Solo

by Mark Chiarello (Editor), Tim Sale, Richard Corben

Amazon Best Books of the Month selection for June 2013

Originally published in 2004, the 12-issue series SOLO gave some of comics' greatest creators the chance to create stories set in the DC Universe and beyond. Each issue featured one artist, including Tim Sale (BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN), Paul Pope (BATMAN YEAR ONE HUNDRED), Darwyn Cooke (DC: THE NEW FRONTIER, BEFORE WATCHMEN: MINUTEMEN) and many others. Stories star Batman, Robin, Superman, The Spectre, The Teen Titans and many others, but also include westerns, war stories, science fiction epics, humor and horror, as well as introspective tales from the creators' own lives.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Anthologies, Batman, Fiction

608 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2004

About the author

Mark Chiarello was born on Halloween in 1960. His book "Heroes of the Negro Leagues" (Abrams Publishing) was named the second best sports book of 2007 by Amazon.com. A graduate of Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY, Mark was fortunate enough to have as roommates, Kent Williams, John Van Fleet, and George Pratt. He worked as an illustrator for DisneyWorld for a short time in the 1980’s, then went on to work for Marvel Comics and ultimately DC Comics, where he is currently Art Director.

Mark lives in Maplewood, NJ with his wonderful wife Catherine and wonderful kids, Jack and Rose, and his almost wonderful dog, oscar.

Reviews

[Jan Philipzig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally published as twelve double-sized issues from 2004 to 2006, DC's anthology series Solo showcases one artist per issue. The impressive list of contributors includes underground legend Richard Corben, alternative favorite Paul Pope, and pop-art-inspired Mike Allred and Darwyn Cooke. All artists were given a high degree of creative freedom to either play around with the DC cast of characters or come up with their own, unrelated material.

With little competition in the anthology/short story format, Solo won no less than three Eisner Awards: best anthology title; best single issue (Cooke); best short story (Pope's “Teenage Sidekick”). Despite their sometimes amazing visual designs, though, I found most stories far from memorable, and I was particularly disappointed with those I had been looking forward to the most (Allred, Corben). To my surprise, my favorites turned out to be Teddy Kristiansen's moody “Ruins” and Sergio Aragones' bittersweet “I Killed Marty Feldman.”

Overall, the contrasting visual styles are clearly the main attraction here, with influences ranging from high art (Teddy Kristiansen) to punk (Paul Pope, Brendan McCarthy) and graffiti (Damion Scott).

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Issues by Tim Sale, Mike Allred, Darwyn Cooke, Howard Chaykin, Paul Pope, Scott Hampton and Jordi Bernet are fantastic, Great art, great stories. Unfortunately the series is brought down some by horrible stories by Damian Scott, Teddy Kristiansen, and Brendan McCarthy. Damian's art has no depth to it and is hard to follow because of it. Teddy's stories have zero point to them and remind me of Nietzsche. McCarthy's "stories" take psychedelic comics to its extreme to the point where it seems like it's just a bunch of random sentences put together.

[Ｆｒａｎｋｈ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This thick deluxe edition caught my attention for the sole reason that it featured Adam West' wacky Batman in his most iconic pose. I was definitely more than intrigued and I knew even before I ever found out about its contents that I must possess it, sooner rather than later. When I did get to purchase it, I was stunned by the range and depth of this collection which featured a promising roster composed of talented men who are said to be 'twelve of the greatest artists in comics'.

The body of work that is featured and scrumptiously presented in SOLO: The Deluxe Edition does not disappoint at all. If the aim of this anthology is to provide even the most novice of readers an array of self-contained stories featuring their own original characters and some DC icons, then I think it had exceeded such expectations in more ways than one. Furthermore, the noble intention to help any curious newb to appreciate what the comics medium has to offer has really impressed me. I only recently started consuming comics about five years ago myself, but my life has never been enriched the same way ever again because this medium is not just kid stuff, no matter what mainstream media tells you.

The twelve artists, accompanied by well-known writers like Jeph Loeb, Neil Gaiman, Brian Azzarello and many others, have been given 48 pages of their own canvass--and anything can happen. A few sets are hard to get into upon initial reading, but most of them are accessible and completely riveting to read. These twelve singular mindscapes have a lot to offer and gain from, and it would be a shame not to travel them.

