Judgment Day
After the ambitious graphic novelFrom Hell(2000) and before recommitting to superhero comics in the America's Best Comics line, Moore, the most popular and innovative contemporary comic-book author, tested the waters by revamping a number of costumed adventurers. In this collection of some of those stories, one member of the superpowered team Youngblood is murdered, and, in a wry commentary on the darker tone superhero comics adopted in the 1980s, one of her comrades stands trial. The investigation uncovers a magical book containing the stories of every person who ever existed; tracing the book's history over the centuries gives Moore the chance to visit various other genres, including the western, the war story, and the jungle tale. The collaborating artists' styles range from Rob Liefield's overblown excessiveness to the comics classicism of Gil Kane in some of his final work before his death. If not nearly as clever or satisfying as Moore's concurrent Supreme stories (Supreme: The Return[BKL Ap 15 03]), better than most everything else in the field.Gordon FlaggCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved