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| PROMETHEA |
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Volume
One |
| by Alan Moore, J. H. Williams III, & Mick Gray |
Paperback: 176 pages
DC Comics
ISBN: 1563896672 |
$14.95
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| Alan Moore is,
and deserves to be, a highly regarded author of what we should still call
comic books (other names seem largely a reflex action hide embarrassment
- which makes me annoyed to see them referred to as "the graphic story
medium" in this book). He has in more recent years created a line of comics
under the imprint "America's Best Comics", of which Promethea is one of
those titles. This volume reprints the first five issues of that comic. |
| 'Promethea'
is an attempt to render the female super hero in an archetypical form.
This book has a strong mystical or spiritual theme, with the female lead
cast in a pluralistic role: she is both Sophie Bangs, student, and Promethea,
imagination personified. Our Promethea is not the first, there is a whole
line of Prometheas stretching back to ancient Egypt, and we get to know
some of the earlier ones in this book.
What's good: as Promethea,
Sophie doesn't know all the answers although, it seems, Promethea does
(sounds confusing? Sophie is Promethea, but Promethea isn't Sophie). Indeed,
Sophie finds herself thrust in to a broad canvas full of elements that
she doesn't know about or understand. The book allows for Sophie and Promethea
to be intellectual, rather than just wiping the enemies off the face of
the Earth (and the Immateria) with her caduceus - even where she does that,
it is thought through.
What's not so good: I gave
it 5 stars, so not much. My main complaint is that it finishes at an inopportune
moment. Sophie is learning about the four weapons she has, and learns about
two and then it stops. The comic book has continued, so the rest will be
in volume 2, but it still a bit inconsiderate.
Lots of thumbs up, and also
check out Alan Moore's male archetype in 'Tom Strong' |
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| SUPERMAN |
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WHATEVER
HAPPENED
to
the MAN of TOMORROW? |
Written by Alan Moore
Pencilled by Curt Swan
Inked by George Perez & Kurt Schaffenberger |
Paperback
DC Comics
ISBN: 1563893150 |
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| After all the
hype about the "death" of Superman, here's a much more fitting end to the
Superman legend. Described as an "imaginary story," it begins 10 years
after Superman has died and recounts the events that led up to his final
stand. Alan Moore is a master of this kind of superhero story, and this
edition is a great opportunity for those who may have missed it the first
time around. |
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| "This
is an imaginary story (which may never happen, but then again may) about
a perfect man who came from the sky and did only good. It tells of
his twilight, when the great battles were over and the great miracles long
since performed; of how his enemies conspired against him and of that final
war in the snowblind wastes beneath the Northern Lights; of the two women
he loved and of the choice he made between them; of how he broke his most
sacred oath; and how finally all the things he had were taken from him
save one. It ends with a wink. It begins in a quiet midwestern town,
one summer afternoon in the quiet midwestern future. Away in the
big city, people still sometimes glance up hopefully from the sidewalks,
glimpsing a distant speck in the sky... but no: it's only a bird, only
a plane. Superman died ten years ago. This is an imaginary
story...
"Aren't
they all?"
(Taken
from the first page of the story, written by Alan Moore)
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| SUPREME |
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The
Story of the Year |
by Alan Moore, Joe Bennett, & Rick
Veitch
Cover and additional artwork by Alex Ross |
Paperback: 332 pages
Checker Book Publishing Group
ISBN: 0971024952 |
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$26.95
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The Ultimate
Superman
No one understands superheroes
better than Moore. This collection won him the 1997 Eisner Award for Best
Writer, and shows he can still find fresh things to say about the nature
of comic book superheroes. Supreme began life as an exceptionally violent
Superman rip-off. Moore took over in 1996, jettisoning everything except
Supreme's blond, muscular good looks and turning a copycat into an ingenious
homage to the Superman archetype. |
| This clever
work retells the history of superhero comic books as reflected through
Moore's retro drawings and superheroes modeled on characters and narrative
styles from the 1930s to today. Suffering from amnesia, Supreme has returned
to Earth, but must also return to his roots-his smalltown family, allies
and bombastic enemies-to discover his origins. In his everyday identity,
he's a mild-mannered comic book artist who draws a line of violent superheroes.
As Supreme investigates his past, readers are treated to a delightful series
of tongue-in-cheek flashbacks to revised versions of the Golden and Silver
eras of comics. Supreme grows up in Little Haven, rather than Smallville;
lives in Omegapolis, instead of Metropolis; and convenes meetings of the
Allied Supermen, rather than the Justice League of America. Moore weaves
a complex plot that leads to a startling, ingenious climax. He also offers
his characters and readers moments of poignant self-discovery. In his superhero
masterpiece Watchmen, Moore stressed the dangers of identifying with comic
book heroes. This work is a much kinder look at the form, done with wit,
intelligence, and love.
Copyright 2002
Reed Business Information, Inc.
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