The best thing about SOLO is that it's a banquet and you are welcome to try all samples and decide which one satiated your tastes. With its impressive range, you can get engrossed with whatever floats your boat; that could either be Western, romance, horror, psychedelic surrealism or superhero parodies. They're all kinds of ridiculous, heartfelt, exciting and baffling. And if the stories don't do it much for you, the breadth of tantalizing artwork that encompassed this large container of creative endeavors might just do the trick. Each page of SOLO is rife with a stylish variety of color palettes, artistic techniques and unforgettable landscapes.

I came for Batman foremost (and he is featured in at least eleven stories) but what I got in the long run was something more than a stroke of luck or easily attainable pastime reading, and I was left with a newfound appreciation for the comic medium once again. I enjoyed the servings by Darwyn Cooke, Paul Pope, Damion Scott and Sergio Aragones the most, but all twelve distinct voices have made SOLO such a special enterprise and I'm really pleased that DC pursued such an invigorating project. Granted, the bulk of this anthology can be slightly intimidating, but therein lies the most promising challenge. Unfortunately the deluxe edition is quite pricey but there are hopefully online copies by now that you can download.

RECOMMENDED: 9/10
* A unique and visually intoxicating experience that certainly expands the limits of imaginative writing for a sadly overlooked medium

[Stewart Tame · Rating 4 out of 5]

The premise is simple: take twelve of comics' top artists and give each of them one issue of a series to do whatever they want. If they wish to bring in a collaborator or two, that's fine--some opted to work with writers; others were happy to write their own material. The result is a 12 issue, Eisner-winning series that's quickly becoming a legend. Being an anthology series, the quality varies, but remains generally high. Some artists chose to work with established DC characters. Others took the opportunity to explore less commercial genres than superheroes. My single favorite issue was probably Sergio Aragones'. Neil Gaiman fanatics will be interested to learn that he wrote one of the stories in the Teddy Kristiansen issue. Brendan McCarthy's efforts defy description. The word "surreal" seems pitifully inadequate, though hardly surprising to those of us who remember his early work from Pacific Comics all those years ago. All in all, this is a fascinating book, with many of the artists turning in some of the best work they've done in years.

[StrictlySequential · Rating 5 out of 5]

WHY is this the only edition? Having a 608 page deluxe hardcover as the only option is absurd- they should print it as two paperbacks.

[Keith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hardly noticed this book when it was coming out back in the day -- just that it was supposed to be a boutique anthology series featuring big name creators, but either I didn't like or hadn't heard of the artists for the particular issues I saw. I think if I'd seen the Michael Allred issue I would have flipped out, but it still doesn't surprise me that I skipped over this at the time.

This is a kindred spirit with DC's other semi-recent anthology series, Wednesday Comics, also edited by Mark Chiarello -- but where Wednesday was all flash and explosive success, Solo is weird, uneven, thinky, auteur. It's not a work of genius, but it's about as raw and unfettered as mainstream comics are allowed to get. Here, 12 top-tier artists are given 50 pages apiece to do whatever they want, as well as the opportunity to mine DC's character pool in the process.

This was never intended to be a definitive list of the Top Twelve Comic Guys -- unfortunately, Solo was shitcanned by poor sales before it could really build up speed. So it's a mixed bag of warm-up contributors. There are a few heavy hitters, but it's not as much of a Dream Team as the book's PR would lead you to believe. This has nothing to do with its quality, but it does make the collection a harder sell.

And while Wednesday was designed as an accessible way to highlight the 'cool factor' of superhero comics, Solo leans more toward the indie sensibilities of Flight or Popgun -- the content is the thing, rather than an easily brandable theme.

But even an uber-trendy series like Flight has a certain unifying aesthetic, where Solo, again, has none. Here are hamfisted genre stories, poetic autobiographical pieces, and riffs on superherodom all under the same roof. The only throughline is the "creator-controlled" format -- but again, these creators come from all walks of comics. Allred's pop sensibilities are side-by-side with Tim Sale's noir, Paul Pope's bohemian grunge, Sergio Arogenes' jittery toons, Richard Corben's airbrushed horror. The problem with Solo is that anyone outside of the most hardcore "comics for comics' sake" sequential art fans will have absolutely no idea what's holding this anthology together at all, and for $30-$50, there's little incentive for newcomers to find out.

