Author: Robert Greenberger

How Superman REALLY helped America win World War Two

  • News
  • December 7, 2009

Today is December 7th, a day that will live in infamy as the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor that ushered the United States into the second World War.

During the war, almost every comic shifted to a wartime footing, with covers of our heroes kicking the crap out of Nazis and fighting saboteurs in the pages within. But in at least one case, superheroes did a lot more.

See that cover to the right? That’s the cover of a special edition of Superman, based on issue #33 of the regular series that was produced for the U.S. Army.

The Army had a problem at the time — they were drafting thousands of men a year, but many of them had no education to speak of, with large swaths of them functionally illiterate, and they were expected to operate complex machinery pretty quickly. They had to learn how to read, and fast. The troops also needed cheap and portable entertainment, something that could be carried through the battlefields of Europe and Asia.

So with the cooperation of National Periodical Publications, the forerunner to DC Comics, this edition was produced by the War Department with simplified dialogue and word balloons. Hundreds of thousands of copies were distributed to GIs, and it helped them learn to read and to pass the time. And of course, copies of the comics were handed out to kids in faraway lands, as gestures of goodwill.

A total of 23 issues were produced in this manner and these rare variants are among the first examples of using comic books to teach, not just entertain.

So we weren’t surprised when a study came out last week showing that comics can be used to improve literacy. The United States government has known it for decades.

McG Talks Terminator Salvation on BD-Live Tomorrow

  • News
  • December 4, 2009

We just got an alert from our friends at Warner Bros. that on Saturday, at 6 p.m. PST, Terminator Salvation director McG will particiate in a discussion with fans via BD-Live. Here’s the official release:

Experience the first-ever audio-enabled Live Community Screening (LCS) exclusive to owners of the Terminator Salvation Blu-ray Disc and hear director McG answer your questions during this BD-Live exclusive LCS on December 5th, 2009.  The Terminator Salvation LCS marks the first time that real-time audio will be available to enhance the interactive experience.

The LCS, which showcases the expansive capabilities and interactivity offered with Blu-ray and Warner Bros. BD-Live, will take place on December 5th at 6:00PM PST  (9:00PM EST) live from Los Angeles.  The LCS will allow fans that own a BD-Live capable Blu-ray Disc Player the ability to simultaneously watch the movie with McG and hear an interactive Q&A where they can submit questions about the blockbuster film to McG, directly from their home via their internet-connected computer or mobile device. The LCS will also feature the questions and answers in text form on screen.

Warner Bros. BD-Live is an interactive feature exclusive to the Blu-ray format that allows users to experience a variety of exclusive features.  In addition to access to the audio LCS, other exciting BD-Live content available to Terminator Salvation Blu-ray owners include:

  • Compilation of 10 viral videos from the “Resist or Be Terminated” alternate reality game revealing SKYNET’s secret plans.
  • The first episode of Terminator Salvation Machinima Series
  • Digital version of Issue #1 of the Terminator Salvation official movie prequel comic (available for a limited time only)

Warner Bros. BD-Live community members who have registered and signed up for the Terminator Salvation LCS will receive an emailed invitation to participate in the event. The first 100,000 members who RSVP will secure a spot for the screening. WB BD-Live registered users who own the Blu-ray Disc and have signed up for the BD-Live LCS event will be able to insert the disc, connect to WB BD-Live via broadband and logon to the LCS at this designated time to participate in this ground breaking exclusive event.

BD-Live is only accessible through a BD-Live enabled Blu-ray Disc™ played on an Internet-connected Blu-ray player (including PlayStation®3) with BD-Live capabilities and sufficient data storage.  Please consult your Player Manual or Player Support Website for more information.

 

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Review: ‘Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian’ on Blu-ray

4660183dd01761a44f15a7ba527a76281-8686146I admit to having missed [[[Night at the Museum]]] despite the recommendations of friends. As a result, sitting down to watch Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian
was a test to see if the sequel could be entertaining without knowing the ins and outs of the predecessor.

Thankfully, 20th Century-Fox sent over the Blu-ray disc, on sale this week, for review. The special edition has three discs: the film on Blu-ray with the usual assortment of extras, a disc with the film in Standard DVD and the now ubiquitous digital copy.

Overly, this is a mildly amusing film and does not make me miss the original in the slightest. The film tosses any sense of reality out the window from the get-go and expects you to be pulled along, not questioning the absurdities.

