Reviews (8)

Simply Stunning
Sandman is such an obvious choice for reprinting in the Absolute format, I'm surprised DC took this long to think of it. Previous reviewers have hit all the right points: the full leather binding, the extra heftiness of the volume, the glorious new look to the color. Nothing seems held back. I'm already salivating over the future volumes. Here are some questions DC should consider answering: Will the final volume include the two Death series? Will any volume include the 7-page story that appeared in a DC Sampler, and was later reprinted in the Fables and Reflections HC?
Well worth your hard-earned cash!
Frankly, I've thought that most of the "Absolute" editions were overpriced and a little too self-aggrandizing. Sometimes a good comic book is just a good comic book. I think that's enough. It doesn't have to be a seminal moment in the history of Western literature.
Awesome!
I got mine in the mail yesterday and it was my first exposure to "Sandman".I loved it and will get the other volumes as well.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Comics & Graphic Novels    2. Fantasy    3. Graphic Novels    4. Graphic Novels - Fantasy    5. Graphic Novels - Superheroes   

Reviews (16)

Comics most powerful villian at his best
What can I say Ensabuh Nur is simply amazing as the anti-christ of this book he actually feels that he is God in this Story alot of shocking suff goes on in this story guys who are usually bad are good and the ones who are usually good are bad plus this story arc gave birth to many characters that are around to this day.

Book 1 for fans... Book 2 in comparison
Most fans would rather they made this book vol. 2 and the second vol. sould have been first. But this is because everyone likes the other issues (and for good reason) more.
First Half is great, but Vol. 2 should be read first...
The Age of Apocalypse was the high mark for the X-Men (and company) in the 1990s, and can in many ways be considered the climax of the X-Men saga.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    2. Comics & Graphic Novels - Superheroes    3. Fiction - General    4. General    5. Graphic Novels    6. Graphic Novels - Superheroes    7. Juvenile Fiction    8. Comics & Graphic Novels / General   

Reviews (47)

Get it. Now. You WONT be disappointed.
This is probably the first Batman graphic novel I ever read, and it raised my expectations to possibly too high a level for the rest of my experience with the genre. It is one of the three best graphic novels I have ever read, and you should get it now. Anybody who claims to be a fan of comic-books and hasn't read this is a liar.
Miller at his finest.
Even Miller himself doesn't have to be over the top ala Dark Knight Returns and Dark Knight Strikes back. The man can pen a well written story with shoving things down our throats. Here we are introduced to Carmine "The Roman" Falcone and how organized crime has taken a permanent residence in Gotham City. You can tell Nolan and Goyer were influenced by this piece of work in Begins. The inner monologue of Bruce Wayne hinting at his pent up frustation of the plague that infests Gotham City as he manifests that anger into the form of the Batman flows beautifully from the pages. I personally will take this over the ever overrated Dark Knight Returns any day!

This is the real BATMAN BEGINS
Anyone who enjoyed the Btaman Begins movie will savor this Frank Miller retelling of Batman's first year as a crime fighter. Miller script is tight like his previous works or his Sin City stuff.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Comics & Graphic Novels    2. Fantasy    3. Fiction - Fantasy    4. Graphic Novels    5. Graphic Novels - Crime & Mystery    6. Graphic Novels - Superheroes    7. Fiction / Graphic Novels   

Subjects:  1. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    2. Comics & Graphic Novels - Superheroes    3. Graphic Novels    4. Graphic Novels - Superheroes    5. Juvenile Fiction    6. Comics & Graphic Novels / General    7. Fantasy   

Reviews (4)

Worth every penny.
If you are undecided about whether or not to buy this book, if you love the X-Men but you've already bought and read some of this material before in previous reprint editions, and you're just not sure if it's worth plunking down almost 70 bucks for another reprint... well, that's exactly where I was before I went ahead and ordered this thing, and let me tell you, I am so glad I gave in.
Woot! X-men at their best
This is a great run of X-men. Beautiful volume, great color. I hope that Marvel publishes vol. 2.For the price, it's still a good value, you couldn't buy 5 years of comics on the stands today for the same price.

