graphic novels, comics and mangas

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From amazon's Customer Reviews:
Sowing the Seeds. Here is the final installment of Alan Moore's tremendous and groundbreaking run on the Swamp Thing series, collecting original issues #57-64. Moore brings to a precise ending his take on the character and his breathtaking development as an elemental spirit, but with plenty of room for future writers to continue the series. We also see the apotheosis of Moore's strong horror (and increasingly, sci-fi) writing, which both resurrected and revolutionized this comic genre. At the beginning of this particular collection, Swampy's spirit is still drifting in outer space, and Moore takes him on a series of adventures that illustrate his very "fertile" imagination. Swampy restores fertility to Adam Strange's nuclear-damaged planet, accidentally mates with a lonely bio-mechanical space station (in a great example of speculative sci-fi), and accidentally enslaves a sentient plant civilization but amends his misdeed with help from the local Green Lantern associate. Moore brings his run to a close by finally reuniting Swampy with his true love Abby, as he ponders his place as an elemental god on his home world.

The artwork continues to astound as well, with Rick Veitch and Alfredo Alcala handling most of the duties during this period, while colorist Tatjana Wood continues her moody and praiseworthy work. This is the stupendous ending to one of the great series in comics history, and also one of the best graphic novel collections. [~doomsdayer520~]

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From amazon's Customer Reviews:
If you've read the prior collections in this series and you thought things couldn't get any better, well you ain't seen nothing yet. This installment of the Swamp Thing graphic novel series contains just six issues from Alan Moore's run (#51-56), but that does include the double-sized blockbuster issue #53. In any case, quantity is meaningless here because Moore and his artistic team have reached the dizzying heights of their powers, unleashing the most mindboggling and gutwrenching stories in comic history. The basic subplot running through the series at this point is Abby's arrest for immoral conduct while Swamp Thing was off saving the universe, and her escape to Gotham City. As Swampy is searching for his true love, she is being held by the authorities in Gotham. In the overwhelming "Garden of Earthly Delights" (issue #53) Swamp Thing unleashes his full elemental powers on the uncaring city that imprisons his lover, and even temporarily defeats Batman in the process. Sadly, Swampy is supposedly assassinated by government agents, and finds his spirit floating in outer space.

This is where Moore's imagination really goes into overdrive, giving us the highly unique and moving story "My Blue Heaven" (issue #56), a tremendous tale of loneliness and soul-searching, where Swamp Thing is blue in more ways than one. This episode is also another pinnacle for the artistic team, and much credit must go to colorist Tatjana Wood for her moody and unconventional work. By this point regular artists Stephen Bissette and John Totleben had mostly moved on - Bissette was only doing the covers and Totleben's only major contribution is "Garden of Earthly Delights." The artistic torch had been passed to the outstanding team of Rick Veitch and Alfredo Alcala, who barely miss a beat in keeping the series' haunting and lovely artwork rolling. The only sad thing about this edition of the Swamp Thing series is that fact that Moore's run would soon come to a close.

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From amazon:
How did the DC character most noted for simplicity handle thehyper-complexity of the Crisis on Infinite Earths? In the ever-able hands of Alan Moore, Swamp Thing: A Murder of Crows rises above the mid-1980s corporate reorganization to grant our hero his apotheosis into his current plant elemental form. Fans of John Constantine will eat up the smart-aleck astral con man's performance throughout, and the central struggle--uniting good and evil against something much bigger and older than either--is classic Moore. The art is bold and beautiful, organic by necessity, and contributes as much to the reader's suspense as the script. It seems that Moore et al. have spent so much time transcending their medium that they may have created a new one of their own. --Rob Lightner

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From amazon (Customer Reviews):
The Best of Swamp Thing
This collection reprints the best issues of Swamp Thing. For those not at all familier with the character, it is an excellently written and drawn comic about a good swamp monster battling evil (and is much better than that description makes it sound).

