Miller being creative, and when he could draw well
920628
I had an old friend who owned this book when we were younger. Having recently read this for the first time, I wish I had picked it up sooner. Very cool storyline (especially if you consider when it was penned), drawings are well done when they need to be, and simple when it will suffice (unlike most modern comic artists who need to show off in every damn panel).

 My only gripe is that this it obviously a later printing, and the cover is newly drawn by Miller. If you're like me and really just can't stand to look at his most recent 'style' (if you choose to call it that), you'll wince when you look at the cover and wonder why they had to change it at all.
4188550
This is a classic because of the story and the art. For the writing, Miller envisioned the DC universe at a certain future and went from there, focusing on Batman. The hero aspect aside, the progression of the story worked around a traditional literary motif: a character who was once lost finds his way back to more familiar ground. In this case, Batman has turned away from his vigilante ways. And while the story is linear and somewhat predictable, witnessing Batman's development from a retired and troubled do-gooder to a man secure in his place appeals on many levels. The incremental progression of this story gave it much of its power. He doesn't go from retired to taking on the biggest bad guy in a couple of pages. It takes the length of the graphic novel. In between, there are small obstacles that he (and the plot) have to overcome in order to proceed onto the next problem. This development flowed easily and energetically. Artistically, Miller's pencils coupled with Varley's dark inks reflect the city that Gotham has become and the characters therein. Compare the scenes where the president and Superman make appearances: they are outside of the common man, the real world, and the artwork used at these times show this: bright colors and loads of white, they are like advertisements. An interesting cross-over between the two major emotional landscapes occurs when Superman fights in different places around the world. During these scenes, the colors are as similarly dark as those used in Gotham, but when stress needed to be put on his other worldliness, and godliness, all of a sudden the colors became brighter and cleaner. The artists adeptly wrapped the reader's emotions to the color scheme and visual pacing. Amazing.
I would recommend this graphic novel to anyone interested in comics, Batman and pulp story telling. Writers would also be well served in considering the geometry of this tale.
Thank you.
Roland Petalver
4051016
I sent this yo my guy who is incarcerated. He loves to be creative and draw. It has cheered him up and given him something to do with his time. Thank you for having it available.
1378903
really? it's great! I loved the smiles he draw I am keep that! love it!
3203365
As an abstract expressionistic painter, I appreciate the approach of making connections for drawing, as well!  Normally I am not crazy about representational art, but this sheds a whole new light on the subject.
190386
This is some of Greg Capullo's best works in my opinion.  I loved looking directly at his pencils.  As someone who dabbles in art and is always an aspiring comic artist, I loved seeing how he lays out his pages and does his pencils.

I have really loved his work since I first saw it in the pages of Spawn.  He is one of the best in the industry.
605884
Dave isn't just a great artist, he also does a fabulous job of sharing his process by giving you the various stages of artistic construction of his mechs. Highly recommended!
282757
Various authors use Burdick's "lost" drawings as their springboard to creating a story to go with them. Some are more successful than others but generally entertaining.
3304662
Brilliant drawing makes up for a somewhat contrived, violent plot.
4633585
It's not clear whether Dali was a genius or a mad man, or both, as his art transcends anything else on the market at the time. This pair of large coffee table books goes through his life with many many pictures of his work.

He evolved throughout his career like a child who sees something shining and is drawn to it. Dali was influenced not only by the people who surrounded him but other artists, scientists, politicians and figures from his reading. He was also influenced by World events and in particular the start of the nuclear age. There is a deep religious vein that runs through all his work and Dali embraced that fully.

Some of his art is over my head and that points to his world view. He is the Sun at the centre and all else resolves around him. As is standard for most performers, he had an exaggerated image of himself. Although from my perspective, he was probably right at the time.

A multi talented man he not only did painting, drawing etc but also theatre, films, and books. He was intrigued by new technology and often was at the bleeding edge of adopting that technology to his craft.

Some would say that Damien Hirst carries on this tradition but I disagree in that money appears to drive Hirst while Dali didn't give a hoot about money, it was about the craft.

FANTASTIC table top book set. INCREDIBLEY interesting person. HIGHLY recommended
4296299
A masterful collection by an original artist, using words as brush strokes of metaphor and color.
3580251
Amazing how a fellow who never held a paint brush in his hand can review artists.

