I’m a huge fan of the Justice Society of America, the very first superhero team, and what used to be Earth-Two (before the epic Crisis on Infinite Earths maxi-series of 1985-6), a “parallel Earth” that was home to DC Comics’ heroes of the 1930s and ’40s. Crisis on Multiple Earths collects the first four team-ups between the Justice Society and the Justice League of America, the superheroes of Earth-One.

These stories, written by Gardner Fox and drawn by Mike Sekowsky, Bernard Sachs and Sid Greene, first appeared in the early-to-mid-1960s, and sadly, the stories are very dated. None of the characters has any personality, just schticks. The Flash is super-fast, Batman is a masked detective, but whether it’s the mysterious, magical Doctor Fate, the costumed heavyweight Wildcat or the alien Martian Manhunter, they all speak the same way, have the same motivations and are basically interchangeable. With a few exceptions, the villains are the same way. Bad guys steal money and valuables, good guys foil the criminal plans of the bad guys. Bad guys stick together to steal, good guys stick together to fight crime. Neither good guys nor bad guys ever fight among themselves. The dialogue is relentlessly upbeat and corny.

The stories themselves are highly imaginative, but full of plot holes, wild coincidences and crazy leaps of logic. They’re a lot of fun, if you’re not worried about any real drama or realism.

I really enjoyed these reprinted comics, although the lack of characterization and insane plotting got to me sometimes. (Especially painful was the idea that Batman, one of the most determined superhero characters in modern comics, would have given up crimefighting and gone back to being just a rich playboy if he’d gotten beaten up in his first appearance as Batman.) From a nostalgic point of view, these stories are wonderful. But if you want stories that are emotionally engaging and affecting, you won’t find them here.

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David Petersen’s Mouse Guard: Winter 1152 is a sequel to the first Mouse Guard graphic novel, Fall 1152. The story continues on and builds on the events of the previous graphic novel. The guard mice characters of the first graphic novel have been sent out into the cruel winter to help secure supplies and diplomatic ties for Lockhaven, the headquarters town of the Mouse Guard. Things get even more complicated when the guard mice are forced to deal with predators, mysteries and conspiracies.

The art is just as gorgeous as the previous graphic novel, and the pacing is just as good. There’s even more characterization this time around, deepening our understanding of Kenzie, Saxon, Sadie, Lieam, Celanawe and Gwendolyn, their motivations and relationships. But Petersen doesn’t skimp on the action either, with several dynamic fight scenes

As good as Mouse Guard is, it’s not perfect. It’s often difficult to keep track of all of the characters, especially since the mice all look very similar. There are also a few glaring spelling mistakes. But all in all, I enjoyed Winter 1152 a whole lot and highly recommend it.

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Brian Fies’ graphic novel Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow? looks at technology and visions of the future throughout the 20th century, as seen through the eyes of a boy and his father. It begins in 1939, at the New York World’s Fair, the boy young, wide-eyed and optimistic. The narrative jumps forward around 10 years each chapter, the boy growing at the slow rate of traditional comics characters, the father barely aging at all. As time goes on, the boy becomes more disillusioned and disenchanted with technology and the promise of a better world, matching the zeitgeist of that decade.

I loved this graphic novel. The artwork is clean and engaging. In each chapter, Fies has a comic book read by the boy which perfectly captures the look and spirit of comics of that decade. And the thoughts on technology, optimism and hope for the future really connected with my own. Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow? is sweet, smart, a little somber, but ultimately uplifting.

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One of my all-time favorite comics is Grant Morrison’s run on the weird superhero comic Doom Patrol (which has been collected in a series of graphic novels, but they are unfortunately not in the Library’s collection). Morrison really played up the weirdness, throwing in all kinds of surreal and absurd characters and situations, while always keeping the emotions real and centered.

