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  • Absolute Dark Knight
    by Klaus Janson, Lynn Varley
    ISBN 1401210791 (1-4012-1079-1)
    Hardcover, Dc Comics

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    Book summary:

    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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  • Absolute Kingdom Come
    by Alex Ross, Mark Waid
    ISBN 1401207685 (1-4012-0768-5)
    Hardcover, DC Comics

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    Book summary:

    DC Comics Absolute Editions set the standard for the highest quality, most in-depth presentation of classic graphic novels. Each oversized volume is presented in a slipcase and includes unique additional material making each Absolute Edition a cornerstone of any serious comic collection. The latest Absolute Collection is the classic KINGDOM COME, written by Mark Waid and illustrated by Alex Ross. This riveting story set in the future pits the old guardSuperman, Batman, Wonder Woman and their peersagainst a new, uncompromising generation of heroes in the final war to determine the fate of the planet. Published to tie-in with the 10th Anniversary of its original publication, ABSOLUTE KINGDOM COME is packaged in a beautifully designed slipcase that features an all-new painted image by Alex Ross, annotations of the entire series, rare art, promotional images, a gallery of DC Direct Kingdom Come products, a feature on the evolution of a story page and much more. [via]

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  • The Absolute Sandman
    by Brian Azzarello, Jim Lee, Neil Gaiman, Sam Kieth
    ISBN 1401210821 (1-4012-1082-1)
    Hardcover, DC Comics

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    Book summary:

    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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  • Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
    by Michael Chabon
    ISBN 0312282990 (0-312-28299-0)
    Softcover, St Martins Pr

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    Book summary:

    Like the comic books that animate and inspire it, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay is both larger than life and of it too. Complete with golems and magic and miraculous escapes and evil nemeses and even hand-to-hand Antarctic battle, it pursues the most important questions of love and war, dreams and art, across pages brimming with longing and hope. Samuel Klayman--self-described little man, city boy, and Jew--first meets Josef Kavalier when his mother shoves him aside in his own bed, telling him to make room for their cousin, a refugee from Nazi-occupied Prague. It's the beginning, however unlikely, of a beautiful friendship. In short order, Sam's talent for pulp plotting meets Joe's faultless, academy-trained line, and a comic-book superhero is born. A sort of lantern-jawed equalizer clad in dark blue long underwear, the Escapist "roams the globe, performing amazing feats and coming to the aid of those who languish in tyranny's chains!" Before they know it, Kavalier and Clay (as Sam Klayman has come to be known) find themselves at the epicenter of comics' golden age.

    But Joe Kavalier is driven by motives far more complex than your average hack. In fact, his first act as a comic-book artist is to deal Hitler a very literal blow. (The cover of the first issue shows the Escapist delivering "an immortal haymaker" onto the Führer's realistically bloody jaw.) In subsequent years, the Escapist and his superhero allies take on the evil Iron Chain and their leader Attila Haxoff--their battles drawn with an intensity that grows more disturbing as Joe's efforts to rescue his family fail. He's fighting their war with brush and ink, Joe thinks, and the idea sustains him long enough to meet the beautiful Rosa Saks, a surrealist artist and surprisingly retrograde muse. But when even that fiction fails him, Joe performs an escape of his own, leaving Rosa and Sammy to pick up the pieces in some increasingly wrong-headed ways.

    More amazing adventures follow--but reader, why spoil the fun? Suffice to say, Michael Chabon writes novels like the Escapist busts locks. Previous books such as The Mysteries of Pittsburgh and Wonder Boys have prose of equal shimmer and wit, and yet here he seems to have finally found a canvas big enough for his gifts. The whole enterprise seems animated by love: for his alternately deluded, damaged, and painfully sincere characters; for the quirks and curious innocence of tough-talking wartime New York; and, above all, for comics themselves, "the inspirations and lucubrations of five hundred aging boys dreaming as hard as they could." Far from negating such pleasures, the Holocaust's presence in the novel only makes them more pressing. Art, if not capable of actually fighting evil, can at least offer a gesture of defiance and hope--a way out, in other words, of a world gone completely mad. Comic-book critics, Joe notices, dwell on "the pernicious effect, on young minds, of satisfying the desire to escape. As if there could be any more noble or necessary service in life." Indeed. --Mary Park [via]

