The Life And Times Of Martha Washington In The Twenty-First Century [Hardcover]

Frank Miller (Author), Dave Gibbons (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 22, 2009

A masterpiece nearly twenty years in the making, this archival, oversized, and slipcased hardcover volume contains the complete life story of Martha Washington, the twenty-first century freedom fighter created by comic-book megastars Frank Miller (Sin City, 300) and Dave Gibbons (Watchmen). Our story begins in the squalid corridors of a maximum-security housing project, where a young girl will rise from the war-torn streets of Chicago to battle injustice in a world insane with corruption. Her fight will take her far, from the frontlines of the second American Civil War, to the cold, unforgiving reaches of space. She will be called a hero, a traitor, and nearly everything in between, but all along the way, her courage, her integrity, and her unwavering commitment to that most valuable of rights - liberty - will inspire a movement that will never surrender!

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

In 1990, Miller, the writer-artist of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, and Gibbons, the artist of Watchmen (the two most acclaimed and influential comics of the 1980s, which led to a tide of super antiheroes), created a full-fledged hero in the form of female warrior Martha Washington. Set in a farcically dystopian near future, the tale followed its heroine from her childhood in the Chicago projects through her rise in the military, serving a nation that’s not only at war with 40 other countries but is soon roiled by secession. Miller expands upon the absurdist genre trappings that distinguished his Dark Knight series but consistently treats Washington with an admiring dignity, and Gibbons’ artwork limns her exploits with clarity and verve. The pair returned to the character repeatedly over the following decade, with her exploits growing ever more outlandish, eventually leading her to save the entire planet before heading to the far reaches of outer space. The presumably complete saga is collected in this massive volume, which is sure to be greeted enthusiastically by the creators’ many fans. --Gordon Flagg --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 600 pages
• Publisher: Dark Horse (September 22, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593076541
• ISBN-13: 978-1593076542
• Product Dimensions: 12.6 x 8.4 x 2.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,313,087 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best $30 you'll ever spend on comics, EVER!, September 7, 2010

By 

Kid Kyoto (United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: The Life and Times of Martha Washington in the Twenty-First Century (Paperback)

Launched in the early 90s and continuing sporadically for more than a decade, the adventures of Martha Washington are sometimes hysterically funny, sometimes scary and always entertaining.

Set in the near future, Martha is a poor black girl born into a maximum security housing project in an America where the President is re-elected forever and we are at war with forty different countries. As years pass the president is assassinated, America collapses into a second civil war and finally the world starts to rebuild. Martha becomes a soldier, a freedom fighter and an explorer.

The book is deliberately over the top but always played straight. Even when Martha is battling a 100' tall corporate mascot it is treated like a deadly threat. Sometimes the satire cuts too close to home and we see echoes of current politics in Martha's battles.

Frank Miller (Dark Knight Returns, 300) and David Gibbons (Watchmen) are two top creators and this is their masterpiece. It will make you laugh, it will make you shudder, and it will make you cry. In this book they give Martha Washington more personality and heroism than Wonder Woman has developed in 70 years.

I had the entire series as individual issues but I am very glad to have them in one package, along with pages and pages of sketches, designs and creators' notes. I still cannot believe I got it for under $30. This book would be worth it for twice the price.

Buy it!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A mixed bag (and everything good is on top), November 23, 2011

By 

Charles Gitteau (VA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Life and Times of Martha Washington in the Twenty-First Century (Paperback)

Give Me Liberty is a classic graphic novel, arguably one of the finest ever produced. Though the dystopia depicted within the story is convincing, there is a wink in Miller's writing that allows an escape from the grimness. Martha Washington is an incredibly endearing character, so it's no surprise that Miller attempted to churn out a few more stories featuring her. Unfortunately, by the time he got around to using her again, he had descended into the depths of hackery that he's still plumbing to this very day. He's got some Randian nonsense in here, and then some anti-futurist stuff and blablabla. I don't mind anyone's views, so long as they can be presented in an entertaining way. This doesn't fit the bill. Gibbons' art falls off pretty steadily, as well. In one of the apology notes that Dave includes at the beginning of each storyline, he mentions that he began using a computer shortly after Give Me Liberty, and I suspect that is the problem. It doesn't help that Miller sticks him with a bunch of splash pages and panoramas to which his style of art is not particularly suited. I'm not sorry that I bought this book, especially at this price, but I'd be just as happy if it ended 400 pages earlier.

5.0 out of 5 stars All in one is WAY more fun, June 20, 2011

By 

D. Cantland "Drummer/PC Tech" (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Life and Times of Martha Washington in the Twenty-First Century (Paperback)

I owned these as individual books. Once I got this gem, I was able to enjoy them in one volume. It's not small, but can be read as a complete body of work as I think embodies the original intent of the writer and artists.

Many current characters seem to bear close resemblance to this character