The Ballad Of Halo Jones Volume 2
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- Create Date：2021-04-03 14:56:38
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Alan Moore
- ISBN：1781086362
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Summary
Comic legend Alan Moore’s highly-influential classic of British comics， presented to a new generation coloured and remastered for the very first time。
Bored and frustrated with her life in 50th-century leisure-ghetto housing estate ‘The Hoop’， 18-year-old everywoman Halo Jones yearns for the infinite sights and sounds of the universe。 Pledging to escape on a fantastic voyage， she sets in motion events unimaginable; a spell on a luxury space-liner， a brush with an interstellar war – Halo Jones faces hardship and adventure in the name of freedom in the limitless cosmos。
A galaxy-spanning story， comics’ first bona fide feminist space opera， and the first true epic to grace the bibliography of arguably the greatest comic book writer the world has ever known。
Bored and frustrated with her life in 50th-century leisure-ghetto housing estate ‘The Hoop’， 18-year-old everywoman Halo Jones yearns for the infinite sights and sounds of the universe。 Pledging to escape on a fantastic voyage， she sets in motion events unimaginable; a spell on a luxury space-liner， a brush with an interstellar war – Halo Jones faces hardship and adventure in the name of freedom in the limitless cosmos。
A galaxy-spanning story， comics’ first bona fide feminist space opera， and the first true epic to grace the bibliography of arguably the greatest comic book writer the world has ever known。
Reviews
▫️Ron S
，
Book Two picks up the pace a little from Book One， but it is a lateral change - and flows well from the first book to the next。 Now Halo， an average citizen from an overpopulated hoop （floating circular colony for the poor and unemployed） taking to the stars in a recommissioned ship that she's fantasized about escaping Earth on。 Her wish fulfilled， life is still on the mundane side - making a living serving the wealthier passengers and finding herself entangled in several mysteries and challenge Book Two picks up the pace a little from Book One， but it is a lateral change - and flows well from the first book to the next。 Now Halo， an average citizen from an overpopulated hoop （floating circular colony for the poor and unemployed） taking to the stars in a recommissioned ship that she's fantasized about escaping Earth on。 Her wish fulfilled， life is still on the mundane side - making a living serving the wealthier passengers and finding herself entangled in several mysteries and challenges。The threats and matters of consequence are less mundane now - but no less impacting and critical for Halo personally - - they do， however， impact more people this time - and her responsibilities are evolving。Halo Jones is definitely a book I didn't know I wanted or needed like I do。I hear "robot dog" and I think "K9"。 Toby is no K9。 My favorite character in this book is the noncharacter - and I am willing to bet that Kiff， from Futurama， has some of their DNA。 Ahead of its time。 Of course you knew that already - its Alan Moore。 。。。more
Ian
，
Having escaped the drudgery of life on the Hoop， Halo spends a year as a hostess on the classy passenger cruiser the Clara Pandy。 During the trip she desperately tries to catch the eye of the ship's cyberneticist， discovers the identity of the mysterious passenger in the Presidential Suite and has to flee for her life from someone she trusted。In Moore's introduction to this book he explains that his remit for this second volume of Halo's adventures， based on fan-feedback， was to have more action Having escaped the drudgery of life on the Hoop， Halo spends a year as a hostess on the classy passenger cruiser the Clara Pandy。 During the trip she desperately tries to catch the eye of the ship's cyberneticist， discovers the identity of the mysterious passenger in the Presidential Suite and has to flee for her life from someone she trusted。In Moore's introduction to this book he explains that his remit for this second volume of Halo's adventures， based on fan-feedback， was to have more action and tone down the futuristic slang which was so prevalent in the first volume， whilst， for himself， maintaining Halo's inherent ordinariness。 All of this is exactly what we get in this book and the tweaks in style are definitely to the good， making this a far more enjoyable read than the previous book。 There's a nice episodic feel to this book， with Halo having a series of mini-adventures across the course of her year aboard the Clara Pandy but without it ever affecting the overall coherence of the narrative。 Moore also gets to indulge his penchant for the bizarre and macabre a bit here and the revelation about who's in the Presidential Suite was a brilliant surprise that comes completely out of the blue。There's also a surprisingly deep sense of tragedy woven throughout this book which is epitomised by the story of Glyph， a person so non-descript that they're all but invisible。 Numerous times Glyph saves the day， only to be completely forgotten， even by Halo， shortly thereafter。 Although it's presented as an almost comically extreme case， there's a lot to relate to in this character who just wants to be noticed and have friends。* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2。webnode。com/ * 。。。more