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  • Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
    by Frank Miller, Klaus Janson, Lynn Varley, John Costanza, Bob Kane
    ISBN 1563893428 (1-56389-342-8)
    Softcover, DC Comics

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    Book summary:

    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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  • Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again
    by Frank Miller, David Mazzucchelli
    ISBN 1401207529 (1-4012-0752-9)
    Softcover, Dc Comics

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    Book summary:

    The Dark Knight Strikes Again is Frank Miller's follow-up to his hugely successful Batman: the Dark Knight Returns, one of the few comics that is widely recognised as not only reinventing the genre but also bringing it to a wider audience.

    Set three years after the events of The Dark Knight Returns, The Dark Knight Strikes Again follows a similar structure: once again, Batman hauls himself out of his self-imposed retirement in order to set things right. However, where DKR was about him cleaning up his home city, Gotham, DKSA has him casting his net much wider: he's out to save the world.

    The thing is, most of the world doesn't realise that it needs to be saved--least of all Superman and Wonder Woman, who have become little more than superpowered enforcers of the status quo. So, the notoriously solitary Batman is forced to recruit some different superpowered allies. He also has his ever-present trusty sidekick, Robin, except that he is a she, and she is calling herself Catwoman. Together, these super-friends uncover a vast and far-reaching conspiracy that leads to the President of the United States (Lex Luthor) and beyond.

    The Dark Knight Strikes Again is largely an entertaining comic, but much of what made The Dark Knight Returns so good just doesn't work here. Miller's gritty, untidy artwork was perfect for DKR's grim depiction of the dark and seedy Gotham City, but it jars a bit for DKSA, which is meant to depict an ultra-glossy, futuristic technocracy. Lynn Varley's garish colouring attempts to add a slicker sheen, but the artwork is ultimately let down by that which worked so well for DKR--this time around, it just feels sloppy and rushed. The same is true of the book's denouement, which happens so quickly that it leaves the reader reeling and looking for more of an explanation. Moreover, DKSA is packed full of characters who will mean little to those unfamiliar with the DC Comics universe (eg, The Atom, The Elongated Man, The Question).

    Perhaps the book's biggest failing is that where The Dark Knight Returns gave comic book fans a base from which to evangelise to the uninitiated, The Dark Knight Strikes Again is just preaching to the converted. Comic book superhero fans will find much to enjoy here, but others would be better off sticking with the original. --Robert Burrow [via]

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  • Batman, Green Arrow
    by Dennis O'Neil, Archie Goodwin
    ISBN 0930289153 (0-930289-15-3)
    Softcover, Dc Comics

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    Book summary:

    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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  • Crisis on Infinite Earths
    by Marv Wolfman, George Perez
    ISBN 1563897504 (1-56389-750-4)
    Softcover, DC Comics

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    Book summary:

    A spectacular and original novel based on the epic comics series that forever changed the universe of Superman and Batman by the man who created the original tale! Trapped in a timeless limbo, Barry Allen, the Flash, can only watch in silent and helpless horror as, one by one, countless universes fade from existance in order to feed the insatiable need for power of the Anti-Monitor, a being from the anti-matter universe of Qward. Under the guidance of the Monitor, his benevolent opposite, the super-heroes and villains of all realities are brought together for a last, desperate stand against the forces that promise the literal end of all existance. [via]

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  • Miller, Frank: Dark Knight Returns
    Dark Knight Returns
    by Frank Miller
    ISBN 0606240020 (0-606-24002-0)
    Hardcover, Demco Media

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  • The Dark Knight Strikes Again
    by Frank Miler
    ISBN 1563898713 (1-56389-871-3)
    Softcover, Dc Comics

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    Book summary:

    The Dark Knight Strikes Again is Frank Miller's follow-up to his hugely successful Batman: the Dark Knight Returns, one of the few comics that is widely recognised as not only reinventing the genre but also bringing it to a wider audience.