A magnificent volume. At over sixty bucks, it still feels like a bargain.
I just finished reading this amazing compendium.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Comics & Graphic Novels    2. Fantasy    3. Graphic Novels    4. Graphic Novels - Superheroes    5. Comics & Graphic Novels / General   

Subjects:  1. Comics & Graphic Novels / General   

Editorial Review

"Wake up, sir. We're here." It's a simple enough opening line--althoughnot many would have guessed back in 1991 thatthis would lead to one of the most popular and critically acclaimed comics of the second half of the century. Read more

Reviews (101)

Hour 5: The Flies Get Restless
Intermittently, between the films that I watch and the video games I shamelessly play, I do enjoy reading a good graphic novel here and there.Why not taste all the facets of pop culture when I have the opportunity?Neil Gaiman is the author that re-introduced me to the world of graphic novel.Through his fantastic novel (meaning a story that you could read more than one time) entitled "American Gods", I found this fantastical writer's ability to draw upon the strength of other pop culture ideas as well as nearly blend fantasy and fiction together with the greatest of ease.It was right after my reading of "American Gods" that I decided to pick up the first in his ever-popular "Sandman" series entitled Preludes & Nocturnes.From the opening frames of a miscalculated capture, through the inevitable adventures to recover lost/stolen items, to the hauntingly original final scenes where our main character, Sandman, introduces us to his family and builds a stronger, more poetic beginning to the next chapter, The Doll's House.
You know all about this
Any comic fan, avid or casual, knows the list of essential comic reading that proves that comics aren't just for kids.Of course there's Watchmen, Dark Knight Returns, Maus, Preacher, and more, and of course also on that list is Neil Gaiman's celebrated Sandman series.Preludes and Nocturnes is the beginning of one of the most revered adult series in comics history, as Gaiman weaves a tale in which Dream of the Endless seeks to reclaim the realm he lost when he was imprisoned some seventy years before.He sets forth on a mission to regain the tools of his that were lost and seek revenge on those responsible, and on the way he comes across many of DC/Vertigo's icons, including John Constantine and the Martian Manhunter, and travels to the depths of Hell to face down Lucifer Morningstar himself.Frequently chilling and startlingly poignant, this first volume in the Sandman saga is essential reading, and believe it or not, it only gets better with each passing volume.

It Is What It Is
This is, for all intents and purposes, Neil Gaiman's first real piece of work.Granted, he'd been a journalist, and he'd written a couple of other graphic novels, but nothing on this scale, nothing with this distribution, and nothing as significant.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Anthologies    2. Comics & Graphic Novels    3. Fantasy    4. Fiction    5. Fiction - Fantasy    6. Graphic Novels    7. Graphic Novels - Fantasy    8. Horror    9. Science Fiction And Fantasy    10. Fiction / Graphic Novels   

Reviews (2)

Continues to Impress
I've been collecting comics for 16+ years. I was introduced to Amazing Spider-Man during the Michelinie/Bagley run, and I wasn't particularly impressed with the character's direction at the time. I returned to the franchise when Straczynski took over, and from there I leapfrogged to Ultimate Spider-Man.
Ultimate Spider-Man versus Deadpool, Moebius, the Punisher and Daredevil (oh my)
In "Ultimate Spider-Man" Annual #1, Kitty Pryde and Peter Parker went out on their first date and took down a (semi) super-villain together.Things are progressing pretty well, but this is Spider-Man so you knew the downside of dating an X-Men was going to show up and in the 4-part "Deadpool" story ("Ultimate Spider-Man #91-94), it does with a vengeance.Written by Brian Michael Bendis, with pencils by Mark Bagley and inks by Danny Miki, the story begins after another crime-fighting date, Peter is settling down for a nice quiet night at home, when the X-Men's jet arrives, hovering over his house.When Spider-Man climbs aboard he discovers there is no one on board and when it flies on autopilot to the X-Mansion, Spider-Man find Kitty waiting for him--with an electric stun-gun that knocks him out.Then "Kitty" changes shape, and if you do not know into who then you are simply not paying attention to the title of this story arc.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    2. Comics & Graphic Novels - Superheroes    3. Graphic Novels    4. Graphic Novels - Horror    5. Graphic Novels - Superheroes    6. Horror / Ghost Stories (Young Adult)    7. Juvenile Fiction    8. Comics & Graphic Novels / General    9. Fantasy   

Reviews (20)

Hush
First off, hands down to Jim Lee and what those five amazing digits can do! His artwork is intense as it is passionate. It conveys strong emotions ranging from anger, insanity, and lust which fit as the perfect art medium to this story written by Jeph Loeb ("Long Halloween", "Smallville", "Superman for all seasons") who is no stranger to superheroes. What do you get when you combine a mystery full of whodunit, a wonderful cast of characters (I use this loosely, I will go into more detail later) and a story so full of energy leaving you breathless and gasping for more? A wonderful witches brew created by two of the biggest names in the comic books industry, 'Hush'.
drool worthy artwork
finally, a top writer and a top artist on a monthly run. the story is one of loeb's best and the art is to die for. own it just to gaze on each of the panels. def. a must buy/own.

