Average customer rating:
- Long overdue, Well Deserved
- It's a Small World Legend
- Mary Blair rocked.
- Blah Blah Blair
- Beautiful!
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Art And Flair Of Mary Blair, The
John Canemaker
Manufacturer: Disney Editions
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0786853913 |
Book Description
The story behind one of Walt Disney's favorite artists is celebrated in this delightful volume of whimsical art and insightful commentary. For more than a dozen years, Mary Blair, a quiet-spoken, unassuming woman, dominated design at The Walt Disney Studios with a joyful creativity and exuberant color palette that stamped the look of many classic Disney animated features, including Cinderella and Peter Pan. Favorite theme park attractions, most notably the 'It's A Small World' boat ride, originally created for the 1964 New York World's Fair, were also among her designs. In her prime, she was an amazingly prolific American artist who enlivened and influenced the not-so-small worlds of film, print, theme parks, architectural decor, and advertising. Emulated by many, she remains inimitable: a dazzling sorceress of design and color.
Customer Reviews:
Long overdue, Well Deserved.......2007-07-27
The work of Mary Blair is well-known to animation and Disney aficianados, but there is a dearth of material available about her. Her influence on animation and Disney design was enormous. John Canemaker, as one has come to expect of his work, has written a terrific book on Blair. Well-illustrated, carefully noted.
Although this book is very good, Mary Blair deserves a full-length biography.
It's a Small World Legend.......2007-07-21
When I visited Disneyland last year with my daughter I expected to fall in love all over again with various attractions at the park: Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, the Carousel. I honestly didn't expect to fall in love all over again with "It's a Small World" but I did.
I had already heard the name, Mary Blair, but I didn't know anything about her so I decided to research her online and I found this book.
What an incredible artist she was! John Cane tells her story and her contributions to everything Disney. She was an incredible artist! Her works now sell for many hundreds of dollars. It's too bad that she didn't live long enough to see herself become famous. Like most artists, she became famous after her death. At any rate, here is the story of the woman who created so much of the Disney magic. It's very well illistrated and an enjoyable read.
Mary Blair rocked........2007-05-25
Beautiful and unique look into the life and developed portfolio of a retro animator. This book is nostalgic, child-like awe packaged. Wonderfully whimsical images.
Blah Blah Blair.......2007-03-09
The world of animated films has largely become a slick faceless corporation. For those seeking some idea of where it started and how individual genius played such a huge part I suggest The Art and Flair of Mary Blair. A highly inspirational visual feast.
Beautiful!.......2007-01-31
Wow, what a great book, I recommend it for fans and colour designers in animation. It would of been great to see more images, but thats as always with art books!
Book Description
A New York Times Notable Book
A Time Magazine “Best Comix of the Year”
A San Francisco Chronicle and Los Angeles Times Best-seller
Wise, funny, and heartbreaking, Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi’s memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. In powerful black-and-white comic strip images, Satrapi tells the story of her life in Tehran from ages six to fourteen, years that saw the overthrow of the Shah’s regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, and the devastating effects of war with Iraq. The intelligent and outspoken only child of committed Marxists and the great-granddaughter of one of Iran’s last emperors, Marjane bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country.
Persepolis paints an unforgettable portrait of daily life in Iran and of the bewildering contradictions between home life and public life. Marjane’s child’s-eye view of dethroned emperors, state-sanctioned whippings, and heroes of the revolution allows us to learn as she does the history of this fascinating country and of her own extraordinary family. Intensely personal, profoundly political, and wholly original, Persepolis is at once a story of growing up and a reminder of the human cost of war and political repression. It shows how we carry on, with laughter and tears, in the face of absurdity. And, finally, it introduces us to an irresistible little girl with whom we cannot help but fall in love.
Customer Reviews:
ABOUT THE BOOK.......2007-10-02
This is a truley wonderful graphic novel.
Even though I'm only ten I must say this is an amazing book. I would love to meet Mrs. Satrapi. When my mom just bought the book I was very curious what it was about. Believe it or not I read it before her. Even though it's really an adults book which I think they will love (like my mom) I think kids might like it too.
This is a book about a little girl who lives with her parents and has god on her side, facing all the wars and deaths in Iran. It's hard, but she keeps believing that one day Iran will be in peace once again.
