books tagged “comix”

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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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  • 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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  • Ware, Chris: The Acme Novelty Library
    The Acme Novelty Library
    by Chris Ware
    ISBN 0375422951 (0-375-42295-1)
    Hardcover, Random House Inc

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  • The Acme Novelty Library 16
    by Chris Ware
    ISBN 156097513X (1-56097-513-X)
    Hardcover, Fantagraphics Books

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    Book summary:

    After four years of almost exclusively repackaging his sophomoric early work for the book trade, the children's entertainer and award-winning calligrapher F. C. Ware returns to his groundbreaking 1990s cartoon series "The ACME Novelty Library," a nearly decade-long publishing experiment which more or less single-handedly demonstrated the redemptive power a fancy paper stock or a little gold foil might exert over an otherwise dull, dry visual narrative.

    This semi-annual periodical originally serialized his surprisingly undismissed "Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth," and now, with the 16th issue, Ware rejoins the proud, vital esthetic forum of the American comic book with his ongoing serial "Rusty Brown," a love story concerning the ambitions and mistakes of seven consciousnesses at a private school in Omaha, Nebraska, all revolving around a universally reviled child-and absolutely certain to be a favorite with readers of all tastes and biases. As told through the eyes of someone absentmindedly watching a television sitcom circa 1975, this first installment begins one January morning of that same year and describes everything of importance right up to and including the ring of the first period bell before eventually spiraling off into 1955, 2004, and toward the planet Mars, amongst other interesting and exotic time periods and locales. Riveting, fast-paced, and irresponsible, "Rusty Brown" distills the confusing and indulgent storytelling technique that led Mr. Ware's work to be referred to as "nearly impossible to read" by the Los Angeles Times Book Review. (In addition, Mr. Ware promises parallel serialization of his other work-in-progress, "Building Stories," which is actually a much better and more interesting project.)

    Though originally released by alternative comics vanguard Fantagraphics Books, this new sixteenth issue is the first to be entirely produced, printed and published by Mr. Ware alone; limited to a single press run, once it is sold out, pulped, and/or burned, neither of these narratives will be available again until "Rusty Brown" and "Building Stories" are eventually edited, collected and remaindered as hardcover books. Thus, be the first in your mercantile district to own this first chapter of what years from now is sure to be a tart, possibly insincere reminder of the fragile economy and mental disposition of the early 21st century. 64 pages, full color, 9" x 7" [via]

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  • American Born Chinese
    by Gene Yang, Lark Pien
    ISBN 1596431520 (1-59643-152-0)
    Softcover, First Second

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    Book summary:

    Indie graphic novelist Gene Yang's intelligent and emotionally challenging American Born Chinese is made up of three individual plotlines: the determined efforts of the Chinese folk hero Monkey King to shed his humble roots and be revered as a god; the struggles faced by Jin Wang, a lonely Asian American middle school student who would do anything to fit in with his white classmates; and the sitcom plight of Danny, an All-American teen so shamed by his Chinese cousin Chin-Kee (a purposefully painful ethnic stereotype) that he is forced to change schools. Each story works well on its own, but Yang engineers a clever convergence of these parallel tales into a powerful climax that destroys the hateful stereotype of Chin-Kee, while leaving both Jin Wang and the Monkey King satisfied and happy to be who they are.

    Yang skillfully weaves these affecting, often humorous stories together to create a masterful commentary about race, identity, and self-acceptance that has earned him a spot as a finalist for the National Book Award for Young People. The artwork, rendered in a chromatically cool palette, is crisp and clear, with clean white space around center panels that sharply focuses the reader's attention in on Yang's achingly familiar characters. There isn't an adolescent alive who won't be able to relate to Jin's wish to be someone other than who he is, and his gradual realization that there is no better feeling than being comfortable in your own skin.--Jennifer Hubert [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:

