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› Find signed collectible books: 'Absolute Dark Knight'
Written by Frank Miller Art by Miller & Klaus Janson Cover by Miller Reoffered to coincide with the ABSOLUTE RONIN HC, this oversized, slipcased hardcover collects both THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS and THE DARK KNIGHT STRIKES AGAIN, along with bonus sketch material and more. Hailed as a comics masterpiece, Frank Miller's THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS - and its equally provocative sequel THE DARK KNIGHT STRIKES AGAIN - get the oversized Absolute treatment in a giant one-volume, slipcased edition! This Absolute edition features an extended sketch section from THE DARK KNIGHT STRIKES AGAIN with commentary by Miller, a look at the plot and pencils from the legendary finale to THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, a new introduction by Miller, striking new cover and slipcase art by Miller, and more! On sale July 2 - 8.25" x 12.5", 512 pg, FC, $99.99 US - RELIST [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Absolute Sandman'
THE SANDMAN, written by New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman, was the most acclaimed comic book title of the 1990s. A rich blend of modern myth and dark fantasy in which contemporary fiction, historical drama and legend are seamlessly interwoven, THE SANDMAN is also widely considered one of the most original and artistically ambitious series of the modern age. By the time it concluded in 1996, it had made significant contributions to the artistic maturity of comic books and become a pop culture phenomenon in its own right.
Now, DC Comics is proud to present this comics classic in an all-new Absolute Edition format. The first of four beautifully designed slipcased volumes, THE ABSOLUTE SANDMAN VOL. 1 collects issues 1-20 of The Sandman and features completely new coloring, approved by the author, on the first 18 issues, as well as a host of never-before-seen extra material, including the complete original Sandman Proposal, a gallery of character designs from Gaiman and the artists who originated the look of the Sandman, and the original script to the World Fantasy Award-winning THE SANDMAN #19, "A Midsummer Nights Dream," together with reproductions of the issues original pencils by Charles Vess. Also included are a new introduction by DCs president Paul Levitz and a new afterword by Gaiman. [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'All Hell's A-Coming'
It's trite but true: you can't keep a good man down. Holier-than-anyone Jesse Custer comes back from the dead--or wherever--in the eighth collection of Preacher, All Hell's A-Coming. Garth Ennis's knack for developing characters slowly and almost effortlessly pays off more and more with each issue, and by now Custer, his lover Tulip, and his vampire friend Cassidy are as complex as anyone you're likely to meet. The story arc focuses on Tulip's own resurrection from her unlife of booze, drugs, and Cassidy as she reunites with the Preacher, and this powerful tale doesn't require any superheroic conflict to affect the readers. (Fans of the Voice will be disappointed to learn that it's only used once, in an amusing throwaway scene.) As this develops, the nefarious Grail suffers from internal struggle, and poor Arseface finds himself on the backside of fame, setting the stage for plenty of future weirdness. In addition to the regular collected issues, All Hell's A-Coming includes the one-shot "Tall in the Saddle," a fast-moving story from Jesse, Amy, and Tulip's younger days. If you've never met the Preacher, isn't it about time you found the fear of God? --Rob Lightner [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Batman : The Dark Knight Returns'
Whether you grew up reading Batman comics, watched the campy television show, or eagerly await each new movie, this is the book for you. A retelling of the events that led to Bruce Wayne's becoming Batman, this book combines Frank Miller's tight film-noir writing with David Mazucchelli's solid artwork. [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again'
If any comic has a claim to have truly reinvigorated the genre then The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller--known recently for his excellent Sin City series and, previously, for his superb rendering of the blind superhero Daredevil--is probably the supreme contender. Batman represented all that was wrong in comics and Miller set himself a tough task taking on the camp crusader and turning this laughable, innocuous children's cartoon character into a hero for our times. In his introduction the great Alan Moore (V for Vendetta, Swamp Thing, the arguably peerless Watchmen) argues that only someone of Miller's stature could have done this. Batman is a character known well beyond the confines of the comic world (as are his retinue) and so reinventing him, while keeping his limiting core essentials intact, was a huge task.
