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The Absolute Editions are a
key to anybody out there that
thinks comics and graphic novels are just kid books.
I love comic books; I have loved them since I was six years old when my Mom bought me a 3-pack of Batman Comics. The first comic in the set will forever be burned in my head as a grizzly picture of the Batman villain, Two-Face, stared back at me through the shrink-wrap. As a small child, I didn't really understand that the stories continued from book to book, issue to issue. So I would just buy issues of whatever cover I thought looked cool, or if the hero looked cool. As I got older I realized that my issues had little to no monetary value based on that I did not have complete story arcs.
So I stopped collecting around middle school. But then when I was in college I was taking a literature course in college and a student brought up the graphic novel, "Watchmen" in one of my classes. I had no idea what this story was, so my classmate brought it in and let me look at it. I was hooked all over again. I immediately got a subscription to Wizard Comic Book Magazine to find out what the hot books were at the moment, and started a subscription list of books to be held for me at my local comic shop. I officially became an addict (or nerd if you prefer) all over again.
During this time of rediscovery, I discovered many of the great stories I had either missed over the years, or did not understand the significance of as a kid; stories and graphic novels like "Watchmen," "Crisis on Infinite Earths," "Kingdom Come" and "The Dark Knight Returns." I was taken away by how brilliant the writing was, how visually stunning the art was, and how easily it was to be taken away to a place where usually only movies take me; a place where men and women can fly, run at light speed and become the embodiment of fear.
Another medium that was coming of age during my period of rediscovery was DVD. What made DVD so popular was not only that the movie was on a small disc; DVDs contained tons of extra features like "making of" documentaries, deleted scenes, original film trailers and other fun stuff. What is the comparison? Well in 2002, DC Comics released hard cover editions of some of their stories from their DC/Wildstorm Comics imprint. They were collections of usually a twelve issue story arc bound together in very nice hardcover edition with a slip case box. It was an experiment that DC played with a little while in 2002-2003.
DC/Wildstorm called them "Absolute Editions." The term "absolute" didn't really take on meaning until DC/America's Best Comics released "Absolute League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume 1," by Alan Moore. With this release, the publishers not only put the entire mini-series in one volume, but they remastered the art work and added special features. Like DVD's, this Absolute edition contained "making of" pages. It contained some of Moore's original script ideas and illustrator Dennis O'Neil's original art and production sketches. It was something that had not really been done before.
There were no Absolute titles released in 2004, but 2005 was the year that the Absolute format took off like Superman learning to fly. January 2005 marked the release of the revolutionary DC/Wildstorm series "Planetary" as an Absolute edition collecting issues 1-12. In August, DC/America's Best released "Absolute League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume 2" as a nifty leather edition containing the same type of extra material as Volume 1. The Absolute editions would find their permanent place on collector's shelves in the fall of that year.
The first week of October 2005 marked the release of first two solely DC Comics Absolute Editions. First to be released as a DC Absolute was author Jeph Loeb and artist Jim Lee's seminal Batman storyline, "Hush," collecting Batman Issues 608-619. "Hush" tells the story of a mysterious new villain, Hush, who tests Batman at every turn. DC chose "Absolute Batman – Hush" to launch their line because it was a recent ark. "Hush" featured an interview with Loeb and Lee and featured all of Lee's original sketches (which if you have never seen an original Jim Lee piece, you need to). The next week DC went old-school when they released "Absolute Watchmen." Yours truly has reviewed that edition on this site already, so I don't need to go into it. Let me just say it was a huge hit with collectors, even with a price tag of $75. Readers craved to see how their favorite works were made, what was the author's inspiration, how the artist came up with their final look. They also got the remastered colors which looked gorgeous. Even on "Absolute Batman – Hush," a story that was only two years old, you could see the remastered color. They were hits with collectors, and DC did not disappoint with their future releases.
In November, DC published "Absolute Crisis on Infinite Earths." DC out showed themselves with "Crisis" as this volume contained two books. The first book was the entire, remastered mini-series. The second book was all the supplemental material compiled by author Marv Wolfman and George Perez. "Absolute Crisis on Infinite Earths" was one of the most comprehensive collector's editions ever assembled.
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November 2007
This is what the Absolute editions strive to be; a comprehensive guide to important works of art in the comic book world. And that is what many people consider these stories to be; written and illustrated works of art.