Burcu
，
Volume two does a great job explaining and expanding this universe and building Halo Jones's character up。 Volume two does a great job explaining and expanding this universe and building Halo Jones's character up。 。。。more
Max Z
，
You see， I've spent 15 years researching this woman - and do you know what I've found out？ It's this。。。 SHE WASN'T ANYONE SPECIAL。This one details Halo's year-long journey on a luxury cruiser while working as a hostess。 Just like the first one， this could use more editing。 The first third can be safely thrown out， it's just padding。 After that it does get more interesting storywise and thankfully， Moore has stopped bombarding the reader with his invented lingo and doing it pretty rarely now。 It' You see， I've spent 15 years researching this woman - and do you know what I've found out？ It's this。。。 SHE WASN'T ANYONE SPECIAL。This one details Halo's year-long journey on a luxury cruiser while working as a hostess。 Just like the first one， this could use more editing。 The first third can be safely thrown out， it's just padding。 After that it does get more interesting storywise and thankfully， Moore has stopped bombarding the reader with his invented lingo and doing it pretty rarely now。 It's almost as if they've listened to the hypothetical angry letters in the 2000AD mail， hmmm。 Actually， the setting of the futuristic luxury ship is very accessible， too， there's nothing unique about it opposed to the Hoop that needs explanation。 The art and coloring still shine， too。 。。。more
Kam Yung Soh
，
The second book in the Ballad of Halo Jones， this one looks as Halo Jones' adventures about a space liner as it makes its one year journey towards a planned rendezvous with one of her friends。The stories range from the curious， like her ability to talk to the ship's navigator （which happens to be a dolphin）， her job as a waitress， being held hostage by people considered as terrorist by Earth， meeting one of the richest men on the ship and so on。But it is the stories about her relationships with The second book in the Ballad of Halo Jones， this one looks as Halo Jones' adventures about a space liner as it makes its one year journey towards a planned rendezvous with one of her friends。The stories range from the curious， like her ability to talk to the ship's navigator （which happens to be a dolphin）， her job as a waitress， being held hostage by people considered as terrorist by Earth， meeting one of the richest men on the ship and so on。But it is the stories about her relationships with her fellow shipmates that stand out。 One is a larger than life character who constantly struggles to find a machine that can take her on in arm wresting。 The other is an unusual person who is constantly ignored by everybody else due to him / her （we're never sure of the gender） efforts to fit it。Both of them would play key parts in the story when Halo discovers the awful truth about the tragedy that happened in the first book that lead her to go travelling on the ship。 Another key part of the story （although not revealed in this book） is her discovery of who is actually staying in a private suite and how her actions now would have repercussions in the future。When she finally gets to the rendezvous point， she also learns the truth about her friend who was suppose to be there。 Now alone， Halo will have to consider her future options。In this book， Halo Jones is portrayed as a more mature person， who discovers freedom and joy but also sadness and betrayal， just like the rest of us。 We'll have to see how she will deal with her life in the next book。 。。。more
Patrick
，
Halo Jones goes “Out” in the second volume。 I found it stronger then the first volume。 It relies a lot less on the “strange sci-fi world and jargon” that we had in the first volume， and more in Halo， her robot dog， and her one and half roommates， and the relationship between them。 Still a good read 30ish years later。
Stewart Tame
，
Book Two picks up right where Book One left off。 There's an initial chapter that provides a recap and spells out more plainly some of the concepts that were previously introduced， and then the rest is about Halo’s journey to the stars。In his introduction， Moore mentions reader complaints about his invented future slang being hard to follow， and the general lack of action in Book One。 Both aspects were slightly tweaked for Book Two， the change of setting making it easy to do so without being pain Book Two picks up right where Book One left off。 There's an initial chapter that provides a recap and spells out more plainly some of the concepts that were previously introduced， and then the rest is about Halo’s journey to the stars。In his introduction， Moore mentions reader complaints about his invented future slang being hard to follow， and the general lack of action in Book One。 Both aspects were slightly tweaked for Book Two， the change of setting making it easy to do so without being painfully obvious about it。 In general， the story seems a bit more interesting to me in this volume， and we start seeing callbacks to what we thought were just throwaway background elements in Book One。Halo Jones is admittedly on the low key side compared to much of Moore’s bibliography， but it will always hold a special place in my heart。 And I think that “Hot Digital Dog” is one of my all-time favorite 2000AD covers， though it loses something in black and white。 Recommended！ 。。。more