    Set three years after the events of The Dark Knight Returns, The Dark Knight Strikes Again follows a similar structure: once again, Batman hauls himself out of his self-imposed retirement in order to set things right. However, where DKR was about him cleaning up his home city, Gotham, DKSA has him casting his net much wider: he's out to save the world.

    The thing is, most of the world doesn't realise that it needs to be saved--least of all Superman and Wonder Woman, who have become little more than superpowered enforcers of the status quo. So, the notoriously solitary Batman is forced to recruit some different superpowered allies. He also has his ever-present trusty sidekick, Robin, except that he is a she, and she is calling herself Catwoman. Together, these super-friends uncover a vast and far-reaching conspiracy that leads to the President of the United States (Lex Luthor) and beyond.

    The Dark Knight Strikes Again is largely an entertaining comic, but much of what made The Dark Knight Returns so good just doesn't work here. Miller's gritty, untidy artwork was perfect for DKR's grim depiction of the dark and seedy Gotham City, but it jars a bit for DKSA, which is meant to depict an ultra-glossy, futuristic technocracy. Lynn Varley's garish colouring attempts to add a slicker sheen, but the artwork is ultimately let down by that which worked so well for DKR--this time around, it just feels sloppy and rushed. The same is true of the book's denouement, which happens so quickly that it leaves the reader reeling and looking for more of an explanation. Moreover, DKSA is packed full of characters who will mean little to those unfamiliar with the DC Comics universe (eg, The Atom, The Elongated Man, The Question).

    Perhaps the book's biggest failing is that where The Dark Knight Returns gave comic book fans a base from which to evangelise to the uninitiated, The Dark Knight Strikes Again is just preaching to the converted. Comic book superhero fans will find much to enjoy here, but others would be better off sticking with the original. --Robert Burrow [via]

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  • Death: The High Cost of Living
    by Dave McKean, Chris Bachalo, Mark Buckingham
    ISBN 1563891328 (1-56389-132-8)
    Hardcover, Dc Comics

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    Book summary:

    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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  • Death: The High Cost of Living
    by Neil Gaiman, Dave McKean, Chris Bachalo
    ISBN 1563891336 (1-56389-133-6)
    Softcover, Dc Comics

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    Book summary:

    Written by Neil Gaiman; Art by Chris Bachalo, Mark Buckingham, and Dave McKean From the pages of Neil Gaiman's SANDMAN comes the young, pale, perky, and genuinely likable Death. One day in every century, Death walks the Earth to better understand those to whom she will be the final visitor. Today is that day. As a young mortal girl named Didi, Death befriends a teenager and helps a 250-year old homeless woman find her missing heart. What follows is a sincere musing on love, life and (of course) death. [via]

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  • Elementary Swordplay and Broadsword-Play
    by Victor Wu
    ISBN 9622380263 (962-238-026-3)
    Softcover, Hai Feng Pub Co

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  • From Hell
    by Alan Moore
    ISBN 1880325071 (1-880325-07-1)
    Softcover, Borderlands Pr

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    Book summary:

    The mad, shaggy genius of the comics world dips deeply into the well of history and pulls up a cup filled with blood in From Hell. Alan Moore did a couple of Ph.D.'s worth of research into the Whitechapel murders for this copiously annotated collection of the independently published series. The web of facts, opinion, hearsay, and imaginative invention draws the reader in from the first page. Eddie Campbell's scratchy ink drawings evoke a dark and dirty Victorian London and help to humanize characters that have been caricatured into obscurity for decades. Moore, having decided that the evidence best fits the theory of a Masonic conspiracy to cover up a scandal involving Victoria's grandson, goes to work telling the story with relish from the point of view of the victims, the chief inspector, and the killer--the Queen's physician. His characterization is just as vibrant as Campbell's; even the minor characters feel fully real. Looking more deeply than most, the author finds in the "great work" of the Ripper a ritual magic working intended to give birth to the 20th century in all its horrid glory. Maps, characters, and settings are all as accurate as possible, and while the reader might not ultimately agree with Moore and Campbell's thesis, From Hell is still a great work of literature. --Rob Lightner [via]