Miller went far beyond the call of duty. The Dark Knight is a success on every level. Firstly it does keep the core elements of the Batman myth intact, with Robin, Alfred the butler, Commissioner Gordon and the old roster of villains, present yet brilliantly subverted. Secondly the artwork is fantastic--detailed, sometimes claustrophobic, psychotic. Lastly it's a great story: Gotham City is a hell on earth, streetgangs roam but there are no heroes. Decay is ubiquitous. Where is a hero to save Gotham? It is 10 years since the last recorded sighting of the Batman. And things have got worse than ever. Bruce Wayne is close to being a broken man but something is keeping him sane: the need to see change and the belief that he can orchestrate some of that change. Batman is back. The Dark Knight has returned. Awesome. --Mark Thwaite [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Batman, Green Arrow'
A deadly plague threatens the world, Black Canary is on her deathbed, and Poison Ivy is responsible. Batman and Green Arrow must team-up to avert disaster. Prestige format one-shot, written by Dennis O'Neil with pencils by Michael Netzer and inks by Joe Rubenstein. [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Bone: Out from Boneville'
After being run out of Boneville, the three Bone cousins, Fone Bone, Phoney Bone and Smiley Bone, are separated and lost in a vast uncharted desert. One by one, they find their way into a deep, forested valley filled with wonderful and terrifying creatures." So begins Smith's charming masterpiece. Like the best Disney and Warner Brothers cartoons combined, Bone had me laughing out loud. I firmly believe that once you read Bone you're hooked for life. The beautiful hardcover packaging is well worth the extra money. [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Dark Knight Returns'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Death: The High Cost of Living'
Written by Neil Gaiman; Art by Chris Bachalo, Mark Buckingham, and others Death incarnate, as defined by master storyteller Neil Gaiman (THE SANDMAN), is a genuinely likeable young girl with a fondness for ankhs who truly cares about people. It's small wonder then that when a rising star of the music world wrestles with revealing her true sexual orientation just as her lover is lured into the realm of Death that Death herself should make an appearance. A practical, honest, and intelligent story that illuminates "the miracle of death." [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Death: The High Cost of Living'
Teenager Sexton Furnival is contemplating suicide when he is befriended by death. Death herself is being hunted by evil forces which prey on her new vulnerability now that she is human. Meanwhile, Mad Hettie threatens to kill Death's suicidal friend if Death won't help her find her heart. [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Elementary Swordplay and Broadsword-Play'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Fables'
FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'A Game of You'
You may have heard somewhere that Neil Gaiman's Sandman series consisted of cool, hip, edgy, smart comic books. And you may have thought, "What the hell does that mean?" Enter A Game of You to confound the issue even more, while at the same time standing as a fine example of such a description. This is not an easy book. The characters are dense and unique, while their observations are, as always with Gaiman, refreshingly familiar. Then there's the plot, which grinds along like a coffee mill, in the process breaking down the two worlds of this series, that of the dream and that of the dreamer. Gaiman pushes these worlds to their very extremes--one is a fantasy world with talking animals, a missing princess, and a mysterious villain called the Cuckoo; the other is an urban microcosm inhabited by a drag queen, a punk lesbian couple, and a New York doll named Barbie. In almost every way this book sits at 180 degrees from the earlier four volumes of the Sandman series--although the less it seems to belong to the series, the more it shows its heart. --Jim Pascoe [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Homelands'
Collecting issues #34-41 of writer Bill Willingham's Eisner Award-winning creation, HOMELANDS follows Boy Blue on a mission of revenge as he uncovers the Adversary's true identity! Plus, the 2-part story of Jack's adventures in Hollywood and the one-shot story of Mowgli's return to Fabletown. [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'
Alan Moore and Kevin ONeills epic Victorian adventure continues in grand fashion as our intrepid band of heroesMina Murray, Allan Quatermain, Captain Nemo, Mr. Edward Hyde, Dr. Thomas Jekyll and the Invisible Man (a.k.a. Hawley Griffin)once again must face a most dire threatbut this time its not just the fate of an empire that hangs in the balance, but that of the entire world! The first volume contains the thrilling graphic novel, complete with the Almanac of fantastic places, and the second contains Alan Moores entire script for the graphic novel, a rare and wonderful treat for any fan of sequential storytelling. This two-volume hardcover set is enclosed within an attractive slipcase. [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'
Proving that mainstream comics could be infused with past literary/cultural ideals and still be bestsellers, the America's Best Comics imprint took the dilapidated superhero genre and created three vastly entertaining hybrids with Tom Strong, Promethea and Top Ten. Now, a stunning coup de grace is delivered with this masterful pairing of Victorian adventure fiction's greatest characters and the old war-horse of the super-group. With the stunning The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, it would be no exaggeration to say that Alan Moore has produced a near-perfect piece of adventure fiction that is clever, literate, rich with excitement and hard to put down.
