Customer Reviews

Judgment Day

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

While I was aware of Alan Moore's stint on Supreme, during which he added an incredible amount of history and totally redefined the hero, I did not know of his involvement with this particular title until the trade paperback release. For those of you who are fans of his work on Supreme, you owe it to yourself to pick up JUDGMENT DAY.

The plot, in short: the Awesome Entertainment superhero community is shocked by the murder of Youngblood member Riptide. The prime suspect is fellow Youngblood member Knightsabre; however, during the trial, it is revealed that details of the case originate at the dawn of time. What follows is a series of flashbacks over thousands of years in the Awesome Comics universe, building to a surprise conclusion. As in Supreme, Moore weaves a very complex story, strengthened by the involvement of "Silver Age" characters he introduced in Supreme, as well as analogues of other famous comic and literary characters. As a result, Youngblood is provided with a history of sorts. The framing story is illustrated by Rob Liefeld, with the flashback sequences handled by a host of guest-artists, including Chris Sprouse and the great Gil Kane. Also included is an overview of some of Moore's other Silver Age characters, in a story that is a tribute to, and illustrated by, Gil Kane. Additionally, there is a kick-off for another Youngblood series featuring Shaft, Suprema, and a handfull of new characters.

So, the story alone warrants 5 stars. What really solidifies the rating for this book, however, is the message that Alan Moore presents to the reader: the fact that Youngblood and other Liefeld characters are angry, bloodthirsty, conflict-motivated anti-heroes that changed the face of comics for the worse. He shows that, compared to the comic characters of yesteryear, this type of character is ridiculous and irrelevant. It's so fitting that, as the members of Youngblood listen to testimony during the trial, they begin to realize that they are out of their league. Rightly so! What's so amazing is that Moore could present this message with Liefeld's say-so. Who knows... maybe Liefeld has actually come to realize this?

But even if Liefeld's approach to superheroes has possibly matured, his artwork certainly hasn't. It amazes me that, after 15 years in the industry, the man still has no understanding of layouts and anatomy.

Alan Moore saves the day yet again with this short, sweet murder mystery about one of the most-loathed series in comics: Youngblood. Almost unbelievably, Moore manages to turn the established continuity on its ear, and goes on to spin complex and charming backstories for all of the participants, which go further toward explaining the characters and their motivations than the original series ever did. It's a wonderful read, and if you squint hard, you can see all kinds of great silver-age heroes and villains reincarnated with a twist (Storybook Smith = Johnny Thunder, The Fisherman = Green Arrow). The artwork ranges from atrocious to lovely, as Moore tells his story mostly in flashbacks and has a different artist for each one, but they include the incomparable Gil Kane and Keith Giffen, so it's still worth the price of admission. The framing sequences are by Rob Leifeld, unfortunately, who still can't draw feet after nearly 20 years in the medium. Overall, a great book written with in Moore's wordy, witty style with a couple of forgivable artistic flaws.

Note: Sadly, this story sets up the wonderful and defunct Youngblood revamp, that has yet to be collected, or even released in its entirety.

Obviously, Alan Moore is a master of comics storytelling, and JUDGMENT DAY is no exception. The story builds on themes he had already been exploring in SUPREME. However, the art on the mini-series turns what could have been a great story into merely a really good one. There are several dimensions to this problem: one is that the art is just not consistently good enough. Work by the likes of deserving comics legends and veterans like Keith Giffen and Dan Jurgens is tempered by work from Rob Liefeld and a few others in his lackluster stable of artists. This is nowhere more apparent than on the main story about the trial, leaving the main story not as good as the various flashbacks. If you're a Moore completist, definitely pick this up, especially if you enjoyed SUPREME and his ABC books. If not, wait until you can find this book for cheaper than it is here.

Judgement Day is a great comic if you completely forget the horrible drawing and weak storytelling of artist Rob Liefeld. The reason I gave this 2 stars is that even because the story is so well written by Alan Moore, the art drags it down to the point where its hard to read through because Mr.Liefelds shoddy grasp of anatomy and telling a story are more sophmoric than the work of an art student in his first year of art school. Its like paying to watch a movie with a good story only to have to sit through bad special effects, weak acting and piss-poor cinematography. Skip out on this one or better yet, borrow it or read it at a comic store but its not worthy of your money unless you find it for a bargain. Poor Alan Moore.

