Rating: 
Summary: Nice stuff, but....
Review: ...other than two very excellent Superman stories, the cream of this crop are three Green Lantern Corps stories. Great stuff. However, they were only part of an overall GLC backup series from the mid-eighties that were done by a who's-who of comics talent that was incredible! As great as Alan Moore is, and I really do love a lot of his stuff, I would have preferred a full collection of these GLC stories. This collection sells entirely because of Moore's star appeal, but imagine how much better a collection would sell of stories by Moore AND probably one of the best collections of comic talent ever to work on one series (Dave Gibbons, Gil Kane, Don Newton, the list is ridiculous....). And that, really, is my only problem with this collection. It's existence probably means the other, better collection will never occur.
Rating: 
Summary: An Excellent Collection
Review: Before his abrupt departure from DC Comics following Watchmen and V for Vendetta, Alan Moore was one of their most prolific writers. These mostly-short stories appearaed in annuals and as back up features, for the most part, the major exceptions being the Superman and Vigilante tales. And what stories these are. Probably the best Superman story of the last thirty years. Three excellent and unique Green Lantern stories (although 'Mogo Doesn't socialize' is weaker than most), and the very hard to find Vigilante two parter that introduced a character Moore planned to use in his never-finished (or published, or even, for that matter, written) 'Twilight of the Super-Heroes' project. I can't recommend this enough. Although it may be cheaper to get many of the stories in the back issue bins than it would be to buy this compilation, it also can be really tough to track them all down. But however you read these stories, read them. Best DC stuff around.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Collection
Review: Before his abrupt departure from DC Comics following Watchmen and V for Vendetta, Alan Moore was one of their most prolific writers. These mostly-short stories appearaed in annuals and as back up features, for the most part, the major exceptions being the Superman and Vigilante tales. And what stories these are. Probably the best Superman story of the last thirty years. Three excellent and unique Green Lantern stories (although 'Mogo Doesn't socialize' is weaker than most), and the very hard to find Vigilante two parter that introduced a character Moore planned to use in his never-finished (or published, or even, for that matter, written) 'Twilight of the Super-Heroes' project. I can't recommend this enough. Although it may be cheaper to get many of the stories in the back issue bins than it would be to buy this compilation, it also can be really tough to track them all down. But however you read these stories, read them. Best DC stuff around.
Rating: 
Summary: "For the Man Who Has Everything"
Review: It's hard to overstate exactly how much fun Alan Moore's comics usually are. They're inventive, witty, even erudite on occasion. This is not one of those occasions, unfortunately. The two Superman stories in the volume are very good, and a couple of the Green Lantern Corps shorts are very clever, but the rest of the book is marred by the catch-all approach to literature, in which DC apparently looks for a by-line and reprints on reflex, never giving a thought to the quality of the stories. The Vigilante tale takes up more space than any other story in the book and is frankly no good. The same goes for the smaller Batman story (a character for whom Moore seems to have some little antipathy - according to him, his acclaimed "The Killing Joke" remains one of his least favorite works), and the book is simply not large enough to excuse the reprinting of such deliberately shoddy material. Further, DC's new printing of "The Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told" does not, in fact, include the Moore stories from previous printings. Apparently, this book is the only place you'll be able to find those stories anymore, and you'll have to drop twenty dollars on mostly inferior material to find them! Is the book worth the cover price? Grudgingly, I have to say yes, but only for "For the Man Who Has Everything," "The Jungle Line," and a couple of the eight-page GL Corps stories. The rest is that least Moore-like of vices: boring.
Rating:
Summary: Nice stuff, but....
Review: This collection has some excellent short subject work Alan Moore did for DC throughout the early '80s, before his falling out with the company over WATCHMEN. Moore tells several stories featuring prominent DC characters of the period. This includes a fantastic couple of Green Lantern Corps stories, a decent Green Lantern tale, an average Vigilante story, an Omega Men backup story with a nice twist ending, and a rather disturbing Batman/Clayface story. Of all the stories, the GLC stories got my imagination going the most, and whetted my appetite for more stories about them by Moore, which never came and most likely never will. These stories showed he had a real grasp of the Green Lantern dynamic and were wildly imaginative. I highly recommend this collection.
Rating:
Summary: Some excellent short pieces by the modern master of comics
Review: This collection has some excellent short subject work Alan Moore did for DC throughout the early '80s, before his falling out with the company over WATCHMEN. Moore tells several stories featuring prominent DC characters of the period. This includes a fantastic couple of Green Lantern Corps stories, a decent Green Lantern tale, an average Vigilante story, an Omega Men backup story with a nice twist ending, and a rather disturbing Batman/Clayface story. Of all the stories, the GLC stories got my imagination going the most, and whetted my appetite for more stories about them by Moore, which never came and most likely never will. These stories showed he had a real grasp of the Green Lantern dynamic and were wildly imaginative. I highly recommend this collection.
Rating:
Summary: Alan Moore does the DC Universe very well!