But then again, perhaps this "Deluxe Edition" is not meant for the general public. This is collecting for collectors, after all. Solo never made it big because no one could explain what it was, and now it stands as a relic, an almost-ran. It's a beautiful book that feels luxurious and true while you read it -- a collection of artists' diaries in full color format. I don't know why it's good, but it is. I don't know how to convince anyone to read it, but you should anyway.

[Michael Emond · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll rate this 5 stars for creative amazement but in the end four stars because (let's face it) most of the short stories were not memorable and some (okay one, in particular) of the artists were not worthy of being included.But I still STRONGLY recommend this book because it was such a delight to be exposed to the unique styles of 12 professional artists. For fun, I'll rate them from fav to least fav:
1) Darwyn Cooke (I love his art and retro stories SO much)
2) Michael Allred (I have always dug his groovy 60's style throwback art and loved the humour and whimsy in his stories - I could read a while series of his take on 60's DC heroes)
3) Howard Chaykin (one of the best comic artists of all time and unlike most of his peers he has managed to maintain the quality of his art even past his 50's - also some really fun stories)
4) Jordi Bernet (I think he had the most inventive short stories of the collection)
5) Sergio Aragones (high five for including him - yes he is a cartoonist but one of the best ones ever, and a great storyteller)
6) Scott Hampton
7) Teddy Kristiansen (loved his Deadman story - some of the other ones were less solid)
8) Tim Sale - I am not a huge fan of his but do appreciate why some people love him
9) Richard Corben - I don't love his art but some powerful stories
10) Daimian Scott (wild and fun art - stories...a little lame)
11) Paul Pope (I have never understood the fuss about his art - which is very ugly to my eye - but he still had a nice look at OMAC I loved)
12) Brendan McCarthy - the only issue I actively hated. His art is unappealing (to me) and his stories were like Grant Morrison on a bad day times ten. A "look at me I am creative and free stream thinking! I don't care it makes no sense to you, I am so creative! Whee!"

[Sezer Turgay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Böyle kitaplara çok ihtiyacımız olduğu bir dönemdeyiz bence.
DC'nin zamanında kim akıl etmişse eli öpulesi projesi SOLO.12 Çizer 12 fasikül tonlarca kısa hikaye Sergio Aragones'ten Richard Corben'e Paul Pope'dan Darwyn Cooke'a kadar bir çok üstadı toplamışlar.

Serinin en güzel hikayesi Paul Pope'un OMAC hikayesiydi bence ama Jack Kirby,Paul Pope ve OMAC'ı çok sevdiğimden objektif bir yorum olduğunu söyleyemeyeğim.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

12 modern day male artists are given 40 pages and carte-blanche(ish) to show us what they can do.
What? weren't there any lady artists "good enough" for this exercise?

The art goes from cartoonish to comic-book-ish to downright masterful.
Most of it is good, some of it isn't.

The stories vary... although many are of DC's cast of characters, I think most veer off into the artists' personal collection of what may be, in some cases, material they had lying around the studio that they had never managed to get published maybe? Not that that's necessarioly a bad thing, as it does give us a glimpse into the work the artists do in their off-hours.

Some stories are educational, some are weird, some are funny, some are sad, most are good... but when they're bad, they're REAL bad.

Seeing the work of Aragone's I was tempted to think that perhaps an exercise of this kind could be made using "only" funny-book type artists such as Aragone's, Sakai, maybe even Sim. Although DC might want to put in a few rules in the "OK, guys (and gals), let's keep it to the DC stables of characters for this one, shall we?"

Anyway, a big heavy book... bigger than most Deluxe books out there... but not quite as big as an Absolute.