Jared Ball
，
Picking up right where the volume 1 left off， volume 2 picks up speed and pulls the reader deeper into the life of a ordinary girl on an extraordinary adventure。 But to Halo Jones it's just living。 Again Alan Moore's dialog is top notch and the plot twists are as surprising as they come。 Shout out to Ian Gibson's amazing art and I have forgot to mention that these 3 volumes are in color now and look wonderful。 A master class 5 stars。 Picking up right where the volume 1 left off， volume 2 picks up speed and pulls the reader deeper into the life of a ordinary girl on an extraordinary adventure。 But to Halo Jones it's just living。 Again Alan Moore's dialog is top notch and the plot twists are as surprising as they come。 Shout out to Ian Gibson's amazing art and I have forgot to mention that these 3 volumes are in color now and look wonderful。 A master class 5 stars。 。。。more
Darren Jones
，
Halo Jones’ adventures continue in volume 2 and it’s fantastic。 Originally published serialised in the weekly 2000AD comic book 406-415， Halo Jones was definitely an oddity amongst the mostly male marketed stories such as Judge Dredd， Slaine， ABC warriors and more。 It’s the story of an ordinary woman trying to lead an ordinary life。 Leaving behind the future slums of Earth and taking a job as a hostess on a intergalactic cruise liner， Halo discovers some unhappy truths and dark secrets as she co Halo Jones’ adventures continue in volume 2 and it’s fantastic。 Originally published serialised in the weekly 2000AD comic book 406-415， Halo Jones was definitely an oddity amongst the mostly male marketed stories such as Judge Dredd， Slaine， ABC warriors and more。 It’s the story of an ordinary woman trying to lead an ordinary life。 Leaving behind the future slums of Earth and taking a job as a hostess on a intergalactic cruise liner， Halo discovers some unhappy truths and dark secrets as she continues her adventures。This colorised edition is beautiful。 I was concerned about these as the original series was b&w when published but Barbara Nosenzo does a great job making the colours match the series and it does add to the experience。There is only one volume left of this groundbreaking series， there is always a hope that Alan Moore will continue this before it becomes one of the great unfinished what ifs of storytelling。 The three volumes are beautiful and will always be an important part of comic history but what if。。。 。。。more
Andrew
，
Just brilliant。 What a gorgeous little premise of a comic， from the best comic published in Britain （the absolutely insane and fantastic 2000AD， of which nearly every comic had a cover involving some mad hugely buffed mega alien/robot/death warrior armed to the teeth in front of an explosion engaging in orgies of ultraviolent mayhem， and was fucking brilliant because of it）。 For those who seem to have insisted on Moore being some kind of woman hating monster obsessed with raping and degrading wo Just brilliant。 What a gorgeous little premise of a comic， from the best comic published in Britain （the absolutely insane and fantastic 2000AD， of which nearly every comic had a cover involving some mad hugely buffed mega alien/robot/death warrior armed to the teeth in front of an explosion engaging in orgies of ultraviolent mayhem， and was fucking brilliant because of it）。 For those who seem to have insisted on Moore being some kind of woman hating monster obsessed with raping and degrading women， they seem to have forgot that he produced one of the best representations of female characters on comic book history。 And why is she so great？ Well， they say it in the beginning， "she wasn't anything special"。 And she's not。 She's just sweet。 She's friendly， a bit of a recluse （which meant I can sympathise with her alot especially the one about parties） she's working a shitty job， she has a friend that she bitches about stuff too， she's terrified in violent action scenes。 She's just。。。normal。 And that really makes it a joyous read， to see a character so utterly average as the star of a sci-fi space opera， set in a really well-formed and fleshed out world （I mean， it's Alan Moore， you really though he wouldn't manage to weave a beautifully crafted world jam packed with ideas and details？）。 Plots are simple， mostly about odd or somewhat bad events going on， including a hybrid rat creature working as the president of a ship， her robot dog going mad， and trying to go on dates， but they do have an overarching plot towards the end。 The kind of punky， awkward artwork， full of weird looking people and a kind of pseudo-retro Jetsons look is great， and the luscious colour added to the frames in this addition really give the comic a huge punch， elevating it all to something truly alive and vibrant。 。。。more
Richard
，
Halo Jones is a heroine for any age。 The writing is pin-sharp， the art is evocative and dynamic， and - for the first time in these editions - the colours are wonderfully rich and add depth to every image。This collection is a must for any fan of graphic novels， sci-fi， coming-of-age （and beyond）， well-plotted anti-war and dystopian stories and， well， almost anyone。
