The artist of the seminal masterwork that is Batman: Year One, David Mazzucchelli, is upset with DC Comics over the upcoming new edition of the work he’s best known for, saying anyone who has bought a copy “should send it back to DC and demand a refund.”

More on this story, and my top picks of the week, after the jump.

Artist David Mazzucchelli recently received an advance copy of the upcoming deluxe hardcover edition of Batman: Year One, due out March 14, and apparently found it lacking. When asked about the new printing by The Comics Journal’s Dan Nadel, Mazzucchelli had nothing good to say about it:

DC just sent me this book last week, and I really hope people don’t buy it. I didn’t even know they were making it, and I don’t understand why they thought it was necessary —  several years ago, DC asked me if I’d help put together a deluxe edition of Batman: Year One, and Dale Crain and I worked for months to try to make a definitive version. Now whoever’s in charge has thrown all that work in the garbage. First, they redesigned the cover, and recolored my artwork — probably to look more like their little DVD that came out last year; second, they printed the book on shiny paper, which was never a part of the original design, all the way back to the first hardcover in 1988; third — and worst — they printed the color from corrupted, out-of-focus digital files, completely obscuring all of Richmond’s hand-painted work. Anybody who’s already paid for this should send it back to DC and demand a refund.

For comparison, here is the 2005 Chip Kidd-designed edition:

And here is the new edition …

… the cover of which looks remarkably similar to last year’s Year One DVD cover:

Mazzucchelli, who wrote a new introduction for this edition, goes on to say that despite numerous letters and emails he wrote to DC’s president, two publishers and special editions editor, he has received no response, which is a shame. Readers deserve clean, well-designed editions of the comics they’re expected to pay good money for. Why should anyone shell out $25 for a book that even its artist says is rubbish?

Top Picks of the Week

Big haul at the comic shop this week, as Animal Man and Swamp Thing continue to be among the best of DC’s “New 52,” and Image releases a barrage of great comics, like the second volume of Emi Lenox’s webcomic diary, Emitown, and first issues of new comics by Jonathan (The Nightly News, Pax Romana) Hickman and Joe (Glory) Keatinge. Ed Brubaker has a couple books out this week, as he continues his horror noir Fatale and the superspy espionage of Winter Solidier. The best release of the week, though, might just be the King City trade, collecting all the issues of Brandon Graham’s wonderfully bizarre sci-fi epic.

• Animal Man #7 (DC), by Jeff Lemire, Travel Foreman and Steve Pugh
• Emitown Vol. 2 TP (Image), by Emi Lenox
• Fatale #3 (Image), by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips
• Hell Yeah #1 (Image), by Joe Keatinge and Andre Szymanowicz
• King City TP (Image), by Brandon Graham
• Manhattan Projects #1 (Image), by Jonathan Hickman and Nick Pitarra
• Swamp Thing #7 (DC), by Scott Snyder and Yanick Paquette
• Winter Solider #3 (Marvel), by Ed Brubaker and Butch Guice

Related articles

• Mazzucchelli hopes ‘people don’t buy’ new Batman: Year One reprint (robot6.comicbookresources.com)
• David Mazzucchelli ‘Hopes People Don’t Buy’ New ‘Batman: Year One’ Collection (comicsalliance.com)
• David Mazzucchelli not pleased with new BATMAN: YEAR ONE reprint (comicsbeat.com)
• Preview: Hell Yeah #1 (ifanboy.com)