I did like how they recapped the first film via a conversation between “As Seen on TV” master Larry Daley and Mr. Pimp George Foreman. It was a lovely send up of those horrid infomercials. However, there’s no real connection between Larry giving up being a night watchman to becoming this successful-but-unfulfilled mogul so his dissatisfaction doesn’t ring true. Also, it was nice to see some semblance of a relationship between Larry and his son but then when he rushes to Washington, he seems to abandon the kid without a second thought despite no evidence of adult supervision. The kid seems there to help with the info dump and is then discarded, not even seen for the ending.

Instead, have to hurry to Washington since a chimp stole the magic Egyptian tablet that can bring the inanimate to life once the sun goes down. And somehow Kahmunrah, brother to last film’s Ahkmenrah turns up knowing all about the events that transpired. Hank Azaria gamely channels Boris Karloff to portray the power mad but not terribly bright Egyptian. He wants to open a portal to a nether-realm and take over a world he doesn’t understand.

The rest of the film is devoted to CGI-powered antics as Larry attempts to stop Kahmunrah as both call upon historic figures for help. By setting this in the Smithsonian, there’s a heavy American accent on the figures so we have Al Capone on one side and a plucky Amelia Earhart on the other. Interestingly, Amy Adams gives her Earhart a sense of verve that Hilary Swank never manages in the recently biopic bomb.

Amazingly, as the night progresses and we run from building to building and throughout the monuments, there are no other people. No homeless, college students, tourists, policemen…anyone. As a result, Abe Lincoln goes wandering from his monument to the museum and there’s not a single sighting or sense of panic.

The humor veers more to slapstick than the clever and the performances are uniform – everyone’s chewing the scenery as quickly as possible. The writing from Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon should have been far sharper so the characters don’t spout anachronistic comments or play to the stereotypical information we know about the figures.

Everything that transpires is telegraphed and predictable right up to the ending that brings a sense of closure to Larry’s life.

Extras on the disc include commentaries from director Shawn Levy and one from the screenwriters and sometimes you think they made very different films. Then you have the 20 minute The Curators of Comedy: Behind-the-Scenes of Night at the Museum 2, a pretty funny Gag Reel, a dozen deleted scenes,Curators of Comedy: Behind The Scenes With Ben Stiller,Museum Scavenger Hunt Game, Cherub Bootcamp, Phinding Pharaoh With Hank Azaria, Monkey Mischief Featurettes, Historical Confessions: Famous Last Words, Secret Doors and Scientists,Cavemen Conversations: Survival of the Wittiest,Museum Magic: Entering The World of the Photograph, Director 201 With Shawn Levy, Gangster Levy, and finally the FOX Movie Channel Presents Featurettes.

In some ways, the plethora of extras inflates the importance of what is essentially a family comedy that makes no demands on any demographic. Still, the extras are the reason to have the film if you like any of the performers. Families can enjoy the film itself in any of the available formats.

Chris Noth Discusses Playing Lex Luthor

  • News
  • December 2, 2009

Lex Luthor has benefited from many strong performances over the years from Gene Hackman and Kevin Spacey in the features to Clancy Brown in the animated universe. Now, Chris Noth takes a turn at voicing the nefarious arch foe of Superman in February’s Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, the all-new DC Universe Animated Original coming from Warner Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation.

The twist, of course, is that this is the Lex from Earth-3 (or whatever number they assign it) and he arrives to recruit the Justice League to help save his Earth from the Crime Syndicate, a gang of villainous characters with virtually identical super powers to the Justice League. What ensues is the ultimate battle of good versus evil in a war that threatens both planets and, through a diabolical plan launched by Owlman, puts the balance of all existence in peril.

Noth has had a lengthy television presence as both Mr. Big in Sex and the City and as Mike Logan in Law & Order and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. He can currently be seen starring opposite Julianna Margulies in the CBS drama The Good Wife. Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths represents Noth’s inaugural dip into the animated pool.

Justice League: Crisis on Two Earthsis an original story from award-winning animation/comics writer Dwayne McDuffie,. Bruce Timm is executive producer, and Lauren Montgomery (Wonder Woman, Green Lantern: First Flight) and Sam Liu (Superman/Batman: Public Enemies) are co-directors. The full-length animated film will be distributed by Warner Home Video as a Special Edition 2-disc version on DVD and Blu-Ray™ Hi-Def, as well as single disc DVD, and On Demand and Download.

In Los Angeles to record his 100-plus lines as Lex Luthor, Noth took time during the marathon session to discuss his first animated role.

