superman in the same light. Granted, this is pre-Crisis Superman and I am familiar with post-Crisis Superman, who self-identifies as an Earth-man because he was raised here. To me, Superman's connection to Krypton is more academic than emotional, and therefore while he longs to be a part of Krypton, his greatest fantasy wouldn't be a mediocre life on Krypton that forgets his Earth contacts entirely. Maybe it was different pre-Crisis.
2)Green Arrow: the Night Olympics. This is basically backup filler material, and it's good. Green Arrow's confrontation with the would-be supervillain is pretty badass. Not the best story in the whole collection, but maybe the best moment.
3)Green Lantern: Mogo Doesn't Socialize: Moore does the Green Lantern franchise credit by expanding the scope what it means to be a Green Lantern. It's telling that some of the biggest beats of Geoff Johns' and Dave Gibbons' Green Lantern run decades later use Moore's stories as fodder.
4)Vigilante: Father's Day. I have never read anything about the Vigilante other than this story, so I have very little frame of reference for it. It was a crime story about a gangster who was released from jail who then killed his wife and abducted his daughter, whom he had previously apparently sexually assaulted. It was up to the Vigilante, along with a female drug dealer/prostitute to rescue the girl and stop the bad guy. This was an "adult" story, so it was a bit more graphic than the others in this collection. Naturally, things ended pretty miserably.
5)Brief Lives and A Man's World. These were Vega backup stories from Omega Men. Brief Lives was a clever look at the relative perceptions of time between species. A Man's World was Alan Moore's version of a horror-type twist ending where an anthropologist bites off more than she can chew.
6)Superman/Swamp Thing: The Jungle Line. Superman is going crazy and dying because of exposure to a Kryptonian fungus. (As we know, all life on Krypton sucks and we're all safer because the place blew up.) The Swamp Thing intercepts him and helps him fight off the infection, and Superman leaves the next day with no memory of Swamp Thing's intervention, thereby enhancing Superman's reputation of a dumb spud. Thanks for that, Alan Moore.
7)Green Lantern: Tygers. See the description of Mogo Doesn't Socialize.
8)Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? I'm sorry but I don't put this on the pedestal that so many do. Like, everything else in this collection, it is a well-constructed story. And it does have a number of stong emotional bits. (Krypto's sendoff is just so sad.) Along with some forced ones (Nobody loved him better than us.) But what gets me is that is just a relentlessly bleak take on Superman, whose whole thing is hope and inspiration. It is a sad and violent deconstruction of Superman's world, figuratively and literally. Also, I am disappointed that Superman walks into the Gold Kryptonite Room and apparently turns into Joe the Fucking Plumber. I realize that this is heresy, but I did not enjoy this as much as I am supposed to.
9)Footsteps. Alan Moore's take on the origin of the Phantom Stranger, and because it's Alan Moore's take, a lot of fandom accepts it as the "real" origin. The premise is that the Stranger was an angel who sat out the war between God and Satan and was therefore not welcome in either dominion and had to walk the earth alone forever. This story parallels something with some disgruntled social workers organizing the homeless people living in the subway tunnels into an army and the hesitant social worker getting their face kicked in. The Phantom Stranger gives the beat-up social worker a hand up and some cryptic advice. Hard pass on this one; it's not an interpretation of the Phantom Stranger I can get behind and the story itself feels like it's trying too hard.
10)Green Lantern: In Blackest Night. Alan Moore could have written the shit out of the Green Lantern Corps if DC hadn't screwed him over with the rights to Watchmen. This story asks the question of how can a Green Lantern can recruit someone who understands neither the concept of "green" nor "lantern" and it comes to a novel solution.
11)Batman: Mortal Clay. Did you know that there were multiple Clayfaces? I knew it on some level, but had never encountered one other than the version featured on the Animated Series. Having read this, I understand why. This Clayface kind of sucks. He's fallen in love with a mannequin and has, as a result, taken to hiding in a department store and projecting all kinds of emotions and insecurities upon said mannequin. He then kills a guy who he thinks the mannequin is having an affair with, which gets Batman's attention. Batman defeats Clayface and arranges it so that he can keep the mannequin in Arkham Asylum with him, but Clayface has fallen out of love with the mannequin because a story this colossally annoying just needs an O. Henry ending.
12) Batman: The Killing Joke. Probably the best full-length story in this collection. It serves as a possible origin for the Joker, and as a repudiation of the Joker's own philosophy, which was a nice touch. Barbara Gordon's treatment in the story is by far the most unsettling thing to me in this story, and that's with an evil carnival as a background for the last act.
As a whole, this DC Universe: The Stories of Alan Moore is not the best collection of stories ever. They just happen to be all the DCU short stories Alan Moore wrote before moving on to other things. Despite including several "iconic" tales, this collection is largely cold, depressing, and joyless. It is also demonstrative of impeccable craftsmanship. But you're not going to see Moore at his best in this collection. Watchmen, V For Vendetta, LXG, and even Tom Strong are all better demonstrations of what the man can do.