It truley tells the story of what happend, She tells the story with emotion, with her words and illustrations, what her words can't tell the illustrations will tell. Mrs. Satrapi will make you read it atleast twice. We now know what a little girl experienced during the revolution in Iran, not just like that, but with feelings!
This is an AMAZING story for Everyone!
Remember to catch Persepolis 2 & Embroideries!
Non-Fiction.......2007-09-25
An autobiographical account of a girl growing up in Iran. Through her own story she highlights how deeply screwed up the country is, and has become, and how ludicrous some of the religious laws and commands are, when you see them through the eyes of a child. Wear something on your head? It is too hot, stupid! That sort of thing.
She is not holding back, talking about how people feel when their 18 year old next door neighbour is executed as being a communist, after a leftist lead revolution allows them to take power, or when your uncle's sister is strangled to death because he was not home to kill, and things like that.
She points out other crazy things that we probably are not aware of, you can't have chess sets, in Persia? That is very freaky.
The art style is quite cartoony, which is somewhat jarring when she is talking about firing squads.
Definitely good.
Awesome.......2007-09-23
Amazing graphic novel about the author's childhood in revolutionary-era Iran. I learned a lot about this time and place. I also enjoyed her artwork with its heavy black lines and highly graphic style. The sequel is also very good.
Beautifully written - Azadi Bareya Iran.......2007-08-17
Like "Maus" and the story of the Holocaust, Persepolis brings the sad story of the Iranian Revolution to light in a way only a well-done graphic novel can do. It is an absolutely brilliant book that gives you the raw pain and emotion of the Revolution, with all the necessary facts and events, without the dry and verbose nature of many historical novels. Rarely can it be done, in pictures, like it is done here.
If you truly want to know the sad story of the Iranian Revolution from the perspective of an average Iranian family, this is the book for you. Please read it.
Disheartening, but with hope for a better future.......2007-08-06
'Persepolis' was my first graphic novel (or, in this case, graphic autobiography) experience. It is the childhood story of Marjane Satrapi, who was a young girl of liberal parents during the Islamic Revolution in Iran in the 1980s.
Satrapi's drawings are simple yet poignant, and reading about her experiences and culture so foreign to me was at the same time both fascinating and dismaying. I hope to read more of her works.
Amazon.com
Picking up the thread where her debut memoir-in-comics concluded, Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return details Marjane Satrapi's experiences as a young Iranian woman cast abroad by political turmoil in her native country. Older, if not exactly wiser, Marjane reconciles her upbringing in war-shattered Tehran with new surroundings and friends in Austria. Whether living in the company of nuns or as the sole female in a house of eight gay men, she creates a niche for herself with friends and acquaintances who feel equally uneasy with their place in the world.
After a series of unfortunate choices and events leave her literally living in the street for three months, Marjane decides to return to her native Iran. Here, she is reunited with her family, whose liberalism and emphasis on Marjane's personal worth exert as strong an influence as the eye-popping wonders of Europe. Having grown accustomed to recreational drugs, partying, and dating, Marjane now dons a veil and adjusts to a society officially divided by gender and guided by fundamentalism. Emboldened by the example of her feisty grandmother, she tests the bounds of the morality enforced on the streets and in the classrooms. With a new appreciation for the political and spiritual struggles of her fellow Iranians, she comes to understand that "one person leaving her house while asking herself, 'is my veil in place?' no longer asks herself 'where is my freedom of speech?'"
Satrapi's starkly monochromatic drawing style and the keenly observed facial expressions of her characters provide the ideal graphic environment from which to appeal to our sympathies. Bereft of fine detail, this graphic novel guides the reader's attention instead toward a narrative rich with empathy. Don't be fooled by the glowering self-portrait of the author on the back flap; it's nearly impossible to read Persepolis 2 without feeling warmth toward Marjane Satrapi. --Ryan Boudinot
Book Description
In Persepolis, heralded by the Los Angeles Times as “one of the freshest and most original memoirs of our day,” Marjane Satrapi dazzled us with her heartrending memoir-in-comic-strips about growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. Here is the continuation of her fascinating story. In 1984, Marjane flees fundamentalism and the war with Iraq to begin a new life in Vienna. Once there, she faces the trials of adolescence far from her friends and family, and while she soon carves out a place for herself among a group of fellow outsiders, she continues to struggle for a sense of belonging.