Notable in this third volume of the series, which reprints the beginning of the "American Gothic" story arc, is Moore's greater use of social critique, elevating these stories above mere entertaining, well-written horror stories. By combining fantastic horrors to such real-life horrors as racism and sexism, these stories are far more effective than any in the earlier collections at terrifying the reader.

In "American Gothic", Swamp Thing is sent scurrying to different parts of the U.S. by a manipulative figure (Jon Constantine) to battle all of the classic horror figures (vampires, werewolves, zombies, etc.), but each are handled in an absolutely brilliantly unique and new manner. For example, there is a whole town of vampires living underwater, completely shielded from the sun, in the process of, for the first time, living communally and cooperating to breed a second generation of vampires that are more powerful and horrific (the dedication of the vampires to family is contrasted by the dysfunctional families of the normal humans). The title story, "The Curse", is a unique Werewolf story, tying in the monthly transformation according to the phases of the moon to the menstrual cycle. The Curse was controversial due to its misinterpretation by illiterate readers as being a sexist comment on PMS when in reality it is an extremely feminist story condemning society for its male-driven fear and shunning of the feminine, and the subjugation of women into sexual objects or housewives.

The American Gothic story arc does not conclude in this issue (although the individual stories can be enjoyed on their own) so hopefully a volume 4 will follow.

By this point, Moore was also using word games in his text more frequently (read carefully) adding an extra level of enjoyment. This collection also contains the first appearance of Jon Constantine, and it is a period I miss. Here Constantine is a totally mysterious, manipulative character whose only real power is his mysteriously obtained knowledge and who always adds an element of dark humour (he is still a great character, but far less mysterious, and he now has magical skills, the extent of which appear to change from appearance to appearance).

This collection represents, if not Moore's best, then the best of Swamp Thing.

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From amazon:
Editorial Reviews
What Alan Moore, Stephen Bissette, and John Totleben accomplished during their time on the comic book series Swamp Thing shouldn't be underestimated in the history of comics and, specifically, the history of horror comics. The modern comics landscape has been changed by the Vertigo line of books--an imprint that traces its roots back to this version of Swamp Thing. By taking a horror character fully entrenched in a superhero world (as silly as that might seem), this creative team put a new face on horror comics and on horror in general. Swamp Thing: Love and Death is the second collection of the team's work on the series, presented here in full color. Don't let the mediocre Swamp Thing movies fool you, this book is filled with sophisticated suspense and terror.

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From amazon (Reviewed by Tim Janson):
In 1984 DC comics hired a relatively unknown British comic writer and gave him the assignment to write Swamp Thing. Moore was given basically free reign on the character since the title was slated to be cancelled anyway due to poor sales. But then a funny thing happened...Moore revamped the character and his origins and changed everything fans ever knew about him. Thus Swamp Thing was saved from the axe and would continue on for 12 more years. Moore's run on the title has gone onto become one of the most critically acclaimed in comic's history.

This book reprints the first 7 issues of Moore's run from #21 - 27. Actually Moore took over one issue earlier but it was #21 that changed everything. In this issue, Swamp Thing, who was thought dead, has an autopsy performed on him by the Floronic Man who discovers that the creature has no human skeleton or organs...thus he is not, and never was Alec Holland as we had always thought. Instead, when Holland died, the swamp absorbed his memories and conferred them onto the creature that would become the Swamp Thing. We of course would later learn that Swamp Thing was actually a plant elemental and just the latest in a long line of such creatures. The Floronic Man would eat one of the tubers off Swamp Things body and go onto a psychedelic trip that would put him in touch...and control of all plant life on Earth. Swamp Thing would battle him over the course of issues 22 - 24.

Issue #25 was a landmark in that it introduced, although didn't name, one John Constantine, the Hellblazer. This would begin a three issue story arc where Swamp Thing battled a fear demon called the Monkey King with help from Etrigan. This book begins a marvelous run that for me culminates in issue #50. Great art throughout by Steve Bissette and John Totleben who came aboard on issue #21. A fantastic book!

