Absolute Killing Joke - new colours

[Nepenthes]

So DC is re-releasing TKJ, this time with colours by Brian Bolland. Apparently he wasn't too impressed by the way the book was eventually coloured, too bright if I remember rightly. Which is weird because everytime I read TKJ I'm blown away by the colours, they're amazing, so it will be interesting to see this as it was originally intended.

Alot of people will buy this simply because it's Absolute. Do new colours make much of a difference for anybody though? I'm actually expecting I'll be a little disspointed because i like the current version so much and it's always kinda awkward when an artist gets trumped by someone else on their own work.

 

[Doctor Baywatch]

Yeah, they make a difference. It's just not the same. And I bet he will use computer coloring. Uh.

 

[Joker]

Anyone have any examples from this? I have my first print of the Killing Joke, and I think the colors are fine...but this has me curious.

 

[Axtech]

Love TKJ, and I've never had a problem with the colours, but I've heard Bolland wasn't happy with them. I'm really curious to see what the new colouring job will be like. Depending on the price I may actually pick this up. Any word on when they're planning to release this?

 

[Motown Marvel]

im still pissed they digitally recolored neal adams batman work when they released his collection. old school coloring is way cooler then computer coloring.

 

[Doctor Baywatch]

im still pissed they digitally recolored neal adams batman work when they released his collection. old school coloring is way cooler then computer coloring.

I agree.

 

[deathfromabove]

im still pissed they digitally recolored neal adams batman work when they released his collection. old school coloring is way cooler then computer coloring.

why do they do that? why not just redraw it as well?

 

[The Joker]

I think the art in TKJ is damn near flawless. Bolland should be proud.

 

[JokerLedger]

Picked up a hardcover today at the local comic store
I still haven't taken the shrink wrap off yet.

 

[CrimsonMist]

It's an absolute? DC's site says nothing about that. I like the colors the way it is. Digital coloring is alright, depending how it's done. The recoloring in the DC Universe: The Stories of Alan Moore looks great. But the recoloring in the Dark Horse reprints of the Marvel Conan stories look like ****.

 

[BubbaGump]

im still pissed they digitally recolored neal adams batman work when they released his collection. old school coloring is way cooler then computer coloring.

It's usually hit or miss with recolorings. Little touch ups here and there are okay, but recoloring sometimes takes out the charm and "classic" feel of the comics (like in Tales of the Demon).

I think the art in TKJ is damn near flawless. Bolland should be proud.

The greats are never satisfied with their work. Imagine how long these color issues have been nagging at Bolland.

Picked up a hardcover today at the local comic store
I still haven't taken the shrink wrap off yet.

That wasn't TKJ...

 

[BubbaGump]

Btw, TKJ isn't in an Absolute Edition, just a regular hardback.

http://dccomics.com/graphic_novels/?gn=8745

 

[Joker]

Good, Absolutes are expensive, and TKJ isnt long enough to warrant an Absolute anyway....

 

[drillmaster]

I think my only problem with TKJ coloring was everyone besides the Joker seemed to be Yellow.


Still, Cannot wait to buy this. With this, I have all the Batman THC/ TPB I need.

Well, actually now that I think of it I do need a Lonely Place of Dying and Tales of the Demon, but they are hard to find. But I'm good for a long time.

 

[TromaFreak64]

Well I am hoping the TKJ if they are going to recolor it, they go all out - not just touch ups... you can still find 1st print collections for cheap - so if I wanted the exact same collection I would just pick one up on Ebay (which I think I already have two for some reason)... but if they re-color this Id like to see them try something new.. I mean it could go horribly wrong but at least TRY something different.

 

[Lazlo Panaflex]

This edition is completely different from the one included in the upcoming Batman/Joker action figures from DC Direct right?

 

[Motown Marvel]

any scans of the re-coloring?

i already own TKJ, but i still refuse to buy those adams collections because of the re-coloring. and adams to me is an art god, so thats saying a lot.

 

[Mladen]

hmm, yeah i personally really liked the coloring in tkj (its supposed to be the same colorist which moore used for watchmen, and you can tell... garish purples/yellows/orange everywhere).
speaking of coloring, hows the re-coloring job on the Sandman absolute editions? is it noticeably better or just a marginal improvement?

 

[Nepenthes]

I saw scans of the Sandman re-colour ages ago- I didn't like it, it didnt have the same charm. For me Sandman is very much a product of it's time and the 80's lookin colouring is a part of that. Even technically it was nothing special. Thing is though the colouring in TJK was very ahead of it's time, it wouldn't look that out-of-place today even and besides that it's just beautiful in it's own right; whereas the colours in Sandman never really stood out for their own imo. apart from a few scenes in Seasons of Mists and Worlds End maybe.

agreed on everyone looking yellow in TKJ, that might be the only flaw i can think of offhand. it's particularily nasty in the coffe table edition scene

 

[ThreeActRomance]

this will mark the third or fourth copy of The Killing Joke i buy...

ima also get that hardcover of The Man Who Laughs also

 

[Mister J]

This edition is completely different from the one included in the upcoming Batman/Joker action figures from DC Direct right?

Yes. The TKJ to be released in March is a hardcover featuring some touched up Bolland art and an included story from one of the Black & White volumes (64 pages altogether). I'd imagine there'll be some other extra stuff; maybe some sketches, forewords, whatever.

The TKJ released with the figs in June will be a Prestige Format reprinting; just the 48 page story from what I can tell.

I'll be grabbing both. Perhaps a bit overkill, but there's no way I turn down a TKJ hardcover and there's definitely no way I turn down those figs. If they offer a version without the one-shot, then great. If not, then I'll just have 3 versions of TKJ.

 

[Nepenthes]

any images of these figures?

 

[Mister J]

 

[Kaizer]

If the original colors were too colorful...

why has he made the joker's hat a lighter shade and his bow-tie green?

 

[JokerLedger]

I think the re-color on the cover is an improvement.
And I like the green tie.
It stands out.