Finding that she misses her home more than she can stand, Marjane returns to Iran after graduation. Her difficult homecoming forces her to confront the changes both she and her country have undergone in her absence and her shame at what she perceives as her failure in Austria. Marjane allows her past to weigh heavily on her until she finds some like-minded friends, falls in love, and begins studying art at a university. However, the repression and state-sanctioned chauvinism eventually lead her to question whether she can have a future in Iran.
As funny and poignant as its predecessor, Persepolis 2 is another clear-eyed and searing condemnation of the human cost of fundamentalism. In its depiction of the struggles of growing up—here compounded by Marjane’s status as an outsider both abroad and at home—it is raw, honest, and incredibly illuminating.
Customer Reviews:
A wonderful read.......2007-09-15
I read 'Persepolis' and 'Persepolis 2', and thoroughly enjoyed both. After living in Uzbekistan for two years, a nation with a similar history and culture as Iran's, I became fascinated with the role of women in Muslim society. As a man, I didn't have many opportunities to understand this world, and it was this curiosity that made me want to read
Ms. Satrapi's graphic novels. Both novels were funny, touching, and poignant.
Fantastic book. One of my favorites.......2007-08-21
I just finished reading Persepolis part 2 (immediately after Persepolis). I absolutely loved both, At times I forgot I was reading a comic strip style book. I just love the writer and her humor and I got a real sense of what Iran was like during the years after the war for young people who were the same age as me at the time.
Amazing.......2007-08-11
After spending several years studying and living a wild lifestyle in Austria, Marjane Satrapi returns to her native Iran, where the effects of the Islamic Revolution are still going strong. Home again, she struggles to find herself, returning to school, falling in love, exploring ideas with new friends, and discovering more about her family's history, all the while trying to avoid The Guardians of the Revolution.
Persepolis 2 is just as enjoyable as the first, and I look forward to reading more of Satrapi's work.
Even better than first Persepolis.......2007-08-10
Marjane Satrapi is reminescent of Marcel Marceau, the famous French mime, able to tell incredible stories visually by touching our hearts through our eyes.
Wonderful!
Decent Followup.......2007-08-09
This book continues where Persepolis left off with Marjane returning home from Austria to attend college. She's returning home to witness the aftermath of the war. The novel wasn't as good as the firs for it focuses on her college relationship with her boyfriend, and basically has a lot of boring parts to it. But, it's a decent followup
Average customer rating:
- Charming, riveting and important
- Disappointingly light and schematic
- Persepolis boxed set
- Honesty and Brilliance
- good book
|
Persepolis Boxed Set
Marjane Satrapi
Manufacturer: Pantheon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0375423966
Release Date: 2005-10-25 |
Book Description
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
Wise, funny, and heartbreaking, Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi’s memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. In powerful black-and-white comic strip images, Satrapi tells the story of her life in Tehran from ages six to fourteen, years that saw the overthrow of the Shah’s regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, and the devastating effects of war with Iraq. The intelligent and outspoken only child of committed Marxists and the great-granddaughter of one of Iran’s last emperors, Marjane bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country.
Persepolis paints an unforgettable portrait of daily life in Iran and of the bewildering contradictions between home life and public life. Marjane’s child’s-eye view of dethroned emperors, state-sanctioned whippings, and heroes of the revolution allows us to learn as she does the history of this fascinating country and of her own extraordinary family. Intensely personal, profoundly political, and wholly original, Persepolis is at once a story of growing up and a reminder of the human cost of war and political repression. It shows how we carry on, with laughter and tears, in the face of absurdity. And, finally, it introduces us to an irresistible little girl with whom we cannot help but fall in love.
Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return
Here is the continuation of Marjane Satrapi's fascinating story. In 1984, Marjane flees fundamentalism and the war with Iraq to begin a new life in Vienna. Once there, she faces the trials of adolescence far from her friends and family, and while she soon carves out a place for herself among a group of fellow outsiders, she continues to struggle for a sense of belonging.
Finding that she misses her home more than she can stand, Marjane returns to Iran after graduation. Her difficult homecoming forces her to confront the changes both she and her country have undergone in her absence and her shame at what she perceives as her failure in Austria. Marjane allows her past to weigh heavily on her until she finds some like-minded friends, falls in love, and begins studying art at a university. However, the repression and state-sanctioned chauvinism eventually lead her to question whether she can have a future in Iran.