QUESTION: You’ve had an extensive career in a number of acting mediums – is this really your first animation voiceover experience?

CHRIS NOTH: I think I did about three lines of Mike Logan on Family Guy. That was a quick little gig. The character (Stewie) on the show carries a picture of Mike Logan in his wallet, so I was very flattered by that. But that was just a few lines – so Lex is pretty much my first real animated role. (more…)

Universal Announces ‘Flipper’ Format for Home Video

  • News
  • December 1, 2009

We think the following press release from Universal is pretty cool and could be a game changer for those quibbling about being forced to upgrade to Blu-ray.

Universal City, California, December 1, 2009 – In a move that is poised to elevate the Blu-ray™ Hi-Def format and provide consumers with the ultimate in convenience and viewing flexibility, Universal Studios Home Entertainment (USHE) announced the introduction of groundbreaking dual-format discs containing both Blu-ray™ Hi-Def and DVD versions of some of Hollywood’s most iconic films.  An industry first, the new “flipper” discs will launch on January 19, 2010 with the blockbuster superspy thrillers The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum, starring Matt Damon, premiering as individually packaged Blu-ray™ discs.

For the first time ever, consumers will have the ability to choose between Blu-ray™ and DVD formats, simply by flipping a single disc.  With complete utility in one convenient package, the revolutionary medium can be used on any DVD or Blu-ray™ compatible player, game platform or computer, making it ideal for anyone planning to upgrade to Blu-ray™ at a future date as well as current owners of both Blu-ray™ and DVD systems.  Each side of Universal’s flipper discs includes the entire movie as well as all available bonus features, with the Blu-ray™ side featuring exciting BD exclusives such as U-Control and BD-Live™.

“Universal’s flipper discs are the perfect way for consumers to future-proof their collections while still enjoying their favorite movies on all their existing DVD players,” said Craig Kornblau, President of Universal Studios Home Entertainment.  “The flipper disc offers an easy way for viewers to convert to Blu-ray now or at any time in the future, confident in the fact they will be able to experience their home entertainment purchases in the highest quality picture and sound when they do.”

The release will mark the first time the Bourne trilogy, one of the highest grossing action movie franchises in history, is available individually in Blu-ray’s™ renowned perfect picture and purest digital sound.  Each film is accompanied by an array of exciting bonus features that plunge viewers deeper in to the shadowy world of international espionage, including top-secret files, challenging strategy games,  fascinating filmmakers and actor profiles, commentary, deleted scenes and Universal’s renowned BD-Live™ functionality.

Riddled with deception, intrigue and high-octane thrills, each chapter of the globe-hopping search for Jason Bourne’s true identity raises the stakes another lethal notch as the undercover killer settles old scores and uncovers new secrets.  A commanding roster of acclaimed actors accompanies Damon on his quest, including Chris Cooper, Clive Owen, Brian Cox, Julia Stiles, Franka Potente, Joan Allen, David Strathairn and Albert Finney.

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Review: ‘Terminator Salvation’ on Blu-ray

1000045439brdlefo-5809382There’s no doubt that when James Cameron made the first [[[Terminator]]]movie in 1984 he figured on telling his story and moving on. Little did he know that 25 years later, it would remain a cultural touchstone spawning sequels, a television series, books, comics, and stuff.

Wisely, Cameron also knew when it was time to move on. Coaxed back for the sequel, he delivered a high-octane action thriller that also pushed the limits of movie technology as we marveled at some of the earliest CGI that had our collective jaws drop.

After the ownership got passed around like a bowl of potato chips, The Halcyon Company now controls the destiny of SkyNet and their progeny. Earlier this year, they offered up [[[Terminator Salvation]]], moving the story to right after Judgment Day in 2018, but before someone thought to send Kyle Reese back in time. The fourth feature, therefore, is both a sequel to the trio of films and a prequel to the first film. In short, the resistance thinks they have a frequency that will stop the Terminators dead in their tracks and they prepare to unleash it, failing to understand that they’ve effectively brought the Trojan horse into their camp. That’s pretty much the story.

Directed by McG, it blows things up real good and real often but it doesn’t work terribly well as a story. The movie, out tomorrow on home video, is offered up in a number of ways. Blu-ray fans can have the three-disc special edition which offers up the Director’s Cut, the theatrical release, extras, and a digital copy. DVD fans can have the two-disc special edition. A single disc version of the theatrical release is also available.

