John Reiber truly make Tim Hunter into a character， but the second half of his run was never as strong as the first half， and that's what we have here。Auberon's Tale （BoF v2 #1-3）。 The story of the origins of Auberon as King of Faerie。 It's somewhat dry and historic， but the characters are beginning to grow on you by the end 。。。 just as it comes to an abrupt end [3+/5]。Rites of Passage II （BoM #32-38）。 The back end of the Rites of Passage arc is a peculiar muddle （especially as it was collected John Reiber truly make Tim Hunter into a character， but the second half of his run was never as strong as the first half， and that's what we have here。Auberon's Tale （BoF v2 #1-3）。 The story of the origins of Auberon as King of Faerie。 It's somewhat dry and historic， but the characters are beginning to grow on you by the end 。。。 just as it comes to an abrupt end [3+/5]。Rites of Passage II （BoM #32-38）。 The back end of the Rites of Passage arc is a peculiar muddle （especially as it was collected in the original trades， missing the relatively vital BoMA #2）。 After more of Tim's psychedelic travels through America， we are suddenly transported to Faerie。 We get two amazing issues of Molly， and then the story of Faerie itself， all of which is more appealing than the weirdness at the end of the previous volume。 In the end， Molly has a rite of passage and so does Faerie， but does Tim？ It's less obvious。 But less obvious is sometimes nice in comics [4/5]。Dark as Night （BoM A#1）。 The first Rites of Passage annual （though not labeled as such） is a neat trip into a dark realm， but it's most interesting because of the recurring story of Tamlin。 And it sets us on the road to Fairie， which is why it's great to finally have it back in its proper place [4/5]。Horn （BoM A#2）。 The second Rites of Passage annual （still not labeled as such） is more of the esoterica from later in the Rites of Passage arc， and that drags it down a little， but the story of the girl who Tim meets and how he perhaps helps her brings it back up [4/5]。Solitaire （#39）。 One of the pleasures of the original BoM was its deep look at DC's supernatural world， so it's great to return to that here with a look at godly blessings 。。。 and curses。 And it's great to have Zatanna back as well and our heroes finally reunited; all around， a satisfying one-off [4+/5]。The Motherless （#40）。 "Lost Boys" seems to be a recurring theme in Reiber's stories。 Here we get an intriguing story of American religious zealots and abandoned children that goes straight to the traditional "loss of innocence"。 Though we've seen it before， it's a good done-in-one [4/5]。Nothing Up My Sleeve （#41）。 One of the most interesting characteristics of Tim is that he can be a little sh**。 Which is why he's in such danger of becoming Evil Tim。 This one-off demonstrates how much that's true， and what massive repercussions it can have on his life， leading the way to Evil-Tim-Dragon land [4+/5]。The Bridge （#42）。 Tim's humanity has always been connected to Molly， and this story not only makes that clear once more， but also finally resolves the issue of that stupid tattoo and how it's been causing troubles ever since。 A nice quiet but critical one-off [4+/5]。King of This （#43）。 What's going on in London？ Reiber certainly doesn't handhold us in his storytelling， and as a result this is a neat mystery that reveals itself by the end [4+/5]。Slaves of Heaven （#44-49）。 Reiber at his worst was weird， meandering， and pointless， and this unfortunately trends in that directions。 There's a war in heaven， but it's all fake。 There are lots of consequences， but they're all reversed （but one）。 The only good thing about this plot is how many characters it brings back together， but there really doesn't seem to be a throughline here [3+/5]。The Box （#50）。 Ah， we get back one of Reiber's best characters for his finale， plus a final statement on what magic is。 Worthwhile [4/5]。Peter Gross' run of Books of Magic had never previously been collected。 I remember it as a terrific return to form after the weakness of the latter half of Reiber's run。 So how does it actually hold up？A Thousand Worlds of Tim Hunter （#51）。 Gross delightfully opens up with a much better integration with the whole Sandman universe， here including the Library of Dreaming and Lucien。 He also has a great conceit: not only does he explain what the Opener really is， but he also imagines a thousand Tim Hunters。 The only problem is that he mangles what Tim's Other is 。。。 but we'll just accept that it's a terminology problem。 