Across the Universe: The D.C. Stories of Alan Moore

            Well, I've put it off for as long as I could, but I have more comics to review.  Yea, I know I said not to expect too many of them, but I just can't help myself.  Who is to blame for this?  Why, Korsgaard.  That son of a bitch kept on nagging me and nagging me to read more comics until I caved in and decided to read The Killer Joke which has, in turn, led me to read and review even more Alan Moore D.C. Comics.  Rather than just review anyone of them in particular I'm going to review the stories from the collection Across the Universe: The D.C. Stories of Alan Moore.  Here it is and lets dig right into them.

 

 

 

Superman: For the Man Who Has Everything

            To put it simply, this is one of those “what if?” type stories.  In it, an intergalactic Darkseid knock off called Mongul send Superman a plant that put him in a kind of comatose state where, within his mind, his heart's deepest desires come true.  Superman's happens to be living a normal life on Krypton.  Most of the story focuses on his life their while Batman tries to figure out how to get this thing off him while Wonder Woman gets the shit kicked out of her by Mongul.  To be perfectly honest, I didn't care for this story.  I know a lot of people like the “what if?” premise for super hero stories and it was the basis for a Justice League episode but I've never cared for them, mainly because they do next to nothing to advance the plot.  That aside, the dialog was good and it was interesting to see what kind of a life Superman may have lead on Krypton but it just didn't entertain me the way other comics have and I don't think it represents the best Alan Moore has to offer.

6.75/10

Green Arrow: Night Olympics

            This is a story that I felt really lacked in depth and plot.  To put it simply, it's just the Green Arrow chasing down criminals.  That's it.  One's a petty thief and the other is an archer who mistakenly thinks he can go head to head with Green Arrow.  The only good thing I have to say about it is that there was some pretty good dialog in it and I think the thief's reaction to the fact that he was being captured by Green Arrow was pretty damn funny, (if you've read this story you'll know exactly what I mean).  Other than that, there was just nothing to it at all.

5/10

Tales of The Green Lantern Corps: Mogo Doesn't Socialize

            This is one of the shortest yet one of the most hilarious comics I think I've ever read.  In it, a young Green Lantern named Arisia is looking through the names of various distinguished Green Lanterns when another Green Lantern tells her a story involving one named Mogo.  The less said, the better, because the comic is so short that saying anything else would ruin it.  Suffice to say that the ending will probably make your jaw drop and laugh pretty hard and is more than worth the time to read it.

7/10

Vigilante: “Father's Day!”

            This is super hero that most people aren't even aware of but to make a long story short, he's a D.A. who goes around and fights crime out of court as well as within.  This particular story revolves around a man who raped his daughter and has recently been paroled, kills his ex and mainly deals with Vigilante's hunt for the girl and her father while the girl runs from the both of them.  The only major flaw with this story was the choice in super hero.  To put it bluntly his costume is kind of lame, his name just sucks and it just doesn’t seem right that a D.A. would do these kinds of things.  I'm not entirely sure why but something about the character just didn't add up.  That aside, it's a pretty good story that has everything from drug dealers, to hookers, to pedophiles and murderers.  It's not the best comic I've read by any means and a lot of the coloring seems off but is well worth anyone’s time.

7/10

Vega: Brief Lives

            This is probably one of the strangest yet deepest comics I've ever read.  It deals with a guild of spiders who try to conquer a land called Ogyptu.  The only problem is that there are two giant blue men in the area who don't even seem to be aware of the spiders' existence.  This is another story where the less said is better, but suffice to say it is an interesting look at time and how different creatures of the universe value it.  That said, give it a look because it's entertaining, and well worth reading and deep on the subject.

8/10

Vega: A Man's World

            This is a story that is....really fucking weird!  In a nut shell it’s about a scientist who is trying figure out just how an alien race made up only of men reproduce.  And the less said about that the better.  Suffice to say it has a hilarious yet dark outcome and like Brief Lives and Mogo Doesn’t Socialize, it's an ending you're not likely to forget.