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Publisher: DC Comics
Release: January 11, 2005

DC Comics took every DCU tale written by Alan Moore and put them in one trade paperback collection, "Across the Universe: The DC Universe Stories of Alan Moore (Paperback)" which features 16stories by the writer. 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.

Written by Alan Moore Art by Jim Aparo, Jim Baikie, Brian Bolland, Paris Cullins, George Freeman, Dave Gibbons, Klaus Janson, Kevin O'Neill, Joe Orlando, George Pérez, Kurt Schaffenberger, Curt Swan, Rick Veitch, Al Williamson and Bill Willingham Cover by Brian Bolland Don't miss this exhaustive collection featuring the World's Greatest Super-Heroes as interpreted by one of the most acclaimed authors in comics!

From amazon:
The Worlds Greatest Super-Heroes as interpreted by one of the most acclaimed authors in comics today.The work of Alan Moore (WATCHMEN, V FOR VENDETTA, LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN) in the DC Universe during the 1980s is now considered a benchmark for great stories with fresh approaches to iconic characters.This volume collects such well-known classics as The Killing Joke and Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?

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From wikipedia:
"Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" is a 1986 comic book story featuring the DC Comics character of Superman. The story was published in two parts, in the final issues of the series Superman (Vol. 1) (#423) and Action Comics (#583), both published in September 1986. Written by Alan Moore, pencilled by long-time Superman artist Curt Swan, and inked by George Pérez (Superman) and Kurt Schaffenberger (Action), the tale incorporates the Mort Weisinger-era style but has a distinctly modern twist. The story was intended to close the book on the original character's history subsequent to the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths and in preparation for the following The Man of Steel reboot by John Byrne, and was Swan's final major contribution to the series, though he would later occasionally return for special occasions.

From amazon:
An unforgettable hardcover collection of WATCHMEN writer Alan Moore's definitive Superman tales that is sure to appeal of readers of his BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE graphic novel. Moore teams with Curt Swan, the definitive Superman artist from the 1950's through the 1970's, to tell the final adventure of the Man of Steel featuring his last stand against Lex Luthor, Brainiac and his other foes in "WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE MAN OF TOMORROW?". This volume also includes Moore's classic early collaboration with WATCHMEN illustrator Dave Gibbons, "FOR THE MAN WHO HAS EVERYTHING", in which Batman, Robin and Wonder Woman find Superman held captive by the villain Mongul in the Fortress of Solitude and dreaming of an idyllic life on Krypton courtesy of a wish-fulfilling parasitic plant known as the Black Mercy. Both tales are considered two of the top five all-time best Superman stories among fans.

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From wikipedia:
Alan Moore's The Courtyard is a 2003 comic book adaptation of a 1994 prose story written by Alan Moore. It was adapted for comics by Antony Johnston, with artwork by Jacen Burrows, and Alan Moore as "consulting editor". Originally planned to appear in Alan Moore's Yuggoth Cultures and Other Growths, it was published as a standalone release by Avatar. The plot centres around an FBI agent who specialises in "anomaly theory", being assigned to investigate three seemingly-unrelated murder cases in Red Hook. When the investigation leads to a night club, and onto the apparent use of a drug named Aklo, the agent soon finds things are not at all as they seem.

From amazon:
Just in time for the sequel in 2009, Alan Moore's haunting masterpiece, The Courtyard, is available in color for the first time! The most celebrated writer in the industry, Alan Moore, teams up with brilliant artist Jacen Burrows, to unleash this timeless tale of Lovecraftian psychological horror. FBI man Aldo Sax has an amazing service record with the FBI. His legendary skills at piecing together the most baffling of cases has gotten him assigned to what may be his most confusing case yet. Several murders - no, more like lethal dismemberments - from the most unlikely of suspects just don't addd up. And what few leads there are, all point to The Courtyard. This special collected edition of the series features an introduction by Garth Ennis!