[Ridwan Anam · Rating 4 out of 5]

১২ জন বিশ্ব বিখ্যাত আর্টিস্টের আঁকা ছোট ছোট কমিকসের সংকলন। ব্যাটম্যান - সুপারম্যানের আর্টিস্ট টিম সেল, ডারউইন কুক যেমন আছেন, তেমনি আছেন জোর্ডি বেনেট, সার্জিও অ্যারাগোনেস (ম্যাড কমিকস) আরো অনেকে। ১২ টা পর্বের মধ্যে টিম সেল, জোর্ডি বেনেট আর অ্যারাগোনেসের পর্ব সবচেয়ে ভালো লেগেছে। বইটার সবচেয়ে ভালো দিক, এক বইয়েই বিভিন্ন কমিকস শিল্পীর আঁকার ধরণ, গুণগত পার্থক্য মোটামুটি বুঝা যায়।

[Drake Zappa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is in my opinion one of the most underrated experiments I've seen one of the "big two" do. Some really interesting and weird stuff is shown through the creative freedom given to these artists! Although it wasn't all my kind of think what I liked i loved and what I didn't necessarily enjoy personally I still respect for the work thats there! An amazing collection of work from an amazing collection of people!
(Read this through two collected version of the issues but plan on getting the deluxe edition when I find one 😂)

[Chalupa Batman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool concept with a 12 volume set giving 12 different writers free reign to do what they like. Has some really fun stories (a couple of misses). The real standout volume was Sergio Aragones volume. He had a really fun Batman story and a few autobiographical stories including one in which he meets (out of all people) Marty Feldman.

I would give it a higher rating, but some of the stories fall short.

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection allowed me to discover some artists that I didn't know (and some that I knew, but I just didn't know their names!), and exposed me to stories that I wouldn't normally have gone out of my way to read (like westerns, for example).

Overall a satisfying read, a little uneven here & there, but that is to be expected with anthologies of this type: Something for everyone, but not everything for anyone.

Of the contributing artists, I've broken them down into four categories:

[1] Corben, Pope, Bernet, Hampton, Kristiansen: these were ALL new to me (and I liked them all).

[2] Scott, Aragonés: didn't know I knew them (knew their art, not their names). Liked them as well.

[3] Sale, Chaykin, Cooke, Allred: cherished old friends of mine (of course, not literally!).

[4] McCarthy: new to me, but with a dubious distinction - if I could only un-read his issue, that would be great (or at least get back the time I spent reading it!).

Favourite contributions, based on overall strength of material (in the order they are collected in this book): Corben, Chaykin, Cooke, Bernet, Allred, Aragonés.

Highly recommended to fans of the contributing artists, but also to fans of comics in general.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a hard one to rate as it is a collection of comics from different artists. They were asked to do stories that they always wished to tell and some of them are fabulous and some not so much. It's a matter of taste really. My absolute favorite of the whole series is Teenage Sidekick by Paul Pope. It was a truly revelatory story about Robin the Boy Wonder. Robin is such a divisive character in the comic book world, but this story really captured the essence of who Robin (Dick Grayson Robin) is. With all his bravery, tragedy and tenacity it really made me think about Robin in a whole new light. Anyone who thinks Robin is a wimp should definitely read this story. It was amazing. The rest of Pope's stuff was really great along with Darwyn Cooke's entries, Tim Sale's and Jordi Bernet's. Fun stuff also from Michael Allred and Sergio Aragones (my favorite MAD artist and writer of all time!) Definitely worth a look!

[Wesley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of a 12 part series where each issue had a single artist with carte blanche to create stories using DC characters or just the kind of stories they would like to see in comics.

Being a collection of short stories the quality is variable but good overall. There was more work that did not use DC characters than I would have liked.

The main gripe is the claim that 12 of the greatest artists were gathered to contribute to the collection. Any such claim is subjective of course but the definition of greatest is being stretched to beyond it limits to include some of these contributors. In my opinion there are only 2 or 3 real great artists here with another couple on their way there.

Highlights were stories by Jordi Bernet, a Neil Gaiman Deadman tale illustrated by Teddy Kristiansen and the ever wonderful (but I probably wouldn't put him in a greatest artist list) Brendan McCarthy.

[Carl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A massive collection of 12 48 page comics. Each issue is the creation of a famoius comic book artist who was given forty eight pages and allowed to do whatever they liked.

the results are varied but mostly excellent. Howard Chaykin, Richard Corben, Scott Hampton and Tim Sale all stand out.

there is also some deep strangeness here. Damion Scott does stories using graffiti art which are quite strange. Add to that Brendan Mccarthy pyschedelic oddities.

This is a concept I hope they'd do again with another set of artists. All in all this concept is too much fun not to.