It's 1898 and at the behest of M, the mysterious head of the secret Service, Campion Bond is dispatched to procure the services of Miss Mina Murray (nee Harker), adventurer Allan Quartermain, "Science-Pirate" Captain Nemo, Henry Jekyll (and his monstrous alter ego) and Hawley Griffin (a.k.a. the Invisible Man). Together, they must combat an insidious threat that will decide supremacy of the London skies, but their success may unleash a far greater threat. With no shortage of action, Moore and O' Neill sustain a high level of suspense, intrigue, mystery and terrific wit that all contribute to an indispensable read. O'Neill's art, so memorable in Marshal Law, produces a London filled with vivid, magnificent architecture and a malevolent atmosphere ripe with thrills and danger. An unmitigated triumph--pure and simple. --Danny Graydon [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'League of Extraordinary Gentlemen 1898'
Proving that mainstream comics could be infused with past literary/cultural ideals and still be bestsellers, the America's Best Comics imprint took the dilapidated superhero genre and created three vastly entertaining hybrids with Tom Strong, Promethea and Top Ten. Now, a stunning coup de grace is delivered with this masterful pairing of Victorian adventure fiction's greatest characters and the old war-horse of the super-group. With the stunning The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, it would be no exaggeration to say that Alan Moore has produced a near-perfect piece of adventure fiction that is clever, literate, rich with excitement and hard to put down.
It's 1898 and at the behest of M, the mysterious head of the secret Service, Campion Bond is dispatched to procure the services of Miss Mina Murray (nee Harker), adventurer Allan Quartermain, "Science-Pirate" Captain Nemo, Henry Jekyll (and his monstrous alter ego) and Hawley Griffin (a.k.a. the Invisible Man). Together, they must combat an insidious threat that will decide supremacy of the London skies, but their success may unleash a far greater threat. With no shortage of action, Moore and O' Neill sustain a high level of suspense, intrigue, mystery and terrific wit that all contribute to an indispensable read. O'Neill's art, so memorable in Marshal Law, produces a London filled with vivid, magnificent architecture and a malevolent atmosphere ripe with thrills and danger. An unmitigated triumph--pure and simple. --Danny Graydon [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Legends in Exile'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Marvel 1602'
All's not well in the Marvel Universe in the year 1602 as strange storms are brewing and strange new powers are emerging! Spider-Man, the X-Men, Nick Fury, Dr. Strange, Daredevil, Dr. Doom, Black Widow, Captain America, and more appear in the waning days of the reign of Queen Elizabeth. As the world begins to change and enter into a new age, Gaiman weaves a thrilling mystery. How and why are these Marvel stars appearing nearly 400 years before they're supposed to? Collects Marvel 1602 #1-8. [via]
› Find signed collectible books: 'Marvel 1602 HC Gaiman Cover'
All's not well in the Marvel Universe in the year 1602 as strange storms are brewing and strange new powers are emerging! Spider-Man, the X-Men, Nick Fury, Dr. Strange, Daredevil, Dr. Doom, Black Widow, Captain America, and more appear in the waning days of the reign of Queen Elizabeth. As the world begins to change and enter into a new age, Gaiman weaves a thrilling mystery. How and why are these Marvel stars appearing nearly 400 years before they're supposed to? Collects Marvel 1602 #1-8. [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Maus: A Survivor's Tale My Father Bleeds History/Her My Troubles Began/Boxed'
NA [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Maus a Survivors Tale: My Father Bleeds History'
Some historical events simply beggar any attempt at description--the Holocaust is one of these. Therefore, as it recedes and the people able to bear witness die, it becomes more and more essential that novel, vigorous methods are used to describe the indescribable. Examined in these terms, Art Spiegelman's Maus is a tremendous achievement, from a historical perspective as well as an artistic one.
Spiegelman, a stalwart of the underground comics scene of the 1960s and '70s, interviewed his father, Vladek, a Holocaust survivor living outside New York City, about his experiences. The artist then deftly translated that story into a graphic novel. By portraying a true story of the Holocaust in comic form--the Jews are mice, the Germans cats, the Poles pigs, the French frogs, and the Americans dogs--Spiegelman compels the reader to imagine the action, to fill in the blanks that are so often shied away from. Reading Maus, you are forced to examine the Holocaust anew.
