9-11: The World's Finest Comic Book Writers and Artists Tell Stories to Remember

"9-11: September 11, 2001: The World's Finest Comic Book Writers and Artists Tell Stories to Remember" collects original stories and illustrations from many of the top writers and artists from DC Comics, including Wildstorm, VERTIGO, and "MAD" magazine. But in addition to the likes of and Dan Jurgens, Neal Adams, Jim Lee, Neil Gaiman, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopze, Sergio Aragones, and Joe Kubert, you will also find contributions by Will Eisner, Stan Lee, Richard Corben, and Michael Moorcock. Unfortunately, the book's subtitle echoes badly, because even thought DC had a comic book entitled "World's Finest," which featured Superman and Batman team-ups for the most part, using that phrase to describe your own writers and artists on the same cover where Superman is impressed by those who were heroes on September 11th misses the obvious reason not to toot your own horn.The volume is divided into section entitled Nightmare, Heroes, Recollections, Unity, and Dreams, which provide a rough thematic organization to the stories. There are stories dealing with what actually happened, such as James Denning and Guy Davis' "Walk," Josh Krach, Scott McDaniel James Pascoe's "The Job." and Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti's "Silver Linings in a Big Dust Cloud"), as well as stories that address the line between comic books and the real world created by 9-11 (e.g., "Unreal," "For Art's Sake" and "If Only"), while a few actually work DC superheroes into the story (e.g., "This, Too, Shall Pass" and Gaiman's "Endless" story, "The Wheel"). Unlike the Marvel universe, where Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, and the Avengers all work out of New York City, the DC superheroes inhabit an alternative, so there was not the need to have Superman, Batman, and the others deal with the destruction of the World Trade Center the way their competition had to. There are also a couple of stories that serve as reminders that there were dogs that were involved in the rescue efforts as well. One of the other major differences between this and the first volume, which featured work by the talents at Chaos! Comics, Dark Horse Comics, and Image Comics, is that some of these stories are a bit more political. Neal Adams does a splash page supporting the Red Cross that shows Superman holding an American flag with scorch marks and Uncle Sam rolling up his sleeves in front of the rescue workers at Ground Zero with the caption: "First Things First. Then We Come For You." Stan Lee and Marie Severin tell "A hitherto undiscovered Aesop's fable" entitled "The Sleeping Giant" whose moral is "Never awaken a sleeping giant!" There are several stories that make an argument for tolerance and objectivity, such as Dwayne McDuffie, Denys Cowan, and Prentis Rollins' "Wednesday Afternoon" and Geoff Johns, David S. Goyer, Humberto Romas and Sandra Hope's "A Burning Hate," while Ben Raab, Roger Robinson and Dennis Janke's "A Tale of Two Americans" makes a point about true patriotism. The final word goes to Joe

I am using these two volumes to do my senior thesis and have read the other reviews and am convinced that some reviewers need to BACK OFF. This was written in commemoration for those who had a hard time dealing with the tragedy, not for you to criticize. The artists and comics who made these works did so as a way to understand and as a way to vent. I am sorry, but if you are going to criticize a creative effort to release you have no compassion. Some stories are disturbing, but the whole event was and has been disturbing. I am sure someone is going to think I am waving my flag a little to wildly, but you know what I am just calling it as I see it. Until you spent the day watching from your window as the towers fell down and smoked up the whole city to tell them how to do there job!

Like it earlier companion volume, this is a gift to cherish and to help remember those endless, tiresome, exhausting, horrific, and heroic days of September 2001. This time there are lots of recognizable characters in the stories as well as the heroic hordes the book so lovingly honors. It is very hard to pick favorites. Some of the stories produce small, winsome chuckles, while others open up the tear ducts we thought we?d never turn off again last fall. There?s an absolutely delightful Krypto story where Superman?s best friend brings his own enormous water dish to share with the rescue dogs at Ground Zero. There?s also an amazing, but very brief tale of Death and Destruction of the Endless by Neil Gaiman. This is such a beautiful and unforgettable tribute; truly awesome. Even better, all profits from the sale of this and its companion volume go to aid the victims, families, and communities. An essential addition to any collection of graphic novels.

To be honest, I have not been in any rush to purchase any books that deal with September 11, 2001, or its aftermath. In bookstores and news stands, I have quickly passed by with little more than a cursory glance at the cover photo(s). However, this one caught my attention. Superman, the Man of Steel, standing in front of a mural of America's current heroes: firemen, policemen, doctors, construction workers, EMTs, and business men and women. I had to pick it up. I'm glad I did.What I found was an amazing collection of comics and other art about the events of 9-11. This volume is broken up into three sections: Nightmares, Heroes, and Recollections. All the works are amazingly well-done. Each has a different color, tone, and message, but all are touching. I spent a good couple hours just looking at these stories, with my heart pounding and tears streaming down my face. No, these are not real photos, but the fear, anger, and all the other emotions that I and others felt on that day all came flooding back through the colorful stories presented here.For those people, like me, who may have difficulty with that time still, or who just don't want to read one of the thousands of books and stories out there, this might be a good choice for you. At times it's light, presenting children's dreams of superheroes and real heroes. At times it's harsh, dealing with bias, hatred, and America's internal struggles with "what's an appropriate response?" But above-all, it's a wonderful collection of amazing work that will allow you to remember the heroes of that time, along with the goodness that began to surface in our nation after the fact.

This book has captured the mood of 9/11 more than anything else I've seen to date. I purchased it so my nieces, who are 1 and 2 1/2, can read it in years to come and learn more about that tragic day.My personal favorites are the turbaned man who rips down his own "MISSING" poster, and the single career woman who buys a load of cookies from two children selling them door to door "to help all the people who died." Or, rather, their families, but we know what you mean.I can't read it without crying.