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This is the first comic book that actually moved me so much that I cried; I've watched movies and read serious literature that did the same but I've never had a comic book do this to me and so it restarted for me an adventure since then to revisit this literary genre with a great deal more respect than ever before. This was just so different from what I'd come to expect from reading the bronze age floppies from my childhood days and it dawned on me that comics had grown up with me too. This is the hardcover release with a nice Jimmy Olsen Daily Planet article at the start that serves as a great intro and ends with a gallery of original covers and a prose treatment by Miller as a pitch to the powers that be for the graphic novel. The binding is glued and holds up pretty well given that it's only about 200 or so pages and stays open fairly well on a flat surface with no real gutter loss.
It's difficult to describe just how influential this work was speaking as one who actually read it not that long after its original release. Just like Watchmen and Sandman that were released at about the same time these were disruptors of comics and the genre has never been the same since. Reading this now, it is easy to dismiss this as ironically comics today are so much like this having been so heavily influenced by these 3 works that I see some reviewers complaining about the artwork and even the story comparing this with newer Snyder and Loeb stories. That's like comparing Dr J with Michael Jordan and saying Michael is better when one disrupted the game so much, reinventing what can be done athletically on the court and clearly influencing the latter.
The art by Miller was controversially different from what was the norm at the time and judging from some of the reviews here still is as it challenged the predominantly Jack Kirby style that was prevalent with something a lot more impressionist allowing the reader to focus more on the story than being distracted by the art. The art style also emphasises the dystopian nature of the imperfect future described by Miller. For the newbie reading this, bearing the above in mind and remembering the context of the times this was written i.e. Reaganomics of the 80s will help enhance the understanding and the enjoyment of the reading experience.
In the end the story is one of hope and describes how one doesn't need to feel powerless about one's situation when taking personal and collective responsibility as an individual and as a society can make a difference even when rulers that are elected fail us by pursuing their own personal agendas. We gave them the power, we can take it back. Perhaps this story is still very relevant today?
Great influential story in a very good hardcover release makes this an easy review.
Very, very highly recommended!
- Paperback: 224 pages
- Publisher: DC Comics (May 1, 1997)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1563893428
- ISBN-13: 978-1563893421
- Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 0.4 x 10.2 inches
- Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
- Customer Reviews: 1,036 customer reviews
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Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#110,025 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #518 in Science Fiction Graphic Novels (Books)
- #881 in Superhero Comics & Graphic Novels
- #264 in DC Comics & Graphic Novels
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