This is neither easy nor pleasant. However, Vladek Spiegelman and his wife Anna are resourceful heroes, and enough acts of kindness and decency appear in the tale to spur the reader onward (we also know that the protagonists survive, else reading would be too painful). This first volume introduces Vladek as a happy young man on the make in pre-war Poland. With outside events growing ever more ominous, we watch his marriage to Anna, his enlistment in the Polish army after the outbreak of hostilities, his and Anna's life in the ghetto, and then their flight into hiding as the Final Solution is put into effect. The ending is stark and terrible, but the worst is yet to come--in the second volume of this Pulitzer Prize-winning set. --Michael Gerber [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Maus a Survivors Tale: And Here My Troubles Begin'
Acclaimed as a "quiet triumph"* and a "brutally moving work of art,"** the first volume of Art Spiegelman's Maus introduced readers to Vladek Spiegelman, a Jewish survivor of Hitler's Europe, and his son, a cartoonist trying to come to terms with his father, his father's terrifying story, and History itself. Its form, the cartoon (the Nazis are cats, the Jews mice), succeeds perfectly in shocking us out of any lingering sense of familiarity with the events described, approaching, as it does, the unspeakable through the diminutive. As the New York Times Book Review commented," [it is] a remarkable feat of documentary detail and novelistic vividness...an unfolding literary event."
This long-awaited sequel, subtitled And Here My Troubles Began, moves us from the barracks of Auschwitz to the bungalows of the Catskills. Genuinely tragic and comic by turns, it attains a complexity of theme and a precision of thought new to comics and rare in any medium. Maus ties together two powerful stories: Vladek's harrowing tale of survival against all odds, delineating the paradox of daily life in the death camps, and the author's account of his tortured relationship with his aging father.
Vladek's troubled remarriage, minor arguments between father and son, and life's everyday disappointments are all set against a backdrop of history too large to pacify. At every level this is the ultimate survivor's tale -- and that too of the children who somehow survive even the survivors. [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Out from Boneville'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Preacher'
In and of itself, the story of a man with one foot in Heaven and one foot in Hell is hardly original. But in the hands of Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon, the story of Jesse Custer becomes a blasphemous masterpiece seething with originality. Custer is a former Texas minister who was joined with a spiritual being called "Genesis." Now Custer is on a journey to find God, but not in the traditional enlightenment sense. I mean track Him down and give Him a piece of his mind. Along for the journey are his gun-friendly girlfriend and his Irish punk vampire buddy. Until the End of the World starts with a flashback to Jesse's childhood, when he watched his father get shot in the head. That kicks off "All in the Family," the first of two stories in this collection. The second story, "Hunters," features the character Jesus de Sade. Yes, even if you've known for years how hip and cool comics are, you won't believe you're reading something this outrageous. And as Kevin Smith points out in his introduction, this is one book "that actually surpasses its hype." --Jim Pascoe [via]
› Find signed collectible books: 'Preacher Alamo'
Written by Garth Ennis; Art by Steve Dillon and Glenn Fabry A new edition of the classic trade paperback featuring PREACHER #59-66, the final chapter in the Preacher storyline and the conclusion of Jesse Custer's quest to literally find God and take Him to task for the world's injustices. As the Preacher's crusade draws to an end, all of the players converge at the Alamo for a final showdown. With the love of his life, Tulip, by his side, Jesse makes his last stand against all of his enemies, including the Irish vampire known as Cassidy, whom he used to call friend. But as the dust settles in the Texas desert, no one can believe how this epic battle of good versus evil will end. [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Preacher Ancient History'
While technically the fourth book in the Preacher series, Ancient History isn't part of the main Preacher story line and doesn't even use any of the main characters (Reverend Jesse Custer, his girlfriend, Tulip, and his vampire buddy Cassidy). Instead, this collection of side stories delves into the freakish, perverse, and downright mythic supporting characters. The main feature is the 106-page demonic Western featuring the "Saint of Killers." In many ways this guy--and the spirit of the ruthless frontier he represents--is the soul of the Preacher series. Writer Garth Ennis said, taking all of the characters of the series into account, "I felt one more character was needed to round out the cast: someone who would directly represent the Old West, who had walked straight out of history, and who brought with him the horror and terror of those times." If this is the soul of the book, then its heart is the "Story of You Know Who," a reference to the character Arseface, whose self-imposed shotgun wound to the face has left him rather disfigured. This boy's abusive family is so overblown, his tragedy so all-encompassing, that a lesser writer would let this swerve into complete silliness. Ennis's talent is to pull pathos out of such outrageousness. He succeeds here again. --Jim Pascoe [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Preacher Dixie Fried'
Written by Garth Ennis Art by Steve Dillon Cover by Glenn Fabry A new edition of the trade paperback featuring PREACHER #28-33. Jesse faces off against an enraged Arseface who seeks to avenge his father's death, while Tulip deals with Cassidy's startling declaration of love for her. [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Preacher Proud Americans'
The Reverend Jesse Custer is a Texas minister who swears worse than a sailor and is not above killing people who get in his way. One might say he's lost his faith. No, he's just looking for God, and when he finds Him... Proud Americans is another sick and fun addition to the Preacher series. This book contains three story lines: One, a short tale about Custer's father in Vietnam. Two, a recounting of the transformation of Custer's Irish buddy Cassidy into a vampire and his coming to America. And three, the conclusion to the story begun in Preacher: Until the End of the World, the story of the angelic mafia (known as the Grail) who have come after Reverend Custer and the secret power inside him called "Genesis." --Jim Pascoe [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Salvation'