As funny and poignant as its predecessor, Persepolis 2 is another clear-eyed and searing condemnation of the human cost of fundamentalism. In its depiction of the struggles of growing up—here compounded by Marjane’s status as an outsider both abroad and at home—it is raw, honest, and incredibly illuminating.
Customer Reviews:
Charming, riveting and important.......2007-09-06
I read these books consecutively - having bought them as a box set - and I really enjoyed them. It gives us a genuinely intimate portrait of what life was like growing up in Iran, first under the Shah's right-wing dictatorship, then during the Islamic revolution which led to a clerical state and through the war with Iraq. The two-part memoir takes us from 1980 when Marjane was 10 years old through the 1990s when she's become a woman who had endured exile at a young age and a return to her country.
Because these are illustrated novels there isn't as much depth as there would be in a traditional novel. The characters aren't fleshed out in the narrative because we have the visual element available. And the visual element is wonderful. Through the relatively simple drawings the fear, turmoil, frustration and even humor of Marjane and her friends and family are easily identified and enrich the story tremendously.
At first I had a problem with the writing style - with the direct and simple prose. However, the more I read the more I became comfortable with the style, pacing and rhythm.
I would definitely recommend that these books be read together as a valuable introduction an overview of the history and traditions of Iran, as well as for the wonderful story of a little girl growing up in an impossibly complex and frightening environment.
Disappointingly light and schematic.......2007-08-04
I was really expecting the film that came out of this book and I have finally seen it. It is one of the greatest disappointments I have lived in a movie-theater for quite a while, all the more because I was expecting a lot from it. But I should have known better. The subject is too serious to be treated so lightly, yes lightly. What are her father and mother doing in Iran for them to have that much money, that comfort if not luxury, that durability that enables them to survive all regimes, all revolutions, all coup d'etat, when it is not simple religious putsches, and where did they get the money to enable her to live for several years in Vienna? The whole film becomes a collection of clichés, most of them purely existential. Let me give a couple. Cliché, the quotation of Lenin or Bakunin or some other names that bring nothing to the mind. Cliché, her boyfriend in Vienna who discovers he is gay and the relation is finished because of it: you have to be seriously concentrating on sex and only sex to make friends with someone and drop him as soon as he discovers himself unable to fulfill the sexual part of the relation. What about his personality, his originality? What about love and friendship in all that? Then the next one is seen in two directions and each one is a cliché: on one side he is a saint who ends up in bed with another girl; on the other side he is a monster who exploited the girl all along. She sure was a sucker and a dummy. But what does it bring to the film, to the story, to the ideas the film conveys, if it conveys any articulated idea? The point is not to say that the West sold weapons to both Iran and Iraq. That's normal since we are in a market economy and business is business: if I don't sell my weapons, my neighbor will sell his. So, what must I do? After all a French exocet missile was very effective in the Falkland Islands war in the 1980s ... against the English. If Kellog refuses to sell his corn flakes to me, I will buy the corn flakes of any other brand. But what were the causes of this war? Why did Iran and Iraq manage to start a war between them two instead of finding a normal solution through discussions and negotiations? The film seems to express some kind of nostalgia for the good old days when there were two clear cut sides. Unluckily the old USSR has disappeared, but not one word about the support Iran provided, along with the CIA among others, to the anti-soviet fighters in Afghanistan. This film is simplistic but it deals with extremely important issues, so it does not have the right to be that simplistic. Politics cannot be reduced to that superficiality. And the future of Iran is not in Paris. It is Tehran.
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine & University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne
Persepolis boxed set.......2007-07-28
I have read several books about women's lives in Iran. Marjane Satrapi expresses so much with a few words and her amazing drawings. I was amazed at the understanding that she conveys though her "diary". I would recommend this set of boxes to anyone interested in Muslim women and how they live.
