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India Press Store - Watching the Watchmen: The Definitive Companion to the Ultimate Graphic Novel
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List Price: $39.95
Our Price: $23.00
Your Save: $ 16.95 ( 42% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Titan Books
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 741
EAN: 9781848560413
ISBN: 1848560419
Label: Titan Books
Manufacturer: Titan Books
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 256
Publication Date: 2008-10-21
Publisher: Titan Books
Release Date: 2008-10-21
Studio: Titan Books
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Would have liked more content/details, but a great behind the scenes treatment for the book.
Comment: Watching the Watchmen is either a labor of love by Dave Gibbons, the artist of Watchmen, or a ploy for more money. Either way it is still a gift for fans of the graphic novel. It is a great exploration of the process of creating a comic book, back in the 80's. Even though that wasn't really all that long ago, a lot has changed in the way publication and communication was done.
Before I say anymore, this book is pretty much only for fans of Watchmen or those interested in a nostaligic look at making a comic. Anyone else would find little to enjoy in this book. Also, some of the material in this book may or may not be covered in the Absolute Edition or other newer printings of Watchmen (I wouldn't know because I don't own anything but a more boring normal printing of the book.)
It was a thrill to see concept art, thumbnail sketches and a small sampling of Alan Moore's script. Unfortunatley, about from the thumbnail layout of each chapter, most of these original drawings are lacking. I would have loved to see more of Moore's script particularly. Even some excerpts which didn't have to be a photocopy of the real thing. (Maybe half a page of thumbnail to excerpts from the script.) I can't help but wonder if the reason there wasn't more artwork is that Gibbons sold some of it and it isn't available. Even though Gibbons leaves you wanting more original work to peruse, what he has in this book is golden.
The process from script, layout, black and white art, coloring and finally publication is all pretty thoroughly examined. There's something wonderful in the fact that it all started with a brilliantly, but slightly disorgnized type-written script. Then the back forth drawing/plotting/revision between artist and writer, all done via snail mail without computers or fax-machines. Next, the colorist does the finishing touch to make the work really come to life before it is sent for the final edit/printing. I real appreciate that Gibbons including a section about the coloring process. Coloring is critical in comics and often understated. Thinking about the coloring codes that used to be used in comic books is mind staggering. (For those who don't know there were basically three colors: magenta, cian, indigo (?) All colors are made from a certain percentage of these three colors.) Classic comics are known mostly for primary colors (red, yellow, blue), but the colorist chose mostly secondary colors (purple, green) to set Watchmen apart, and perhaps visually underscore the complexity of this comic in comparison to usual comic books. The chance for a fan to looking at the loving and painstaking process of making this comic book almost feels like watching a close friend or relative grow up and mature.
The tidbits of the friendship between Gibbons and Moore and Watchmen in general are a treat as well. I won't go through them all right now, because that's part of the fun of reading the book and I don't want to spoil them. I enjoyed the bit about the publication of the book in France, the original book having a poor translation. A small publishing company wanted to reproduce the book with a better translation and a quality printing. This was met with resistance by the DC comics executitves (surprise, surprise). I loved seeing the pictures of the tour, the posters, and the picture of the creators cutting into a smiley face cake.
I also wonder why Gibbons left out more details about the falling out of Moore and DC over the rights to Watchmen. He said he wanted it to be more nostalgic in tone, which it is. I wonder if he was told by DC or others to avoid the scandal or if he decided to take the moral high ground. I kind of miss his input on the treatment of DC to himself and his partner. As a reader you get an understated resentment to the comics company when he examines the limited amount of merchandise produced (some pictued in the book), most without their consent or input.
Obviously there was no way that Alan Moore would be involved in any way shape or form to anything like this type of book, and I understand his scruples. It makes it no less disappointing to not hear his voice as well.
