Alan Moore sets his Hugo Award-winning graphic novel in the political dystopia of the 1980s. Published in comic book form between September 1986 and October 1987, Moore manages to encapsulate the nuclear tensions of the United States and the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War.
Moore focuses his narrative on an unlikely group of costumed vigilantes called “The Crimebusters.” The Crimebusters are the second generation of “heroes” that patrol the streets of New York City but they are very different from their idyllic 1950’s predecessors. As a faceless enemy begins to kill off the Crimebusters, the fractured group revisits their pasts in an attempt to decipher a mystery that threatens the world.
The multiple threads of characters, history, politics, and encroaching world destruction are masterfully woven together by Moore to create an intense and gripping drama. In the end, the story leaves the reader questioning her own grasp of morality vs. humanity.
A great read not only for comic book fans but avid readers as well.
Reviewed by Melissa Frye, JKM Library Student Worker