Titan Books

i really dug this one. i enjoy joe kelly's work a lot, first with his excellent deadpool series and then his brief x-men run, which stands as my favorite run by any author on any series. the man knows how to write comics. and with the exception of his incredible (and still unfinished) steampunk series, this is the best thing he's done since.

there's really nothing to complain about with his writing. the pacing is great, the story is interesting. the characterization and dialogue are top-notch. the cast is great, including of most of my favorite justice leaguers (green arrow, major disaster and manitou raven from kelly's JLA run, and batman's not on the team but he's in the book) and some new faces who are fleshed out nicely. the art is rock solid. great storytelling, dynamic and expressive art, and a nice design sense. if i had a complaint to make, and i'm really nitpicking here, it's that certain details like the colors on manitou raven's body markings or menagerie's body details aren't colored as well, or even as often, as they could be. the colors are nice overall, and maybe it would be a waste of time to work out the little tidbits. i would have appreciated the attention to detail, but perhaps most wouldn't, and it didn't hinder the book any.

the paper quality isn't the best. it's not the shiny stuff, but that didn't bother me either. mahnke's art isn't all that flashy, so there's not necessarily a call for premium paper, but i've seen far inferior art get printed on the good stuff, so go figure. all things considered, this is basically as good as the justice league gets. maybe as good as superhero comics get. certainly miles ahead of whatever followed kelly on the flagship justice league title. it's a shame that this run didn't last longer, but it was short and very sweet and worth picking up.

The Justice League have a bit of a disagreement, and one bunch decides they need to get their hands a little dirtier.

This group is led by one of the Elite from an earlier storyline. However, given that storyline was a commentary on the Authority et. al., the JLA having their own version of Stormwatch Black is not really believable. Particularly with Flash and Green Arrow in there, the non-lethal approach will cause conflict, as you know there will be no brain splattering punches a la Jack Hawksmoor.

One of the best by the creative teams of DC... very intricate plot development, the heroes (or rather antiheroes) walk a delicate moral tightrope... also has the flavour of a psychological thriller...

Highly recommended!

I will avoid any spoliers to this, but wasn't the first half of this book already done, excellently I might add, in "Kingdom Come"? That being said the second part was very interesting and enjoyable. I am a little curious how the "bad guys" always seem to have a way of incapcitating serious heavy hitters, like Vera, but not killing them when they are in fact killers. I really don't like the way the writers use this medium as a way to take jabs at our government (the cell phone conversation). This is not our world, there is no Metropolis, Gotham, or Central City here, but I can easily read between the lines. I go to these places to escape from this world, not to be reminded in so very unsuttle ways of how everyone that thinks the comic book world could be real is a facist marxist liberal. DC should tread lightly in this realm, I would bet that a good majority of their non-traditional readers are at least moderately conservative.

While I'm not 100% sure, this collection feels incomplete - we open with a setting of the stage and positioning of all the players, and the arrival of THE ELITE and their view that the world, it's people, it's laws and the heroes (both super, and human) who protect it are corrupt and should be pushed aside, removed, or killed to make way for a New World Order.

It's brutal, violent and coldly rational - and seems to make perfect sense...if it wasn't for all the killings. THE ELITE are unlike anything the JLA have ever fought before. They're more than powerful, they are all but Gods among us - so it comes as a bit of a disappointment that they not only fold so quickly, but that Superman alone manages to bust them up. Granted Superman does so with brains over brawn, he outsmarts and tricks them into exposing their weaknesses - but when push comes to punch, Superman can't match THE ELITE in power. He's our hero, our values, our way of life - he's fair play and Sunday baseball and lemonade - so THE ELITE get off easy. But, something happens to the leader of THE ELITE, one Manchester Black, in a story that is presented to us as a flashback (but missing from the book itself) and is killed.

From then on THE ELITE falls under the sway and control of Black's sister - but the dark edge remains, it's just now "working" for the good guys. In short, it's the CIA, NSA, BLACK OPS arm of the JLA - it's the stealth team that takes the battle to the bad guys before they have time to mount their evil plans (sound familiar?)... and for most of the book, this works. The tension between the two teams, the clashing of ideology, fair play, justice and the rules. And the unexpected, and nicely handled, turning of THE FLASH from scarlet speedster, to midnight traveller - working both sides of the coin, playing on both teams. This is the best part of the book, and is paid off nicely when we see THE FLASH push himself and his powers to the limit to literally be in two places at once (and wearing both costumes at the same time - while the art work is split between two artists as well to show us the different moods of each team: everything with THE ELITE is dark and dank, while everything with the JLA is bright and colorful) saving the day for both teams... excellent work.

But the rest is a mess. There are subplots and past stories that never really connect - and the plot, while rich, is never mined as deeply as it could be. As dark as the series is (both in story and on the page itself) it never really crosses the line - never fully takes the battle to the heart of the problem, and therefore falls short.

It is what it is - a comic book, and being so the answers have to come a bit easier, the attitudes and views have to be less complex, and while it strikes a cord with what absolute power does to a person - it never crosses the line to drive that point home.

A good start to a great idea - and only VOLUME ONE in the series, it could get better.

My cousin frist recomended this book to me. The case studies intrested me greatly. The one disappointment with this book was that it mainly focused on child crimes in the U.S and not in other countries. A great book for anyone going into Crimnology.

This book spent volumes on statistics, and the stories of the children who kill were, in some cases, less detailed then the newspaper articles would have been. I wasn't looking for gore, and horror, but by the time I was finished with the book I didn;t understand what would drive a child to kill any better than I would have reading a psycology text book, or my local newspaper. I was very dissapointed.

Fascinating look at the psychology of children and teenagers who kill.

I liked the stories because they were short and to the point, though some a bit depressing. But that's to be expected reading a true crime book about juveniles. Some I would have liked to know more about the outcome of the cases, but it was still a good book. I would recommend it to anyone that reads true crime books.

This is a great little chilling book you cannot put down that, I categorize under "escapism" reading. I got my hands on it years ago, and I read some of the reviews where some complained that it was outdated. Well, it has to be somewhat outdated, because it takes time to do research on all these cases.
I particularly like the way Dr. Ewing breaks down the categories of the killings that these children/teenagers commit:

Family Killings
Theft-Related Killings
Sexual Killings
Crazy Killings

Just read the table of contents. Outdated or not, I do not believe motive or actions change much throughout the years. It is angering that some killings are purely senseless and stupid acts. Others are a result of neglect and years of sexual abuse, or physical torture, however they still have to pay the price. I recommend this book to anyone that has a troubled teenager or knows of anyone that has one, or is simply just interested in the subject matter.

