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Whistle Stopper - Watching the Watchmen: The Definitive Companion to the Ultimate Graphic Novel
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List Price: $39.95
Our Price: $24.37
Your Save: $ 15.58 ( 39% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Titan Books
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 741
EAN: 9781848560413
ISBN: 1848560419
Label: Titan Books
Manufacturer: Titan Books
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 256
Publication Date: 2008-10-21
Publisher: Titan Books
Release Date: 2008-10-21
Studio: Titan Books
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Great art and not much else
Comment: Just a quick note here...
I bought this hoping for a lot more insight, commentary, maybe even some hidden points of interest about WATCHMEN that I hadn't already seen or read about. To be fair, there were a few of those hidden points, but by and large this is a book that explores the art development of WATCHMEN, not the plot discussions & development or themes of the work.
You'd expect that from a book authored by Gibbons, instead of Moore, but still...it's awfully thin on commentary. A decent magazine article would have more info than this.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Understanding the creative process
Comment: This is a product first and foremost for those who would like to learn how Watchmen was created. You get a pretty good insight in how the collaborative process of making Watchmen proceded. Those who wants new insights in the story itself will not get what they hope for. Then you are better off with some of the annotations you can find on the internet. It also contains some chapters about how Watchmen was recieved by readers and the impact on comics at the time.
If you have already read the absolute edition you will find overlaps in the material in this book.
Having said that, I still enjoyed the book. Gibbons presents his overview sketches of the series and for those who has wondered about his part in the creation of the story (not the art), you get your answers here.
I mostly enjoyed the chapters that went outside the story of Watchmen itself - the parts that are the most original for the book.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great book for a coffee table or collector
Comment: This item is really great but before I get into this review I am going to describe what this item actually is. It is a very unique thing, as is Watchmen, that is part graphic novel part written documentary and has a very reality based thought process that shows exactly what Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons were thinking while developing the story. It also tells how they met, what they were doing before Watchmen, and plenty about what Watchmen means to them. Great book, great story, amazing transformation drawings of pretty much every character, including a full body spandex blot suit that Rorschach started out in. Just to mention, this book is a high quality hardcover with a dust sleeve so it will really last a long time and looks more sophisticated then a bunch of comics sprawled all over the place. This really is THE definitive companion to the graphic novel and is highly recommended by me on just the artwork alone. Hope this helps.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Outstanding support book
Comment: This is a wonderful companion volume to Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons' seminal mid-80s graphic novel.
Packed full of notes, sketches, finished art and alternative designs, it shows the huge amount of work that went into the landmark work. Gibbons' comments are incisive, detailed, and often eye-opening, revealing the depth of purpose and variety of themes he and writer Moore worked into their hugely influential masterwork.
It is also very revealing about what went on behind the scenes in the business of comics in the 80s, and how decisions and compromises were reached when dealing with publisher DC Comics.
All in all, a vital purchase for anyone studying, or even simply interested in, graphic novels as modern works of art.
Customer Rating:
Summary: In a word - Inspirational.
Comment: As an artist myself, I find getting into the head of other creators to be one of the best ways to find my OWN inspiration. Dave Gibbons has always been one of my favourite creative fellows, and this collection of excerpts, sketches, notes and drawings are as close as we'll ever come to seeing just how the mind of someone with THIS MUCH creative drive works. A must for anyone with a desire to create, and also for anyone who enjoyed the original graphic novel. It's like a great DVD bonus supplement disc - only with pages.
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Editorial Reviews:
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Enjoy the ultimate companion to a comics masterpiece, as award-winning artist Dave Gibbons gives his own account of the genesis of WATCHMEN in this dust-jacketed hardback volume, opening his vast personal archives to reveal never-published pages, original character designs, page thumbnails, sketches and much more, including posters, covers and rare portfolio art. Featuring the breathtaking design of Chip Kidd and Mike Essl, WATCHING THE WATCHMEN is both a major art book in its own right, and the definitive companion to the graphic novel that changed an industry.
Voted among Time magazine's 100 Best Novels from 1923 to the present, a perennial bestseller over the past twenty years and widely considered the greatest graphic novel of all time, WATCHMEN is a gripping, labyrinthine piece of comic art, which has earned an acclaimed place in modern literary history.
"I've had a great time, re-visiting the very beginnings of Watchmen and unearthing material I haven't set eyes on for many years. As a fan myself, this is the kind of stuff I eat up and I'm sure the many devotees of the graphic novel will do the same!" says Gibbons.
© DC Comics 2008. All Rights Reserved.
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