WJK wrote:
didnt the 08 hardcover remove the smiley faces because they claimed some copyright nonsense on it, so it was literally just a yellow badge?
No... although The Comedian's badge
is completely absent on the front cover (which it shouldn't be since he's depicted post 'Nam wearing the gimp mask) only because this edition went and regurgitated what was only ever concept art by Gibbons produced whilst WATCHMEN was still in its initial planning stages, hence the other characters also appear somewhat 'off'.
Both the 2008 and 2013 releases feature the same recoloured artwork first created for 2005's oversized ABSOLUTE WATCHMEN edition and include pretty much the same supplementary 'behind the scenes' bonus material so are on a par with one another, although the Deluxe version does come in slightly larger in size.
If you're after the whole story from beginning to end for the first time, avoid the recent Artifact Edition as this is incomplete, many pages of the original artwork having been 'lost' over the years, i.e. in the hands of private collectors, and therefore unavailable for reproduction and inclusion in this latest version.
And I got the original twelve comics, they're still in fantastic condition, even after having them for about thirty years now!