There's a lot of great stuff in this collection, but it does lose something from the absence of Steve Rude in most of the issues. I think it shows how symbiotic the writer/artist relationship can be in comics that the plots and coherence do flag a bit in some of the non-Rude issues -- not that they aren't still great. Some great stuff in here, I'm especially fond of the planet of assassins and the weird superhero custody battle at the end. Also: the crazy magic library thing is a nerd's dream come true.