Review- NEXT MEN VOL 3: AFTERMATH

NEXT MEN VOL 3: AFTERMATH (IDW, 2012; Hardcover)

Collects Next Men: Aftermath Nos. 40-44 (cover dates February-June, 2012)

Writer and Artist: John Byrne

Here we are, the end of the road for the Next Men. The ending was either brilliant or cliched, depending on your viewpoint. In one reality, I love it. In another, I dislike it a lot. Yet my mind seems to inhabit both planes of reality and both timestreams, and I am becoming unable to discern which one is which. I share the memories and experiences of both lives, and my frequent timestream slips are becoming disorienting. 

Perhaps one day I will sit down with all 3 Premiere Edition Hardcovers, the 2112 Original Graphic Novel (collected in the Compleat Next Men phone books and the Classic trade paperbacks but not the hardcovers- what the f*ck, IDW!), and all 3 hardcovers from the current series and try to map all of these events out. I am thoroughly disoriented after reading this book.

By the way, was Lincoln assassinated in this plane of reality of not?

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4 out of 5.

The OCD zone- This book has the same dimensions as an Avatar Press hardcover.

Paper rating: 5 out of 5. Nice, thick coated stock. This has a smooth feeling, unlike many Korean and Chinese coated paper stocks.

Binding rating: 5 out of 5. This book has sewn binding which, while glued square to the spine, still lays reasonably flat while reading due to the fact that this is a thinner book.

Hardcover coating rating: 4 out of 5. I am not a fan of the screen printed covers where the coating is only applied to certain images. I prefer the Avatar Press method, where they use a super thick waxy coating on the entire hardback. I am beginning to like books with printed covers over those with dustjackets.