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From wikipedia:
Batman: The Killing Joke is an influential one-shot superhero comic book written by Alan Moore and drawn by Brian Bolland, published by DC Comics in 1988. It has in its original form continuously been held in print since then. It has also been reprinted as part of the DC Universe: The Stories of Alan Moore-trade paperback.

In 2008 it was reprinted in a deluxe hardcover edition. This Deluxe Edition features new coloring by Brian Bolland, meant to illustrate his original intentions for the book, with more somber, realistic, and subdued colors than the intensely-colored original.

The plot revolves around a largely psychological battle between Batman and his longtime foe the Joker, who has escaped from Arkham Asylum. The Joker intends to drive Gotham City Police Commissioner James Gordon insane to prove that the most upstanding citizen is capable of going mad after having "one bad day". Along the way, the Joker has flashbacks to his early life, gradually explaining his possible origin.

From amazon:
One of the most famous Batman stories of all time is offered for the first time in hardcover in this special twentieth-anniversary edition. This is the unforgettable that forever changed Batman's world, adding a new element of darkness with its unflinching portrayal of The Joker's twisted psyche.

Writer Alan Moore, acclaimed author of Watchmen and V For Vendetta, offers his take on the disturbing relationship between The Dark Knight and his greatest foe. The Clown Prince of Crime has never been more ruthless than in this brutal tale. This special new edition also includes a story written and exquisitely illustrated by Brian Bolland.

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From wikipedia:
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume III: Century is the third volume of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Kevin O'Neill. Co-published by Top Shelf Productions and Knockabout Comics in the US and UK respectively, Century will be published in three distinct 72-page squarebound comics. The volumes are tentatively scheduled to be released annually with Part 1 already released on May 13, 2009; Part 2 scheduled for April / May 2010; and Part 3 scheduled for April / May 2011.

From amazon:
The new volume detailing the exploits of Miss Wilhelmina Murray and her extraordinary colleagues, Century is a 240-page epic spanning almost a hundred years. Divided into three 80-page chapters - each a self-contained narrative to avoid frustrating cliff-hanger delays between episodes - this monumental tale takes place in three distinct eras, building to an apocalyptic conclusion occurring in our own, current, twenty-first century.

Chapter one is set against the backdrop of London, 1910, twelve years after the failed Martian invasion and nine years since England put a man upon the moon. In the bowels of the British Museum, Carnacki the ghost-finder is plagued by visions of a shadowy occult order who are attempting to create something called a Moonchild, while on London's dockside the most notorious serial murderer of the previous century has returned to carry on his grisly trade. Working for Mycroft Holmes' British Intelligence alongside a rejuvenated Allan Quartermain, the reformed thief Anthony Raffles and the eternal warrior Orlando, Miss Murray is drawn into a brutal opera acted out upon the waterfront by players that include the furiously angry Pirate Jenny and the charismatic butcher known as Mac the Knife.

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From wikipedia:
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier is an original graphic novel in the comic book series The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Kevin O'Neill. It is the last volume of the series to be published by DC Comics; future editions of the series will be published by Top Shelf Productions due to Alan Moore severing all connections with DC. Chronologically, the volume is the third in the series, but Moore says that it is really an intermediary volume linking volumes two and three.

Unlike earlier volumes, the comic book portions of Black Dossier are not set in the Victorian era; rather, they are set in 1958, after the fall of the Big Brother government from Nineteen Eighty Four (the chronological explanation for this is that Orwell's book was originally set in 1948, but the dates were changed by the publisher). The story itself sees Mina Harker and Allan Quatermain - now immortal after bathing in the fire of youth from She - on their quest to recover the Black Dossier, which contains the secret history of the now-disbanded League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

Out to stop them is a trio of secret agents: inept, brutally womanizing young spy Jimmy (a thinly-veiled James Bond), a young agent named Emma Night (later to become Emma Peel in The Avengers), and Hugo Drummond (really Bulldog Drummond). The pursuit takes Mina and Allan from London to Scotland and eventually to the magical Blazing World.