First off, John Bolton's artwork in this book is ultimately what carries this book from being the weakest contribution in the Sandman series to merely ho-hum. Bolton's paint-work along with oil enhanced photographs give the graphics incredible depth and quite literally makes the visuals drip right off the pages.

That being said, the superb artwork is dragged down by a weakly plotted storyline of vengeance (ancient Greek style) that meanders from confusing and sophmoric throughout. This purchase can only be recommended for those serious Sandman junkies who need to own every title in the series or for those who wish to savor Bolton's amazing artwork.

Wow. I was unsure about this book, as "The Dreaming" was a big disappointment for me. But Mike Carey has done a masterful job. Many of the reviews on this page focus on the art and comment that the story is average. I do not agree at all. The art is stunning, groundbreaking and perfectly in the vein of the Sandman style. But perhaps the highest compliment I have for it is that it manages to almost overshadow a truly wonderful story by Carey. Gaiman has a way of writing that almost makes you feel like you are dreaming at times, and there were times in this book that I experienced that same feeling. This may get me in trouble with the diehard fans (even though I consider myself among them) but if this book had Gaiman's name on the cover I wouldn't have questioned it.

The guys over at Vertigo just can't seem to stop yanking at the Sandman money machine, constantly releasing merchandise and spin-offs ever since the series ended six years ago. I find myself feeling very ambivalent about this spur of new comics based on the original series; on one hand, it saddens and sometimes disgusts me to see Neil Gaiman's original and brilliant vision of the original saga being handed out and torn to pieces by dozens of other writers, rarely successfully. On the other hand, it's nice to see a series as intelligent and sophisticated as the Sandman reach the kind of acclaim usually saved for commercial crap. For good or for ill, like any truly avid Sandman fan, I still feel obliged to read every one that hits the stands.

Of the lot of them, the authors mingling with Neil's genius, Mike Carey is probably the best, and without doubt the one who best imitates the master's writing. His Lucifer, though nowhere near real Gaiman writing, was probably the best of the series occurring in the Sandman's universe but not written by Neil; likewise, his graphic novel `The Furies', looks and feels more like Sandman than any other imitation. If you're a major Sandman fan - which means you have read all ten Sandman TPBs, as well as The Dream Hunters and Death: The High Cost Of Living, and would like some more, by all means, The Furies is well worth the purchase. The story starts where `The Kindly Ones' ended (incidentally, both titles refer to the same Greek mythological beings) and follows the character of Lyta Hall - former super-heroine, half-fury and mother of the second Lord Shaper. The book ties very few of the loose ends left by The Kindly Ones, and is far from being essential reading; still, fans of Gaiman's writing will most likely enjoy the surrealist story, the many references to characters and occurrences from the original saga and the post-modern, Gaiman-ish take on mythology and theology

And if for nothing else, The Furies is well worth it for the artwork. John Bolton's (Books Of Magic, Harlequin Valentine, Batman: Man Bat) photorealistic artwork is stunning beyond words, and he remains one of the greatest artists in the field. His artwork is not as overtly realistic as that of Alex Ross, straining to paint every drop of water, every piece of skin and every ray of light to photo-perfection, but it's much warmer and more sensitive. His artwork is suited less for the epic melodrama in which Ross excels, and more for human stories. Above all, not one artist in comics can create, in one image, a person so real, so alive and breathing, as Bolton. His characters are full, complete human beings, and are beautiful, not in the shining heroism of the super-heroes but in the true beauty of a real person. That is one talent that stands out above everything else and makes any work of his, regardless the story, a pleasure.

The bottom line on The Furies is that the art is WONDERFUL; the plot is lacking. I loved the moody, intensely-colored artwork, especially the cover piece and several of the panels introducing Lyta and Cronus. However, I sometimes found the more obvious photomanipulations a little grating, as I prefer pure painting in the end.

The premise of the plot is that former superheroine Lyta Hall is still suffering from the traumatic loss of her son Daniel at the end of the Sandman series. In an attempt to recover, she returns to her native Greece with a convenient theatre troupe, only to be entangled in a plot involving the Titan Cronus, who wants to manipulate Lyta in order to destroy the Furies. Apparently, Lyta still serves as a conduit of their vengeance.

My first impression of the graphic novel was confusion, as I honestly felt that it should have been more than one volume long, with all the ambitious initial plotting. As it was, the conclusion felt extremely rushed and pat, and there were too many underdeveloped characters. Cronus in particular seemed to have been given short shrift, though I loved the scene in which he coolly slaughtered tree-Baucis and tree-Philemon, of Ovidian fame. Hermes also could have used more development, and the use of the theatre troupe as a plot element was not at all convincing (unlike the classic Gaiman "A Midsummer Night's Dream," of course), as they essentially popped in and out of the plot without contributing very much.

Overall, the story really needed more time to be filled out, but the lovely artwork still makes the graphic novel worth buying to complete one's Sandman collection. Assuming that one still has the patience to be sympathetic with Lyta, of course.

The photorealistic artwork in this book is really stunning (though I prefer the more comic-booky art style of Jill Thompson in "Sandman: Brief Lives").

The plot, though, was just ... blah. I didn't feel like Lyta Hall's story was really even resolved. The business with Cronus was never really explained (I guess I can pull out my old copy of "Bullfinch's Mythology" and look him up). Overall, it wasn't very satisfying.

Another reviewer called this the best Sandman spinoff since "Death: The Time of Your Life." I don't agree. I think the best Sandman spinoff (other than the two Death books, which were awesome) was Lucifer.

I don't know why this one was realeased in hardcover, other than so DC could charge more for it. I'd suggest waiting for paperback, or borrowing someone else's copy. The story's not worth the price tag.

Emissaries to Malastare was an above average graphic novel. The binding and artwork were good, but the story had some minor flaws. The story is a conflict is going on between two races and the Jedi Council sends 6 representitives to hold talks for peace. The Council sends Mace Windu, Yaddle, Plo Koon (who finally talks,and what he has to say is cool), Even Piell, Ki-Adi-Mundi, and A'sharad Hett. An immediate flaw is Even Piell. On several pages his name is Evan Piell, and on other he is called Even Piell. This TPB was saved by its ending, however. There is a short at the back of the book about Mace Windu (joined by Depa Billaba) going to Nar Shadda to stop a Hutt smuggling operation at the Circus Horrificus. This graphic novel had excellent references. Quinlan Vos was shown, as was Villie, and Malakili was shown at his job (Malakili was the Rancor-Keeper at Jabba's Palace- Episode 6). Finally, ETM had great binding. Overall, a good buy. Not required, but still very good.