Written by Garth Ennis Art by Steve Dillon Cover by Glenn Fabry A new edition of the classic collection featuring PREACHER #41-50, in which Jesse Custer becomes the sheriff of a troubled Texas town. This volume includes a cover gallery and reprints issue #50's pin-ups of the PREACHER cast by Jim Lee, Fabry, Tim Bradstreet, John McCrea, Doug Mahnke, and more. [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Sandman 3: Dream Country'
The third book of the Sandman collection is a series of four short comic book stories. What's remarkable here (considering the publisher and the time that this was originally published) is that the main character of the book--the Sandman, King of Dreams--serves only as a minor character in each of these otherwise unrelated stories. (Actually, he's not even in the last story.) This signaled a couple of important things in the development of what is considered one of the great comics of the second half of the century. First, it marked a distinct move away from the horror genre and into a more fantasy-rich, classical mythology-laden environment. And secondly, it solidly cemented Neil Gaiman as a storyteller. One of the stories here, "A Midsummer Night's Dream," took home the World Fantasy Award for best short story--the first time a comic was given that honor. But for my money, another story in Dream Country has it beat hands down. "A Dream of a Thousand Cats" has such hope, beauty, and good old-fashioned chills that rereading it becomes a welcome pleasure. --Jim Pascoe [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Sandman 4: Season of Mists'
In many ways, Season of Mists is the pinnacle of the Sandman experience. After a brief intermission of four short stories (collected as Dream Country) Gaiman continued the story of the Dream King that he began in the first two volumes. Here in volume 4, we find out about the rest of Dream's Endless family (Desire, Despair, Destiny, Delirium, Death, and a seventh missing sibling). We find out the story behind Nada, Dream's first love, whom we met only in passing during Dream's visit to hell in the first book. When Dream goes back to hell to resolve unfinished business with Nada, he finds her missing along with all of the other dead souls. The answer to this mystery lies in Lucifer's most uncharacteristic decision--a delicious surprise.
There is something grandiose about this story, in which each chapter ends with such suspense and drive to read the next. This book is best summed up by a toast taken from the second chapter: "To absent friends, lost loves, old gods, and the season of mists; and may each and every one of us always give the devil his due." --Jim Pascoe [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Sandman 5: A Game of You'
You may have heard somewhere that Neil Gaiman's Sandman series consisted of cool, hip, edgy, smart comic books. And you may have thought, "What the hell does that mean?" Enter A Game of You to confound the issue even more, while at the same time standing as a fine example of such a description. This is not an easy book. The characters are dense and unique, while their observations are, as always with Gaiman, refreshingly familiar. Then there's the plot, which grinds along like a coffee mill, in the process breaking down the two worlds of this series, that of the dream and that of the dreamer. Gaiman pushes these worlds to their very extremes--one is a fantasy world with talking animals, a missing princess, and a mysterious villain called the Cuckoo; the other is an urban microcosm inhabited by a drag queen, a punk lesbian couple, and a New York doll named Barbie. In almost every way this book sits at 180 degrees from the earlier four volumes of the Sandman series--although the less it seems to belong to the series, the more it shows its heart. --Jim Pascoe [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Sandman 8: World's End'
When Brant and Charlene wreck their car in a horrible snowstorm in the middle of nowhere, the only place they can find shelter is a mysterious little inn called World's End. Here they wait out the storm and listen to stories from the many travelers also stuck at this tavern. These tales exemplify Neil Gaiman's gift for storytelling--and his love for the very telling of them. This volume has almost nothing to do with the larger story of the Sandman, except for a brief foreshadowing nod. It's a nice companion to the best Sandman short story collection, Dream Country, (and it's much better than the hodgepodge Fables and Reflections). World's End works best as a collection--it's a story about a story about stories--all wrapped up in a structure that's clever without being cute, and which features an ending nothing short of spectacular. --Jim Pascoe [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Sandman : Dream Country'
The third book of the Sandman collection is a series of four short comic book stories. What's remarkable here (considering the publisher and the time that this was originally published) is that the main character of the book--the Sandman, King of Dreams--serves only as a minor character in each of these otherwise unrelated stories. (Actually, he's not even in the last story.) This signaled a couple of important things in the development of what is considered one of the great comics of the second half of the century. First, it marked a distinct move away from the horror genre and into a more fantasy-rich, classical mythology-laden environment. And secondly, it solidly cemented Neil Gaiman as a storyteller. One of the stories here, "A Midsummer Night's Dream," took home the World Fantasy Award for best short story--the first time a comic was given that honor. But for my money, another story in Dream Country has it beat hands down. "A Dream of a Thousand Cats" has such hope, beauty, and good old-fashioned chills that rereading it becomes a welcome pleasure. --Jim Pascoe [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Sandman Library'
In many ways, Season of Mists is the pinnacle of the Sandman experience. After a brief intermission of four short stories (collected as Dream Country) Gaiman continued the story of the Dream King that he began in the first two volumes. Here in volume 4, we find out about the rest of Dream's Endless family (Desire, Despair, Destiny, Delirium, Death, and a seventh missing sibling). We find out the story behind Nada, Dream's first love, whom we met only in passing during Dream's visit to hell in the first book. When Dream goes back to hell to resolve unfinished business with Nada, he finds her missing along with all of the other dead souls. The answer to this mystery lies in Lucifer's most uncharacteristic decision--a delicious surprise.
