Romeo and Juliet

Lee reportedly wanted to turn the most famous love story into a book superhero fans would enjoy. Hence Shakespeare's plot plays out in a future Verona where the Montagues have become megastrong cyborgs (a nice touch: bar codes on their cheeks) and the Capulets genetically enhanced humans of superior speed and agility. High-tech weaponry and gigantic guns equip the squabbling families, while Juliet reaches her deathlike state with a heart-slowing surgical implant. And in an allusion to suicide bombers, she kills herself not with a knife but by unlimbering a grenade. In one of the best touches, the holoscreen erected to transmit Juliet's funeral to throngs in the street also captures the last moments of the lovers, which prompts their stricken fathers to make peace at last. The art is simply gorgeous, with sweeping vistas and numerous balletlike fight scenes that, unfortunately, upstage the lovers' relationship.