We all have regrets and moments we wish we could undo; choices we oftentimes make while trying to be cool in our tender, younger years. Harvey Briscow has such a regret in his life, a defining moment that sets the stage for his lifeless future. Now with his 20-year-old high school reunion looming over him, he's forced to relive that fateful day in 1982. The day he traded his first edition Superman One comic to an outcast boy nicknamed "Bleeder" Odd for a piece of worthless plastic tubing.

Not much has changed since that day, except now Harvey has turned his comic book fanaticism into his own comic bookstore. Inaction Comix sits dusty and rusty in London and the name pretty much sums up his life; a life that is going nowhere fast. With only Josh, his lone employee, and a steady diet of booze, fast food and cigarettes to break up the monotony of his day, it's no wonder Harvey is fixated on that Odd trade. After all, if he had his legendary comic in his hands today, he could have sold it for upwards of 100,000 pounds. Curiosity and boredom are a powerful combination that find him going to the reunion he had planned on shunning, all in the hopes of running into the Odd boy and perhaps recover his ill-fated swap. Once there, Harvey sees Odd, now a thriving, successful financier who only has the vaguest recollection of the day that haunts Harvey like a bad case of the plague.

Fickle fate steps in and the quest for the illusive comic turns up more than Harvey bargains for. Murder, mayhem, mischief and mystery are but a few things this down-on-his- luck kinda guy gets served with, as he has an uncanny knack for stirring up trouble in even the most unlikely spots. Is any comic book worth this kind of grief? Well, Harvey would probably say...yes.

THE SWAP is a mix of twisted comedy and dry British wit, threaded with a liberal lacing of thriller to hold it all together. It has its moments, and in these moments it shines with intrigue and humor. However, knowing a few comic book geeks the way I do, somehow Harvey just doesn't seem to ring true at times, leaving me to wonder if Mr. Moore really understands the world of which he has written. Additionally, for me, the ending leaves a lot to be desired. Yet, it is highly original and therefore worth the time it takes to read.