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Post by henrythemorerecent on Jan 29, 2015 20:03:00 GMT -5
I'm a huge Frank Miller fan and love pretty much everything he's done minus some Sin City (yes I even love DKSA and Holy Terror) but this is a book that never caught my attention literally because of the title and use of the US flag on the cover. I just assumed it was something very political so I never picked it up. But then I did the smart thing recently and read the synopsis which had me intrigued, as well as the fact its Dave Gibbons on art.
And of course its out of print. I have found a couple on Amazon at an affordable price but then shipping slaps me in the face (overseas + exchange rate = ugh)
So I'm curious if anyone here is a fan of Frank Miller (and I get it: people hate him. But I really would just like an objective opinion on this) Would it be worth spending the extra money to order this or is it not THAT great? And I don't mean just in comparison to DKR or Sin City, but anyone who enjoyed Ronin or DKSA or All Star Batman + Robin and has read this.
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Post by henrythemorerecent on Feb 22, 2015 21:43:11 GMT -5
So I guess I'm the only one with an unnatural obsession with reading this book...
But I finally found a copy, a lot closer to home than I expected. Unfortunately it wasn't the simple trade paperback I was hoping for: It was the giant leatherbound slipcase hardcover. But considering it was going for less than half the price charged on Amazon and I had a box full of stuff I was willing to trade, I bought it.
And boy am I glad I did.
I'll quote CBR to sum up the book as a whole - "An environmento-policical urban space epic with a young, unglamorous, black female protagonist."
Not something thats written every day.
It really puzzles me, and I've brought it up with a few of my LCS's how this book is just not in print, yet it was created by Frank Miller and Dave Gibbons, 2 people responsible for some of the best and most well known comics EVER. Add to that the fact the lead character is an African-American woman, and the fact the industry climate is such where diversity is finally promoted more than ever, no reprint has come out?
Finished reading it on the weekend and it is an incredible book. Readers need to keep in mind the time it was written, there are some heavy political views put forth throughout the entire story so there are some moments that have dated, but this isn't Holy Terror. This is on par with DKR and Watchmen.
Martha Washington, the lead character, is one of the best female characters I have ever read. She is flawed. She's character who grows up in very poor, miserable circumstances, overcomes these obstacles, but still makes many mistakes along the way. She isn't abnormally intelligent while still bombshell-beautiful, wearing skintight costumes performing acrobatics and falling in love with the leading man. One of the more human characters in any book who just has a lot of bad luck. This isn't even touching on the themes of racism in the book.
I think this comic came out about 25 years too early and now because of the ever diminishing reputation of Frank Miller, is kicked under the rug.
But as a white male my opinion on the characters protrayal and the themes in the book could easily be skewed. I would absolutely love to know what anyone else thinks of this book if they could track down a copy.
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