Product Description

Meet Halo Jones. She wasn't anyone special. She wasn't brave, or clever, or strong. She was just somebody who had to get out ...Escaping the Hoop, Manhattan Island's land of mindless leisure, is just the first step in a cosmic adventure that takes Halo to the far ends of the galaxy, through war and peace, trial, despair and triumph. But as she said: "Anybody could have done it." "Possibly the first feminist heroine in comics" wrote the Observer of Alan Moore's epic tale of one woman's search for her place in a galaxy out of control. Beautifully illustrated by Ian Gibson, this is the ultimate sci-fi opus. Don't dare miss it!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #543159 in Books
• Published on: 2001-07-20
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

About the Author
Alan Moore is one of the most respected and admired writers in comics today. Among his many projects Moore is perhaps best known for the groundbreaking Watchmen series and Batman: The Killing Joke. He is currently working his own ABC line of comics, including Promethea, Tom Strong, Top Ten and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (all published by Titan).

Customer Reviews

The greatest comic ever!
Transvision Vamp once did a song called 'Hanging around with Halo Jones'. If anything's going to turn you off this it's that, but don't be deterred!

For while 2000AD comic has produced some pretty decent stories in the past quarter century none, I think, have been better than this, the story of a galactic space heroine, which first appeared in the mid-eighties.

Its main strength, of course, is that Halo Jones is no Barbarella but a normal, realistic female character (unusual for 2000AD) in a bizarre futuristic environment.

The first of these three stories is probably the worst. Based almost entirely in The Hoop, a subterranean metropolis, Moore deploys potentially alienating slang throughout Book One which is slightly annoying at best, off-putting at worst. Moore is no Burgess and he abandons this after Book One. Yet it is easy enough to follow and there is fun to be had as Halo hangs out with her friends and Toby the robotic dog.

If this sounds unappealing, don't be put off. In Books Two and Three (all included here) the story ascends into levels of brilliance rarely seen in comics. In Book Two, Halo escapes Earth altogether to work as a waitress on a luxury space cruise liner. Every episode is a triumph, whether anecdotally telling the life story of a character whose name escapes me to the more dramatic episodes concerning Toby.

The third and longest book depicting an older, more cynical Jones as she becomes drawn into a devastating war in the Tarantula Nebula is quite literally brilliant. The 'fast forward war' on the gravity-warping planet Moab is particularly effectively realised. Here, Moore and Gibson utterly surpass themselves. It is at times hilarious, harrowing and devastating. For me, the greatest tragedy is that Moore and Gibson never returned to Halo - but perhaps they could never have maintained this high standard anyway. Either way, if you're feeling like trying out a graphic novel, try this one. You won't be disappointed.

A great, mythic saga with a killer ending...
It starts somewhat imposingly - the reader dropped literally through the ether into the crowded, volatile and suffocating world of the Hoop. And it ends with perhaps the greatest last line in graphic comic history (a line I have to struggle not to repeat here, thereby pre-empting genius). It's the tale of an unremarkable woman whose search for meaning, for an escape from the crushing realities of a life speedily going nowhere makes her remarkable, iconic, loved. Ian Gibson's art cannot be praised enough, depicting Halo's future nightmare in all its despicable glory - but the real credit must go to Moore, breaking new ground as ever, blazing a trail few can follow but many can appreciate. I have this tale in its original, weekly format but I've always coveted a one volume edition. It's here, now, and is an essential purchase, as relevant to the Moore canon as anything the man has done. Enough; this reader is signing off. "Out."

Stunning
One of the greatest comics of, well, ever. Gives even Watchmen a run for its money, and certainly provides the reader with a different experience to any other comic out there.

As a non-fan of stereotypical superhero action comics, the prospect of a thoughtful, clever sci-fi drama immediately attracted me to The Ballad of Halo Jones. The unusual portrayal of a female character (she wears a sensible amount of clothes! She's capable, despite lacking super-powers!), the fact that the plot actually *goes* somewhere (though it ends too soon, sadly - the series was cut short thanks to management issues), the excellent writing and art - all of these helped to get me besotted with the title.

Halo Jones, as a character, remains one of the most interesting, most three-dimensional characters to appear in a comic, and the situations she is thrust into - though extraordinary - manage surprisingly well to avoid feeling contrived. There are twists and turns like you wouldn't believe, and the story manages to mix action, drama, romance and pathos with aplomb.

In all, this stands out as a seminal work, and has the power to move almost any reader. An absolutely essential purchase to anybody with a passing interest in comics - and even those who don't.