Emissaries to Malastare is actually challenging to rate. Its high page count is more like two separate stories; though interconnected, the second different but for its loose relation to the first. The quality of the first fades very noticeably past the midpoint, but with shabbier fare out there this won't disappoint.

And with the Dark Woman starting off the comic with a quick duel against young A'Sharad, there's no need to hide that smile---anymore than why my fascination of this character can be explained. Perhaps it's her sharp tongue and haunting prowess, or the way she disappears in thin air. More likely it's her sharper looks.

The quality of art is smooth and commendable, though not of Twilight's exemplary performance. Malastare is a world with enough diversity for creative opportunity, and with the methane mists of a Podracer circuit parallelling a consular summit, it was well done indeed. But when the business on Malastare ends midway, as does the level of art. The investigation on Nar Shadda has shoddy art quality, unforgivable with the standards now available. A den of smuggler inequity Nar Shadda may be, the art doesn't need to be as badly done as unpicturesque the polluted environment may be.

Dialogue came in a fashionable bag: stylish for all seasons. With half the Jedi Council there to broker a peace accord, you can expect diplomatic etiquette polished to a mirror. The devious players spoke devious, the sybarites their own way.

The world is Dug populated but Gran dominated. Adding Lannik terrorists to the party and you get duplicitous danger swirled with traitorous betrayal. Selbulba is back along with his other Podracer faces, and with the twin-headed race commentators mouthing good humour you have yourself an enjoyable read.

You'll be treated to some nice touches here, from a half-headed Hutt and Villie the shifty Devaronian to revisiting the Smuggler's Moon, where continuity from Dark Empire was faithfully preserved. The Fode-Beed team was hilarious with their advertiser endorsements.

The focus started off with Master Piell and his Lannik ties to the summit, yet A'Sharad and Ki-Adi-Mundi wants their screen time too. Once Malastare is done, Mace Windu and Depa Billaba become the spotlight, thus making this seem more like two tales rather than one encompassing one.

Overall, this is one comic that cannot be missed out on for those seeking both a fun and delightful read.

This is a review of the Dark horse comic called STAR WAR: REPUBLIC - EMISSARIES TO MALASTARE, issues #13 to 18, also known as STAR WARS: ONGOING, VOLUME 3. What ever its name is I am reviewing ISBN: 1569715159 TPB issued august, 2001. It continues the story presented in OUTLANDER following Hett's son as a trainee at the Jedi Temple in Coruscant (or do we now call it corussaunt). Dark horse has placed this comic on its timeline as happening before TPM but the cover says it takes place just after.

This is where Dark horse turns a corner for me with this comic. Most of the art is of 4 star quality. The story is 3.5 stars, so I have to round up to a 4.

Got to thank Dark horse for it's individual pictures of the key characters and names. This is something that is sometimes missing, and when missing it can get confusing, guessing who is who.

The story is interesting. Seems three creatures are from Malastare, Dugs (Sebulba and Podracing are from Malastare). Jedi Even Piell (same race as Yoda?) is from Malastare. The Gran are from Malastare. We also learn that Adi Gallia is of Corellia. The Dugs are slaves on Malastare. Six Jedi go to Malastare to help negotiate a treaty but everything seems to be a trap. The negotiation were timed to take place at the same time as the galaxies biggest Podrace. There is lots of action and the art and inks are very good.

Word of caution. As of the new production procedures that create great looking comics, the binding quality has dropped off seriously. My comics seem to just fall apart with minor handling. This is not a problem I had experienced in the past. You must never touch your comic or open it if you wish to avoid damage to the binding.

As has been noted in other reviews, there is a split in the book's narrative that, at first glance, makes the story seem somewhat disconnected. In fact, what appears to be the case is that the five issues collected here are actually a trilogy (set on Malastare) and duology (set on Nar Shaddaa). Though the two stories do have some common elements, and namely a common enemy, they're really two separate stories, instead of a single five-part adventure. Dark Horse does readers no favors by putting the cover art in five consecutive pages at the end of the book. It would help readers a great deal if they would instead present the storylines with their covers intact so as to make clear where one book ends and the next begins. We'd then come a lot closer to experiencing the books as the serialized adventures they were originally meant to be.

This fact makes the title of the collected volume a little misleading. Indeed, the volume is really misnamed. It almost would've been better to have simply called the work, "Jedi Emissaries", "A Failure of Diplomacy", or in some other way to have de-emphasized the whole Malastare angle. It's kinda hard to justify the current title, given that the last 64 pages don't take place on Malastare at all.

Likewise, my other frustration with the book is that the author's wrongly place the book "shortly before the Battle of Naboo"--which clearly cannot be the case. Anakin is seen as living in the Jedi Temple, fully wearing the standard padawan "uniform", which he only gets after the Battle of Naboo.

These doubts aside, there's a lot here to admire. The art, though not on a par with the higher echelon of DC, Marvel, and independent illustrators, is certainly on the higher end of Dark Horse's contributions to the STAR WARS franchise. It's not the best stuff they've ever put out, but it's closer to the best than not. Those used to the more conceptual, stylized art in, say, SANDMAN, BATMAN: YEAR ONE, or KINGDOM COME, will find the work here more reminiscent of "special" issues of "ordinary" comic books. And that's really what they are. EMISSARIES is from the first half of the second year of Dark Horse's main STAR WARS title. It's the beginning of the better art that would come to dominate much of Dark Horse's monthly output.

The two storylines--that of the diplomatic mission to Malastare and the police action on Nar Shada--effectively demonstrate the differing styles of Jedi, and there's a deft mixture of high action, solid Jedi philosophy, Sith manipulation, and appropriate comedy.

What's most intriguing to me, however, is the care with which the writers take with the franchise. It's important to remember that this book pre-dates the release of Episode II. Yet it feels like it could have been written today. Though the return of Sebulba is most obviously relating the book to Episode I, the Tusken padawan character deftly foreshadows Anakin's development in Episodes II and III, and also amplifies Dark Horse's own previous storylines. More than that, relationships described herein, like that between Mace and his ex-padawan Depa, would later surface in novels like SHATTERPOINT. Now that the film saga is complete, and the prequel-era expanded universe is much better-developed, it's fascinating to see how well-integrated even these early Dark Horse efforts are into entire universe.