A pathetic attempt to modernize classic mythology
Hush is a shallow and blatant 'monster mash' of characters disguising itself as an epic. culminate Batman story. Everything from Lee's generic and derivative character re-imagings (like what you'd expect to find in something produced by Image comics) to the plot. And by plot, I mean the tiringly episodic reintroduction of a character followed by quick battle and then 'on to the next one', sequence that only stops at the unveiling of a new, non compelling villain. In other words, if you're into mainstream american comics, you'll love this. If you want a real Batman story, Check out "Long Halloween," Alan Moore's "Killing Joke", Frank Miller's 'Dark Knight Returns" and Neil Gaiman's "Arkham Asylum: Serious House on Serious Earth. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Comics & Graphic Novels    2. Fiction    3. Fiction - Fantasy    4. Graphic Novels    5. Graphic Novels - General    6. Graphic Novels - Superheroes    7. Fiction / Graphic Novels   

Reviews (2)

Great series read it 5++++
I have been reading this series from the beginnig. books and comics I love the cone wars books/Comics. I just pick this up a few days ago and I loved it I really loved the part about darth vader after revenge of the sith. It brought a good end the this series. I am also enjoy in legacy of the force book series witch I am reading #2 as well as Legcy comic series. Anothe comic series I am eager to read is the dark times coming in october witch acts as a sequal to one of the stoies presrnted herw as well as dark lord witch you should also read. enjoy this series.

The end . . . and new beginnings
Endgame is a denouement, a figurative and literal cleaning up and sorting out, the final chapter in Dark Horse's Clone Wars series.That doesn't mean there's nothing but talking heads and exposition.On the contrary, there's plenty of action in three stories about choice and consequence. Read more

Subjects:  1. Children: Grades 4-6    2. Comics & Graphic Novels - General    3. Graphic Novels    4. Graphic Novels - Science Fiction    5. Juvenile Fiction    6. Juvenile Science Fiction / Fantasy    7. Movie Tie - In    8. Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic    9. Comics & Graphic Novels / General   

Editorial Review

Read more

Reviews (53)

Mourning Superman
This is a great graphic novel for those that want to know what occured to kill Superman.Many may not get the whole idea of Superman dying but this is one great compendium of action, drama, heroes, and loss.It is one of those graphic novels that everyone needs to read.If you like Superman or if you don't you may find yourself moved by this well crafted short series.

Metropolis Marvel Killed in Action
I have just started getting back into comics.Honestly, as a child, I was never really that into them, but as the world has changed and those heroes of light have slowly mutated into much darker figures, I have found myself compelled to pick up a story or two.This comic I found at a local Book Fair for an unbeatable price.I remember, back in 1993, when my friends were all talking about the inevitable death of the man that we thought could never die, Superman.It was what pulled DC comics out of a possible bankruptcy and inevitable downfall (and what television programs now use today to boost ratings), they killed their most prized hero.Alas, what they did not do was plausibly do this.Again, I am not a huge comic book follower and while I did enjoy this storyline merely for posterity, there were huge gaping holes that DC desperately needed to plug to ensure a cult story.
Good idea, but...
The Greatest superhero ever finally meets his match.As a kid we love Superman, but as we get older we turn to more realistic heroes like Batman or Spiderman.We all deep down want a hero that can swoop in, save us from danger without any real trouble.In reality, this could never happen.With the DEATH OF SUPERMAN however Superman became a little more beleiveable, more human.With his popularity waining at the start of the 90's, it was about time that Superman died.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Comic books, strips, etc    2. Fiction    3. Fiction - Fantasy    4. Graphic Novels    5. Graphic Novels - Superheroes    6. Superman (Comic strip)    7. Superman (Fictitious character    8. Superman (Fictitious character)    9. Fiction / Graphic Novels   

Reviews (24)

The highlight of the Daredevil legacy
I used to think daredevil was the lamest hero.Eventually, I started getting into the Bendis/Maleev MK books and was hooked.Then I ran into this collection and am convinced that Frank Miller did this book right as soon as he took over the writing.The storyline is complex and completely envelopes you.The final issue when DD accepts that Elektra is dead made me believe that heroes are human too.I tried reading later issues of Daredevil, but Bendis/Maleev are the only team to come close to this level.

All your favorite Daredevil characters packed in one great book!
This is a totally awesome book! It has Daredevil and Elektra, who are # 2 and 3 in my Marvel Knights Lineup(Punisher would be # 1)and throughout the book they kick a lot of butt! Also in this book are other cool heroes like Luke Cage and Iron Fist, and of course all of your favorite Daredevil villains like Bullseye and Kingpin! I of course would rank those two in the order above. The fight scenes are well written and well drawn as well as intense, and you'll love Kirigi, too!(He is my # 1 favorite Elektra villain, and very fierceand vicious and skilled)On top of all of that, this is a collection of comics that, if purchased separately, would cost over $200.00. If you like tough comics such as Daredevil, buy this without hesitation. It is a classic treasure. Oh, and people like Sewer King appear, too. THIS BOOK ROCKS! AND IT EVEN HAS THE FIGHT OF BULLSEYE AND ELEKTRA!!!

