First Look : Showcase Presents Unknown Soldier Vol.1

First off, I am the only one finding that the quality of the paper has gone down since the start of the Showcase line ? I remember being VERY impressed by the whiteness of the pages of the first few books, but now the stock's grayish and thinner. In fact, it's very similar to the one Marvel's using for its Essentials. I know I shouldn't expect much at $17 for 500 pages, but DC spoiled me with the amazing production quality of Jonah Hex and Superman Vol.1... Anyway, I was eagerly awaiting this book ever since it was solicited way back this summer. I've always preferred the off-center showcases to the mainstream ones and I've been itching to read some other war stories between Haunted Tank's more repetitive tales.

Artwise the book looks great. Sure, Joe Kubert's the main draw, but let's not forget the other pencillers who also do a pretty nifty job on the art. Something I also noticed while glancing through the book was the cool format of many issues' introduction page. On each of these, a quick text explaining the setting of the story and a small drawing of a scene overlaps a collage of actual war photos. The use of photographs makes one realize that as entertaining as the fiction stories of the Unknown Soldier are, they came from a very real human tragedy. That is never to be forgotten...

I can't wait to read a couple of these stories to see if they live up to my hopes. I'll be back in a couple of days with some reviews.