    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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  • Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again
    by Frank Miller, Klaus Janson, Lynn Varley, Bob Kane, John Costanza
    ISBN 156389341X (1-56389-341-X)
    Hardcover, Dc Comics

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    Book summary:

    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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  • 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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  • Black Hole
    by Charles Burns
    ISBN 037542380X (0-375-42380-X)
    Hardcover, Pantheon Books

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    Book summary:

    The first issues of Charles Burns's comics series Black Hole began appearing in 1995, and long before it was completed a decade later, readers and fellow artists were speaking of it in tones of awe and comparing it to recent classics of the form like Chris Ware's Jimmy Corrigan and Daniel Clowes's Ghost World. Burns is the sort of meticulous, uncompromising artist whom other artists speak of with envy and reverence, and we asked Ware and Clowes to comment on their admiration for Black Hole:

    "I think I probably learned the most about clarity, composition, and efficiency from looking at Charles's pages spread out on my drawing table than from anyone's; his was always at the level of lucidity of Nancy, but with this odd, metallic tinge to it that left you feeling very unsettled, especially if you were an aspiring cartoonist, because it was clear you'd never be half as good as he was. There's an almost metaphysical intensity to his pinprick-like inkline that catches you somewhere in the back of the throat, a paper-thin blade of a fine jeweler's saw tracing the outline of these thick, clay-like human figures that somehow seem to "move," but are also inevitably oddly frozen in eternal, awkward poses ... it's an unlikely combination of feelings, and it all adds up to something unmistakably his own.

    "I must have been one of the first customers to arrive at the comic shop when I heard the first issue of Black Hole was out 10 years ago, and my excitement didn't change over the years as he completed it. I don't think I've ever read anything that better captures the details, feelings, anxieties, smells, and cringing horror of my own teenage years better than Black Hole, and I'm 15 years younger than Charles is. Black Hole is so redolently affecting one almost has to put the book down for air every once in a while. By the book's end, one ends up feeling so deeply for the main character it's all one can do not to turn the book over and start reading again." --Chris Ware

    "Charles Burns is one of the greats of modern comics. His comics are beautiful on so many levels. Somehow he has managed to capture the essential electricity of comic-book pop-art iconography, dragging it from the clutches of Fine Art back to the service of his perfect, precise-but-elusive narratives in a way that is both universal in its instant appeal and deeply personal." --Dan Clowes

    Questions for Charles Burns

    Amazon.com: Cartoonists are about the only people today who are working like Dickens did: writing serials that appear piece-by-piece in public before the whole work is done. What's it like to work in public like that, and for as long as a project like this takes?
    Charles Burns: There were a number of reasons for serializing Black Hole. First of all, I wanted to put out a traditional comic book-- I'd never really worked in that comic pamphlet format before and liked the idea of developing a long story in installments. There's something very satisfying to me about a comic book as an object and I enjoyed using that format to slowly build my story. Serializing the story also allowed me to focus on shorter, more manageable portions; if I had to face creating a 368-page book all in one big lump, I don't know if Id have the perseverance and energy to pull it off.
    Amazon.com: One thing that stuns me about this book is how consistent it is from start to finish. From the first frames to the last ones that you drew 10 years later, you held the same tone and style. It feels as though you had a complete vision for the book from the very beginning. Is that so? Or did things develop unexpectedly as you worked on it?
    Burns: I guess there's a consistency in Black Hole because of the way I work. I write and draw very slowly, always carefully examining every little detail to make sure it all fits together the way I want it to. When I started the story, I had it all charted out as far as the basic structure goes, but what made working on it interesting was finding new ways of telling the story that hadn't occurred to me.
    Amazon.com: Some of the very best of the recent graphic novels (I'm thinking of Ghost World and Blankets, along with Black Hole) have been about the lives of teenagers. Do you think there's something about the form that helps to tell those stories so well?
    Burns: That's an interesting question, but I don't know the answer. Perhaps it has more to do with the authors--the kind of people who stay indoors for hours on end in total solitude working away on their heartfelt stories... maybe that kind of reflection lends itself to being able to capture the intensity of adolescence.
    Amazon.com: In the time you've been working on Black Hole, graphic novels have leapt into the mainstream. (I think--I hope--we're finally seeing the last of those "They're not just for kids anymore!" reviews.) What did you imagine for this project when you started it? What's it been like to see your corner of the world enter the glare of the spotlight?
    Burns: When I started Black Hole I really just wanted to tell a long, well-written story. The themes and ideas that run throughout the book had been turning around in my head for years and I wanted to finally get them all out--put them down on paper once and for all. I've published a few other books and while they sold reasonably well, they didn't set the publishing world on fire. I was pretty sure I'd have some kind of an audience for Black Hole, but that was never a motivating factor in writing the book. And my corner of the world is still pretty dark. I guess I'll be stepping into the spotlight for a little while when the book comes out, but I imagine I'll slip back into my dark little studio when it all settles down again so I can settle back into work.