The reason the story doesn’t work is that McG visualizes a world after the Terminators have laid waste to the world but he never digs deep to show us what society is like now that food is scarce and technological development has ground to a halt. There’s no sense that these are dwindling resources nor is there a clear understanding of who’s running the American resistance. Is there still a United States of America or a Commander in Chief? We’re shown the resistance leaders wandering the seas in a submarine to avoid detection but who are they, what are their ranks and why is Michael Ironside wasted as the clueless leader?

And then there’s John Connor, played this time by Christian Bale. Said a prophet of the future and a charismatic leader of the resistance, he seems to be occasionally a soldier following orders and other times he comes off as a regular messiah, the one man capable of rallying the troops and kicking metallic ass. We know little about him or his relationship with Kate (Bryce Dallas Howard), wandering pregnant with his child – a symbol of an optimistic future.

The movie has running and jumping, fighting, and yelling but we feel nothing for these characters because screenwriters John D. Brancato & Michael Ferris never slow down to let people explain themselves. When Marcus (Sam Worthington) joins the resistance and is revealed to be a unique cyborg, there’s a quick jump to conclude he’s a Terminator despite everything he’s done up to that terrifying moment. The one person to believe him is Blair (Moon Bloodgood) and no one pays her any attention.

Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin) is sought by SkyNet but we’re never told why, we’re given no explanation why he’s been separated from the others humans who have been inexplicably rounded up by mammoth Terminators. Kyle, who believes himself one half of the complete Los Angeles resistance cell, is all about survival, but the qualities we saw Michael Biehn display in the first film is missing from his character here.

tsd-11339-3737246The talented cast is given little to do although Worthington is a revelation as the next great action star. Yelchin, seen weeks previously as the caricatured Pavel Chekov, displays some real talent as Reese. Similarly, Bloodgood both here, and in Wolverine, shows some real potential. Bale, Howard, Ironside, Jane Alexander and Helena Bonham Carter are merely wasted.

The movie ends and we’re not entertained, just disappointed. The three extra minutes in the director’s cut (far from the promised 40 minutes during the ramp-up to release) help smooth some things out but is too little to make much of a difference.

Having said all that, if you buy this, know that the Blu-ray looks and sounds spectacular.

Like The Watchmen, this offers up the Maximum Movie Mode which has McG pop up every now and then. He stands between two miniature screens, one showing the film and one showing concept drawings, animatics, costume design, and other tidbits to explain how they achieved the finished product. He’s enthusiastic and is accompanied by text information including a timeline of the Terminator universe to help put people and events into perspective (would have been nice to have that in the actual movie).

The other extras are the traditional assortment of behind-the-scenes featurettes starting with the 19-minute Reforging the Future which is an overview to the fourth film. There’s an eight-minute look at The Moto-Terminator the motorcycles in the film. We’re then given about nine other three-to-four minute clips dedicated to different elements of making the film, most involving blowing things up (30,000 gallons of kerosene was used for just one scene). The best of the lot was recreating Arnold Schwarzenegger’s look from 1984 for a T-600.

And that’s about it so you really need to have loved this film or the series to want to add this to your video library.

Review: ‘The Year of Loving Dangerously’

The Year of Loving Dangerously

By Ted Rall and Pablo G. Callejo
ComicsLit, 128 pages, $18.95

Ted Rall is a talented, controversial opinion-maker through his columns and his cartoonists. His somewhat jaundiced look at life has been shaped by many factors, chief among them, 1984, the year referred to in the title of this courageous memoir recently released under NBM’s ComicsLit imprint.

A junior, Ted developed a medical condition that shoved his life off course and in rapid succession; he was failed by his family, Columbia University, his friends, and strangers in Manhattan. As a result, Ted found himself expelled, homeless, and practically penniless, struggling to survive.

He found an unusual solution, picking up or letting himself be picked up by women essentially exchanging sexual favors for a warm place to sleep. For the better part of a year, Ted, still smarting from the breakup with Philippa, the girl of his dreams, has a steady stream of sexual relationships and in frank terms, tells his reader that he didn’t necessary revel in the activity. It was survival mechanism, much as he broke into a Barnard dorm to crash or later stole supplies from the University that jerked him around in order to raise cash.

Rall is 21, handsome, and clearly desirable but despite the variety of sexual partners at a time when AIDS was just hitting the headlines, he hates his life and his self-esteem remains fairly low. Chris, his best pal, has his own issues, walking a fine line between recreational drug use and becoming a junkie, threatening to drag Ted with him.

