Sin City
 

I've seen the previews to this movie and i'd love to read the book first. I cant find it anywhere in town so i'm considering ordering it. Thats where my problem is, its listed as a graphic novel which i'm thinking is just a fancy word for a comic book. I'm not really interested in reading a comic, i'm thinking graphic novels' are more books than they are comics and this may sound really stupid but the graphic novels are more like books with pictures scattered around.

Can anyone tell me what the difference between a graphic novel and a comic book is?

Also if you've read Sin City, is it good? and which book should I get?

To anyone that helps me out, thank you!

A "graphic novel" is just a silly, pretentious term for a comic book. Makes some people feel less guilty about reading a comic book, and helps to attract reluctant comic readers. It's just a silly title; since there is no inherent shame or waste in reading comic books, the term actually demeans comics as a valid form of literature.

The Sin City books are out of print, but are being resissued over the coming months to capiatalize on the movie release, so they should be no chore to find in the future.

The best place to start is, of course, the start; the book "Sin City", the sad story of big guy Marv and his search for his Goldie's killers.

Yeah start off with SIN CITY. the movie also has "THE YELLOW BASTARD" as one of the segments. I have seen that one in comic stores aswell as A dame to kill for.

Start off with SIN CITY and go from there.

Sorry pal, but you are going to be reading a comic because that is what it is. A Graphic Novel is just fancy talk for a collected amount of work. A sort of TPB. sometimes they release them without the single issues, sometimes they release it after the single issues as a tpb. but in the long run all it is, is a comic book

"TPB", for those out of the know, is a "trade paperback" - a collection of issues of one story, in paperback form.

I have nothing against comics, i just have never read one. I dont know that it can capture my attention, but i think i'm going to wait till it comes to the bookstore so i can see the format myself then i will buy it and try it out.

Thanks guys!

The difference between "Graphic Novel" and "Comic Book" is sort of nebulous.

Probably the easiest way to look at is that a comic book is a periodical magazine that contains stories in the comic format.

A graphic novel is a book with a spine. It can be hardcover or softcover, it can contain original content or reprints of stories serialized in comic books.

The term "Trade Paperback" (TPB) is often used to describe graphic novels that contain material reprinted in the serial comic books. However, TPB is a general term in the book publishing business that only has to do with the size of the softcover book. A "TPB" in the general sense is just a paperback that's larger in size than a mass-market paperback.

To answer your question, a graphic novel is just a comic book in actual BOOK format. The pages themselves are indistinguishable from a comic book page.

Also, SIN CITY the movie is being filmed directly from the book. So if you can't be captured by it then I doubt much will be captured in the film.

I really would suggest giving it a shot. You'll be surprised on how well you can get into it.

I don't read comic books but I do make exceptions for most of Frank Miller's work and Alex Ross. I don't spend my time reading comic books because I'm a snob. My priorities are just different. Buying and spending time with movies, books, and music come first. I already spend enough of my leisure time with those. Then throw in the cost of a comic book and I just don't have space for them in my life.

Frank Miller's Sin City are like works of modern pop art though. Its different when you hold those pages in your hands. The spare black and white images speak in ways that not even the movie will be able to match. It doesn't have great writing but what it does have is that spare hard boiled ultra violent feel. If you liked what you saw in the preview for the film I have a feeling you'll dig the graphic novel collections. Start with "Sin City". You can skip ahead to "That Yellow Bastard" (my favorite) if you want. But its better to read "A Dame To Kill For" (which isn't part of the movie) before reading "Big Fat Kill".

Also try Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns" (it inspired Tim Burton's dark vision for his Batman movies) and "Hard Boiled" (inspired the look of The Matrix movies). Significant works of pop art in themselves. Other notable works are "Elektra: Assasin", "300", and "Ronin".

Thanks for the info, reading this thread makes me want to check out the comic as well. Is it difficult to get ahold of now? I'll have to make the rounds online...