[StephenM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now this is what a great anthology collection looks like, far better than that Superman: Red and Blue I read a couple months ago. Still uneven in quality, of course, with a few stories I found to be total messes, but at least they were messes that took risks and did things I haven't seen before. The amount of material is massive, and the best stuff is really terrific. (I still wish Darwin Cooke had had more years on this earth to make comics.)

[RoseBlight · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favorite Issues:

#1 - Tim Sale - 5/5

#2 - Richard Corben - 4/5

#3 - Paul Pope - 4/5

#5 - Darwyn Cooke - 5.5/5

#8 - Teddy Kristiansen - 5/5

#9 - Scott Hampton - 4.5/5

#12 - Brendan McCarthy 5/5

[Chuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great collection, real riot of styles and ideas. 12 top artists got 48 pages each to tell any stories they wanted. Some heavyweight collaborators like Neil Gaiman, too.

[Hillary Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was considering giving this collection a 3-Star rating because while I fell in love with artists that I’ve never heard of before-as well as fall in love all over again with artists I know all too well and am constantly searching for new works/projects they’ve had a hand in-I didn’t feel the same way about a number of new-to-me artists (which, to be fair, is a quite a long list.) now I know that the artists I may not have cared for, are world renowned and have an impressive following, but personally, I just couldn’t get past either (or in some cases both) the art and feel of the piece or the storyline just didn’t work for me.
I kept the 4-Star rating because, while I may not have loved a good portion of the artists/their takes on telling stories that were rather obscure as well as those characters/stories that we know all too well, I know I discovered a number of artists that I’ll be looking into, so how can I give a COLLECTION of comics by various artists-to the extreme-when it did its job perfectly? A collection of various artists is what “SOLO: The Deluxe Edition” delivered. You’re not meant to love EVERY artist, but it did a great job in introducing comic readers, both seasoned AND those that are relatively new to the graphic novel genre, like myself, a peppering of just some of the millions of artists and styles there are to explore.

So while I didn’t give this a 5-Star rating, mostly because I’m loyal and boring to what I like...sorry/not sorry, it definitely deserves a trip to the library (yes, they still have things were people go and read anything they want...and take it home for a period of time...FOR FREE! It’s just like Amazon.com, with the singular exception of you do have to interact with people, also: if your library doesn’t have this gem in its collection, most every library will track a copy down for you to borrow!) if you can’t find/afford a copy of your own.

I hope that was helpful and not just ramblings from a “technical” millennial, just on the older side of it: every year in school, starting in kindergarten, there would be something new in terms of computers, but I will say I am thankful that it changed every year and adaption became key to survival in school. I’m also happy that recess meant playing outside, and family vacations were spent outside enjoying nature just as much as the fast passed changes in tech every year.

And on that note: I shall put away my soap box that I not-so-gracefully pulled out of nowhere and jumped up on...I’d say “sorry”, but I think we’d all know I’d be lying🤨🤷‍♀️.

[Artur Coelho · Rating 4 out of 5]

Para lá da linha de comics, que segue os estereótipos gráficos do género, a DC também se distingue pela sua aposta em banda desenhada gráfica e conceptualmente mais complexa, trazendo ao grande público autores cujos estilos são marcadamente artísticos. Fez isso de várias formas, desde os tempos da Vertigo, ou dado espaço à voz dos criadores (é o que a distingue das outras majors), ou incorporando-os em momentos especiais dos seus personagens icónicos. Em parte, parece ser o objetivo da corrente série Black Label. Não deixando de ser aposta comercial, é também uma jogada de prestígio da parte da editora, e tem uma consequência pedagógica, com a exposição do leitor médio dos comics a estilos mais complexos.

Solo é um excelente exemplo da forma como a DC cruza a ponte entre comic comercial e erudito, dando espaço a criadores do calibre de Chiarello, Allred, Chaykin, Aragonés, Pope ou Corben para criação de histórias que têm em comum ideias intrigantes e elevado calibre estético. Um espaço de liberdade, algumas das histórias mexem com os personagens DC, outras são totalmente independentes. As diferentes vozes e estilos são marcantes, como não poderia deixar de ser com esta lista de autores.

[Harrison Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are ever interested in comics but doubt that the medium doesn't have anything that would interest you, get this book in some form. It will prove you wrong in the best way.

