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09/07/05

Watchmen Absolute Edition

Filed under: Literature, Comics — Kyle Email @ 12:37:59 pm

For several years, movie fans have been treated to special DVD editions of their favorite films, filled with bonus scenes, documentaries, commentaries, outtakes, and everything else a geek could ever want. It's even started to become a staple of video released with new movies immediately being released as "Collector's Editions," to the point that simple DVDs are simply not good enough anymore. The fans expect bonus material with their purchase.

This mentality is beginning to bleed over into the comics industry. To comemorate the 20th anniversary of the greatest superhero comic book ever written, DC is releasing Watchmen: The Absolute Edition: The slipcased hardcover book features the original comic with restored and recolored artwork, presented "as originally intended." It also includes script excerpts, sketches, cover drafts, and more. The cover price is very steep ($75), but Amazon.com offers a deal that makes this book very appealing. I might be willing to spend $47 for it.

2 comments

Comment from: Jonathan [Visitor]
JonathanI'm curious what the recoloring means. I hope it's just corrections (like fixing a shirt collar being accidentally colored skin color, etc.) and doesn't utilize computer shading and stuff.

I'm kind of skeptical of "revisionist" colorations (compare Batman Year One as a collection to the coloring in the original issues) but sometimes it just looks better (as the collected Year One does). I never really liked the bright clashing colors in Watchmen but that's part of what it is, so I hope they don't change it.
09/08/05 @ 14:02
Comment from: Kyle [Member] Email
KyleThe coloring was done partly by the original colorist, and approved by Dave Gibbons (the artist) as appearing "as originally intended."

My guess is that the quality of paper stock and/or ink used in comic books at the time may not have allowed for the kind of coloring the artists truly wanted. Perhaps they're now able to use a wider range of colors to create a more dynamic world than they could in 1986. Whatever it is, though, it sounds like it will not be radically different from the original comics.
09/08/05 @ 15:17

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