Of all the Sin City books, the first and Dame to Kill For are, in my opinion, the best. They're being reprinted soon, in a smaller size than the last printing. You could try eBay.

Accd. to the website the 2nd Editions will be available Feb 16 '05. They're only available as preorders. They will be smaller and will have different covers then the 1st Editions. For the 2nd Edition of the first Sin City book, the title "The Hard Goodbye" will also be used. I believe you could find some of the 1st Editions through this link and amazon.com may have some as well.

http://www.darkhorse.com/search/sear...tring=sin+city

I know that Geoff Darrow did some concept art for the Matrix and Animatrix (Next Renaissance, etc.), but aside from that I really don't see any connection in the look of how the movies came out. The Matrix is remarkably bloodless by comparison ;p

BTW OT -- We finally have more Geoff Darrow in the form of "Shaolin Cowboy" -- pick it up!

http://www.newsarama.com/Burlyman/Shaolin_Cowboy_t.jpg

http://www.newsarama.com/pages/Shaolin.htm

TuanJim,

Yeah, Hard Boiled and The Matrix are fundamentally different. But there are elements from Hard Boiled that Geoff Darrow also used for The Matrix. Specifically the babies connected to intravenous tubes (or umbilical cords) and the look of the machinery and hardware. Hard Boiled has many similarities to the movie Bladerunner of course. The futurstic dystopia seen in Bladerunner was taken to the Nth degree in Hard Boiled and Hard Boiled's lead character "Nixon" has similarities to "Deckard". Not just the look of the character but similar thematic elements as well.

Bladerunner was heavily inspired by Heavy Metal comics; the grandaddy of them all.

I also read on another board that on the upcoming DVD release of Sin City Robert Rodriguez will allow the viewer to watch each of the 3 stories seperately. I think thats a great option. The movie itself will go back and forth between "The Hard Goodbye" (Marv's story), "Big Fat Kill" (Dwight's story), and "That Yellow Bastard" (Hartigan/Nancy story). All three stories will be preceded by "The Customer is Always Right" a short story from a collection of 11 Sin City tales called "Booze, Broads, and Bullets".

Can't you tell? April just can't come soon enough for me. :D

Just want to say that Shaolin Cowboy was one fuck'n bad ass comic.

Have you tried your local library?

How many books are there in the series. I see they're being released in February, but I'm not sure if this is the complete series and in which order one should read them. In publication order I suppose, but how to know?

http://hem.passagen.se/fm4/sincity.html

My favorites are "The Hard Goodbye" and "A Dame to Kill For".

Thanks for posting that. I kept thinking, "'Hard Goodbye'? I don't remember there being any 'Hard Goodbye'." Knew I'd find the answer in here somewhere. :up:

I preordered all the 2nd editions from Amazon, in two batches. Can't wait!

i had initially ordered the first two books of the new series, but then i found out the size was only going to be 6"x9" so now i am waiting to see if it's gonna be a problem for me.

What Hollywood exec sold you that crap!?!

Those Burton movies were one of the biggest betrayals of the resurgence of the 80’s comics market. There was nothing but design behind the entire project. Pretty damn good sets and bad (albeit marketable) costumes.

The Miller comics showed a character whose depth wasn’t explored (for kids mind you) until the animated series came out. There is a reason that his catches end up in an asylum and not prison. Bruce Wayne is fuckin’ nuts!
Those movies should offend anyone who has read the actual comics (and got the story) and grew up to see the crap that ensued. At least the Mike Mignola Frieze was done right.

So I take it you didn't appreciate Tim Burton's interpretation of the character then?

How much smaller are the new releases? Is it worth it to track down the older versions?
Thanks

I got the smaller sized Sin City books yesterday at a comic store, and in all honesty, I don't know why so many people are making such a stink over the differences. They are a decent size, and I own the "Family Vaues" novel from the original format. OH well, to each their own!