The writing is clear-eyed and unsparing in his appraisal of his own behavior and that of those around him. When things finally begin to turn around and he finds a job but doesn’t yet have the cash to afford first and last month rent, Ted continues to indulge in questionable behavior. Still, he tried to follow a moral path, writing, “Unlike faceless corporate entities, built on institutionalized theft, individual people were strictly off-limits.”

He gets the job, settles into three stable relationships with women (keeping each ignorant of the others), and survives a fresh encounter with Philippa. You’re rooting for him along the way, wondering if you would have made the same choices in the name of basic survival.

Much of the strength in this remarkable account comes from Pablo G Callejo’s artwork. The Spanish artist keenly captures the look and feel of New York City during the go-go Reagan years. His people are wonderfully varied and his attention to detail is excellent, from clothing to color. His artwork is ideally suited for this cautionary tale and made reading it a lot easier.

This is an important work in that it lays bare a man’s life and shows how easily things can go awry and why society needs safety nets.

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‘Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths’ DVD details released, including the Spectre!

  • News
  • November 27, 2009

In case you missed the preview on Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, Warner Premiere has offered up complete details including the announcement of an exclusive Spectre short for the special edition. Here’s the release:

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BURBANK, CA (November 23, 2009) – To save our world and all those like it, SUPERMAN, BATMAN and their caped colleagues must go toe-to-toe with their evil mirror images in Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, the seventh entry in the successful ongoing series of DC UNIVERSE Animated Original PG-13 Movies coming February 23, 2010 from Warner Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation. The full-length animated film will be distributed by Warner Home Video as a Special Edition 2-disc version on DVD and Blu-Ray™ Hi-Def for $24.98 (SRP) and $29.99 (SRP), respectively, as well as single disc DVD for $19.98 (SRP). The film will also be available On Demand and Download.

Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths is an original story from award-winning animation/comics writer Dwayne McDuffie (Justice League) rooted in DC Comics’ popular canon of “Crisis” stories depicting parallel worlds with uniquely similar heroes and villains. Bruce Timm (Superman Doomsday) is executive producer. Lauren Montgomery (Wonder Woman, Green Lantern: First Flight) and Sam Liu (Superman/Batman: Public Enemies) are co-directors.

In Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, a “good” LEX LUTHOR arrives from an alternate universe to recruit the JUSTICE LEAGUE to help save his Earth from the Crime Syndicate, a gang of villainous characters with virtually identical super powers to the JUSTICE LEAGUE. What ensues is the ultimate battle of good versus evil in a war that threatens both planets and, through a diabolical plan launched by OWLMAN, puts the balance of all existence in peril.

The movie features an all-star voice cast led by Mark Harmon (NCIS) as SUPERMAN, James Woods (Ghosts of Mississippi) as OWLMAN, Chris Noth (Sex and the City, Law & Order) as LEX LUTHOR, William Baldwin (Dirty Sexy Money) as BATMAN, Gina Torres (Serenity, Firefly) as SUPERWOMAN and Bruce Davison (X-Men) as the President.


(more…)

Review: ‘Superman: The Complete Animated Series’ on DVD

  • News
  • November 22, 2009

Once Batman the Animated Series became a huge success, a follow-up featuring the Man of Steel seemed inevitable. That it took until 1996, four years later, was the only crime in the process. The equally successful adaptation from the comics lasted four seasons and 54 episodes, helping set the stage for the bets adaptation yet: Justice League/JL Unlimited.

On Tuesday, Warner Home Video releases a seven-disc Superman: The Complete Animated Series
. Much like the just-released complete JLU series, this merely takes the existing season set discs and repackages them in a nice foil box along with a bonus seventh disc. The companion booklet, therefore, makes the same numbering error by not reflecting the actual discs.

All the love and attention lavished on the Dark Knight was poured into this show, which was brighter and shinier, the villains larger in scope and giving the animators a chance to bust loose. Superman works great in animation and after the lackluster efforts from Filmation, Hanna-Barbera and Ruby-Spears, this one clearly shows the potential fulfilled.

As usual, the voice casting is fairly top-notch with Tim Daly alternating nicely between Superman and Clark Kent, sparring playfully with Dana Delany’s Lois Lane. Clancy Brown is wonderfully malevolent as Luthor and his ever-present menace is well handled, matching the reboot version launched a decade earlier.

The series winks at the fans in many, many ways which shows the love and affection they hold for the source material and their core audience. The largest change they made to the mythos was inserting Brainiac into Kal-El’s origins and it just doesn’t work for me. In fact, the use of Brainiac here may be a weak spot throughout the series, only paying off at the conclusion of the Project Cadmus arc in JLU season one.