The Umbrella Academy, written by Gerard Way and illustrated by Gabriel Bá, is clearly influenced by Morrison’s Doom Patrol. It also has a similar feel to Mike Mignola’s Hellboy. Like both of those comics, The Umbrella Academy is full of wild action and even wilder weirdness, but always with a strong center of real emotion. The first volume, Apocalypse Suite, introduces a family of superpowered children, adopted by a famous scientist & philanthropist. After their adopted father’s death, the now adult children are forced to reunite to prevent the end of the world. The family is broken and dysfunctional, and their superpowers are all strange and wonderful. There are tons of deliciously odd little details crammed into the panels, but the story never feels overdone or overwhelming. Although the superpowered family is introduced as children, this isn’t a story for children (it’s quite violent, with a number of adult themes) but for adults who know what it’s like to grow up in a large family yet still feel alone and outcast. Bá’s crisp, kinetic art is perfect for Way’s bizarre characters and setting. Everything comes together nicely in a weird and satisfying soup.

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It’s true to say I’ve been a Superman fan as far back as I can remember, but it’s also true to say I haven’t been a fan. Because there are really many different characters called Superman: the original Golden Age character who didn’t fly and was much less of a Boy Scout than the character later become; the Silver Age goody-goody with the complex mythology and the huge cast of characters; the 1980s reboot; the George Reeves TV version; the Christopher Reeve movie version; the Dean Cain TV version; the Tom Welling TV version; and many more. Superman is a character who has been reinterpreted countless times, some more to my liking than others.

In All-Star Superman, writer Grant Morrison and artist Frank Quitely give what could be considered a basic interpretation of Superman and his friends. Taking the best, most accessible qualities of the characters from the 1940s to the 1980s, then throwing in Morrison’s trademark postmodernist psychedelia and weird science, they create a rollicking, funky, exciting and moving story, high on imagination and deep with emotion. All-Star Superman is divorced from any specific comics continuity, so even casual readers can jump right in, while old-school fans like myself can revel in the nostalgic atmosphere. Morrison keeps the pacing quick, the dialogue snappy, and the mad ideas coming fast and furious, while also focusing on some of the core emotional reasons why Superman is such an endearing, inspiring character. Quitely’s art doesn’t appeal to everyone, but I’ve always loved it, and he’s in top form here.

All-Star Superman, like Alan Moore’s Supreme,  is perfect for former comics fans who haven’t read superhero comics in years, long-time fans who want something fresh, and casual readers who like stories loaded with fun and high-level imagination.

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I knew about the character called the Scarlet Pimpernel–usually referred to as one of the first superheroes–for a long, long time before I finally got around the reading the novel. From the way the character and the story is generally portrayed in pop culture, I was expecting a thrill-a-minute tale full of swashbuckling swordfights. I was completely wrong, but not at all disappointed. In fact, after reading it, The Scarlet Pimpernel immediately became one of my favorite novels. The fact that the character served as an inspiration for Batman and other superheroes also endears it to me.

Set during the bloody French Revolution, the novel tells the story of Marguerite Blakeney, a lovely and spirited former French actress; the English nobleman Sir Percy Blakeney, her foppish and apparently airheaded husband; Chauvelin, the sly, sinister agent of the French Revolution; and the Scarlet Pimpernel, a daring and mysterious master of disguise who rescues French aristocrats from the guillotine.

There are no fight scenes or swordfights in The Scarlet Pimpernel, but the book zips along at a fast pace, and there are plenty of thrilling plot twists and turns. The book is full of so much fun and energy, even the slowest scenes keep you turning the page. If you like a solid adventure romance, I don’t think you can go wrong with The Scarlet Pimpernel.

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The original Star Wars movie (the one where Han shot first) came out when I was 7 years old. It changed my life. I loved the movie like I loved few other things. I had Star Wars posters in my room. I reenacted scenes with my friends at school. I played with Star Wars action figures, renaming the characters and making up my own stories. But oddly, I didn’t buy the Star Wars comics published by Marvel Comics.

Thankfully, Dark Horse Comics has reprinted those original Star Wars comics in bound collections. I just finished reading the first volume of A Long Time Ago…, Doomworld and all in all, I loved it.