    [via]

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  • Blankets
    by Craig Thompson
    ISBN 1891830430 (1-891830-43-0)
    Softcover, Top Shelf Productions

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    Thompson's touching memoir chronicles the sibling rivalry of two brothers growing up in the isolated country, the budding romance of two coming-of-age lovers, and the emotional conflict engendered by the author's rigidly fundamentalist upbringing. Blankets is already regarded as the genre-defining masterwork of Thompson's generation. [A] masterly telling of a moving, deeply human story.... this is highly recommended for adult collections. --Library Journal. [via]

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  • Sabin, Roger: Comics, Comix and Graphic Novels : A History of Comic Art
    Comics, Comix and Graphic Novels: A History of Comic Art
    by Roger Sabin
    ISBN 0714839930 (0-7148-3993-0)
    Softcover, Phaidon Press

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    Book summary:

    For many years, those interested in the history of the art of comics--from scholars to fans--had very few options. The available books were either filled with glaring errors or far too limited in their scope. Along comes Roger Sabin and his near-definitive history. The best thing about this book is that it begins with a strong foundation--that comics is a separate and unique artistic medium--and goes on to leave practically no stone unturned, from mainstream superheroes to underground work to Japanese manga to the new alternatives to the strong European tradition. There's even an entire chapter on comics by and aimed toward women, hopefully dispelling the myth that comics are just for boys. [via]

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  • Dimassa, Diane: The Complete Hothead Paisan
    The Complete Hothead Paisan
    by Diane Dimassa
    ISBN 1573440841 (1-57344-084-1)
    Softcover, Cleis Pr

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  • David Boring
    by Daniel Clowes
    ISBN 1594971226 (1-59497-122-6)
    Softcover, Public Square Books

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    Meet David Boring: a nineteen-year-old security guard with a tortured inner life and an obsessive nature. When he meets the girl of his dreams, things begin to go awry: what seems too good to be true apparently is. And what seems truest in Boring's life is that, given the right set of circumstances (in this case, an orgiastic cascade of vengeance, humiliation and murder) the primal nature of humankind will come inexorably to the fore.For those interested in comic art's potential, Clowes's work offers exciting literary possibilities. Boring is Anything but. --Time Dan Clowes [via]

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  • Dori Stories: The Complete Dori Seda
    by Dori Seda, Don Donahue, Kate Kane
    ISBN 0867193751 (0-86719-375-1)
    Hardcover, Last Gasp of San Francisco

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    Book summary:

    Underground comix are an obscure branch of art, and even if you've heard of them, you might assume they died along with the rest of the '60s counterculture. But comix are still with us at the dawn of the new millennium--though not the same comix, and certainly not in the profusion of the hippie daze. The best underground magazine of the early to mid-1980s was the anthology series Weirdo, edited initially by R. Crumb. Weirdo #2 contained the debut of one of underground comix's greatest talents, arguably the greatest after Crumb: Dori Seda.

