In this bleak vision of America, the influence of costumed crime-fighters has kept Nixon in office, whipped Vietnam into shape easily, and brought the world to the brink of Armageddon. Writer Alan Moore began this novel as a reworking of the Charlton Comics heroes of his childhood, transformed it into an operatic dark-comedy of super-hero archetypes, and ended up with a chilling commentary on cold-war America. Artist Dave Gibbons, usually a hired gun in the comic-book world, delivers a tour de force of graphic introspection, knowingly deconstructing the scaffolding beneath his feet. Though created almost 15 years ago, this Pynchon-esque graphic novel remains the final word in super-heroics.

David Lasky