Review: This is a collection of stories Alan Moore wrote for DC in the 1980's before becoming one of the most famous writers in comics history.
There is a Superman birthday story called "For the Man Who Has Everything" that was very well done.
--A Superman/Swamp Thing crossover in which Superman is struck ill by an alien plant from a meteor and he ends up in the Louisiana bayou Swamp Thing inhabits.
--A Green Arrow story that deals with some heavy life/death issues.
-- Some interesting Omega Men tales.
-- A Green Lantern story starring Abin Sur (the alien that gave Hal Jordan the power of Green Lantern!) and other tales of the Green Lantern Corps.
-- A VERY disturbing Vigilante story.
There is only one reason that this set does not get five stars, and that is because it is not the strongest of Alan Moore's work. If Watchmen, V for Vendetta, Swamp Thing, Miracleman and From Hell get 5 stars (and they most definitely do!), then this must be below them. That being said, each story in this set is still better than most other stories however, and any Alan Moore fans who are also DC fans will enjoy this set as much as I did if not more so...
Rating:
Summary: Alan Moore does the DC Universe very well!
Review: This is a collection of stories Alan Moore wrote for DC in the 1980's before becoming one of the most famous writers in comics history.
There is a Superman birthday story called "For the Man Who Has Everything" that was very well done.
--A Superman/Swamp Thing crossover in which Superman is struck ill by an alien plant from a meteor and he ends up in the Louisiana bayou Swamp Thing inhabits.
--A Green Arrow story that deals with some heavy life/death issues.
-- Some interesting Omega Men tales.
-- A Green Lantern story starring Abin Sur (the alien that gave Hal Jordan the power of Green Lantern!) and other tales of the Green Lantern Corps.
-- A VERY disturbing Vigilante story.
There is only one reason that this set does not get five stars, and that is because it is not the strongest of Alan Moore's work. If Watchmen, V for Vendetta, Swamp Thing, Miracleman and From Hell get 5 stars (and they most definitely do!), then this must be below them. That being said, each story in this set is still better than most other stories however, and any Alan Moore fans who are also DC fans will enjoy this set as much as I did if not more so...
Rating:
Summary: Alan Moore does the DC Universe very well!
Review: This is a collection of stories Alan Moore wrote for DC in the 1980's before becoming one of the most famous writers in comics history.
There is a Superman birthday story called "For the Man Who Has Everything" that was very well done.
--A Superman/Swamp Thing crossover in which Superman is struck ill by an alien plant from a meteor and he ends up in the Louisiana bayou Swamp Thing inhabits.
--A Green Arrow story that deals with some heavy life/death issues.
-- Some interesting Omega Men tales.
-- A Green Lantern story starring Abin Sur (the alien that gave Hal Jordan the power of Green Lantern!) and other tales of the Green Lantern Corps.
-- A VERY disturbing Vigilante story.
There is only one reason that this set does not get five stars, and that is because it is not the strongest of Alan Moore's work. If Watchmen, V for Vendetta, Swamp Thing, Miracleman and From Hell get 5 stars (and they most definitely do!), then this must be below them. That being said, each story in this set is still better than most other stories however, and any Alan Moore fans who are also DC fans will enjoy this set as much as I did if not more so...
Rating:
Summary: A wide variety of quality, but good overall
Review: This trade paperback should go over well with fans of Alan Moore's more prominent and masterful works (Watchmen, Killing Joke, Swamp Thing, LOEG, etc). I will admit that it is nice to have his more obscure DC work from the '80s under one cover, as there are several stories here that I was not familiar with. Even still, the presence of Alan Moore's name on the cover does not mean that this collection is perfect. In fact, if someone who had not read any Alan Moore began with this this collection, I feel that they wouldn't understand what the fuss was about. Some stories are quite good, and some are quite average. As he was just getting the feel of some of these characters at the time, I can allow for some slack. Plus, Alan Moore's "average" is another writer's "exceptional", so just keep that in mind! Of course, opinions on the quality of the stories will differ between reviewers, but here are my thoughts: The Good - A Superman/Mongul story that creeps along in the beginning but finishes with a nice dark touch. Three very tight and creative "Tales of the Green Lantern Corps", especially one involving a GL who comes from a world with no concept of light or color. A Superman/Swamp Thing team-up that would have been right at home in Moore's regular Swamp Thing gig. The secret origin of the Phantom Stranger, unnecessarily paralleled with a modern-day reenactment, but still interesting. A Batman story focusing on Clayface III and his obsession with a department store mannequin. The So-So: A Green Arrow/Black Canary story that succeeds at being "officially grim and gritty" but didn't make an impression one way or the other. Two Omega Men back-ups that could have ended with rim-shots. A Vigilante 2-parter that is far too long - this one was my least favorite, and leaving it out would have been fine by me. I guess it was meant to be unsettling, and the basic story is okay, but the bright cheery art ruins the effect, and the involvement of two prostitutes gets old very quickly and contributes nothing but eye-rolling melodrama. In closing, I will definitely hang on to this book, as the good stories more than make up for any faults of the others.
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