    Dori Stories collects Dori Seda's complete works: not only her comix (one previously unpublished) but also her foto funnies (one written by R. Crumb), sketches, posters, and impressive, full-color shots of paintings and ceramics. In addition, it includes several photographs of Seda; a bibliography; a spare, sharp introduction by Neil Gaiman; the moving tributes of friends and lovers (including comix by the cartoonists Krystine Kryttre and Leslie Sternbergh); and the award-winning story "Dori Bangs," an alternate history by Bruce Sterling in which Dori Seda meets the rock critic Lester Bangs--and they both live a lot longer than they did in real life. (Lester Bangs died in 1982; Dori Seda died in 1988, in her 30s, apparently of a combination of untreated car-crash injuries, alcohol abuse, flu, and emphysema.)

    Seda's debut, "Bloods in Space" (a blaxploitation-style story about space men, written by K. Lambert), is pretty weak, but by the next year her artistic and narrative talents had blossomed. Her more or less autobiographical comix were the perfect vehicle. Confessional stories are hard to make interesting, but Seda's stories are terrific: well drawn, incisive, disturbing, and funny. Having read these confessionals, her fans were deeply saddened but not really surprised by her early death. "The Life Cycle of an Artist" shows an artist's evolution from creative isolation to hearty partying to, well, a reminder of why she hadn't been going out much in the first place. In "The Love Life of an Artist," a 30-year-old Seda, engaged to an extremely inappropriate man, ends up instead with a purple-haired teenage punk--a doomed relationship, but not for the reasons you'd expect. "The Artist Meets a Swinger, Or... Crabs Eating Raoul" portrays the sexual misadventures and conflicts that result when Seda's new man insists they both swing. If you're easily shocked, avoid Dori Stories at all costs. --Cynthia Ward [via]

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  • Fake 2
    by Stuart Hazleton, Nan Rymer
    ISBN 1591823269 (1-59182-326-9)
    Softcover, Tokyopop

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    Ryo and Dee, two of New York City's finest, are called in to investigate the activities of some two bit street punk. The operation goes south rather quickly when Dee is kidnapped and Ryo must put all of his skill and training to the test to get his partner back in one piece. Their partnership is on the line as electrified emotions raise questions within them that are hard to ignore. [via]

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  • Matoh, Sanami: Fake 3
    Fake 3
    by Sanami Matoh
    ISBN 1591823315 (1-59182-331-5)
    Softcover, Tokyopop

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    Meet Ryo and Dee, two New York City cops with an attraction for action-- and each other! In this, the final volume of the series, events heat up on the streets...and between the sheets! The two cops are assigned to serve as bodyguards for a mob-boss's daughter...who is married to the man that killed Ryo's parents! As tensions mount, will Ryo and Dee finally admit their love and devotion to each other? Or will they forever sing the NYPD blues? [via]

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  • Get Your War on
    by David Rees, Colson Whitehead
    ISBN 188712876X (1-887128-76-X)
    Softcover, Soft Skull Pr

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    Book summary:

    David Rees' Get Your War On is already a cult Web site and it looks set to continue to garner even more fans with the release of this excellent 100 page paperback collection. Subverting the traditional three-frame cartoon format by its use of ubiquitous static clip-art coupled with some of the harshest, bile-filled satire around, Rees has produced an absolute winner. Each cartoon manages to portray the anger, disillusion, cynicism, intelligence and stupidity of our times and Rees's outrage, humanity and perspicacity is as heart-warming as it is hilarious. Caustic, derisive, direct comedy, Get Your War On is essential reading for these mad, bad times. --George Bowman [via]

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  • Ghost World
    by Daniel Clowes
    ISBN 1560972807 (1-56097-280-7)
    Hardcover, Fantagraphics Books

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  • Ghost World/ Mundo fantasmal
    by Daniel Clowes
    ISBN 1560974273 (1-56097-427-3)
    Softcover, Fantagraphics Books

