DC Universe: The Stories of Alan Moore

    (DC, 2006)
™ and © DC Comics, Inc.

Alan Moore didn’t often bring his talents to the DC universe proper, but—as is evident in this collection—when he did, it was mostly magical.

When Moore wrote about DC’s icons, he usually did so by embracing their history and what fans found special: incorporating the rich lore of the Superman mythos in “For the Man Who Has Everything” and the two-part “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?” (two heartfelt stories representing arguably the best tales in the collection), for instance, or using the intergalactic diversity of The Green Lantern Corps to create unusual GLs in “Mogo Doesn’t Socialize” and “In Blackest Night.” That attention to DC lore is no less evident in the still-controversial “Batman: The Killing Joke,” a tale that builds on The Joker’s long-established origin without stripping away the mystery that has made Batman’s arch-foe one of comics’ most intriguing villains.

Moore’s narration elevated what in other hands might have been more pedestrian scenes, such as the Green Arrow two-parter “Night Olympics” and the Superman-Mongul clash—an unforgettable battle powerfully illustrated by Watchmen collaborator Dave Gibbons—in the aforementioned “…Everything.” Among the collection’s more poignant tales is a Batman story featuring the tragic third Clayface.

Though not flawless—the original text is curiously missing from the opening splash page on “Whatever Happened”—this represents a good bet for someone who wants to see how good classic super-hero comics can be.

— George Nelson
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