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| STEVE
DARNALL & ALEX ROSS |
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UNCLE
SAM |
Written by Steve Darnall
Painted art by Alex Ross |
Hardcover: 104 pages
DC Comics
ISBN: 156389436X |
$17.95
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From
Kirkus Reviews
This
truly subversive graphic novel more explicitly radical than anything else
from DC Comics in recent memory almost makes up for the years of
muscular patriotism and jingoistic violence that have long defined most
of the companys product.
Alex Ross, who recently provided the lush
paintings for Superman: Peace on Earth, here flexes his illustrative
skills in the service of Darnall's stunning text, a damning account
of American political history that also affirms basic democratic ideals. |
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From
the first full-page illustration of Uncle Sam as a derelict reaching
out to the reader, the visually rich narrative makes its overarching point:
the spirit of everything great in American history is down on its luck.
Uncle
Sam, whose image here derives largely from James Montgomery Flagg's
famous "I Want You" poster, stumbles through a dreamy landscape.
In the foreground, he's an old nut, a psycho in the ER who spouts sound
bites from presidential history and pop culture. Periodically, he finds
himself elsewhere in time: Preparing to fight the Revolutionary War;
in Kennedys Dallas limo; at the Blackhawk Massacre of 1832; at Andersonville
Prison; and at a labor protest in 1932; at a Louisiana lynching.
Scenes blend into one another, demonstrating the continuity of American
history; bedraggled present-day
Sam interrupts a political rally
exploiting his alter ego.
The
pictorial narrative here is so smart that political speeches are illustrated
with voice-over balloons explicating the truth behind the double-talk.
Supplemented with a fine essay on the iconography and legend of Uncle
Sam, this portrait of a down-and-out American hero quotes visually
from both fine art (e.g., Vermeer) and classic illustrationthe spirit of
N.C.Wyeth is very much alive here. Among the most captivating examples
of left-wing agitprop since the days of the Popular Front: Darnall
and Ross' populist message comes draped in red, white, and true-blue.
—copyright
©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
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| ALAN MOORE &
DAVE GIBBONS |
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WATCHMEN |
Written by Alan Moore
Art by Dave Gibbons |
Paperback
DC Comics
ISBN: 0930289234 |
$19.95
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| This intense
deconstruction of the American superhero chronicles a moment of extreme
crisis in a frighteningly familiar world. With heart-felt characterization
and an unprecedented level of storytelling sophistication, Watchmen redefines
the comic book, the superhero, and perhaps, fiction itself. |
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| The modern
superhero revival begins right here!
This huge 392-page trade
contains writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons' powerful story of a
world where superheroes have been outlawed. It's a story of sex, power,
betrayal & murder, considered by many to be the most influential story
ever produced in the history of comics. The modern superhero was forever
changed after the publication of Watchmen.
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Also
check out the Comic-Book Superstore ALAN MOORE listing!
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| WONDER
WOMAN |
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Check out our entire WONDER
WOMAN listing
including
.
The Wonder
Woman Archives
Wonder Woman-- Featuring
Over Five Decades of Great Covers
The Contest
The Challenge of Artemis
Lifelines
Gods and Goddesses
Amazonia: A Tale of the
Wonder Woman
and lots more!
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| WORLD'S
FINEST COMICS |
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ARCHIVES
Volume One |
by Edmond Hamilton, Bill Finger, Curt Swan,
& Dick Sprang |
Hardcover: 224 pages
DC Comics
ISBN: 1563894882 |
$49.95
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| DC releases
a hardcover collection of the first Superman-Batman team-ups, featuring
a new cover by Dick Sprang! Reprinting SUPERMAN (1st series) #76, as well
as the team-ups from the pages of WORLD'S FINEST COMICS #71-85, these stories
include the first time Superman and Batman revealed their secret idenities
to each other (in a classic adventure on a cruise ship), the first time
the two heroes traded identities, and the memorable tale in which Superman
loses his powers and Batman gained them! |
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