Posts Tagged ‘Alan Moore

05
Jul
08

Batman: The Killing Joke

By arpijikii Leave a Comment
Categories: Comics & Graphic Novels
Tags: , , , ,

Batman: The Killing Joke

[Alan Moore, Brian Bolland]

Product Description

The Killing Joke, one of my favorite Batman stories ever, stirred a bit of controversy because the story involves the Joker brutally, pointlessly shooting Commissioner Gordon’s daughter in the spine. This is a no-holds-barred take on a truly insane criminal mind, masterfully written by British comics writer Alan Moore. The art by Brian Bolland is so appealing that his depiction of the Joker became a standard and was imitated by many artists to follow.

Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #293 in Books
  • Published on: 2008-03-19
  • Released on: 2008-03-19
  • Number of items: 1
  • Binding: Hardcover
  • 64 pages

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
The Killing Joke, one of my favorite Batman stories ever, stirred a bit of controversy because the story involves the Joker brutally, pointlessly shooting Commissioner Gordon’s daughter in the spine. This is a no-holds-barred take on a truly insane criminal mind, masterfully written by British comics writer Alan Moore. The art by Brian Bolland is so appealing that his depiction of the Joker became a standard and was imitated by many artists to follow.

Customer Reviews

Joker at his Best!
First off I had this book when I was young…the original print and then one day while shopping here on Amazon I find it in a hardcover edition and free shipping with my Prime membership….whoooooosssssshhhhhh in my cart faster then a speeding bullet!….Wait that’s Supes not Bats….well you get the idea.

I must honestly say…the Killing Joke is without a doubt one of my all time favorite comic book self contained stories! How good is it, you ask? If I was stranded on a desert island and I could only take 5 of my all time favorite reads with me….Killing Joke would be one of them. Let me try to review without spoiling anything for those of you that may have never read this gem…and believe me it’s been around for years!

First off the scribe of Alan Moore is nothing short of incredible to intense to at times insane. Mr. Moore can bring up feelings in his readers that make you want to turn you head to advert your eyes….but alas you can’t and you won’t….like a rubber necker driving past a car wreck you are doomed to stare all slacked jawed as you slowly roll by. That is the Killing Joke….Alan Moore at his best….teamed up with Brian Bolland (best known for his Judge Dredd vs. Judge Death in 2000AD comics) at his best. Brian has the spectacular talent to feed your eyes these unbelievable images and leave you wanting more. Even when they are ugly…haunting images….you still can see the beauty of his work.
So one of the best Batman Stories?? Without a doubt. Should you own it??? God yes! 5 out of 5 Stars….I would have given it 10!

Thanks for reading!

The Killing Joke
My second favorite comic ever to of course The Dark Knight Returns. The hard copy is definitely the recommended version. The coloring is phenomenal to go along with a quick moving plot line and some fantastic action sequences.

The way the Joker was meant to be!!!!!!!
A must read for batman and comic book fans alike. Just another masterpiece by Alan Moore.
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05
Jul
08

Watchmen

By arpijikii Leave a Comment
Categories: Comics & Graphic Novels
Tags: , , ,

WATCHMEN

[Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons]

 

Product Description

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. –MarkThwaite

Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #177 in Books
  • Published on: 1995-04-01
  • Released on: 1995-04-01
  • Number of items: 1
  • Binding: Paperback
  • 416 pages

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
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

Customer Reviews

superstars revisited
This comic was recommended to me, but I would never have picked it up myself – it looks like and has the feel of the old superhero comics which I do not like at all (except for The Spirit). But this one is deeper than you might think – it’s a serious looking parody on these very supermancomics, which makes it nice. I still don’t really go for the looks of this comic, but the story is really good.

What Can Be Said?
What can I say that hasn’t already been said about “Watchmen”? I first read this graphic novel when it first was published. I was newbie at collecting comic books and a good friend said “Hey man, you’ve got to check this out.” And I did and was floored, never had we (comic book readers) seen anything of this depth and caliber. I mean, “The Dark Knight Returns” was ground breaking, but “Watchmen” was something totally different. It was a novel, a incredibly detailed journey to an alternate superhero reality and it worked. I absolutely love this book and I am looking forward to Zack Snyder’s interpretation. If you haven’t read this book and you love comic books, then what are you waiting for?
A classic5
This makes about the 10th time I’ve been through this series. It really was an amazing turning point for comics. I caught it a few years late, but the impact was no less effective. The shifts between current and flashback, the relationship of the side stories to events in the characters lives – and particularly the dark, adult subject matter explaining the motivations of the various flawed characters made it so real – a little too real at my first exposure.

Although it’s not the most clever story in the whole, my favorite character to analyze has always been Dr. Manhattan. As kids we played superheroes and the inevitable escalation of powers always led to the taunt “well, Superguy (or whatever) can do anything”. As an adult, Watchmen explored the idea of exactly what could happen to a person that can basically do anything – how it affects his mental shift, values and relationships. It remains the most intriguing mindplay from the series, at least for me.

I don’t have to extol the values of the series; they’re well documented. This series and the Dark Knight Returns series was what brought my attention back to comic books from my grade school days with Jack Kirby and Stan Lee.

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