Indeed, I would argue that this book is, in a way that's not typical with most comics, perhaps more relevant today than it was on first publication.

After having read the excellent Crimson Empire books, I wanted another taste of Star Wars graphic novels, and when glancing at it in the store, I was impressed by the nice action and artwork. I saw the story had lots to do with Mace Windu, and wanted to read it.

I brought the book home and started reading. The book has two barely related stories, one about an attempt at making peace (which six members (half) of the Jedi Council fail to accomplish) and the second which ends unsatisfyingly with a "perhaps the chancellor can exert enough influence on Nal Hutta to shut this place down."

The art is very nice, and a few scenes are interesting, but overall, a very unsatisfying book. I left the book on a table and reached for it a day later before realizing "oh yeah--I'd already finished it"--the story is that unmemorable.

Do yourself a favor and try the Crimson Empire books instead.

This was actually a pretty good crossover as far as crossovers go anyway. The Titans and the Outsiders both have a member betray them. They art is awesome and the writing is pretty good. If you like either series pick it up and read it you will enjoy it.

Obviously a crossover story between the two teams. Each team has a member who has been turned against them. Indigo, in the case of the Outsiders, has Brainiac problems. Superboy, in the case of the Titans, has Luthor problems. Taken by surprise, they need to regroup and deal with this. Trying to stop a Superboy is not very easy to do without dying.

Contains issues #24 - 26 of the Teen Titans series, and #24,25,& 28 of the Outsiders series.

I'll have to preface this review with the revelation that I am not a regular reader or fan of The Outsiders.

Perhaps if I was, I would have enjoyed this TPB and story much more.

As it stands I rate it 3 stars, since I can not give it a 2-and-a-half stars rating.

The Teen Titans side of the TPB is, for me, much stronger. The art is just better, cleaner, more "professional" seeming.

Likewise, the impact on the characters seems much more interesting and vital than in the Outsiders side of things.

In the Titans we have a major character that is now given a new, interesting facet to deal with.

With the Outsiders we have a new, almost unknown character who ultimately leaves the scene.

That the TPB does not pick up and deal with things that were revealed in the previous TPB or issue of The Outsiders is a flaw, in my eyes.

This TPB can be glossed over on the store shelves and the reader will still get the story and still understand the impact of the events within. There are no subtle points.

I am very interested in the future fate of Superboy in relation to what occurs in this story, and I hope that the event that instigates Indigo's ultimate fate is expanded upon more in TPBs or issues to come. But neither of these make up for the detractions in this arc/TPB.

Out of curiosity, I picked up a current issue of Teen Titans (issue 17, I think) and was impressed by the ease with which I could figure out who was who, without having to go back and recollect the entire series of books. That made me pretty happy. I've been collecting that title and the Outsiders ever since.

This story arc begins with Superboy (Conner Kent) deciding to reveal the secret of his parentage with the rest of the team. Turns out that he was cloned by Cadmus Labs from DNA taken from Superman and Lex Luthor. Who knew. (I'm still trying to wrap my head around how they managed to clone him from DNA from, well, two males...where is the female chromosome, hmm?) Meanwhile, over at the Outsiders headquarters, Indigo (a blue-skinned humanoid robot, who knew) starts acting funny right after they receive the signal from the Titans that Conner has gone rogue. All of the sudden...Indigo is glowing with strange, pink circuitry and announcing "I am Brainiac 8! I am your destruction!" I was hooked from that point on.

I know I'm encapsulating the plot too simply, but again, I'm a dedicated Marvel reader, and I am still getting to know DC's characters. Humor me. I read the "Light" story arc in single issues in Teen Titans before buying this, so I had already begun to like that series. When I picked up the first individual issue of this arc, and it had the lead-in page in the back saying to buy the next "Outsiders" issue, I initially groaned about having to buy another title to see what happened next. Initially. Now I regularly collect Outsiders, too.

I loved the artwork. I love Judd Winick as a writer, particularly the Juniper Lee cartoon on Cartoon Network. His humor is snappy and he has a nice flair for dialogue, since he makes conversations sound like something you would overhear at the coffee shop instead of inflated and "superhero-ly." The inks in the issues of the Outsiders in this TPB are dark and threatening, which fits. It reminds me of old issues of Marvel's "New Mutants" when Bill Sienciewicz was still the principal artist.

The villains are well-defined and rise to the occasion, they're pretty evil. Lex Luthor reminds you of why you love to hate him. Brainiac is back, once again trying to conquer humanity (at least as far as I can tell; but he's definitely evil).

I love the intergroup friendships, and the whole concept of all the "sidekicks" from popular DC duos forming their own team(s). I also like the aspect of the Outsiders "passing the torch" to the younger Titans team, including all of the personal risks and potentially endangering their lives.

The problem with taking the Outsiders and Titans titles from this story arc and printing them in one TPB is that it is not seamless. You have the Titans issues, written for a slightly younger audience, sandwiched between the snarkier, grittier Outsiders issues. This creates slight holes and a WIDE gap in the style of dialogue as you read from one chapter to the next.

This story offers frequent, steady doses of action and dark comedy, which I like. The tragic end to one of the characters (I won't say who; some of you have read this already, anyway) was bittersweet but worked, especially in the aftermath, as you watch the remaining characters left behind dealing with their loss.

So, this was worth buying as a collection if, like me, you missed an issue or two because your local bookstore didn't carry it or sold out of it. After reading this, I've decided Grace Choi is my new favorite heroine. Potty mouth and all.

Keeping in mind the fact that one is reading a period novel, I found this to be a fine example of the genre.
The description of the Titan and its fate parallels that of the Titanic to a certain extent, and this brings into the equation, stories of Robertson's psychic abilities, as he is alleged to have had astral help in writing his novels.
For those wanting the story to be about the Titanic legend, there will be disappointments, as the ship is not the main focus of the story, but rather a background for the portrayal of one man's struggle to live an honest and fulfilling life.
John Rowland is a man who has plumbed the depths and is trying to rebuild his life on principles of honesty and hard work, but his past has caught up with him. The tale is one of triumph against the odds, and the importance of honesty, both to oneself and to others.
Altogether a most enjoyable read!

