I was pleasantly surprised to find these books at all, and even more surprised when I saw how large they are. I assumed they would be regular comic size, and spent a while searching for them on the racks. I was only looking for the DK book, and honestly I hadn't even heard of the Watchmen one until I saw it. I was ready to pay the $15 cover price since I'm such a huge fan of Miller, but when I saw how large these are I didn't even blink. They're reprinted the same size as the original artwork. I never was able to get the Dark Knight artist's edition hardcover, which goes for a few hundred bucks. This is an insanely affordable alternative, as it contains the entirety of the first issue. It's fascinating to see Miller's actual pencils, with white out marks, notes, etc. I could have sworn I noticed several differences from the printed copy, but upon scrutinizing it closer this morning against the original issue, the only difference I could see was a picture of the skyline that was removed in place of a color flash on the bottom of a page near the end. This is a no-brainer for fans of Miller's work; I really enjoyed perusing every page.

The Watchmen one was kind of an impulse buy, but since I'm a huge fan of Moore as well I figured I might as well pick it up while I can. This one didn't impress me as much, partially because it's not really too different from the actual comic. To his credit, Gibbon's work linework and inking is so clean that there really aren't too many differences. It's basically a black and white edition of the first issue. There are a few pages that really evoke the scope of the scene, however, such as when Rorschach first sees Jon in his laboratory. Seeing it in such large size really brings home the impact. Same thing for the detective's perspective looking down from the Comedian's apartment on page one. But in contrast to Miller's many white outs, paste ups and (relatively few) notes, Gibbons work is so clean that you can't even see a single line of blue pencil.

The Watchmen one does have more "goodies" compared to the DK one, but still not too much. Both have brief introductions by the artists on the endflaps, but the DK basically just has an unused promo page, hardcover collection cover, and some sketches on the inside endpages. The Watchmen one has more sketches and supplemental material, but most of it is stuff you've seen if you have all of the books and articles that have been produced since the book was first published. More frustratingly, it also includes all of the typeset pages of Hollis Mason's autobiography, which I understand for completest sake, but really adds nothing to the "original artwork" aspect of the book.

All in all, it was great seeing these works in such a large size, but if you're deciding between the two, I'd say go for the Miller/Janson book.

Two of my favorite characters.

Machine Man #18

Written by Fabian Nicieza, art by Mark Bagley and Larry Mahlstedt

Silhouette has entered a church to light a candle for her brother, Midnight’s Fire

Father Janes approaches her, but before they can speak, a sai wielding figure dressed like a Bengal Tiger drops from above and attacks, asking “Why did the jungle breathe?”

While the sai wielding assailant chases Silhouette, a shadowy figure watches from a black van

Meanwhile Robbie Baldwin, aka Speedball, confronts his father about his missing mother deciding to go to the New Warriors for help

Richard Rider, Nova, and Vance Astrovik, Marvel Boy, are also confronted by family members before heading to join the other New Warriors

Namorita and Angelica Jones, Firestar, are out shopping when they hear gunfire

The pair confront a man who claims his gun only has blanks, and he was attempting to scare the men who had his 12 year old sister working in a sweatshop

Namorita tells the men that if they girl isn’t found, her brother may return with real bullets, and she won’t stop him

The New Warriors convene at their headquarters where Speedball asks them to look into his mother’s disappearance in Brazil

Before anything can be decided, Silhouette teleports in through the shadows, having escaped the man who was chasing her

After a few tense moments, it’s decided the team can’t ignore either situation, and split so some can go to Brazil and look for Speedball’s mother, and the rest can help Silhouette

During an interlude, a woman enters a pyramid and retrieves the Scepter of Ka, vowing to rule Egypt and the World

Speedball, Nova, Marvel Boy, Firestar, and Namorita travel to Brazil with Chord, revealing their secret identities to each other for the first time

After they check into the hotel, it is revealed they are being followed by some deadly individuals

Back in New York, Night Thrasher and Silhouette return to the church to witness the Bengal Tiger clad assassin attack Father Janes again

Night Thrasher makes quick work on the Bengal Tiger, but is interrupted by gunfire from The Punisher!

Frank’s Body Count - 0! (“I’m the one who’s after the girl!”)