So, this really talented guy writes and draws Strangers in Paradise, this long love story about two women called Francine and Katchoo. Along the way, he gets some international intrigue in there, and some action, but really, it's a romance story.

Then, when he finishes it off (which he does masterfully and satisfyingly), he sets his sights on a more science fiction work called Echo which is just as much fun and has just as much action as SiP did.

Then, when he finishes that one off (which he does masterfully and satisfyingly), he sets his sights on a work of horror called Rachel Rising, which just may be the best damn thing he ever did. It's got everything in it, and it's biblical in proportion.

Then, when he finishes it off (which he does masterfully and satisfyingly), he then gives us a shorter work of SF called Motor Girl, which stars an ex-Marine and a damn gorilla, if you can believe it, and it's SF in a completely different way than Echo was.

He finishes that off masterfully and satisfyingly (noticing a trend yet?), then drops a new SiP story on us to mark the 25th anniversary of that series. And what does he do in that?

He sets up a shared universe incorporating every single one of those disparate series above.

Which brings us to this volume, where that shared universe is threatened by a Phi bomb. And, like every single story Moore brought us prior to this, there's action, adventure, thought-provoking themes, as well as truly human moments of joy and despair, love and anger, and simple, powerful loyalty.

A brilliant start to what feels like the crowning achievement of Moore's artistic talent. ( )