It doesn't damage this otherwise great story [5/5]。Homecoming （#52）。 Gross takes a distinctive approach from Reiber's later style， telling a continuing story， but doing so in little bite sized pieces。 So， though this story continues the plot of Thomas Currie， come to protect or kill Tim， it has a nice homecoming to Tim's previous residence， with the traditional saying applying [4+/5]。The Good Fella （#63）。 What has Robin Goodfellow been up to？ This cute little story has the answer。 And great to have it in its proper place: Black Label has a good collections crew， unlike DC proper [4/5]。Bardsey Boys （#53-55）。 We finally get a few more closely connected issues， involving Cyril and Tim fighting at their new private school。 It's a really delightful trilogy that gives a real sense of place to Tim's story and also meaningfully expands their relations。 More importantly， it also brings Currie into the center of the story， with his origin n the final issue of this mini-arc， which is a delightful dark faerie tale [4/5]。The Last Molly Story （#56）。 It's a shame that Gross felt like he didn't have the remit to write more about Molly， because his depiction of her is picture-perfect。 Beyond that， this is a tragedy of loss: the loss of childhood， the loss of Molly， and that horrific thing at the end [5/5]。Holly & William's Tales （#57-60）。 Gross just doesn't let up。 We learn who Holly is， too late， and then we see the cascading repercussions of that。 Yikes！ [5/5]。A Thousand Deaths of Tim Hunter （A#3）。 A nice origin story for The Other， cutting across the Books of Magic we know and what we've learned of the Hunter to create an intriguing story。 And， it fades out to summary just before it would have gotten repetitive [4+/5]。Childhood's End （#61-62）。 A great end to Gross' first year of stories， as The Other 。。。 wins almost everything and Tim heads away from familiar haunts。 This is clearly Tim's nadir， when everything is at its worst， the mid-point of our story。 Amusing that we get Cyril's story amidst that。 [5+/5]。Books of Fairy: Molly's Tale。 Reiber returns for a final Book of Fairie， focused on Molly。 It always struck me as very different from the others， because it didn't talk about the history of the Realm like they did， and here it also feels like a diversion from the Tim story， which has gotten quite good。On its own， it's another chaotic sojourn through magic lands， as was the case for the latter parts of Reiber's BoM run。 It's great to see some old characters and to give them moments to shine， and it's great to see Molly's situation resolved。 But I'd rather be reading Gross' Books of Magic [3/5]。Heart of the Storm （#64-65）。 Again， Gross makes great use of the larger Sandman Universe with a new Reality Storm that's thrown open all the gates。 The result is a wonderful little two-issue duology with a great cast of characters who exemplify the weirdness of the universe 。。。 and who give Tim a chance to grow [5/5]。A Day， A Night， and a Dream （#66-67）。 A sweet story about Tim and his father and Tim and his only friend， and the continuing use of the Sandman Universe， as our story lies at one of the Free Houses and at the crossroads of that universe [4+/5]。The Hunt （#68-72）。 The penultimate arc of Gross' Books of Magic touches upon many things， including the fate of the Free House and the story of Joh。 They're great。 But in particular in focuses on The Hunt， who were freed by the Storm。 Their story is one part frightening and one part enlightening as to the nature of godhood in the Sandman Universe。 And the last issues， which set us up for the finale， have some magnificent twists [5/5]。The Closing （#73-75）。 Gross rather magnificently CLOSES the time loop created by Reiber in the Books of Magic， in a way that's first shocking， then clever。 It's a great conclusion to the series， and a niece look back at some characters of note。 What Reiber began magnificently before it trailed off， Gross closes just as grandly [5+/5]。Obviously， the answer was yes: Peter Gross' run on Books of Magic was at least as good as Reiber's， pretty magnificent overall， and the strong part of this volume。Hellblazer / Books of Magic。 This two-parter is more a Constantine story than a Tim story， but nonetheless Tim gets a chance to really shine， with an agency he often didn't have in Reiber's Books of Magic。 （Kind of a pity not to have this in its proper place， most likely at the end of the last volume， but I suspect the collectors didn't want to interrupt Tim's story with a John story。） [4/5] 。。。more