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    Book summary:

    Dan Clowes described the story in Ghost World as the examination of "the lives of two recent high school graduates from the advantaged perch of a constant and (mostly) undetectable eavesdropper, with the shaky detachment of a scientist who has grown fond of the prize microbes in his petri dish." From this perch comes a revelation about adolescence that is both subtle and coolly beautiful. Critics have pointed out Clowes's cynicism and vicious social commentary, but if you concentrate on those aspects, you'll miss the exquisite whole that Clowes has captured. Each chapter ends with melancholia that builds towards the amazing, detached, ghostlike ending. [via]

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  • Jimmy Corrigan
    by Chris Ware
    ISBN 1594972079 (1-59497-207-9)
    Hardcover, Public Square Books

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    Book summary:

    Jimmy Corrigan has rightly been hailed as the greatest comic/graphic novel ever to be published. It won the Guardian First Book Award 2001, the first graphic novel to win a major British literary prize. It is now available for the first time in paperback. [via]

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  • The League of Extraordinary Gentleman
    by Alan Moore, Kevin O'Neill
    ISBN 1401201180 (1-4012-0118-0)
    Softcover, DC Comics

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    Book summary:

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

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    Book summary:

    The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume II finds cocreators Alan Moore (writer) and Kevin O'Neill (artist) back on familiar ground, revisiting the classic Victorian-era characters that they used to such effect in the bestselling and rightfully acclaimed first volume. It's a superhero tale, but--as expected from Moore--a rather unconventional one. This League is drawn from some of the classic characters from English literature: Alan Quatermain, Captain Nemo, Hawley Griffin (the Invisible Man), Mr Hyde and Miss Mina Murray (formerly Harker, the heroine of Dracula). And this tale is taken directly from HG Wells' classic War of the Worlds, as Martian invaders (complete with tripods and heat rays) begin to land in England, bent on conquest. They seem unstoppable as they rage across the countryside towards London, but they hadn't counted on the League, or the eccentric genius of Dr Alphonse Moreau.

    As with the first League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, it's the meticulous sense of era and place that makes volume II a success. The minutia of Victorian England is set seamlessly alongside objects and ideas that never appeared outside of myth and legend, while references to other famous fictional characters and events are casually introduced, then quickly tossed aside. And, of course, it's a ripping yarn, in the classic Boys' Own style (right down to the cliff hanger-style, end of chapter narrations). However, unlike volume I, there are several scenes that aren't suitable for all readers (particularly "those of a delicate disposition"). It's almost as if Moore and O'Neill, anticipating the heightened interest that 2003's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen film would bring, have willingly set out to shock and even alienate newer readers. So there's a fairly explicit sex scene, some rather brutal violence and, perhaps most unnerving, it's almost inevitable that no reader will ever look at Rupert the Bear in the same way again. --Robert Burrow [via]

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  • Like A Velvet Glove Cast In Iron: Paperback
    by Daniel Clowes
    ISBN 1560971169 (1-56097-116-9)
    Softcover, Fantagraphics Books

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    Book summary:

    Some consider this comic book novel obtuse; others find it deeply intellectual. Whatever the reaction, it's hard to refute its daring originality and smooth artwork. Described as "a terrifying journey into madness," the story revolves around Clay Loudermilk as he stumbles upon the mysteries behind a snuff film. Soon he's involved with increasingly bizarre characters who hang in the air like stale cigarette smoke. Fans of movie director David Lynch who aren't already tipped to Daniel Clowes's popular work should take note. [via]

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  • Locas: a Love & Rockets Book
    by Jaime Hernandez
    ISBN 156097611X (1-56097-611-X)
    Hardcover, Fantagraphics Books

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  • Maus: A Survivor's Tale My Father Bleeds History and Here My Troubles Began
    by Art Spiegelman
    ISBN 0679748407 (0-679-74840-7)
    Softcover, Pantheon Books

