3 out of 5

It became a joke, and then it started to wear thin.  While essentially the same format as volume 1, with the introduction of Splash Brannigan and some 4th-wall references in the latter half of that book, Moore started to switch into straight silly, as opposed to the tongue-in-cheek anthology of different pulp / comic heroes that the series seemed to start out as.  Brannigan is simply too close in tone to The First American, with Barta and Baikie – both accomplished and appealing art-wise – two sides of a particular stylistic coin and thus making the dividing line even blurrier, excepting that Brannigan is maybe a bit more “innocent” than FA.  Soon Grey Shirt and Cobweb get in on the gag too, their strips getting increasingly gag-ier and pun-ier, and since it’s Alan Moore, Grey gets a musical episode.  Regarding the former, the shift is disappointing, as the compressed, shadow-soaked noir tales were a highlight along with the outlandish science of Jack Quick; regarding the latter, though, it’s admittedly an improvement for Cobweb over her wordy or – sure, personal opinion, but – annoying-to-look-at experimental arted initial installments.  And mentioning Quick, the bowing out of the character for a few issues (when Splash comes in) imbalances the whole thing as well.  Thankfully, Quick returns for a couple of concluding episodes, and Moore turns in a solid conclusion to Grey Shirt and Cobweb as they cross over in a single strip.  With the reading plane stabilized, the antics of First American – he and U.S. Agent writing a movie about themselves – are entertainingly silly once more, and act as a fitting close to the series.

No bonuses this collection, although nice binding and presentation once again.