Overall this was a good book, one of those "collector items"/ "coffee table books" that some might not re-read. If you expect alot more out of this book, than you will be disappointed. I know that I may not re-read it, but I certainly will leaf through it from time to time to look at concept sketches and a new way to enjoy Watchmen. I think it is all the more significant because the long-awaited movie is likely to be squashed in a league battle with Fox.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A nice complement to the graphic novel!
Comment: I was concerned about any kind of analysis of a book that is up there with Frank Miller's Dark Knight but, once I got into the book, I can truly see how this fits nicely into the Watchmen mythos. The fact that Dave Gibbons participated in the books lends an air of legitimacy to the book itself. This book increases my desire to see how the film will handle the material. Nicely done!
Customer Rating:
Summary: For fans of Watchmen only
Comment: Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2BWOAQ6FQTTEH With the movie coming, it seems that a lot of Watchmen related books are coming out. This is one of them. Judging by the number of reviews on Amazon, this book is looking pretty popular.
The construct of the book is great. It's hardcover with a dust jacket. The paper stock is good, thick and low gloss.
Inside the book are tons of initial sketches, designs, storyboards, comic panels, scripts and scribbles. Dave Gibbons really packed in a lot of stuff from their sketchbooks. The scans are so high in resolution you can see the texture of the sketchbooks' paper grain.
The book starts off with the background story on the history of Watchmen, when Dave Gibbons and Alan Moore first met. Then there's the process of creating the comics, getting the readers reactions (one sent in a fan note using plastic bag), to the sending of the last pages off in an overweight parcel to the publisher.
Everything is written in a very condensed manner, the way magazines write their articles. That's not a bad thing though. But for a graphic novel of such caliber, I'm very sure they left out a lot of things.
Also, nothing is mentioned about the plot and the character development. I can't believe they actually left out the story about the story, which is what made Watchmen so popular.
My reservation about the book is on the perceived lack of depth. Overall, this book is strictly for fans of Watchmen.
There are more pictures of the book on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.
Customer Rating:
Summary: An absolute "must-have" for anyone who considers Watchmen a beloved classic or a work of genius
Comment: Co-creator Dave Gibbons presents Watching the Watchmen, a treasure trove of previously unpublished, behind-the-scenes source material for the classic superhero deconstruction graphic novel Watchmen. Extensive black-and-white and color images of roughs and layouts, concept art and more make up the bulk of Watching the Watchmen; a small amount of text enhances this in-depth experience. An absolute "must-have" for anyone who considers Watchmen a beloved classic or a work of genius, and wants to know more about the process that brought it to life.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great art and not much else
Comment: Just a quick note here...
I bought this hoping for a lot more insight, commentary, maybe even some hidden points of interest about WATCHMEN that I hadn't already seen or read about. To be fair, there were a few of those hidden points, but by and large this is a book that explores the art development of WATCHMEN, not the plot discussions & development or themes of the work.
You'd expect that from a book authored by Gibbons, instead of Moore, but still...it's awfully thin on commentary. A decent magazine article would have more info than this.
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Editorial Reviews:
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Enjoy the ultimate companion to a comics masterpiece, as award-winning artist Dave Gibbons gives his own account of the genesis of WATCHMEN in this dust-jacketed hardback volume, opening his vast personal archives to reveal never-published pages, original character designs, page thumbnails, sketches and much more, including posters, covers and rare portfolio art. Featuring the breathtaking design of Chip Kidd and Mike Essl, WATCHING THE WATCHMEN is both a major art book in its own right, and the definitive companion to the graphic novel that changed an industry.
Voted among Time magazine's 100 Best Novels from 1923 to the present, a perennial bestseller over the past twenty years and widely considered the greatest graphic novel of all time, WATCHMEN is a gripping, labyrinthine piece of comic art, which has earned an acclaimed place in modern literary history.
"I've had a great time, re-visiting the very beginnings of Watchmen and unearthing material I haven't set eyes on for many years. As a fan myself, this is the kind of stuff I eat up and I'm sure the many devotees of the graphic novel will do the same!" says Gibbons.
© DC Comics 2008. All Rights Reserved.
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