So I read Volume 2 and truly wish it was not Absolutized. Byrne's artwork does not play well at that size. Older comics, like Watchman and Dark Knight Returns, shine when presented in these Absolute/Supersized volumes because of how many panels they have per page. But four to five panels a page at this size looks shitty. Sloppy. The lettering is huge. It's so much wasted space. There are also some jagged edges here due to digitization. The normal oversized volume 1 was perfect for Byrne's NEXT MEN. What a shame.

Not long ago I bought Absolute Batman: The Long Halloween and regretted it because the four to five panels per page with very little narrative and dialogue seemed a waste. It just works better at the normal comic book size.

However, one need only grab ABSOLUTE DARK KNIGHT to see just how badly one piece of comic history looks oversized compared to one that does. Miller's original Dark Knight is a revelation at the Absolute dimensions, having eight to twelve panels damned near all of the time. It is screaming with motion and activity and thought and then, when it is finished, you flip the page and read the mess that is the Dark Knight Strikes Again. The art is lousy (why are all the character's hands inflated?). The storytelling lazy, with only a third of the panels per page of the original, all of which seems to have been drawn with the passion of a corpse that is still six feet under. The larger page reveals each and every flaw to Miller's inferior follow-up and it is painful to get through. Took me a month!

Anyways, this is way off topic here, but i just wanted to get it all off my chest. Happy new year!