A collection of an award winning miniseries where DC Comics gave 12 artists one issue to tell whatever kind of stories they want. The result is electrifying and a showcase of how diverse comics can be. Some of these industry veterans like Tim Sale, Michael Allred, and Darwyn Cooke, had a long history with the publisher and use their issues as a love letter to these famous superhero characters and their world. But also in the mix are alternative comics artists, such as Richard Corben, of Heavy Metal fame, and longtime MAD Magazine contributor Sergio Aragones; thye explore a wider range of tones and genres.

As a result you get stories that encompass gritty crime thrillers, personal anecdotes, politically conscious dramas, gruesome horror, and psychedelic sci-fi. Each artist has an incredibly expressive, unique art style that compliments their stories and showcases the potential of comics as an artform. Even when familiar faces such as Batman and Superman show up, they exist in a different light that you wouldn't find in a monthly series or motion picture.

[Bill Coffin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This mammoth book collects all 12 issues of DC's Solo, an ambitious series in 2004 that each issue, gave a comics industry luminary free reign to tell whatever stories they liked. The lineup is as impressive as it is diverse, featuring Tim Sale, Richard Corben, Paul Pope, Howard Chaykin, Darwyn Cooke, Jordi Bernet, Michael Allred, Teddy Kristiansen, Scott Hampton, Damion Scott, Sergio Aragones and Brendan McCarthy. Each issue is a mini-anthology of unconnected stories, some serious, some whimsical. None are canonical, and many don't even involve DC characters. And while this book does suffer from a grievous lack of any female writers or artists, the end result still extremely impressive as a showcase of the depth and diversity of today's graphic storytelling environment. You are guaranteed to have an issue or two within this that you really don't like. But you are also guaranteed to find sections in this that will blow your mind, and this book is worth it just for those sections alone. Darwyn Cooke's section is especially strong.

[Norman Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eisner Award Winner, 2006:
Best Short Story - "Teenage Sidekick," by Paul Pope
Best Single Issue or One-Shot - Solo #5, by Darwyn Cooke
Best Anthology - Mark Chiarello, editor

This is a must-read for any comics fan. This is first and foremost a showcase for some of the best artists at the time Solo was first published. The writing is a bit hit and miss. But the range of diverse artistic styles is amazing. Because of this diversity, I doubt any reader will enjoy every one of them, but hopefully can appreciate why they were included.

The stories are an eclectic sampling of super-hero, horror, noir, romance, war, prison, underground, Western, spy, humor, espionage, and other genres. There's something for everyone, but again, not every reader will enjoy every story.

I miss Darwyn Cooke.

[Nicolo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solo was a series that a sports fan would consider as "goat". or greatest of all time. This book collected those 12 issues, and each issue a pure and unadulterated serving of that cartoonist's art.

There were only 12 issues, those 12 deserved the spotlight. A few of my favorite creators made it, but the glaring omission of those beside the 12 certainly made a case for another round of Solo.

Alas, that won't be, since the mastermind of it all, the editor Mark Chiarello, a renowned artist himself, has already left DC after one of its several reorganizations.

Those individual issues have proven hard to find, and it is certainly of convenience that those 12 books were collected in this deluxe and oversized hardcover.

[Nadeem Qaiser · Rating 4 out of 5]

A 3.5 rating.
A great collectible of a book. Filled with a plethora of artstyles, that are great to look at in their own unique way.
As far as the stories go.. well, that's where it loses some points. Some stories were great - small, but hitting the right spot in the feels. Others, were just... okay. And some that are bad - but the good and the okay is a subjective opinion, especially in the case of this book.

[Rory Toohey · Rating 3 out of 5]

As always, anthologies are a mixed bag. And while comics are generally seen as an artist's medium, to me, it's always been about the union of writing and art. This collection shows the limitations of doing it "solo".

[Hamish · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of all 12 issues of the series, each issue given to a particular artist to do with whatever they want. As one would expect by its very concept, this is extremely hit or miss. Darwyn Cooke's issue is the best (duh).

[Ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Showcase

Nice ships cu of various artists. Some I enjoyed more than others. I think I liked the stories hat involved actual DC characters the best but vs one of the original stuff wasn't bad.

[Casey Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inconsistent in quality because it features various artists, it's all worthwhile to see some masters at work.