Yes, the continuity links between the series also rewards fans and allows the production team the opportunity to plant seeds or wrap up threads they could do otherwise. It’s a shame, therefore, that the Superman appearances in Static Shock are not included here.

Wisely, the series got pretty cosmic pretty quickly and the first season ends with the introduction of Darkseid.  By bringing in the Fourth World characters, the show takes on a scope befitting the World’s Greatest Super-Hero and giving him a host of new opponents that would truly tax him. The seventh disc has some trailers but the highlight is “The Despot Darkseid: A Villain Worthy of Superman” which gathers the producers to reflect on how this really opened things up for them. The 17 minute discussion is filled with tributes to creator Jack Kirby and shows how important he became to the series.

Darkseid wasn’t the only threat and the Man of Steel’s rogues ‘ galleries is nicely introduced one at a time and then recur, varying the tone of the show. And was there any villain better suited to animation than Mr. Mxyzptlk, whose arrival always meant a nice change of pace episode was in the offing.

The stories hold up nicely, the animation fluid and the affection for the hero that started it all is clear in every frame.

Review: ‘Saga of the Swamp Thing Book Two’

  • Uncategorized
  • November 20, 2009

Saga of the Swamp Thing Book Two

By Alan Moore, Stephen Bissette, John Totleben
DC Comics, 224 pages, $24.99

DC’s hardcover collections of Alan Moore’s run on [[[Swamp Thing]]] continues with the release of the second volume next Wednesday. The nicest thing about these releases is that it prompts us to go back and reread the stories to conjure up memories of what it was like the first time we encountered these tales.

By the time these eight stories saw print in 1984 and 1985, the buzz had grown deafening and clearly this was the most talked about series and set of creators at the time. What Alan did was bring fresh thinking to American comic book concepts and played with the readers’ expectations for mainstream storytelling and horror.

Moore’s gift for words crowded the pages with allusions and imagery previously unseen and when we could look at the artwork, it was stunning. Stephen Bissette and John Totleben were ideally suited for the material and they were given free rein by both Moore and their editor, Karen Berger. The critical success encouraged the creators to take more risks and the company wisely backed them, letting [[[Saga of the Swamp Thing]]] be the first series to hit newsstands each month without the Comics Code. Instead, the covers proclaimed the series to be “Sophisticated Suspense”, a gesture to warn potentially offended readers.

Having reimagined Swamp Thing’s origins and exploring the dynamics between the shambling creature and the humans Abigail Arcane and Matt Cable, the stage was set for the return of an old foe. Anton Arcane, Abby’s uncle, was back and the slow realization that he had possessed Matt and therefore committed a form of incest with her was shocking, cold and chilling because we hadn’t conceived of anything so horrible. The trilogy that kicks off the volume is creepy and holds up.

The coda to the tale first saw print in an annual, allowing extra pages and giving Moore a chance to play with the other occult players in the DC Universe: Etrigan, the Spectre, Phantom Stranger and Deadman. All felt fresh and part of some other reality as Swamp Thing traveled to Hell to rescue Abby.

The artists, while incredibly talented, were not speed demons and 22 pages a month was a tough pace for them. The annual, therefore, meant they needed fill-in help. Chapter 2 of the Arcane trilogy was inked by Alfredo Alcala and Chapter 3 was pencilled by Rick Veitch, but at no time is the quality suffering. But they needed a break and Shawn McManus, who already drew the opening story in this wonderful collection, is back for the acclaimed “Pog”. Moore’s tribute to Walt Kelly’s [[[Pogo]]] is a challenging read and still packs an emotional wallop.

The book ends with the award-winning “[[[Rites of Spring]]]” wherein Abby confesses her love to the creature and he offers her a piece of himself as communion, letting her see the world the way he does. It’s touching and once more gives us a new look at the characters while advancing the storylines.

On a personal note, there are two pages that cutaway to the events being watched by the enigmatic Monitor and his aide Lyla. At the time, all of DC’s titles were featuring these teasers setting up [[[Crisis on Infinite Earths.]]] Alan and Karen could have argued against it or thumbed their noses the demand the way Mike Barr did in [[[Outsiders]]]. Instead, Alan complied without complaint and actually made the appearances work, maintaining the eerie feel of the moment. I was always grateful he was willing to play along and rereading them here, does in no way take away from the stories’ impact.

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