Futility is valuable by the story preceeding the event. Futility demonstrates the futile idea that time flows from the PAST to the PRESENT and then on to the FUTURE. Futility is evidence of an old concept that the PAST, PRESENT, and FUTURE influence each other.

It would be valuable to have more information on how the author became aware of the story he recorded as FUTILITY.

Futility is for the literate mind, but it is not for the literary mind.

Having had a relative on the real RMS Titanic and having had the unique opportunity of meeting the first person off the Titanic, I feel very close to the entire saga of the ill-fated White Star liner. The fact that "The Wreck of the Titan or Futility" parallel the true events of the RMS Titanic is the only reason why people now want to read this book. The fact of the matter is that "Futility" is more of a short story or novella than a real novel.

The writing doesn't begin to compare with that of Ring Lardner. Joseph Conrad, or Jack London. The dialog is stilted and none of the characters are very well fleshed out.

At best "Futility" is nothing mare than a quaint curiosity.

It seems to me that Morgan Robertson writes this novel from a deep inner conviction. Futility: The Wreck of the Titan is mentioned in the book Akashic Records; in a chapter titled Discovering Insights Into Your Future. - a book about Edgar Cayce's readings. Many of us have read Futility because of its precognitive rumblings and remains a curosity even today over 100 years later. How can we tune into the future is our burning question? I believe this can be explained using the psychology of Carl Jung who said that the work of a true artist reflects the artist as well as the collective at large (Two World Wars followed this work and that was a collective madness). In this case I suspected that Morgan Robertson wrote this book because his psyche erupted with the material he put in his book. He was compelled because the unconscious was warning him of a pending psychotic break or a bout with insanity. Symbolically a ship is the carrier of the ego and for a ship to sink into the depth of the ocean is a sure indication that such an individual is in danger of going down into the unconscious - as the sea is a symbol of the unconscious. I feel this interpertation is supported by the fact that in the other part of the book Morgan writes about My Skirmish With Madness. It is a fact that often times an inner event will line up with an outer event (1400+ souls went into the unconscious) and the psyche, which is not limited by time or space can "see" into the future and tied Morgan's struggle with sanity to that future event of the Titanic. I am sure many of us have had precognative dreams. Jung's idea was that most books and works of art come out of our eruptions from the psyche in the form of fantasy and dreams and mirror our inner psychological state of affairs. The psyche struggles to keep each individual in balance and warning about a pending imbalance is a part of the psyche's functioning.

Nearly everyone today is familiar with the fateful, April/1912, maiden voyage of the Titanic - the largest oceanliner ever built. But few are aware that 14 years earlier, Morgan Robertson had already written about the fateful, April/?, maiden voyage of the largest oceanliner ever built in his novel titled "Futility"; only it was named the "Titan". No doubt few are aware of this because "Futility" was not well written and did not sell many copies a hundred years ago.

The novel follows the trials of an ex-Naval officer, John Rowland, who battled alcoholism after being rejected by a woman he had grown infatuated with. Struggling to pick himself up, he lands a job as a common sailor on the maiden voyage of the largest oceanliner ever built - the Titan. On board, he runs into his old flame who is now married and a mother. However, she falsely believes that Rowland is out to kill her child. He is able to redeem himself in her eyes when the Titan strikes an iceberg, sinks a half a page later, and he rescues her child from sea.

Robertson's account of the sinking of the Titan was extremely short and had little bearing on the author's plot, which lacked any spark or fire to it. The only thing worthy in this prose is the author's imagination that dreamt up the Titan - he was able to imagine what the world's largest oceanliner would eventually look like with such accuracy that he nearly guessed it's name to the letter! Both the Titan and the Titanic were 70,000-ton vessels that could do 25 knots and hold 3,000 passengers. Both hit an iceberg in April (because that's the month of icebergs), both were considered "unsinkable", and both sunk with a great loss of life because both did not have enough life boats.

While this novel fails to entertain, the coincidence between the Titan and the Titanic is the reason that this mediocre novel is still being read today. And if anyone has ever attempted to write a new movie script and then checked it with online library sites of movie scripts only to find out that their idea was already thought of, then they'll know that this passing mention of the Titan was not that big a coincidence. In another words, if a classroom of students were given instructions to write a one-page description on the futuristic invention of the world's largest ship, train, plane, or building and to name it, the similarities that result from their common cultural programming would be there in those description just as Robertson's Titan was there 14 years before the Titanic.

personally damion scotts art made me pick this book up in the first place, his art is incredible you are sucked into the story seemlessly, and even though his dynamic angles and great action sequences are refered to as ameri-manga they still give the story(which is somewhat lacking in my veiw, though has some powerful and very dark scenes) a great feel and style thats all new and very fresh.

So if you love art more than [comic]stories pick this up just for the shear delight that Scott can give, if you're a fan of humberto ramos(out there, impulse, spectacular spider-man), fransico herrera(venom, kmkz) or even the really fresh artists like skottie young(human torch, venom)then this book is for you, give it a go you'll be impressed.

She's dressed in all black! She's the best fighter in the world! She's the mute daughter of an assasin! And...she's dull.

Honestly, the stories contained in this trade paperback are boring, with pretty bad art. There's very little meat on the bones with the character and her "adventures." Superhero books should be imaginative and exciting, but this book is neither. This book is simply Warner Brothers and DC Comics trying to separate foolish Batman fans from their money.

For a MUCH better Batgirl story, pick up "Batgirl: Year One," which is about the first Batgirl, Barbara Gordon. She has personality...unlike this new Batgirl, who is a cardboard creation at best.

I have recently regained a strong interest in comics and have been collecting them (especially Batman TP's) feverishly. I, like others on this forum, admittedly took a browse through one of the collected-editions in the comic store and was initially disgusted: it smacked of a 'teeny-bopper' comic, focused on some cutesy teenage girl. I gave the book another chance a month later, bought it, and actually found a lot of merit in it.

Batgirl: Silent Running is a book I appreciate more for its story-telling than its artwork. I find the manga-inspired artwork interesting; Damion Scott's extreme angle-shots (if drawings can be referred to as that), facial contortions and high-speed action seem almost perverse and lifted straight from films and anime. The 'freeze-frame' action sequences are especially well-suited to the new Batgirl character. The coloring in the first two books is good, but gets worse in later issues (see below).