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    NA [via]

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  • Maus a Survivors Tale: My Father Bleeds History
    by Art Spiegelman
    ISBN 0394747232 (0-394-74723-2)
    Softcover, Random House Inc

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    Book summary:

    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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  • Maus: A Survivors's Tale/Here My Troubles Began
    by Art Spiegelman
    ISBN 0679729771 (0-679-72977-1)
    Softcover, Pantheon Books

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    Book summary:

    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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  • My New York Diary
    by Julie Doucet
    ISBN 1896597831 (1-896597-83-1)
    Softcover, Drawn & Quarterly Publications

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    THE CLASSIC GRAPHIC NOVEL, BACK IN PRINT Back in print is the classic graphic novel by the acclaimed (though no longer working in comics) iconic artist Julie Doucet. In one of the first contemporary graphic novels, Doucet abruptly packs her bags and moves to New York. Trouble follows her in the form of a jealous boyfriend, insecurity about her talent, her worsening epilepsy, and a tendency to self-medicate with booze and drugs. [via]

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  • Doucet, Julie: New York Diary
    New York Diary
    by Julie Doucet
    ISBN 1896597246 (1-896597-24-6)
    Softcover, Drawn & Quarterly Publications

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  • Persepolis
    by Marjane Satrapi
    ISBN 1594970351 (1-59497-035-1)
    Softcover, Public Square Books

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    Book summary:

    Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis is an exemplary autobiographical graphic novel, in the tradition of Art Spiegelman's classic Maus. Set in Iran during the Islamic Revolution, young Satrapi is the six-year-old daughter of two committed and well-to-do Marxists. As she grows up, she witness first-hand the effects that the revolution and the war with Iraq have on her home, family and school.

    Like Maus, the main strength of Persepolis is its ability to make the political personal.

    Told through the eyes of a child (as reflected in Satrapi's simplistic yet expressive black-and-white artwork), young Marjane learns about her family history and how it is entwined with the history of Iran, and watches her liberal parents cope with a fundamentalist regime that gets increasingly rigid as it gains more power. Outspoken and intelligent, Marjane chafes at Iran's increasingly conservative interpretation of Islamic law, especially as she grows into a bright and independent teenager. Throughout, Marjane remains a hugely likeable young woman

    Persepolis gives the reader a snapshot of daily life in a country struggling with an internal cultural revolution and a bloody war, but within an intensely personal context. It's a very human history, beautifully and sympathetically told. --Robert Burrow [via]

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  • Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return
    by Marjane Satrapi
    ISBN 0375714669 (0-375-71466-9)
    Softcover, Random House Inc

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    Book summary:

    Picking up the thread where her debut memoir-in-comics concluded, Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return details Marjane Satrapi's experiences as a young Iranian woman cast abroad by political turmoil in her native country. Older, if not exactly wiser, Marjane reconciles her upbringing in war-shattered Tehran with new surroundings and friends in Austria. Whether living in the company of nuns or as the sole female in a house of eight gay men, she creates a niche for herself with friends and acquaintances who feel equally uneasy with their place in the world.

    After a series of unfortunate choices and events leave her literally living in the street for three months, Marjane decides to return to her native Iran. Here, she is reunited with her family, whose liberalism and emphasis on Marjane's personal worth exert as strong an influence as the eye-popping wonders of Europe. Having grown accustomed to recreational drugs, partying, and dating, Marjane now dons a veil and adjusts to a society officially divided by gender and guided by fundamentalism. Emboldened by the example of her feisty grandmother, she tests the bounds of the morality enforced on the streets and in the classrooms. With a new appreciation for the political and spiritual struggles of her fellow Iranians, she comes to understand that "one person leaving her house while asking herself, 'is my veil in place?' no longer asks herself 'where is my freedom of speech?'"