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  • A Game of You
    by Neil Gaiman, Bob Kahan, Dick Giordano, Shawn MacManus
    ISBN 1563890895 (1-56389-089-5)
    Softcover, DC Comics

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    Book summary:

    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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  • Hellboy
    by John Byrne, Michael Mignola, Barbara Kesel, Scott Allie, Dave Stewart, Mike Mignola, Kevin Nowlan, Matt Hollingsworth, Mark Chiarello, Gary Grazzini, Robert Bloch
    ISBN 1593070942 (1-59307-094-2)
    Softcover, Dark Horse Comics

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    Hellboy is one of the most celebrated comics series in recent years. The ultimate artists' artist and a great storyteller whose work is in turns haunting, hilarious, and spellbinding, Mike Mignola has won numerous awards in the comics industry and beyond. When strangeness threatens to engulf the world, a strange man will come to save it. Sent to investigate a mystery with supernatural overtones, Hellboy discovers the secrets of his own origins, and his link to the Nazi occultists who promised Hitler a final solution in the form of a demonic avatar. [via]

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  • Hellboy
    by Michael Mignola
    ISBN 1569713162 (1-56971-316-2)
    Softcover, Diamond Comic Distributors

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    A murder in a New York wax museum and a missing corpse lead Hellboy and the [via]

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  • Mignola, Mike: Hellboy Book 1 Seed of Destruction
    Hellboy Book 1 Seed of Destruction
    by Mike Mignola
    ISBN 1569710384 (1-56971-038-4)
    Softcover, Diamond Comic Distributors

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  • Kingdom Come
    by Elliot S. Maggin, Alex Ross, Mark Waid
    ISBN 0446606693 (0-446-60669-3)
    Softcover, Grand Central Publishing

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    Book summary:

    It is the early years of the Twenty-First Century. Without the guidance and values long championed by the old guard -- Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman -- a younger generation of super heroes is ravaging the world. But when the Man of Steel returns from self-imposed exile, his very presence could be the catalyst that pushes us all into Armageddon. Seen through the eyes of Norman McCay, an aging minister who embarks on a disturbing odyssey of revelation with an angel known as the Spectre to guide him, "Kingdom Come" is the story of what defines a hero in a world spinning inexorably out of control...of the heroes who adapted to that changing world, and those who couldn't...of personal battles fought with inner demons, and the final war that would determine the fate of our planet. [via]

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  • Kingdom Come
    by Mark Waid, Alex Ross, Waid Mark
    ISBN 1563893177 (1-56389-317-7)
    Hardcover, Dc Comics

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    Book summary:

    As comic books gained in respectability, the superhero comic has remained a much-maligned medium. Oh sure, Batman was given new levels of sophistication by the likes of Frank Miller and Alan Moore, and Watchmen added a dose of reality to the concept of superheroes, but the likes of Superman and Wonder Woman have for years watched their lesser-powered colleagues gain critical acceptance while they were left behind to keep the kids happy. Until, that is, Kingdom Come accorded DC's premier superheroes the respect they have long deserved.

    In the near future, Superman has retired, plagued by an inability to accept a world where his generation's super-powered descendants run roughshod over the values he fought for. When tragic events force his return, he gathers his former team-mates and colleagues to once again lead the fight for justice and order. However, their return sparks a chain of events that could lead the world to Armageddon.

    With its intelligent storyline and superb painted artwork, writer Mark Waid and artist Alex Ross have created a thoroughly believable world where superheroes could exist, paying particular attention to the social and political implications of such a world. Why bother with the Olympics when there are beings who can bench-press buildings and run faster than light? What's the point of normal humans making laws when they are powerless to enforce them against superhumans? Above all, where Kingdom Come succeeds is by adding new depths of humanity to some of DC's timeless characters--including icons like Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman--as well as offering interesting future glimpses of the lesser known (but no less interesting) likes of Orion, Blue Beetle and Aquaman. --Robert Burrow [via]