It must have been frustrating for visionary writer Alan Moore to turn out such amazing scripts and to then see them realized through the hands of Rob Leifeld. It is akin to handing the keys to a Maserati GranTurismo to a twelve-year-old girl. The result is an amazing car wreck on paper. In the hands of a competent artist, Judgment Day would have made for a fine addition to anyone's comic book library. What we have here is something that is best hit with the DISCARD stamp and sent into the recycle bin.

A compilation of some issues of the end of Youngblood it seems, with cameos out the wazoo. Savage Dragon, Supreme, and others. A mystical storybook that can change history is at the heart of the mystery, and allows some homages to dc and old characters galore, as well as for Moore to make some comments about the state of comics at the time.

There is some really nice work by Gil Kane in the back showing some short adventures of some of the 'old school' Allies superteam.

Maybe I have come to expect more from Alan Moore, but this one didn't excite me like Promethea or Watchmen.

Alan Moore pretty much took the world of superheroes, shook them upside down and inside out with his WATCHMEN book(s).
WATCHMEN is something that I find myself re-reading every year or two.

When I first heard about this project, I had hopes that Moore would once again shake, rattle and roll this otherwise usually pedestrian form of comic-book. The premise was a good one....what would happen if a court of law had to be administered to a superhero (those who so often seem to live outside or above the law). Okay, it's ground that Stan Lee & Wally Wood covered in DAREDEVIL #7 (when Namor/Submariner wanted to file suit against the entire Human Race...and, in turn, has legal charges pressed against him). But that was forty-some years ago....and Alan Moore is a master at the craft of comic-book writing....and this really sounded as though it had a great deal of potential.

Unfortunately one doesn't see a lot of new road paved between the DAREDEVIL #7 issue and this work. Granted, there are some interesting twists and turns....but the work as a whole does not live up to the finer sum of its parts.

While I can appreciate Moore wanting to explore and dissect the superhero mythos that seems to have captivated generation after generation, I fear that he doesn't manage to do so with JUDGMENT DAY.

For those who truly wish to read Moore at his best, I'd give a blazing five stars to WATCHMEN or V FOR VENDETTA.
This is not a book I'd use to introduce those unfamiliar with Moore's work in comic-books.

I ordered this book based on the fact that Alan Moore was involved and the prior reviews led me to believe that this would be an awesome book. I was wrong on all counts. Everything that was wrong with comic books in the 90s was included in this collection. Starting with the art of Liefield. While this type of art was novel at first, it quickly wears thin. It was one of the reasons I stopped reading X-Men books for awhile. The writing in this collection was even worse. It was as if Moore wrote it with 3rd graders in mind. Granted it was convoluted enough to confuse just about anyone, but at the same time it was just silly and insulting to the reader. The names of the characters indicated a laziness on the part of the writer; the character names were stupid and sometimes just silly. The dialogue was stilted and unbelievable. I could go on and on, but suffice to say that this book should never have been printed and the original series should have been left in whatever 10 cent bin they were found at. This is the only book I have ever thrown in the trash. I could have sold it at 1/2 price books, but that would have meant that I would have contributed to the circulation of this book, and I would not subject anyone else to this mess. Don't spend your money on this book. Shame on More and Liefield.

This is supposed to be a revealing look at the superhuman community and what happens when one is killed by another. What it actually is is a self-serving justification for the Youngblood universe and all of its little spinoffs.

Knightsabre comes home drunk on his 30th birthday. He passes out and wakes up accused of murdering Riptide. The story moves between the main plot and short stories of spinoffs throughout the ages. As the story moves to an unlikely trial (held in private) we find that the whole event is a result of the entire universe. Every character since the dawn of time has had some hand in this story.

This story was supposed to show how a superhero faces trial using non-super courts and legal systems. But they pick their own judge and hold the trial in secret. Secret from the non-super world, that is. In the end it just shows how cleverly Alan Moore can tie seemingly unrelated elements into a story. The story ends with the third part of the four-part story. Part four is reserved for a series of short Youngblood prequel stories (why not just make it a three-parter?).

If you want to see Moore being clever, you might like this one. If you are looking for the advertised drama, stay away because it isn't here.