    Satrapi's starkly monochromatic drawing style and the keenly observed facial expressions of her characters provide the ideal graphic environment from which to appeal to our sympathies. Bereft of fine detail, this graphic novel guides the reader's attention instead toward a narrative rich with empathy. Don't be fooled by the glowering self-portrait of the author on the back flap; its nearly impossible to read Persepolis 2 without feeling warmth toward Marjane Satrapi. --Ryan Boudinot [via]

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  • Rebel Visions
    by Patrick Rosenkranz
    ISBN 156097706X (1-56097-706-X)
    Softcover, Fantagraphics Books

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    Book summary:

    The first major historical work about the most influential artistic movement in America since the Beat Generation revolutionized literature.

    This is a provocative chronicle of the guerilla art movement that changed comics and popular culture forever. This comprehensive book follows the movements of about 50 artists from 1963 to 1975, the heyday of the underground comix movement. Through interviews with the participants and other materials, Rebel Visions is the most intimate look ever at the people and events that forged the phenomenon known as underground comix, from New York to San Francisco, from the corn belt to deep in the heart of Texas, beginning that day in 1968 when R. Crumb debuted Zap #1 from a baby carriage in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district. Rosenkranz spent over 30 years researching this book and acquiring the cooperation of every significant underground cartoonist who worked throughout this period, including Crumb, Gilbert (Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers) Shelton, Bill (Zippy) Griffith, Art (Maus) Spiegelman, Jack Jackson, S. Clay Wilson, Robert Williams, and many more. The book is illustrated with many never-before-seen drawings by all of the underground cartoonists and exclusive photographs.

    The book is centered in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district, where Crumb and the rest of his Zap cronies commingled with the rest of the city's countercultural scene, notably musicians like the Grateful Dead and Janis Joplin. The counterculture was omnipresent in San Francisco for those few years, with underground tabloids like Yellow Dog and the San Francisco Oracle steering the zeitgeist out-of-control, along with the music, political, and psychedelic drug scenes, all of which found a group of unlikely revolutionaries who drew cartoons right at the epicenter. This is the definitive book on a memorable and historic era. [via]

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  • Rebel Visions: The Underground Comix Revolution 1963-1975
    by Patrick Rosencranz
    ISBN 1560974648 (1-56097-464-8)
    Hardcover, Fantagraphics Books

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    Book summary:

    The first major historical work about the most influential artistic movement in America since the Beat Generation revolutionized literature.

    A provocative chronicle of the guerrilla art movement that changed comics forever, this comprehensive book follows the movements of 50 artists from 1967 to 1972, the heyday of the underground comix movement. Through interviews with the participants and other materials, Rebel Visions is the most intimate look ever at the people and events that forged the phenomenon known as underground comix, from New York to San Francisco, from the corn belt to deep in the heart of Texas, beginning that day in 1968 when R. Crumb debuted Zap #1 from a baby carriage on Haight Ashbury Street. Rosenkranz has spent 20 years researching this book and acquiring the cooperation of every significant underground cartoonist who worked throughout this period, including Crumb, Gilbert Shelton (Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers), Bill Griffith (Zippy the Pinhead), Art Spiegelman (Maus), Jack Jackson, S. Clay Wilson, Robert Williams, and many more. The book is illustrated with many never-before-seen drawings by all of the underground cartoonists, and exclusive photographs.

    The book focuses on San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district, where Crumb and the rest of his Zap cronies commingled with the rest of the city's counter-cultural scene, notably musicians like the Grateful Dead and Janis Joplin. The counterculture was omnipresent in San Francisco for those few years, with underground tabloids like Yellow Dog and Gothic Blimp Works steering the zeitgeist out-of-control, along with the music, political, and psychedelic drug scenes, all of which found a group of unlikely revolutionaries who drew cartoons right at the epicenter.