There is something grandiose about this story, in which each chapter ends with such suspense and drive to read the next. This book is best summed up by a toast taken from the second chapter: "To absent friends, lost loves, old gods, and the season of mists; and may each and every one of us always give the devil his due." --Jim Pascoe [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Sandman: The Wake'
Featuring the popular characters from the award-winning Sandman series, THE SANDMAN: ENDLESS NIGHTS reveals the legend of the Endless, a family of magical and mythical beings who exist and interact in the real world. Born at the beginning of time, Destiny, Death, Dream, Desire, Despair, Delirium and Destruction are seven brothers and sisters who each lord over atheir respective realms. In this highly imaginative book that boasts diverse styles of breathtaking art, these seven peculiar and powerful siblings each reveal more about their true-being as they star int heir own tales of curiosity and wonder. [via]
› Find signed collectible books: 'Serenity'
Penned by Whedon and Brett Matthews, who wrote several episodes of Firefly as well as Dark Horse''s final Angel comics series and the animated Chronicles of Riddick feature "Dark Fury," Serenity follows a ship full of mercenaries, fugitives and one law-abiding prostitute in their pursuit for fast cash and a little peace along the fringes of space. The ragtag crew of Serenity take on a scavanger mission with the hopes of earning enough dough to disappear for a while. Only too late do they realize the whole gig is orchestrated by an old enemy eager remake their aquanitance with the help of some covert-operatives known only as the Blue Gloves. Artist Will Conrad (Marvel''s Elektra and Witches) and colorist Laura Martin (Astonishing X-Men and The Ultimates) paint a rough and wild world of adventure across a strange and dangerous universe, in this not-to-be-missed tale straight from the brain of pop-culture mastermind Joss Whedon! [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'V for Vendetta'
V for Vendetta is, like its author's later Watchmen, a landmark in comic-book writing. Alan Moore has led the field in intelligent, politically astute (if slightly paranoid), complex adult comic-book writing since the early 1980s. He began V back in 1981 and it constituted one of his first attempts (along with the criminally neglected but equally superb Miracleman) at writing an ongoing series. It is 1998 (which was the future back then!) and a Fascist government has taken over the UK. The only blot on its particular landscape is a lone terrorist who is systematically killing all the government personnel associated with a now destroyed secret concentration camp. Codename V is out for vengeance ... and an awful lot more. V feels slightly dated like all past premonitions do. The original series was black and white and that added to the grittiness of the feel while the colouring here in the graphic novel sometimes blurs David Lloyd's fine drawing. But these are small concerns. Skilfully plotted, V is an essential read for all those who love comics and the freedom, as a medium, they allow a writer as skilled as Moore. The graphic novel contains all the V series plus two additional stories concerning V that were originally considered "interludes". This edition also contains an essay from Moore dating from 1983 explaining the creation process. For any comic fan it's a must-have. --Mark Thwaite [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'V for Vendetta'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Violent Cases'
› Find signed collectible books: 'The Wake Bk. X'
This is the conclusion to the much talked about Sandman series. It may be best to start your Sandman acquaintance with earlier episodes, but The Wake stands as one of Neil Gaiman's strongest and most consistent Sandman volumes to date. [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'War in the Sun'
Written by Garth Ennis Art by Steve Dillon and Peter Snejbjerg Cover by Glenn Fabry This new edition collects the story of Jesse Custer's ultimate battle with the Saint of Killers and the forces of Starr - and the catastrophic outcome - originally presented in PREACHER #34-40. Also included: the PREACHER SPECIAL: ONE MAN'S WAR one-shot profiling the villainous Starr. [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Watchmen'
Has any comic been as acclaimed as Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen? Possibly only Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, but Watchmen remains the critics' favorite. Why? Because Moore is a better writer, and Watchmen a more complex and dark and literate creation than Miller's fantastic, subversive take on the Batman myth. Moore, renowned for many other of the genre's finest creations (Saga of the Swamp Thing, V for Vendetta, and From Hell, with Eddie Campbell) first put out Watchmen in 12 issues for DC in 1986-87. It won a comic award at the time (the 1987 Jack Kirby Comics Industry Awards for Best Writer/Artist combination) and has continued to gather praise since.