The stories contained in the pages of `Silent Running' continually introduce situations that expose new facets of each interacting character, including Barbara Gordon and Batman himself. While I understand that each writer wants to make his (her?) own mark in the continuity of each character, I feel that Batman sometimes acts out of character (being too fatherly or embarrassed, for instance). The dialogue is trim and without waste; good. I'm not a big fan of the `meta-humans' and the psychic in the Batgirl stories. I appreciate that Puckett is straying away from the classic Batman supervillains (though an appearance or two wouldn't hurt), but these villains show very human flaws and situations - they don't need to have these ridiculous abilities. Batgirl's skills should be demonstrated against cunning opponents rather than invulnerable ones. Cain (her father) is the most interesting villain, for obvious reasons, but his encounters with the protagonist are a bit comical (no pun), goofy, and a bit ridiculous. He is not the hardened-assassin he should be. Perhaps outside of the writer's goals, but I wish the story were darker. It certainly could be, considering the history of this murderous family.

Surprised and pleased with this new Batgirl continuity, I have purchased `A Knight Alone' (also excellent) as well, am planning to obtain `Death Wish' upon release, and have bought several other issues written by Puckett and penciled by Scott. I have to admit, the later issues (i.e. 33-37) lacked the fresh story-telling and compelling situations that the first two books demonstrated. The stories seem increasingly rushed, with Puckett often wrapping up potentially-powerful situations within a single issue. While the fight scenes were very cool in the first two books, demonstrating Batgirl's physical superiority, then her struggles and humanity, the later issues' fights are all very mundane: anime-style monotone unidirectional lines in the background, Batgirl in some mid-air contortion, and 3-4 bodies flying in various directions. There is hardly any mental processes, showing her mind's assessment of the fight, present during these sequences (through narration, I'd expect), which is a shame. While Batman has recently demonstrated a great deal of cognitive analysis during his fights, Batgirl doesn't seem to show any. The outcomes of Batman's fights are often predictable, but at least they aren't monotonous in course. The fights may as well be implied.

Issue #37 is the final issue written by Puckett and penciled by Scott. Too bad, but it seems like Puckett was getting disinterested in the series anyway. I give both `Silent Running' and `A Knight Alone' high marks, while the quality of `Death Wish' is pending. I am disappointed with later issues.

I bought this book without high expectations. I had heard very bad things about the series but was pleasantly surprised by this decent first collection. It reveals a little about the new Batgirl's past and a bit about her current relationship with Batman through conflicts with various antagonists.

She is an interesting character, but I fear that developments towards the end of this series is going to change that. Batgirl was a mute because her father never taught her to speak, instead concentrating all her training on combat and related skills. In his collection she meets someone who helps her to understand words. This may ruin things in the future. Instead of letter her learn to speak over a period of time, the writers are going for a shortcut. Its much more difficult to write characters who don't speak but this is part of what makes her interesting.

Meet the new Batgirl: she's silent, she's running, she's oh-so-cute and oh-so-deadly.

She's Cassandra Cain, raised from early childhood to be the perfect assassin, an unstoppable killing machine. Haunted by guilt, she fled, did who knows what, then turned up in Gotham City. Now 17 and under the tutelage of Batman and the original Batgirl, Barbara Gordon (now confined to a wheelchair but as fiesty as ever), Cassandra fights for justice, fights to ease her conscience, fights to understand a world of language and emotions she can barely understand. That's a lot for a teen to handle, even one without such a screwed-up childhood.

An impressive concept, and a fresh take on Batman's little corner of the DC universe, and it may work better at a monthly's pace. Collected in a single volume, these first 6 issues in Batgirl's ongoing series move way too fast and tend to gloss over all the things that make her unique. It's like trying to read the label on a spinning cd to see what song's playing.

Beyond Batgirl herself, the best element here is the unusual yet compelling art by Damion Scott and Robert Campanella. Scott and Campanella work in a very animated style, influence by manga, anime and "Batman: The Animated Series." The characters are cartoony, yet vivid and expressive, and at times, move with fluid grace, which is saying a lot for static images on paper. The adventures play out on detailed sets, with much attention to background and foreground elements.

Sometimes, the panel-to-panel flow doesn't quite work (as in one early scene where it's tough to judge the sequence of word balloons), but what they do best is give Batgirl comical facial expressions, even when she's in her faceless mask. The supporting characters, even Batman and Barbara, get the same treatment. While not as "realistic" as a lot of artwork out there, it seems more "real" at times. Kind of funky and fun.

While the artists handle some of the characterization chores (as they should), everything else seems rushed. As soon as silent Batgirl piques our interest, a psychic's rearranged her mind so she can understand language. This affects her fighting skills, but that's tossed aside in favor of Batman's getting angry at her for stopping someone's heart. Evidently, she has little problem adjusting. Then why even mention it? How does it further the story, and, more importantly, how does it make us care about Batgirl?

Look at it this way: she had her childhood stolen, she killed a man at the age of 7 and it horrified her, she wears a costume and jumps off rooftops. Barbara Gordon constantly psychoanalyzes her and Batman tries to mold her into a version of himself. Which one is right, and what's best for Cassandra? Why not use this rich material?

We, as readers, are not allowed to dwell on anything for more than a panel or two; therefore, the stories seem slight and hurried, and without real consequences or mood. Chances for real emotion and poignancy (Batgirl impulsively kisses someone she's saved) pass by almost unnoticed and overwhelmed by endless action sequences. A kid wired on Super Sugar Crisp comes to mind.

This wild, untamed Batgirl is quite a character, but at this pace, she's going to be just another black-suited Bat-ninja, no different from any other comic book character. And that's a real shame. She could be a contender, if only she had a chance. That said, by all means check it out and groove on the new Batgirl while you can.

I enjoyed reading it. The story brings a good contribution to Batman's Universe.

This is a beautifully done story. The art is very well executed and is a strong compliment to the thoughtful, intelligent and powerful story told by Rucka. Lots of people didn't seem to "get" the story, and clue into its subtle power. This is not a flash bang superhero story. This is a story about the characters of Batman, R'as Al Ghul and R'as estranged daughter Nyssa. The characters drive the story, not some artificial plot. The centerpiece is the parallel stories of Batman/Bruce Wayne and Nyssa and how their pasts have shaped them. The story revolves around the two characters coming to terms with their past and parentage and the choices between being shaped by the past or ruled by it. In the center, like a manipulating spider is R'as, spinning webs with which he hopes to carry on his apocalyptic vision for the Earth. The conflict between Batman and R'as has been a compelling corner of the Batman mythos. Batman seeks to save the world by intervening and being and example, a warrior fighting to end the never-ending war against evil and injustice by working with the world as it is. R'as wants to start the world over, by destroying the bulk of humanity and then taking over as the "enlightened" ruler of a new Utopia. The resolution shows the strengths of Batman and R'as as respective hero and villain and begins a new chapter for the competing visions toward saving the world. If you are ready for an introspective, thoughtful and ultimately powerful story, this is the graphic novel for you.

