This is the last in the regular series of pastiches of old Marvel characters written by Alan Moore; there was to be a Double Image 80-Page Giant Annual, but it wasto have art by Jim Lee, and so still hasn't turned up, nearly a year after the promised date. A shame, because this lead-in issue is great. After introducing most of the heroes in previous issues, Moore shows them in action as the Tomorrow Syndicate (They Who Are Not The Avengers), following up on a tip provided by the Fury (He Who Is Not Spider-man), discover a gate between alternate dimensions, and set off in search of their fellow heroes, Mystery Incorporated (TWAN The Fantastic Four), who are searching for their kidnapped member, Kid Dynamo, who's been kidnapped by a member of ... Youngblood! And so, the big ole comparison/fight-scene issue is set up nicely. Along the way, The Syndicate meet their evil duplicates, find the giant crossroads of alternate realities, talk to some nearly familiar characters, pass by some very familiar faces and, in a beautiful splash page, see over a dozen of the best creator-owned comics around. Something very apparent in the evil duplicates scene, and any other featuring just the team interacting, is Moore's affection and respect for the sixties comics - all the old cliche's are lovingly recreated, though they're all brilliantly rewritten for the new characters. One of the things he really doesn't like about the sixties was the management, and the fake bullpen and letter- column are, in places, scathing about the bosses attitudes to the creators and fans, as well as being sardonic about current events (and not so current - Big Numbers get's mentioned), and alliterative beyond belief; Moore fills one sentence with fifty-five words beginning with 'd'. The art is, as you have to expect from Veitch / Gibbons, beautiful, and the unannounced presense of a certain Bog God is all the issue needed to push it into perfection.
Art: 4.5
Writing: 5
Andrew These reviews are copyright the authors