The story concerns a group called the Crimebusters and a plot to kill and discredit them. Moore's characterization is as sophisticated as any novel's. Importantly the costumes do not get in the way of the storytelling; rather they allow Moore to investigate issues of power and control--indeed it was Watchmen, and to a lesser extent Dark Knight, that propelled the comic genre forward, making "adult" comics a reality. The artwork of Gibbons (best known for 2000AD's Rogue Trooper and DC's Green Lantern) is very fine too, echoing Moore's paranoid mood perfectly throughout. Packed with symbolism, some of the overlying themes (arms control, nuclear threat, vigilantes) have dated but the intelligent social and political commentary, the structure of the story itself, its intertextuality (chapters appended with excerpts from other "works" and "studies" on Moore's characters, or with excerpts from another comic book being read by a child within the story), the finepace of the writing and its humanity mean that Watchmen more than stands up--it keeps its crown as the best the genre has yet produced. --Mark Thwaite
A Q&A with Dave Gibbons on the Making of Watchmen
Question: You were tasked with drawing new illustrations of key shots from the new Watchmen film. Was it a difficult challenge to re-imagine your work in this movie format?
Dave Gibbons: I dont think that I actually did many key shots from the film. I had to actually imagine them rather than exactly recreate what was going to be in the movie. But as far as the drawings I did for the licensing purposes, accuracy was the real key so that they looked exactly like the movie. Whereas doing the graphic novel was creating stuff afresh and being very creative, this was more the case of interpreting something that already existed. So it was rather more a commercial art job than a creative thing.
Q: How many scenes from the original graphic novel did you redraw in the new "movie" format?
DG: I kind of did them piecemeal, these licensing drawings. I did do a section of storyboarding for Zack Snyder. There is a part of the movie that isnt in the graphic novel and he wanted to see how I would have drawn it, if it had been in the graphic novel. So I redid the storyboards as three pages of comic on the nine-panel grid, also getting it coloured by John Higgins so it looked authentic. But I think there were probably only 3 or 4 scenes that I drew, which were from the movie.
Q: What was your working method for producing these new illustrations from the film? And how has it changed from when you originally illustrated Watchmen?
DG: When youre producing things from existing material, you have to look at and assemble the references... you know, keep looking backwards and forwards to make sure what youre drawing is accurate to whats in the photos. I did have lots of photos from the movie and in some cases I had more or less the illustration I was going to do in photo form, which made it a lot easier. On others I had to construct it from various references: really just the usual illustrators job of drawing something to reference. And on the original illustrations of Watchmen, I was free to come up with exactly the angles and exactly the costumes and everything that I wanted to. When youve designed a costume and drawn it a few times, you actually internalize it and you find you can draw it without having to refer to reference at all. So in some ways its more creative and in some ways its easier!
Q: In Watchmen: The Art of the Film, there are concept designs by other artists of their visions of your iconic characters. What do you think of their versions and did you offer any guidance while they were working on these?
DG: Its always really interesting to see versions of your characters drawn by other artists. You tend to see things in them that you hadnt noticed before. So I really enjoyed looking at those. I certainly didnt offer them any guidance. The purpose of getting those kinds of drawings done is to get a fresh perspective on what exists. I noticed actually that they really stuck more closely to my original designs than those, but I really enjoyed seeing them.
Q: Watchmen: Portraits is Clay Enoss stunning black and white collection of photos of each character from the Watchmen movie. What was it like looking through this book at all the characters you had conceived years ago now being brought to life by actors?
DG: Its rather interesting; you know if you look at the Watching the Watchmen book you can see these characters as fairly sketchy rough conceptual versions. Then when you look at Clays book you can actually see them right down to counting the number of pores on the skin on the end of their noses! Its incredible high focus! Its like zooming in through space and time to look at the surface of some moon of Saturn or something. I thoroughly enjoyed his book... it had a real artistic quality to it that was really so good. And of course to see these actors who so much are the embodiment of what I drew, that its a tremendous thrill to see them made flesh!