    "It did feel like this must have been what the cubists were going through, like all the magic of being in Paris for the post-Impressionistic movement did feel somehow like being in San Francisco in the early 1970s."  Art Spiegelman, from Rebel Visions

    "Like any utopian experiment, ideals were challenged and rewritten in the face of the daily grind. It was a harsh life lesson for me, but there were lots of laughs and some beautiful times, too..." Justin Green, from Rebel Visions

    "Underground comics were more like art and less like comics."  Gilbert Shelton, from Rebel Visions [via]

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

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    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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  • Safe Area Gorazde
    by Joe Sacco
    ISBN 1560974702 (1-56097-470-2)
    Softcover, Fantagraphics Books

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    Safe Area Gorazde is a harrowing documentary comic destined to become a classic of war reporting. In the waning days of the Bosnian war, Joe Sacco, the cartoonist behind the acclaimed Palestine, made several visits to Gorazde, a UN "safe area" that had been repeatedly attacked by Serb forces. He interviewed survivors of the Serb siege and assembled their recollections. Sacco depicts the atrocities of the war in simple, restrained panels, but his attention to detail is everywhere, from the accurate renderings of mortar scars on the landscape to the history lessons carefully embedded throughout the comic.

    Sacco never descends into sensationalism or exploitation of the war's victims, but instead adopts a subjective gaze that places readers in hiding spots from which they can only catch glimpses of the murders and rapes. Sacco leaves the particulars of these crimes up to the imagination of his readers, which is appropriate enough given the unthinkable nature of what took place in Gorazde.

    The real impact of Safe Area lies in Sacco's immersion in the daily life of Gorazde. While other journalists left Gorazde as soon as they had the clips they needed, Sacco lived in the town for weeks at a time, becoming a vicarious resident. Although the conflict was largely over by this point, Gorazde was still surrounded and Sacco was an eyewitness to his friends' struggle not only to survive but also to maintain their sanity.

    Safe Area is not just a catalogue of horrors and a condemnation of international indifference; it's also a moving portrayal of the human capacity to endure almost any hardship. Sacco refuses to fall into any clichés about the triumph of the human spirit here--the people of Gorazde themselves reject such notions--but he does offer up Safe Area as a testament to its survival. --Peter Darbyshire, Amazon.ca [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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  • 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, Dan Didio, Karen Berger, Shelly Bond, Mariah Huehner, Terri Cunningham, Richard Bruning, Paul Levitz, Georg Brewer, Robbin Brosterman, Patrick Caldon, Chris Caramalis
    ISBN 1401200893 (1-4012-0089-3)
    Hardcover, Dc Comics

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    Featuring the popular characters from the award-winning Sandman series by Neil Caiman, 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 their respective realms. In this highly imaginative book that boasts a diverse styles of breathtaking art, these seven peculiar and powerful siblings each reveal more about their true being as they star in their own tales of curiosity and wonder. THE SANDMAN: ENDLESS NIGHTS was the first comic graphic novel to be listed on the "NY Times Best-seller list. SUGGESTED FOR MATURE READERS. [via]

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  • Shadow and Light
    by Parris Quinn
    ISBN 1561632279 (1-56163-227-9)
    Softcover, Nbm Pub Co

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    SHADOW & LIGHT, Volume 1 by Paris Quinn; 9x12, 48pp.,B&W, trade pb. with flaps, ISBN 1-56163-199-X, 1998. FOR ADULTS ONLY! After the light of day, some people like to unwind in the shadow and let out steam in unusual ways. One man likes to be his woman's slave, one woman dares her boyfriend to watch as she services a group of bankers, another gets a leash on her collar and lets her animal instincts run wild in front of her lover's camera... These books easily rank among the most beautiful NBM has ever done (and with NBM's line-up that's no small feat!) Paris Quinn is already a well-established painter with a highly realistic style. His vivid, almost photographic-quality charcoals are guaranteed to leave you slack-jawed. [Notes NBM 1999] "Standout erotica rendered in lush shades!" Adult Video New, 1999. [via]

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

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

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    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]

    More editions of Watchmen:

  • 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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