From amazon:
England in the mid 1950s is not the same as it was. The powers that be have instituted...some changes. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen have been disbanded and disavowed, and the country is under the control of an iron-fisted regime. Now, after many years, the still youthful Mina Murray and a rejuvenated Allan Quatermain return and are in search of some answers. Answers that can only be found in a book buried deep in the vaults of their old headquarters, a book that holds the key to the hidden history of the League throughout the ages: The Black Dossier. As Allan and Mina delve into the details of their precursors, some dating back centuries, they must elude their dangerous pursuers who are Hell-bent on retrieving the lost manuscript... and ending the League once and for all.

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From wikipedia:
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume II is a comic book limited series written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Kevin O'Neill, published under the America's Best Comics imprint of DC Comics. It is a sequel to the original volume of the series and is mainly a retelling of The War of the Worlds.

From amazon:
The inspiration behind the blockbuster movie, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen once again uses the classic characters from familiar literature to tell a tale of epic proportions in Victorian England. In volume two, when alien invaders from Mars mercilessly attack London, the throne quickly calls upon Allan Quatermain, Mina Harker, Captain Nemo, the Invisible Man, and Dr. Jekyll to protect the empire.Using their various skills and intellect, the League goes about preparing a defense against the invasion but when the Invisible Man joins the Martian's cause, all appears to be lost.Now, as one of the members dies a horrific death, the League turns to the legendary Dr. Moreau as their last desperate hope.

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From wikipedia:
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume I is a comic book limited series written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Kevin O'Neill, published under the America's Best Comics imprint of DC Comics. It is the first story in the larger League of Extraordinary Gentlemen series. The story takes place in 1898 in a fictional world where all of the characters and events from Victorian literature (and possibly the entirety of fiction) coexist. The world the characters inhabit is one more technologically advanced than our own was in the same era.

From amazon:
Proving that mainstream comics could be infused with past literary/cultural ideals and still be bestsellers, the America's Best Comics imprint took the dilapidated superhero genre and created three vastly entertaining hybrids with Tom Strong, Promethea and Top Ten. Now, a stunning coup de grace is delivered with this masterful pairing of Victorian adventure fiction's greatest characters and the old war-horse of the super-group. With the stunning The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, it would be no exaggeration to say that Alan Moore has produced a near-perfect piece of adventure fiction that is clever, literate, rich with excitement and hard to put down.

It's 1898 and at the behest of M, the mysterious head of the secret Service, Campion Bond is dispatched to procure the services of Miss Mina Murray (nee Harker), adventurer Allan Quartermain, "Science-Pirate" Captain Nemo, Henry Jekyll (and his monstrous alter ego) and Hawley Griffin (a.k.a. the Invisible Man). Together, they must combat an insidious threat that will decide supremacy of the London skies, but their success may unleash a far greater threat. With no shortage of action, Moore and O' Neill sustain a high level of suspense, intrigue, mystery and terrific wit that all contribute to an indispensable read. O'Neill's art, so memorable in Marshal Law, produces a London filled with vivid, magnificent architecture and a malevolent atmosphere ripe with thrills and danger. An unmitigated triumph--pure and simple. --Danny Graydon

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From Hell is a comic book series by writer Alan Moore and artist Eddie Campbell speculating upon the identity and motives of Jack the Ripper. The title is taken from the first words of the "From Hell" letter, which some authorities believe was an authentic message sent from the killer in 1888. The work is dense, multilayered and immensely detailed; the collected edition is 572 pages long.

Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence, marries and fathers a child with Annie Crook, a shop worker from the East End of London; she is unaware of her husband's royal position. Queen Victoria becomes aware of the marriage, and has Albert separated forcibly from his wife, whom she then places in an asylum. Victoria then instructs her royal physician Sir William Gull to impair Annie's sanity, which he does by damaging or impairing her thyroid gland (In fact, Gull was the first to medically describe the state of hypothyroidism, calling it a 'cretinoid condition in adult women').