7/10

Superman and Swamp Thing: The Jungle Line

            In this story, Superman gets extremely sick by touching a strange fungus that came from Krypton and slowly starts to lose his powers until he ultimately discovers that he is dying.  Rather than facing anyone else in this moment of crisis he decides to drive away from everyone he knows and die alone.  On the way he encounters Swamp Thing, who may be able to save him, if Superman doesn’t kill him first from dilutions caused by the fever.

            The only problems I had with this story were that Superman and Swamp Thing don't really interact with one another and it didn't seem right that he would just leave everyone to go off and die in the middle of nowhere.  However it was interesting to see a virus from Krypton and just how Superman would react to it.  That said it's an interesting that keeps you interested in the ultimate outcome of the story.  

7.25/10

Tales of The Green Lantern Corps: Tygers

            This is a story that more or less explains why it was the Green Lantern Abin Sur died and passed his ring on to Hal Jordan.  To put it simply, it's just him talking to these Lovecraftian looking creatures who tell him his destiny which leads to his fatal crash on Earth.  Saying anything else will probably give too much away but it should suffice to say that it's a well drawn and interesting story.  The only problems I have with it are that it was a little difficult to figure out what was going on at the start of the story and the drawing style was inconsistent at times.  That aside, it's certainly a story worth checking out if you want to know a little more about what lead to Hal Jordan becoming a Green Lantern.

7/10

Secret Origins Starring The Phantom Stranger: Footsteps

            Now I could be wrong in this, but I think that this is the origin story behind the character of The Phantom Stranger.  It reveals that he had been an angel who was forced to pick a side in the battle between God and Lucifer and showed the results of his decisions while a gang coup is being planned and a gangster is in an identical situation. 

            I'm still not entirely sure what to make of this one, mainly because I am unfamiliar with this character.  From what I could comprehend, however, it did show the dilemmas someone in that kind of situation could go through and was executed very well.  The only problem I had with it is that the story with the gang member is bit confusing and half the time you’re not sure what the hell they're talking about.  Still, if you're familiar with the character, I say give this story a read because it isn't a waste of time by any means.

7.75/10

Tales of The Green Lantern Corps: In Blackest Night

            Of all the stories in this compilation, I think this one is the cleverest.  In it a Green Lantern has to appoint a guardian in an area of space with no concept of light, color, or sight and this makes explaining what a Green Lantern is impossible.  Throughout most of the comic she's trying to figure out a way to get the message through while explaining her actions to the Guardians.  I just really liked the way it addressed the problem and showed how frustrating and difficult it could be and the resolution was just as clever as the problem.  The last good thing to address are the final lines in the story.  I won't spoil it but it will make you laugh uncomfortably.  The only major downside is that it was a little too short for my taste.  That said, I think this one was my favorite and one of the best the collection had to offer.

8/10

Batman: Mortal Clay

            This one is...a little weird to talk about because...well...IT'S JUST FUCKING WEIRD!  In it the third Clayface, (yes the third Clayface) ...um....well....it's all about his....married life...with....a manikin doll.  Yes.  You read that correctly.  His married life with a manikin doll.  That doesn’t even sound real!  It sounds like a satire of a Batman comic.  But such a ridiculous themed comic actually exists and it's meant to be taken seriously.  I guess the main point of it was just to show how nuts this character is and they do succeed in this but....it's just too weird to take seriously.  To me it just took itself way to seriously to be funny but was so ridiculous that I couldn't help but laugh at it.  Not much else more to say about it other than that and I'd only recommend it if you're in the mood for a really weird Batman story.

6/10

            And those are my thoughts on Across The Universe: The DC Stories of Alan Moore.  Some of them are good, some are bad but all are readable.  If you like this kind of stuff and are an Alan Moore fan then definitely check it out.  It shouldn't take long to read and is more than worth anyone’s time.  So until next time this is The Illusive One signing off.