This title was unfortunately worse than I expected.
..Can't recommend it.

Coming into Batman: Death And The Maidens, I did not expect much, but I could not put this book down. It is incredible creative and original. The way the story bounces around from the past to the present is masterfully coordinated, and the script is high caliber.
Do yourself a favor and pick this one up.

Batman: Death and the Maidens is pretty much essential reading for any fan of the Ra's Al Ghul character. To say why would be to spoil the ending, which shakes up things in the Batman mythos quite a bit (or at least until DC decides to cop-out and ret-con everything once again).

The main draw of this graphic novel is seeing Batman communicate with his deceased parents. Those who are expecting real, definite communication will be disappointed, as the story leaves it vague whether Ra's potion is for real or just a hallucination. That's not the point however, because it's Bruce's actions and decisions following the conversation that are important. I don't follow mainstream comics much so I don't know how much of this development has been incorporated into the regular titles, but it's definitely another step for the Batman character.

There really is no driving plot line to this story, no doomsday weapon to destroy or plan of world domination to stop. It's all about the characters and their interactions, and the result is a very lesiurely-paced story that might not appeal to all readers. This isn't a bad thing, but I do wish Greg Rucka could've tightened his script a bit more. A lot of time is spent on Nyssa's history and relationship with Ra's. It's almost as if Rucka and Jansen asked for an issue or two more of space than they actually needed, and as a result stayed with a "director's cut" rather than a tighter, more streamlined narrative.

So there's more story here, and as a result this volume is slightly thicker and pricier than you might want to spend on a blind purchase. Ra's Al Ghul fans can nab this without worry, other fans might want to read more reviews or maybe borrow a copy first.

Something mysterious and deadly is happening to Gotham City wiseguys, all in the employ of the Penguin. Is this an outside attack on his operations, or is he possibly behind the dirty deeds himself? And how is the Scarecrow, who is begrudgingly also in the current employ of the Penguin, involved with this and to the recent appearance of the monstrous creature Scarebeast? These are some of the questions that Batman must resolve in this graphic novel. Judd Winick's debut on Batman contains some witty dialogue plus an enjoyably gritty characterization of that tough old bird Penguin himself, although his portrayal of Scarecrow as once again a weak punching bag for someone to use and abuse is getting a bit tiresome. A drugged out hallucinatory sequence involving Batman and a few phantom rogues, most notably the Joker and Jason Todd, is the highlight here and, in regards to Todd, a teaser of things to come. On the artistic side, Dustin Nguyen's work is somewhat painful to the senses upon first viewing, with it being slightly reminiscent of Jack Kirby on steroids, although it does become more palatable upon further readings. Everybody's face tends to look as if it was etched from stone, while his action scenes are difficult to discern at times what is actually going on. Winick delivered two solid stories during his tenure on Batman. While his brief run on this title and his work in general has its' critics, I am not among them, and had wished that his stay on the book would have been longer.

Standard Batman fare with a pretty cool Scarecrow-derived beastie, though. The monster that is created to fight the Bat family in this arc is cool in the Where The Wild Things Are sense, as well, which is hopefully what the artist was trying to get at. Even though it is supposed to be crazy and nasty, it is something like a kid might come up with.

In As The Crow Flies, Batman must discover who has unleashed a vicious, man-eating monster called the Scarebeast on Gotham City. All the while, the Penguin has started making moves with crime families to take over Gotham City.

The storyline, while decent, doesn't grab my attention like Hush or Under The Hood Vol. 1 and 2, did. Judd Winick is a great writer but here it doesn't feel the same as it did in his later work. The story tries to grab your attention, but just can't seem to hold it (for a long amount of time, that is).

I liked it but I took off one star for the story, becuase it was average, and one star for the artwork, which was unfortunately, average.

The Penguin is interesting, but it seemed to be a story that was more centered around him than Scarecrow or Batman, despite the title of the book.

Now there are some really good scenes in here, particularly, when Batman is dosed with the Scarebeast's fear gas and begins to hillucinate about the Joker, Two-Face, and Jason Todd. That's where the spectacular dialgue is, other than that, the rest of the dialogue is blah, except for a line that made me laugh when Tim Drake is dressed like a girl to go get tissue samples from the dead body of one of the mobsters. That dialogue made me laugh.

Summing it up, the story's okay, not too fantastic, but not so dull you'll fall asleep while reading. This is mainly for fans of Judd Winick and Penguin.

Current Batman scribe Judd Winick's first storyline for the regular Batman title comes off as average at best. Taking place after the events of the massive hit "Hush" storyline from Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee, and the disappointing "Broken City" storyline from 100 Bullets creators Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso, Batman finds himself haunted by the memory of the late Jason Todd-Robin. Soon enough, he learns that various underbosses of the Penguin are being killed, and the mystery involves a partnership between the Penguin and the Scarecrow, and the emergence of a deadly new foe. Winick tells a good story, but it's not as interesting as it thinks it is. Dustin Nguyen's pencils are solid, giving the book a great look, which saves As the Crow Flies from being comic fodder. All in all, As the Crow Flies is worth a look for Batman fans, but if you're looking for a truly great Batman story, look elsewhere.

Even though the title is "As the Crow Flies," and Scarecrow is on the cover of the book, the Penguin is the real puller of strings here. If you were in hopes of an intriguing Scarecrow vs. Batman storyline, this book will partially disappoint you.

Batman confronts two maddened thugs who become superhumanly strong after coming in contact with fear toxin. Soon after, a scarecrow monster of Goliath proportions begins threatening organized crime. All the while, Penguin is sitting back, sharpening his beak.

What is the mysterious new "Scarebeast?" That is the new mystery Batman must solve. The answer to the mystery is a bit surprising. To earn that answer, Batman must subdue a seemingly unstoppable monster.

This is a fairly good storyline. However, I offer the warning that this is not, in the main, a Scarecrow story. It is a plot that highlights the Penguin as shooting for a criminal takeover of Gotham after "No Mans Land."

