We all have trade paperback (TPB) collections we'd like to see. Here's one of mine:

Covers (click to enlarge):

....

It's my dad's birthday today, and since he's a retired policeman and sheriff's deputy, I thought I'd take a look at a title that intrigued me back in 1992: Cops: The Job. I have yet to get to read all four issues of this series, and would love to have it in TPB, so that I could put it on my bookshelf. It's just what it appears to be - a comic about cops doing their job. More specifically, the main character is a female rookie cop, and it follows her and her experienced partner as they patrol the city.

I've always liked this title, because I've never thought that honest, hardworking cops who are good at their job get their proper due in comics (as I discussed in my blog, A Cop's Kid's Thoughts on Cops in Comics). Marvel attempted to do just that with this title, without the boost of heartfelt pride in our civil servants that 9/11 gave us for the Call of Duty titles. Moreover, Cops: The Job is notable, because it predates the more popular Call of Duty: The Precinct (as well as CoD: The Brotherhood and CoD: The Wagon) by ten years. Props to Marvel for trying to spotlight real life heroes, in the midst of all their long underwear types.

For the cover, I'd go with the cover to #4. It doesn't have one of those freaky criminal faces in the background, and it avoids the "sex sells" cover of #1. Honestly, it might help this TPB sell to use the #1 cover, but it's a gratuitous picture. Sexiness didn't figure into the story. If they could drop the face from the background, the cover to #2 would be more exciting.

Would you buy it? Let me know in the comments, and thanks for reading. Happy birthday, dad - you're always going to be my hero.

*******

*******

Thanks again!