I don’t want to get into the mystery, really.  It’s fun, and has a couple of twists, and doesn’t need to be spoiled.  It’s good.  The real pleasure in this book, for me, was in getting to know the town, learning the history of the old guys, figuring out how everyone fits together, and generally wrapping my head around a new universe.  I’ve always liked origin stories, and this has plenty of them.

There are neat characters here, too, like Maxi Man, this universe’s Captain Marvel, who unfortunately has forgotten his “Shazam” and is stuck as an aging mortal.  Or Emoticon, the ridiculously posturing young villain with a mask on his face that always shows an emoticon that represents his true feelings.  The characters are well-written, and despite the fact that the story is all about showing you the past, you are always left with the feeling that there is a lot going on under the surface.  It is a mystery, after all.

The art is well done, and plays a large role in the success of telling these back-stories.  There are several genres of comic art, ranging from a “current” style for “real-life” a low-res, faded and treated style depicting the public fables based on the true events from times long gone, a cartoony style giving the back-story for the pre-pubescent Liberty Snots, and so on.

My only criticism is probably particular to me – Googe has a way of drawing noses that makes them all appear to have a little, shiny patch on the end of them.  It might not bother you; I found it to be very distracting.

Hypothetically related posts:

1. The Sandman, Vol. 1: Preludes & Nocturnes
2. Planetary, Vol. 1: All Over the World and Other Stories
3. Planetary, Vol. 2: The Fourth Man