Q: Watchmen: The Film Companion features some stills from the animated version of The Black Freighter. What do you think of the look and design of this animated feature?
DG: It looks really interesting! Although I drew my version in the comic book in a kind of horror-comic style, these are very much in a savage manga style. I think they work really well... theyve got the kind of manic intensity, which I think that work should have and I really cant wait to see the whole feature. Ive seen the trailer for it and that looks great and again theyve used a lot of the compositions that I came up with but just translated them to this kind of very modern drawn animation.
Q: How much time did you spend on the set of Watchmen? Was it a surreal experience to see your work recreated like this?
DG: I was on the set of Watchmen for a couple of days and it really was surreal to walk through a door and then suddenly be in the presence of all these people in living breathing flesh! I was there for what you would call the Crimebusters meeting where they were all there in costume in the same room, which was incredible. They had obviously planned that so I would get to see everyone. It was surreal though quite a wonderful experience to see it come to life.
[via]› Find signed collectible books: 'Watchmen : The Absolute Edition'
Has any comic been as lauded as Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen? Possibly only Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns but Watchmen remains the critics' favourite. Why? Because Moore is a better writer, and Watchmen a more complex and dark and literate creation than Miller's fantastic, subversive take on the Batman myth. Moore, renowned for many other of the genre's finest creations (Saga of the Swamp Thing, V for Vendetta, and recently From Hell, with Eddie Campbell) first put out Watchmen in 12 issues for DC in 1986-87. It won a comic award at the time (the 1987 Jack Kirby Comics Industry Awards for Best Writer/Artist combination) and has continued to garner praise since.
The story concerns a group called the Crimebusters and a plot to kill and discredit them. Moore's characterisation is as sophisticated as any novel's. Importantly the costumes do not get in the way of the storytelling, rather they allow Moore to investigate issues of power and control--indeed it was Watchmen, and to a lesser extent Dark Knight, that propelled the comic genre forward, making "adult" comics a reality. The artwork of Gibbons (best known for 2000AD's Rogue Trooper and DC's Green Lantern) is very fine too, echoing Moore's paranoid mood perfectly throughout. Packed with symbolism, some of the overlying themes (arms control, nuclear threat, vigilantes) have dated but the intelligent social and political commentary, the structure of the story itself, its intertextuality (chapters appended with excerpts from other "works" and "studies" on Moore's characters, or with excerpts from another comic book being read by a child within the story), the fine pace of the writing and its humanity mean that Watchmen more than stands up--it retains its crown as the best the genre has yet produced. --Mark Thwaite [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Whiteout 1'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'World's End'
When Brant and Charlene wreck their car in a horrible snowstorm in the middle of nowhere, the only place they can find shelter is a mysterious little inn called World's End. Here they wait out the storm and listen to stories from the many travelers also stuck at this tavern. These tales exemplify Neil Gaiman's gift for storytelling--and his love for the very telling of them. This volume has almost nothing to do with the larger story of the Sandman, except for a brief foreshadowing nod. It's a nice companion to the best Sandman short story collection, Dream Country, (and it's much better than the hodgepodge Fables and Reflections). World's End works best as a collection--it's a story about a story about stories--all wrapped up in a structure that's clever without being cute, and which features an ending nothing short of spectacular. --Jim Pascoe [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Y:The Last Man 1: Unmanned'
"Funny and scary & an utterly believable critique of society. A+"THE WASHINGTON POST
"The best graphic novel I've ever read."STEPHEN KING
"This year's best movie is a comic book."ALL THINGS CONSIDERED, NPR
"A seriously funny, nuanced fable.... Grade A."ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
Y: THE LAST MAN, winner of three Eisner Awards and one of the most critically acclaimed, best-selling comic books series of the last decade, is that rare example of a page-turner that is at once humorous, socially relevant and endlessly surprising.
Written by Brian K. Vaughan (LOST, PRIDE OF BAGHDAD, EX MACHINA) and with art by Pia Guerra, this is the saga of Yorick Brownthe only human survivor of a planet-wide plague that instantly kills every mammal possessing a Y chromosome. Accompanied by a mysterious government agent, a brilliant young geneticist and his pet monkey, Ampersand, Yorick travels the world in search of his lost love and the answer to why he's the last man on earth.
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Year One'
A ne deluxe trade paperback edition of one of the most important and critically acclaimed Batman adventures ever, written by Frank Miller, author of The Dark Knight Returns! In addition to telling the entire dramatic story of Batman's first year fighting crime, this collection includes reproductions of original pencils, promotional art, script pages, unseen David Mazzucchelli Batman art and more! [via]
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