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  • League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
    by Kevin O'Neill, Alan Moore
    ISBN 1563898586 (1-56389-858-6)
    Softcover, Dc Comics

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    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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  • League of Extraordinary Gentlemen 1898
    by Alan Moore
    ISBN 1563896656 (1-56389-665-6)
    Hardcover, Dc Comics

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    Book summary:

    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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  • Marvel 1602
    by Neil Gaiman, Andy Kubert, Richard Isanove
    ISBN 0785123113 (0-7851-2311-3)
    Softcover, Marvel Enterprises

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    Book summary:

    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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  • Marvel 1602 HC Gaiman Cover
    by Neil Gaiman, Andy Kubert
    ISBN 0785125698 (0-7851-2569-8)
    Hardcover, Marvel Enterprises, Incorporated

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    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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  • Maus a Survivors Tale: And Here My Troubles Begin
    by Art Spiegelman
    ISBN 0679729771 (0-679-72977-1)
    Softcover, Pantheon Books

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    Book summary:

    ***WINNER OF THE 1992 PULIZTER PRIZE***Acclaimed as a quiet triumph and a brutally moving work of art, the first volume of Art Spiegelman's Mausintroduced readers to Vladek Spieglman, 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.This second volume, 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. Mausties together two powerful stories: Vladek's harrowing take of survival against all odds, delineating the paradox of family life in the death camps, and the author's account of his tortured relationship with his aging father. 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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  • Gaiman, Neil: Mr. Punch
    Mr. Punch
    by Neil Gaiman, Karen Berger, Dave McKean
    ISBN 1563892464 (1-56389-246-4)
    Softcover, DC Comics

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  • Preacher
    by Garth Ennis, Steve Dillon
    ISBN 1563892618 (1-56389-261-8)
    Softcover, Dc Comics

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    Book summary:

    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]

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  • Reinventing Comics
    by Scott McCloud
    ISBN 0060953500 (0-06-095350-0)
    Softcover, Harpercollins

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    Book summary:

    Scott McCloud's Reinventing Comics, the sequel to his groundbreaking work Understanding Comics, is a study of two revolutions: a failed one and a potential one. His 1993 book was not only a chronicle of the potential breakthrough of comics (which he redefined as "sequential art") into a legitimate art form but a sterling example itself of the medium's astonishing untapped potential. Now, seven years later, he chronicles the failure of the comic book industry to fulfill that promise, but also explores how the movement can be restarted, particularly by utilizing the resources of another spectacularly successful revolution, the Internet. In the first half of Reinventing Comics, an elegantly clean example of comic art in McCloud's trademark bold black-and-white style, the author outlines how hype, speculation, and artistic burnout led to the genre's decline. He then lays out 12 paths toward a new revolution of comics, including creators' rights, industry innovation, public perception, gender balance, and diversity of genre, which are then explored with such innovative intelligence that, as with his earlier work, the conclusions he comes to are fascinating for both artists and nonartists alike.

    Three of his paths, however, are of particular interest to anyone who wants to know how the Internet will affect both our lives and the livelihoods of future artists. Understanding Comics, with its brilliant how-to guide on marrying image and language, has become an indispensable reference for many Web designers. Now McCloud returns the favor by focusing on how the digital revolution will influence production, delivery, and the art form of comics itself. Informative without being pedantic, controversial without being argumentative, and always entertaining, this is both a worthy sequel to the author's brilliant original and a work that opens up the potential for an entirely different direction for sequential art in the realm of cyberspace. --John Longenbaugh [via]

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  • Sandman 3: Dream Country
    by Neil Gaiman
    ISBN 141768612X (1-4176-8612-X)
    Hardcover, Bt Bound

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    Book summary:

    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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  • Sandman 4: Season of Mists
    by Neil Gaiman
    ISBN 1417686138 (1-4176-8613-8)
    Hardcover, Bt Bound

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    Book summary:

    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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  • Sandman 5: A Game of You
    by Neil Gaiman
    ISBN 1417686146 (1-4176-8614-6)
    Hardcover, Bt Bound

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    Book summary:

    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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  • Sandman 8: World's End
    by Neil Gaiman
    ISBN 1417686170 (1-4176-8617-0)
    Hardcover, Bt Bound

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    Book summary:

    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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  • The Sandman : Dream Country
    by Neil Gaiman, Michael Hill, Kelley Jones, Charles Vess, Colleen Doran
    ISBN 156389016X (1-56389-016-X)
    Softcover, DC Comics

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    Book summary:

    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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  • The Sandman Library
    by Neil Gaiman, Todd Klein, P. Craig Russell, Bill Sienkiewicz, Milo Manara, Miguelanxo Prado, Barron Storey, Glenn Fabry, Frank Quitely
    ISBN 140120113X (1-4012-0113-X)
    Softcover, Vertigo

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    Book summary:

    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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  • The Sandman: The Wake
    by Neil Gaiman, Yoshitaka Amano
    ISBN 156389629X (1-56389-629-X)
    Softcover, Dc Comics

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    Book summary:

    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]

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  • Understanding Comics
    by Scott McCloud
    ISBN 1563895579 (1-56389-557-9)
    Softcover, Dc Comics

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    Book summary:

    216 page paperback written in comic book form about the world's most misunderstood artform. [via]

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  • Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
    by Scott McCloud
    ISBN 0613027825 (0-613-02782-5)
    Hardcover, Micro Data Base Systems, Incorporated (m d b s)

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    Book summary:

    As all good card-carrying comic-book fans know, their sheer passion will never overcome narrow-minded critics and their baying cries of derision. There is far more to this perpetually underrated medium than a mix of art and prose. With this indispensable, spellbinding tome, writer/artist Scott McCloud rises to the challenge of dissecting what remains the most enigmatic of art forms. After all, says McCloud, "No other art form gives so much to its audience while asking so much from them as well". Over the course of 215 impeccably formed pages, McCloud joyously exposes and deconstructs a hidden world of icons in a most literate and valid manner. His charming guidance finds a place where Time and Space is effortlessly malleable and the reader is both a willing accomplice and necessary vessel for comics' singular magic. Cunningly presented in comic form, McCloud (or his comic equivalent) conducts a journey that spans thousands of years, taking in art from Prehistoric Man to the Egyptians to Van Gogh to Jack Kirby. Never has psychological and cultural analysis been so understandably clear, beautifully aided by clever visuals and his truly infectious love for the medium. By the end of this funny, charming, rare and exciting book, you'll not doubt the notion that a comic book "...is a vacuum into which our identity and awareness are pulled ... an empty shell that we inhabit which enables us to travel to another realm". A fine exchange for a little faith and a world of imagination. --Danny Graydon [via]

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  • V for Vendetta
    by Alan Moore, David Lloyd
    ISBN 1401207928 (1-4012-0792-8)
    Hardcover, DC Comics

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    Book summary:

    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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  • Lloyd, David: V for Vendetta
    V for Vendetta
    by David Lloyd, Alan Moore
    ISBN 0446391905 (0-446-39190-5)
    Softcover, Warner Books Inc

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  • The Wake Bk. X
    by Neil Gaiman, Bob Kahan, Michael Zulli, Jon J. Muth, Mikal Gilmore
    ISBN 1563892790 (1-56389-279-0)
    Softcover, DC Comics

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    Book summary:

    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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  • Watchmen
    by Alan Moore
    ISBN 0930289234 (0-930289-23-4)
    Softcover, Dc Comics

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    Book summary:

    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]

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  • Watchmen : The Absolute Edition
    by Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons
    ISBN 1401207138 (1-4012-0713-8)
    Hardcover, DC Comics

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    Book summary:

    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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  • World's End
    by Neil Gaiman, Bob Kahan, D. Giordana, V. Locke, Dave McKean
    ISBN 1563891719 (1-56389-171-9)
    Softcover, DC Comics

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    Book summary:

    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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  • Year One
    by Frank Miller, David Mazzucchelli, DC Comics Staff
    ISBN 0446389234 (0-446-38923-4)
    Softcover, Grand Central Publishing

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    Book summary:

    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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