I would give it 3.5 Stars if I could, rounding down to 3.
June 8, 2024
For the Man Who Has Everything: It’s fine. I don’t like Superman.
Night Olympics: Okay. My first exposure to Green Arrow.
Mogo Doesn’t Socialize: You can’t look threatening with a megaphone. I liked this one.
Father’s Day: Wow, much darker than I would expect.
Brief Lives: I loved this one!
A Man’s World: Pretty good.
The Jungle Line: This was nice. I guess I like Swamp Thing.
Tygers: The creature designs here were awesome. Full of dread. Awesome!
Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?: A fan service smorgasbord for a character I don’t like. Probably nice for fans.
Footsteps: Decent.
In Blackest Night: Fun. I am liking the Green Lantern stories.
Mortal Clay: This one was weird and great.
The Killing Joke: Damn, they did Barbara dirty. The art is amazing in this one.
Night Olympics: Okay. My first exposure to Green Arrow.
Mogo Doesn’t Socialize: You can’t look threatening with a megaphone. I liked this one.
Father’s Day: Wow, much darker than I would expect.
Brief Lives: I loved this one!
A Man’s World: Pretty good.
The Jungle Line: This was nice. I guess I like Swamp Thing.
Tygers: The creature designs here were awesome. Full of dread. Awesome!
Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?: A fan service smorgasbord for a character I don’t like. Probably nice for fans.
Footsteps: Decent.
In Blackest Night: Fun. I am liking the Green Lantern stories.
Mortal Clay: This one was weird and great.
The Killing Joke: Damn, they did Barbara dirty. The art is amazing in this one.
August 17, 2017
3 1/2 stars. One-off stories by Moore featuring various DC characters. Not as strong as his DC Swamp Thing run or later series where he got to completely do his own thing, but interesting and worth a read by any Moore fan. Various times you can see him playing with themes (like, you guessed it, problematic aspects of the role of superheroes in society) that are somewhat clunky here but which he later soared with.
The two Superman stories were the strongest: in one, "For The Man Who Has Everything", Superman imagines a complete contented life on a non-exploded Krypton while in the paralyzed thrall of a psychic, parasitic alien plant gifted to him by an enemy; in another, he's driven crazy by an alien fungus (flora really have it out for the Man of Steel here) and in his psychotic fugue state has a psychedelic encounter with Moore favorite Swamp Thing.
The two Superman stories were the strongest: in one, "For The Man Who Has Everything", Superman imagines a complete contented life on a non-exploded Krypton while in the paralyzed thrall of a psychic, parasitic alien plant gifted to him by an enemy; in another, he's driven crazy by an alien fungus (flora really have it out for the Man of Steel here) and in his psychotic fugue state has a psychedelic encounter with Moore favorite Swamp Thing.
September 1, 2011
Some of the stories were great, some were lackluster. Obviously "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" was fantastically incredible, as was (IMHO) "The Killing Joke." And I really appreciated the occasional clever piece here and there but some of the stories were just downright boring, most notably the Green Lantern ones. To be fair, some of the worse pieces were just the fault of the lame characters, but... I'd really pick and choose if I were reading this one again. There is just no good reason to read all of these works. That doesn't mean you should skip the really great ones, though.
March 31, 2008
This is Alan Moore's collection of DC specials and one-offs, sort of the complement to Neil Gaiman's Midnight Days.
It's actually kind of hard to rate this one, because it's an anthology. If it was just "The Killing Joke" and "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?", and the intro Superman Annual story, it'd be a four-or-five star affair. But it's also got a pile of stories that are clearly just a way for Alan Moore to get a paycheck.
But there's still a lot of good stuff in here, and it's only a buck more than buying "The Killing Joke" on its own.
It's actually kind of hard to rate this one, because it's an anthology. If it was just "The Killing Joke" and "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?", and the intro Superman Annual story, it'd be a four-or-five star affair. But it's also got a pile of stories that are clearly just a way for Alan Moore to get a paycheck.
But there's still a lot of good stuff in here, and it's only a buck more than buying "The Killing Joke" on its own.
October 10, 2009
A collection of some of Alan Moore`s best DC work - supposedly - this is a fairly thick trade. A few of the stories are great - some Green Lantern Corps anecdotes and one Batman story really stand out. But they`re surrounded by some of dull Superman tales, and a disturbing Vigilante story that is worrisome and depressing. This collection is good about 50% of the time, and forgettable the rest.
May 6, 2010
This is a great collection of Alan Moore stories. If I were to rate all the stories individually, most of them would get 5 stars also. The only so-so ones for me were the Superman/Swamp Thing team-up, the Vigilante two-part story and the Green Arrow story. The Superman stories, the Green Lantern Corps stories and the Vega short stories were particularly outstanding.
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