Keith
，
Oookay。 So I read this book because Garden said she wanted to talk about it and I found the 3-volume set at Comic-Con for half price， and there you are。The simplest thing to say is that none of the things you'll read about it -- 'epic，' 'groundbreaking，' 'feminist，' even dare I say 'good' -- are actually things that it is until the third volume， but the first two volumes are short and like， honestly， it doesn't matter what I write here， you'll read them and wonder why anyone bothered recommendin Oookay。 So I read this book because Garden said she wanted to talk about it and I found the 3-volume set at Comic-Con for half price， and there you are。The simplest thing to say is that none of the things you'll read about it -- 'epic，' 'groundbreaking，' 'feminist，' even dare I say 'good' -- are actually things that it is until the third volume， but the first two volumes are short and like， honestly， it doesn't matter what I write here， you'll read them and wonder why anyone bothered recommending it to you。 Here， look， I'm just going to spoil the plots of the first two books because nothing happens and they're kind of terrible until you get to the third book anyway。The Ballad of Halo Jones， Volume One: Halo Jones goes shopping。Volume 2 （this one）: Halo Jones gets a job on a cruise ship。I mean， like， that is basically it。 Volume 1 takes place in about 6 hours of story time and nothing happens until the last two pages。 It's supposed to just be about "women being women" or something， according to Moore in the afterword， but it's bogus。 It's dreck。 Find it for five bucks or less if you can。Volume 2 is mildly better because， like， a few things happen， but they're sort of inconsequential and basically unconnected from one another。 The most interesting part of the book is its prologue， which starts to paint a picture of the world of poverty which Halo escaped in the previous book。 And like， a few other interesting things happen， but most of them aren't clearly interesting until either the last few pages of Volume 2， or once you get rolling on Volume 3。And oohhhh， Volume 3。If Volumes 2 and 3 are what it's like to watch the original X-Men movies 20 years later， Volume 3 is what it's like to get your face blasted off by Logan。 But better， really -- it's all the anti-war and anti-corporate sentiment of Starship Troopers and Apocalypse Now。 It's just dark -- incredibly dark， painfully dark， the kind of truth-in-darkness that has come up through time to the inky black hell that is life in 2019 to sort of explode。Halo Jones is fucking genius， but， like its titular character， it takes a looooong time to come to fruition。 It is a painful book to read while living in the world we have been doomed to， but that is perhaps what makes it most sublime。 。。。more
Maria
，
I enjoyed this one more than the first one。 We learn more about the characters from the last book， and we are introduced to many new characters。 The most intriguing one for me is the person who changed their gender so many times that they have no gender or personality now。。。although the person still has very strong feelings。 And my sympathy。 I also enjoy the strong feminist bent of this series。
Adriana
，
A solid follow-up volume with more adventures and bizarre situations for Halo Jones to find herself in。 There's a couple of really surprising plot twists and some underlying messages that might pass some readers by but really hit you hard if you pay attention to them。 I'm still deeply hating the coloring they chose to use。 Why mess with the impact of the gorgeous original black and white？ A solid follow-up volume with more adventures and bizarre situations for Halo Jones to find herself in。 There's a couple of really surprising plot twists and some underlying messages that might pass some readers by but really hit you hard if you pay attention to them。 I'm still deeply hating the coloring they chose to use。 Why mess with the impact of the gorgeous original black and white？ 。。。more
Jordi
，
The second book only gets better。 With a witty sense of humor， highlights are the memorable “non-entity” character， and the strange turn of events between Toby and Halo （the artwork by Ian Gibson there gets just incredible）。 The cryptic futuristic jargon also gets toned down a bit， which helps to the storytelling。Good stuff。
Jodhi Hoani
，
This one I liked。 Promethea， not so much。 But that's another review。 For now， I liked it。 （Not really a review - I do recommend you read it if you haven't … it will be half an hour of your life well spent）。 Promethea， not so much … This one I liked。 Promethea， not so much。 But that's another review。 For now， I liked it。 （Not really a review - I do recommend you read it if you haven't … it will be half an hour of your life well spent）。 Promethea， not so much … 。。。more
Ramon
，
Halo Jones' storied life continues， with more sadness and heartbreak in store for our intrepid heroine。 Halo Jones' storied life continues， with more sadness and heartbreak in store for our intrepid heroine。 。。。more
Stefan Dziewanowski
，
The world gets more fleshed out in prep for the tour de force of book three and life continues to tease and taunt the starry eyed Mz Jones。 If you like comics， just read this series already。