 He looks down on Wyeth, but I dare him to paint one moment of truth. Build up a lifetime of painting and drawing before you break people down into your little boxes. You have no idea what it is  to spend ones life, studying, painting, trying to capture a play in light, a form, a gesture, a feeling within a soul. You are the angry little boy that wish he could.
3142718
This guy can turn a non-talented person into a descent artist. To be a great artist just takes time but at least you can amaze your friends at the dinner table. Other books I like are from Burne Hogarth, Christopher Hart, and Marvel but these books don't spoon feed you how to draw if you are artistically slow with hands that weren't all blessed. They give you a lot of information which you must pound into your head like an anvil and you still might not be able to draw well. This book fixes all that by breaking each drawing step down to its lowest foundamentals down to the atomic level. If you can read and follow simple instructions, then you will be able to draw at least descent basic amateur  character that your friends who knew you for not having any previous talent will say, not bad keep it up.
2044154
Ethan Young's first comic adds to a growing literature of graphic novels: an autobiographical look, or something close, at his own path through his early twenties. It shows his own struggle as a dropped-out student, would-be comic artist, barely-making-it worker in an animal shelter, and more.

Young strikes a slightly surreal balance of straight narration, epic fantasy, happy affection for his girlfriend Cynthia ("Sin"), and argumentative flashbacks. Of course, all those terms are too crisp and well-defined for Young's smooth melange - but over-analysis would complicate the existential, "here it is" quality that makes this so appealing. Instead, just sit back with Young's skilled, slightly nervous pen drawings, and enjoy. Oh, and hope for more from this promising young artist.

-- wiredweird
1354150
The Dark Knight Returns was written and drawn by Frank Miller, inked by Klaus Janson, and colored by Lynn Varley. It was originally published as a four-part series in 1986.

Here, Bruce Wayne is in his fifties, and he hasn't been Batman in ten years. A massive crime wave drives him back into action. There's a lot going on here: crime is out of control, Commissioner Gordon is retiring, superheroes have been done away with, the Cold War is escalating, several of the old, classic Batman villains are on the loose, and Batman's not what he used to be.

The story here is so multi-layered, so complex, and Miller does an excellent job of keeping hold of all the threads. He also does a great job of blending old, classic characters with new ones. Miller's one-page vignettes with crime victims make the story personal.

Miller likes to give us characters' internal narration of events. This works most of the time, but once in a while it's just too much ("I get sick of the arm...and kill it below the elbow."). Miller typically does this when the artwork doesn't show us all he wants it to, and he feels compelled to tell us the rest. This is the most obvious weakness in Miller's work.

Miller's art isn't pretty. It's dark, it's sloppy at times, and it's often downright ugly. But it fits the story, and it, along with Janson's inks and Varley's colors, really sets the mood. Even the layout of the panels, which are often cramped and crowded together, add to the story's smothering feel.

There's so much here, and Miller gives the reader a lot to think about. All told, The Dark Knight Returns has held up over time, and is one of the two or three greatest comic works ever created, hands down.
557511
This is a lovely "new old stock" tribute to Henry Miller. It has fine, original erotic lithographs throughout. A high quality paperback like they don't make anymore. It's from the early 80's and fetches fairly high collector prices, yet it's still available new at list price direct from editor John Bennett's own publishing house, Vagabond Press. Ironic? He's one of the last Beats, who never gave up, who produced a lot of great projects...and still washes windows for a living. "Black Messiah" offers a wide range of bold writers who innovatively tip their hat to the master. Not your standard tribute but a building-out from the spirit of Miller. It was the first issue of a project meant to be a regular series. A total must-have for Miller buffs. Inspired by America's most underpublished writer ever, Jack Saunders, who writes the thematic epigraph statement.
3305485
Barry Windsor-Smith was one of my favorite comic artists when I used to collect comics in the 1970s and 80s. His sense of detail steeped in Art Nouveau and Symbolism combined with strong storytelling pacing pulled me in  another world and lingered with me after I turned each page. His sense of  the supernatural was always spellbinding to me.
When I found out that a  new book of his was out, I eagerly purchased it without knowing anything  about it based on how much I loved his work from before. His storytelling  skills and pacing were as keen as ever. Barry Windsor-Smith still knows how  to set a mood and sustain it throughout the story.
His drawing is still  beautiful. But it was so detailed, that it was very hard to read and see  what was going on in some of the panels. There's a couple panels where he  uses a solid black background with a beautifully detailed face in front.  These were my favorite panels. I could focus on the excellently rendered  facial expressions. In a lot of the full size panels without any solid  blacks to counter all the ornate pen and ink detail, it was hard to absorb  what was going on. I may be wrong, but I get the impression this is a  reprint from a comic. Perhaps the original was colored with a simple color  scheme to help distinguish figures from foreground and background.
Aside  from that, the story was okay. I don't know Adastra's background and wished  an introduction was provided. There is an "interview" in the  back, as well as some "outtakes", but I thought they were silly  and destroyed the wonderful mood that was set up in the graphic novel. If  this graphic novel was created only for those who know the background of  the original comics, then it probably succeded. But it doesn't stand on its  own.