Published back in those innocent days before Darth Vader was Luke Skywalker’s father, before Princess Leia was Luke’s sister,  before Jabba the Hutt was a giant slug, before Lando Calrissian, Boba Fett, Yoda and Ewoks, the comic adapts the movie pretty faithfully (although there are still some bits that are later contradicted by the movies that came after), then continue the adventures of the “star warriors” (as they’re referred to in the comic) in stories that take huge liberties with the characters and setting. But the stories have a wonderful enthusiasm to them, with brisk pacing, snappy dialogue and loads of imagination. If you can forget about The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi and the three prequels, if you’re not looking for a lot of deep emotion or complex storytelling, it’s easy to enjoy these stories as pure space opera fun.

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After hearing Wil Wheaton mention how much he loved Scott Pilgrim by Bryan Lee O’Malley, I decided to check out a comic I probably wouldn’t have given a second look to otherwise. And I’m very glad I did. I blazed through the first four volumes, Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Scott Pilgrim & the Infinite Sadness and Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together, in no time. I couldn’t put them down.

Scott Pilgrim is a 23-year-old slacker living in Toronto. He plays bass guitar in an amateur band, Sex Bob-omb. He’s dating a 17-year-old high school student named Knives Chau. And then he sees the roller-skating delivery girl, Ramona Flowers and falls in love at first sight. The comic, drawn in a style reminiscent of Japanese manga, starts out as a sweet and snarky story of college-age slackers, funny because it’s so realistic and recognizable. And then things suddenly get…strange. Scott discovers that if he wants to date Ramona, he has to defeat her seven evil exes in video game-style martial arts battles, complete with swords and axes, super powers and special moves. There’s also the mysterious black void called”subspace” that Ramona is able to enter at will. But no matter how strange and wacky things get, O’Malley plays it straight (well, mostly straight, with a lot of sarcastic humor), which makes Scott Pilgrim even funnier and loads of fun.

The Library has the fifth volume, Scott Pilgrim vs. the Universe. I can’t wait to get my hands on it. Scott Pilgrim rules! Or something.

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David Petersen has created a nice piece of work in Mouse Guard. He’s written a solid, straightforward adventure drama and illustrated it with some of the most beautiful comics artwork I’ve ever seen. Mouse Guard is about a quasi-Medieval society of mice who live in mouse-made cities and towns, spread out across “the Territories.” Under threat from bad weather and natural predators, the areas outside the cities and towns are patrolled by the Mouse Guard, cloaked & armed protectors of mousekind. The six chapters of Fall 1152 tell a fast-paced story of four members of the Mouse Guard uncovering conspiracy and rebellion in the Territories.

While the mice are somewhat anthropomorphic–walking upright, using their front paws as hands, building and using tools–they’re never portrayed as overly cute or winsome Disney-esque characters. These are tough, gritty, passionate mice, and the story is full of desperate fights and adult emotions. I can’t wait for the next collection, Winter 1152, which is planned to come out this summer.

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In the mid-1990s, Alan Moore (yes, the guy who wrote Watchmen) took over writing a comic called Supreme and completely reworked it, turning it into something amazing and fun. His Supreme stories have been collected in two volumes, Supreme: The Story of the Year and Supreme: The Return.

Supreme was a ’90s version of Superman, powerful but dark and morally ambiguous. Moore took over writing with issue #41, abandoning almost everything from the past 40 issues in a blatant revision. Moore uses the remaining issues to create an homage to Superman (and to a lesser extent Captain Marvel) comics of the Golden, Silver Age and Bronze Age. And it’s absolutely brilliant. If Watchmen is a deconstruction of traditional superhero comics, Moore’s Supreme is a reconstruction and glorification of the best of superhero comics of the past. At the same time, Moore creates a lot of humor by warmly playing up some of the goofier aspects of older superhero comics (while also making pointed jabs at comics writing and publishing of the 1990s). Moore riffs on the revision of comics characters, the imaginary stories that were popular in the 1960s, goofy origin stories, Superman, Supergirl, Krypto the Superdog, Lana Lang, Lois Lane, kryptonite, Batman and Robin, the Justice League of America, Lex Luthor, Brainiac, the Legion of Super-Heroes and more. And it’s all wrapped up in a complex, intelligent, engaging storyline. If you like old school superhero comics, I definitely recommend Alan Moore’s Supreme.

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