Review- THE HIGH WAYS

THE HIGH WAYS (IDW, 2013; Softcover)

Collects The High Ways Nos. 1-4 (cover dates December, 2012- April, 2013)

Writer and Artist: John Byrne

Colorist: Leonard O'Grady

John Byrne has been doing his finest work since the '80s with his creator owned titles over at IDW. He has done multiple Star Trek mini-series (all of which are collected in a beautiful hardcover which I own and will someday read), revived Next Men, launched Cold War, Trio, and now The High Ways. Byrne is no stranger to outer space or science fiction, and this title combines that with the topsy-turvy nature of the Next Men.

This shifts gears so many times that you have to go back and flip through what you had already read to make sure it lines up. You almost need a scorecard to tell who is playing who, and why. I think that it all evens out in the end...or does it?

Byrne's artwork has been great again these past few years, and I look forward to seeing what he does next: Doomsday.1.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4 out of 5.

The OCD zone- The covers are inserted in their proper chapter marker spots before each issue, something that IDW has not always done in the past. I am thankful that they have chosen to do it here and hope that it will become standard operating procedure.

Extras: By popular demand, I am adding a list of the extras included in all collected editions from here on out. People who buy the single issues are always curious if these books are worth upgrading to, so I will answer that question for them. I am all about people being able to make informed choices in their collected edition purchases and see this as a natural extension of The OCD zone. Unlike the other categories, I will not be rating the extras, as they are just that: extras.

The extras in this trade paperback are the incentive covers for issues 2 through 4. They are black and white versions of the regular covers.

Paper rating: 5 out of 5. Extremely thick glossy stock. Sweet smelling Korean ink.

Binding rating: 4 out of 5. Glued binding.

Cardstock cover coating rating: 5 out of 5. IDW has upped their game, using a high quality lamination for their cardstock covers.

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