(Words by Alan Moore, art by Various, Published monthly by America's Best Comics)
When a writer takes on several projects at once, my concern is always that they will be spreading their talent too thinly across too wide a space. Take Warren Ellis, for example. In the last few months Transmetropolitan has slipped way down to the bottom of my list of top comics. It's no coincidence that this has occurred at the point he's multiplied his writing projects. Now here's Alan Moore at America's Best Comics, writing five titles concurrently. >ulp<
Thankfully, with Tomorrow Stories, it looks like Moore is onto another winner. This is his take on the old-fashioned multi-story super-hero comic, and it's hilarious. Whereas his other golden-age style title, Promethea, has failed to grab me after 2 flabby issues (leaving me wondering whether to pick up #3 for the luminous artwork alone), these four Tomorrow Stories are small but perfectly formed. Although aimed at the mature readers market, with The First American's Jerry Springer spoofs and Miss Cobweb's doll-fetish element, these stories are similar in structure to serialised family-friendly comics from the 50s. This witty take on a familiar style is what makes the stories so laugh-out-loud funny, with a dark undertow to make you shudder.
Featuring four very different and interesting artists, these Tomorrow Stories are worth investigating. Alan Moore's already luminous star is ascendant right now. With his latest projects garnering major attraction at the moment, if you want to get in at the start, you have to get in quick. With wit like this, how can you resist?
http://www.mindspring.com/~scamper/moore/home.html Alan Moore fan site, featuring interviews and bibliography
[Load time rating: fast ****]
Anna Jellinek
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