The premise of this series has lots of potential. Vampires have been done before, and the Mafia has had plenty of representation in pop culture - but I don't think I've seen a Vampire-Mafia blend before. Chaykin and Tischman take two disparate themes and put them together with some positive results. I've read some reviews that compare it to an HBO series. It definitely does feel like a show which might run on HBO. It seems like there might be quite a bit of story to be derived from this premise. This potential is what makes the book somewhat of a disappointment - it doesn't live up to it.

The main flaw with the story is that it has very little to do with vampirism. This rather substantial fact has almost zero impact on the story. It adds a couple of racy scenes, as well as some narrative discussing the need for sun block. Aside from that, there was no need to make the characters vampires. Only minimal changes would need to occur to change this to a pure Mafia story. I can almost imagine that Chaykin and Tiscsh had what they thought was a cool title, and wrote the story around the title.

With this caveat, the actual story is pretty enjoyable. It does a good job introducing all of the characters. Most of them have the potential to be interesting, but unfortunately they are never utilized to their full potential. Still, the plot moves along and is fun to read. I had issues with the end of the story - there is a huge twist meant to surprise the reader, but the only reason it is surprising is that there were no hints dropped for the reader's benefit along the way. It comes across as a cheap surprise.

There is gratuitous sex and violence, but I don't think anybody picking up a Howard Chaykin book is going to be surprised by that. These scenes don't always add to the story (often they do not), but they do add a certain flavor to the book. It doesn't feel like the book is an excuse to show sex and violence, which is about the only time the inclusion of them would annoy me.

The art is beautiful. I hadn't run across Tischman before, but I'll keep an eye out for him in the future. Aesthetically, everything comes together quite nicely. The colors are very nice, and the book is printed on a glossy paper which shows it off nicely despite the fact that the art is shrunk to fit in a smaller sized book. You don't feel like the art has suffered due to size constraints. This is good, as this trade is priced between a full size trade and a digest trade.

The Frank Quietly covers are great. They almost make the book worth buying all by themselves. This is the one part of the book I found wishing was normal sized. The cover they used for the trade paperback is my favorite, but all of them are good.

While the book does not live up to its potential, it is an enjoyable read. I'll likely check out the subsequent series; though that's not saying much. I'm not the hardest guy to sell a comic book too. :)

The premise is actually pretty good - A Vampire Mafia crossover of sorts. Much like all Vampire books/movies before it, great care is taken to point out how all movies/books/songs/whatever got the legend wrong and this is why their vampires are able to do such-and-such.

Seeing as this is set in Miami, this means that the Vampires walk around during the day and sun-worship like the rest of the residents of the city (David Caruso notwithstanding). People are also aware of the existance of Vampires, but this becomes one of the more convoluded parts of the comic. While the police department has a special vampire section (with one employee from what I can tell), everything else is very much integrated. This would have made some sense if the Vampire aspect was kept a bit more quiet and this was a secrative thing, but it isn't.

I do like the idea of a Vampire-Mafia crossover - it would make your hitmen a lot more useful (they are a tougher breed). In addition, you could easily swear in human members of the "family" via a bite.

They even had some interesting subplots - a sister heavily into the music scene, a brother that had become a priest and a grandson in high school that is incredibly troubled with a goth girl using him just to become a vampire herself.

Unfortunately, much of this is wasted. I realize Bite Club was supposed to be a limited run, but with as much as is introduced early on, I get the feeling that Chaykin and Tischman wanted this to be a long running series but just couldn't sell it to Vertigo. Or, perhaps it was believing in "sex sells" a little too much (peppered with a generous side of senseless violence) that had them just shy of being a brilliant series. I have no problem with this in comics, it's just like anything else - if it starts to feel like the plot is moving along just to get to the next sex scene, things get boring.

There have been other Vampire/Mafia stories before, but this one had some promise - they were close, but not quite. Maybe they thought the allure of both were enough to get past the bumps.

"Bite Club," a too-brief miniseries from DC Comics' Vertigo line, introduces readers to the Del Toro family, an undead crime family whose story falls somewhere between "Kindred," "The Sopranos" and "Days of Our Lives."

Eduardo Del Toro is the family patriarch, who reigns over his family and its interests with an iron fist. But, since Eduardo is killed on the very first page, you can bet the story isn't about him. Rather, his family -- a mixed pack of ambition, greed and carnal desire -- steps into the gap left by his death in a struggle to take over the business. But, to the surprise of all, son Leto -- both a vampire and a Catholic priest, believe it or not -- is handed the reins of power. And that doesn't sit well with others of the Del Toro clan, siblings and cousins and family satellites who have a varying array of vices and a similar yen for control.

Collected in digest form, "Bite Club: Die Now, Live Forever" is an action-packed saga that will keep you guessing. New surprises await with every new revelation, and the series of events that unfolds near the end is shockingly twisted -- and impossible to predict. Writers Howard Chaykin and David Tischman combine forces with artist David Hahn to create a satisfyingly different sort of story, a new slant on modern-day vampires that will have readers thirsting for more.

I actually would like to give this book a 3.5 star rating.

What I liked...I'm a mega fan of mafia and vampire movies, tv shows, books, whatever, so the thought of both together was almost too much for me to bear.

I liked the storyline and the ending was nice, unexpected which is critical in this genre.

The artwork was very nice, I liked that as well.

What I did not like was that there wasn't much "vampirism
involved. It was not balanced well enough for my taste, but that's just me.

It's worth purchasing, a nice comic to read on a lazy day. Another excellent book that's a must read for any vampire fan is Desires Unleshed by D.N. Simmons

It is a strange world where vampires exist openly in the world. In Miami there are more than 100,000 of them. Many vampires trace back to bites from vampire bats. Vampires can also be made with a bite from a vampire or being born to one. In this world the Del Torro rules the Miami crime world. They are very rich and very influential. A new deal with a pharmaceutical company may enable them to go completely legit.

In this story we follow the members of the Del Toros after the head of the family is murdered at the start. We mostly follow Leto and Risa, brother and sister. One is a catholic priest (a first for vampires) while Risa runs a record company. But both are true to the family name. As the story progresses we meet a very wide range a characters and their foibles, desires, and place in the scheme of things.

The story is pretty good although much of it reads like an introduction of characters with the plot taking back seat. But still, it was a pretty good read although not really memorable. This is collected from the Vertigo mini series and contains quite a bit of nudity, sex, and violence so it is not suitable for many readers. The format is also rather small and some readers will take issue with that.