2006 marked four more tremendous Absolute Edition releases. First up in July was author Mark Waid and artist Alex Ross's apocalyptic super-hero tale, "Kingdom Come." Waid's story is fantastic, but it's Ross's art that make it classic and worthy of the Absolute treatment. Alex Ross's art looks less like paintings and more like photographs; Ross's art looks amazingly real. If you have never seen an Alex Ross painting, you simply must and I urge you to search his paintings out.
November gave is readers a glimpse at the Genesis instead of the Revelation when "Absolute DC: The New Frontier" was released. The graphic novel was written and illustrated by Darwyn Cooke. "New Frontier" told a new version of the beginning of the DC Universe, and Cooke drew that world in the style made famous by "Batman the Animated Series," which was very stylized. But neither of these titles were as big as what was yet to come.
August 2006 gave collectors what may be considered the most Absolute of Absolute editions when DC released "Absolute Dark Knight." This set collected Frank Miller's 1986 epic, "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (DKR)" and his 2001 sequel "Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again (aka DK2)" in one huge volume. Like "Watchmen," Miller's "DKR" is considered a milestone in graphic novels. Those two stories revitalized the industry by bringing back old fans and creating new ones. "DKR" shows Bruce Wayne coming out of a self-imposed retirement to clean up an apocalyptic Gotham City once more. "DK2" was not received as well as its predecessor, but is still an interesting story. Collected together, they are a monument to the genius of Frank Miller. Like other Absolute Editions, "Absolute Dark Knight" gives us a glimpse into the world of Frank Miller by showing readers his inspirations and reasons for why he took the road he did. "Absolute Dark Knight" was so popular I had to wait over a month for my copy to come in because they were on back order with the publisher! But 2006 was not done yet.
In October, DC released the first Absolute Edition for the Vertigo line of comics. Quick background: Vertigo is the DC's mature line of comics, focusing not on superheroes, but more on supernatural/horror stories, crime/noir stories and others of that nature. For their inaugural Vertigo release, DC issued "Absolute Sandman Volume 1." "Sandman" was created by author Neil Gaiman in 1988, and is considered one of the greatest comic series ever created. Gaiman's fantasy/horror stories were expertly written and gorgeously illustrated which made it perfect for DC/Vertigo's first plunge into the Absolute. "Absolute Sandman Vol. 1" collects issues 1-20 of the original series, and is the first of a planned four volumes. “"bsolute Sandman Vol. 1" contains the original series proposal, the full script and pencil art. "Absolute Sandman Vol. 1" was a perfect addition to the Absolute Series.
2007 has already started hot out of the gates. In April the Batman received his third Absolute edition with the release of "Absolute Batman: The Long Halloween." Jeph Loeb's story of Batman's early years is a gripping read that I read in one sitting upon receiving my copy (I had never read the story previously). "Long Halloween" tells, as stated, of Batman's early years, the beginnings of his allegiance with Detective James Gordon, the downfall of District Attorney Harvey Dent (aka Two-Face), and a serial killer that only kills on holiday's. "Long Halloween" is more of a detective story rather than a superhero story. Along with the usual special features, this edition also has an interview/introduction to "The Long Halloween" by Christopher Nolan and David Goyer, who used Loeb's story as an inspiration in writing their screenplay for "Batman Begins" and the upcoming sequel, "The Dark Knight." If you read "The Long Halloween" and then watch "Batman Begins," you will see many elements of the story in the movie.
With more to come this year, the Absolute editions are hot commodities for collectors. Expected still to release in 2007 are "Absolute Sandman Vol. 2" and "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier." They are essential editions to any collector. The Absolute Editions are also a key to anybody out there that thinks comics and graphic novels are just kid books. These editions will show nay-sayers that these are interesting, intelligent stories that are written by some of the greatest writers in the world, and drawn by some of the premier artist in the world. This is why I have spent so much time talking about these editions. They are tributes to those that made them happen. They are monuments to Frank Miller, Alan Moore, Jim Lee, Alex Ross and all the other creative minds that have contributed to these great stories. Be warned, they are expensive; the Absolute editions range in price from $49.99 to $99.00, but they are worth every penny. I often joke that my comic collections are going to put my kids through college. What I really look forward to is the day that I can pull these books off my book shelf and show my kids what comics really are; works of art. And it is these DC Absolute Editions that make that point well known.
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