Jamie
，
Surprisingly heartbreaking。
Macha
，
3 and a half stars。 this edition isn't nearly as good as the much bulkier， glossier original book edition Rebellion issued in 2009 in marvellous black and white。 although the story's okay， this part is really just a minor adventure in the long arc of Halo Jones。 the draw（？） of this three-volume set is that it has been colourized， which is actually disappointing as it lessens the impact of Ian Gibson's sharply etched penwork。 a better choice would have been for Rebellion to re-print the 1909 vers 3 and a half stars。 this edition isn't nearly as good as the much bulkier， glossier original book edition Rebellion issued in 2009 in marvellous black and white。 although the story's okay， this part is really just a minor adventure in the long arc of Halo Jones。 the draw（？） of this three-volume set is that it has been colourized， which is actually disappointing as it lessens the impact of Ian Gibson's sharply etched penwork。 a better choice would have been for Rebellion to re-print the 1909 version of the whole （absolutely essential） Halo Jones saga。 。。。more
Calvin Daniels
，
2。5 quirky but underwhelming。
Michael
，
This is an amazing story about an ordinary girl who ends up in truly extraordinary situations。 It takes place in the far future where distant space-travel is possible and man co-exists with a number of intelligent alien races。 In Volume 2 Alan Moore drops you onto an interplanetary luxury cruise liner， where Halo Jones works as a hostess in order to get away from her home。 The ship features a rich cast of characters and dramatic situations that come together as if Douglas Adams wrote The Fifth E This is an amazing story about an ordinary girl who ends up in truly extraordinary situations。 It takes place in the far future where distant space-travel is possible and man co-exists with a number of intelligent alien races。 In Volume 2 Alan Moore drops you onto an interplanetary luxury cruise liner， where Halo Jones works as a hostess in order to get away from her home。 The ship features a rich cast of characters and dramatic situations that come together as if Douglas Adams wrote The Fifth Element。 If that makes sense。 Which it totally does。 The story arc across all three volumes reminded me in a way of Piers Anthony's Bio of a Space Tyrant。 It's a story of an ordinary person who becomes noteworthy （notorious？） simply by surviving a number of extraordinary circumstances。 Except I give Halo Jones 5 well-deserved stars。 Awesome！ 。。。more
D。M。
，
The powers of Alan Moore begin to evidence themselves more fully here than in the previous book。 Throughout book two are sprinkled little titbits that only the most casual reader would not expect to come back later in the Ballad。 The question is， as always， how will Moore work them all together。 Already in this volume we receive a major payoff related to the death of a housemate in book one， and it does come as fairly unexpected。Ian Gibson's art is still not appealing to me， but at least he's co The powers of Alan Moore begin to evidence themselves more fully here than in the previous book。 Throughout book two are sprinkled little titbits that only the most casual reader would not expect to come back later in the Ballad。 The question is， as always， how will Moore work them all together。 Already in this volume we receive a major payoff related to the death of a housemate in book one， and it does come as fairly unexpected。Ian Gibson's art is still not appealing to me， but at least he's consistent。。。kind of。 His work ranges from heavily black to slightly more than sketchy at times （the latter usually devoted to closeups）。In contrast to the first part， though， this part left me eager for the next book。This edition contains an entertaining and informative introduction by the author， illustrated with developmental sketches by Gibson。 Also included is a 2000AD pinup and Jones-featured covers of the mag， all in black and white。 。。。more
Steven
，
Sci-fi and shopping。 Halo was fun。
Rich
，
An interesting read。 Fun， but I think it suffers froms some of the pacing that comes in a short weekly strip。 I want more。
Lindsay
，
Much better than Book 1。 Less slang， more action and build up， and an overall easier read。 The story is getting better and there is more comedy and fun which I'm a fan of。 A very solid main character， quite normal but things seem to happen in her life that make it a bit exciting especially in this intriguing post apocalyptic world she lives in。 The main character makes me want to know more about the story but comparing her to the other comics and characters out there I don't think she would make Much better than Book 1。 Less slang， more action and build up， and an overall easier read。 The story is getting better and there is more comedy and fun which I'm a fan of。 A very solid main character， quite normal but things seem to happen in her life that make it a bit exciting especially in this intriguing post apocalyptic world she lives in。 The main character makes me want to know more about the story but comparing her to the other comics and characters out there I don't think she would make my top 10。 I dont see her being so special to me yet。 Hopefully Book 3 will change that。 。。。more
Timo
，