The potentially scandalous matter is resolved, until a group of prostitutes - Annie's friends - who are aware of the illegitimate child and its royal connections, attempt blackmail in order to pay off a gang of thugs who are threatening them. Gull is once again enlisted, this time to silence the group of women who are threatening the crown. The police are complicit in the crimes - they are granted prior knowledge of Gull's intentions, and are adjured not to interfere until the plot is completed.

From amazon:
From Hell is the story of Jack the Ripper, perhaps the most infamous man in the annals of murder. Detailing the events leading up to the Whitechapel killings and the cover-up that followed, From Hell is a meditation on the mind of a madman whose savagery and violence gave birth to the 20th century.

The serialized story, presented in its entirety in this volume, has garnered widespread attention from critics and scholars. Often regarded as one of the most significant graphic novels ever published, From Hell combines meticulous research with educated speculation, resulting in a masterpiece of historical fiction both compelling and terrifying. This new edition, which has been completely re-mastered, is certainly the finest edition of the book produced to date.

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From wikipedia:
V for Vendetta is a ten-issue comic-book series written by Alan Moore and illustrated mostly by David Lloyd, set in a dystopian future United Kingdom imagined from the 1980s about the 1990s. A mysterious anarchist named "V" works to destroy the totalitarian government, profoundly affecting the people he encounters.

The series depicts a near-future Britain after a limited nuclear war, which has left much of the world destroyed. In this future, a fascist party called Norsefire has arisen as the ruling power. "V", an anarchist revolutionary dressed in a Guy Fawkes mask, begins an elaborate, violent and theatrical campaign to bring down the government. A film version premiered in 2005.

From amazon:
A powerful story about loss of freedom and individuality, V For Vendetta takes place in a totalitarian England following a devastating war that changed the face of the planet.

In a world without political freedom, personal freedom and precious little faith in anything comes a mysterious man in a white porcelain mask who fights political oppressors through terrorism and seemingly absurd acts. It's a gripping tale of the blurred lines between ideological good and evil.

This new trade paperbackedition features the improved production values and coloring from the 2005 hardcover.

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From wikipedia:
Watchmen is a twelve-issue comic book limited series created by writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colorist John Higgins. The series was published by DC Comics during 1986 and 1987, and has been subsequently reprinted in collected form. Watchmen originated from a story proposal Moore submitted to DC featuring superhero characters that the company had acquired from Charlton Comics. As Moore's proposed story would have left many of the characters unusable for future stories, managing editor Dick Giordano convinced the writer to create original characters instead.

Watchmen is set in an alternate reality which closely mirrors the contemporary world of the 1980s. The primary point of divergence is the presence of superheroes. Their existence in this iteration of America is shown to have dramatically affected and altered the outcomes of real-world events such as the Vietnam War and the presidency of Richard Nixon. In keeping with the realism of the series, although the costumed crime fighters of Watchmen are commonly called "superheroes", the only character who possesses obvious superhuman powers is Doctor Manhattan. The existence of Doctor Manhattan has given the U.S. a strategic advantage over the Soviet Union, which has increased tensions between the two nations. Additionally, superheroes have become unpopular among the public, which has led to the passage of legislation in 1977 to outlaw them. While many of the heroes retired, Doctor Manhattan and The Comedian operate as government-sanctioned agents, and Rorschach continues to operate outside the law.

From amazon:
This Hugo Award-winning graphic novel chronicles the fall from grace of a group of super-heroes plagued by all-too-human failings. Along the way, the concept of the super-hero is dissected as the heroes are stalked by an unknown assassin.

One of the most influential graphic novels of all time and a perennial bestseller, WATCHMEN has been studied on college campuses across the nation and is considered a gateway title, leading readers to other graphic novels such as V For Vendetta, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and The Sandman series.

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