Classic Daredevil Stories/Classic Miller
Frank Miller is spectacular. Just see his work on Batman:Year One and The Dark Night Returns.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Comics & Graphic Novels    2. Fiction    3. Fiction - Fantasy    4. Graphic Novels    5. Graphic Novels - General    6. Graphic Novels - Superheroes    7. Comics & Graphic Novels / General    8. Elektra   

Reviews (13)

BRING ON THE VENOM!!!!
That was flippin' awesome!Venom is AMAZING!
Fantastic!
When I first heard that the Symbiote was going to be a cure for cancer, I was dissapointed.But they managed to pull it off amazingly!It was a great comic, but I wish spidey had worn the Symbiote Suit a little longer before losing it.Overall, this was a great comic.

Great story, but you need to buy the game to find out how it ends.
The Ultimate Venom TPB is awesome, and a worthy read, however, once you get to the end, there are too many questions left unanswered.To get these answers you have to buy the Ultimate Spider-man video game for PS2, Xbox, or Gamecube.The videogame is the second half of the story.It's been confirmed by Marvel, Activision, and Bendis that the videogame is canon to the comicbook, so those who aren't gamers just lost 1/2 of the story. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    2. Comics & Graphic Novels - Superheroes    3. Graphic Novels    4. Graphic Novels - Superheroes    5. Juvenile Fiction    6. Comics & Graphic Novels / General   

Reviews (9)

Pricey, but Priceless!
This is where the fun begins!
DC's Modern JSA
This review is about volume 1 of JLA Archives. When Heroes Were Heroes
This book recalls the days of the sixties, when heroes were heroes, villains were villains, and reasoning and deduction were more useful in defeating evil than fists, guns, and gore. A treat for those of us whopreferred the clever plots and cheerful camaraderie of the DC comics of the'60s to the sappy soap opera and relentless angst of Marvel. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Comics & Graphic Novels    2. Fiction    3. Fiction - Fantasy    4. Graphic Novels    5. Graphic Novels - General    6. Graphic Novels - Superheroes    7. Science Fiction    8. Fiction / Graphic Novels   

Reviews (19)

Psycho Circus
When people describe Batman and any related character, a prevailing word is dark. Well, what exactly is dark when it comes to a psychotic billionaire with three dimensional villains? Grant Morrison answers this question and offers a brilliant take inside Gotham's Dark Knight. Respectively named, Arkham Asylum takes the reader into a psychological journey using myth, symbol, and powerful dialog that will surely make this buy an unforgettable read. Coupled with Dave McKean of The Wolves of the Walls fame whose art evokes surrealism and an otherwordly nightmarish atmosphere that perfectly compliments Grant Morrison's wizardly writing. When I first ordered Arkham Asylum, it was my first reintroduction to the Bat. Forget Paul Dini and Bruce Timm's dark film noir of Batman the animated series. Forget the 1989 blockbuster which propelled AA's sales. Not even last year's Batman Begins could do this dark twisted novel justice. This is the Batman that makes the Adam West version look like the Teletubbies. This Batman ain't for kiddies, folks! Arkham Asylum is Ozzy Osbourne meets Aleister Crowley without slipping into shock for shock sake. I highly reccomend getting the Anniversary Edition which answers many of the questions as well as interesting inside tidbits that didn't make it to the final cut.
Brilliant artwork, overstrained story
I'll start by saying whats great: Dave McKean. As usual, his macabre style and collage style are the best I've seen, and he really shines in sequential-format. Pick this book up on the strength of the artwork alone and you won't be dissapointed. Its visceral and beautiful, and i can't recommend it enough.
Great artwork, no Batman though...
The artwork is amazing, truly makes the Joker look like a real mad man who actually can scare you. However, outside of the art work, the story is shallow and boring, with hardly any Batman. Another problem is that the text is hard to read, especially for the Joker, it's so stylized that you'll be straining to read it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Comics & Graphic Novels    2. Fantasy    3. Fantasy - General    4. Fiction - Fantasy    5. Graphic Novels    6. Graphic Novels - Superheroes    7. Psychological    8. Fiction / Graphic Novels   

Reviews (4)

Great Job
Of all the stories in the Marvel universe the Age of Apocalypse is one of my favorites. I highly suggest that everyone who enjoys the x-men read it.

A classic storyline marred by shoddy printing
In the mid 1990s Marvel Comics took what was, at the time, considered a major risk: they shut down all the X-men and X-men related titles, and 'restarted' them all in an alternate universe where Professor Xavier had been killed and Apocalypse had risen to great power, essentially taking over the planet.The cross title event was a huge success, possibly the greatest success of any event of its magnitude in comic book history.Now, ten years later, Marvel is putting out the Age of Apocalypse Epic in four trade paper backs.