Honesty and Brilliance.......2007-06-05
Of the 4 Satrapi Books I have read these two are by far her best. They truly should be read together. I love her blunt honesty which is a rare trait in the community, and she draws her inspiration from the best of the best in the business (Art Speigleman).
good book.......2007-05-22
good book!! it brought me back to my childhood and i realized how much i really do like comics! satrapi is a great author and i can't wait to read her other books :)
Book Description
Aline Kominsky-Crumb, one of the earliest female cartoonists, presents a collection of her own highly inventive and daring artwork from over four decades, along with unusual photographs and memorabilia. The road to becoming an underground- comics legend begins with Komisky-Crumb as a nice jewish girl from Long Island, carries her to Greenwich Village in the 1960's, and to California, land of hippy cartoonists, and on to a more or less sedate life with hubby(equally legendary R. Crumb) and daughter, Sophie. Her funny/sad tales show a woman bewildered by her place in society and determined to find her own way. These stories touch on every phase of her existence from childhood, to sexual obsessions, food, motherhood and, of course, her art. The book includes sharp vignettes of the Movers and Shakers - and the jerks - of the art and music worlds since the sixties.
Customer Reviews:
Strange, funny, entertaining........2007-09-18
This is a good one to flip through - strange and funny. It's also quite revealing but I like the lighthearted tone of the author and I never know this much about her, though I knew a bit about Crumb. Can be kind of crude, but you should see that coming if you've seen Crumb...
Interesting, Evolving Woman!.......2007-07-25
I have always loved and looked forward to Aline K-C's work. She is about 11 years older than me and everything she goes through, well, a few years later, I go through it too! I think of her as a kind of sister, preparing me for the road ahead.
In this large and slightly unwieldy book, she gives us autobiographical data that might not go down too well with your average nerd-boy in the USA, even though this stuff she goes through and talks about are important aspects of a woman's life that every man who has interest in precisely one half of the planet's residents should get a feel for, at least!
She shows us her more recent artwork and it is wonderful! She has really changed what she does and it is magnificent work. She's always done collages but not quite like the ones she shows us in this book! I could feel my art lust welling within my breast. She's got a pretty good life right now and has done some extensive traveling in recent years, and this has been very good not only for her artwork but for her worldview. I'm glad this has happened for her, and have always believed that in some ways this woman far outstrips her mate.
Get it. It is very interesting and very amusing. Sacre Blu! Old Blabette is still alive and making her periodic appearances not only in Aline's strips but her granddaughter Sophie's as well, and believe me, that kid can draw and has a very level headed, healthy view of this world. It will be interesting to see where the kid goes in the time to come.
Get it. You can't be bored with it, between the pictures and the texts you will get many hours of amusement out of it.
Who Doesn't?.......2007-05-22
There's nothing more appealing than when an unapologetic woman lets her big appetite hang out!
It's a thrill to see these stories, some of which have been parceled out to us piecemeal over the years, collected in one volume, with Aline's artwork, photographs, words lending further context and depth. It's so heavy, I'm afraid it'll fall off the shelf and crush me in my sleep! Actually, there are plenty of worse ways to go...
Much as I love her #1 husband's "aht", as far as I'm concerned, Aline's no second banana. She's the whole dang Bunch!
Need more Aline Kominsky-Crumb?.......2007-05-12
Fascinating, compelling reading for anyone interested in the Crumb clan. Her comics and writing outline the genuine, brave human experience much like her famousse life partner - what's great is that Aline comes at it from a more, hopeful and joyous vantage point.. She's her own person as well as R.C's girlfriend.
There is so much to discover here, including the occasional mention of Justin Green who is another fantastic auto-biographical comics-author (hey guys, check out Joe Matt and Debbie Dreschler too!). You really get the impression that you know Aline after reading this and want to acknowledge her thoughts, experiences, feelings.. I can also identify with her 'ugly' drawing style which is prominent here.. Many intimate moments are made public with total candour and honesty. In the end you'll better for reading it so Woo, you go get it bubulleh!!
a painful pleasure to read.......2007-05-07
there's not a lot to say about this substantial, luxe book other than if you are a fan of graphic novel style memoirs this is for you. an indepth, worthy read.
Amazon.com
Cartoonist Marisa Acocella Marchetto's graphic memoir about her battle with breast cancer is as bold, vibrant, and brave as she is--pumped full of color, the story leaps off the page and into your heart. Poignant and funny, this inspiring story is made all the more powerful by Marchetto's cartoons. Lucky for us, Marchetto agreed to create a cartoon just for Amazon.com customers. Check out her strip below. --Daphne Durham
Amazon.com Exclusive: A Cartoon from Marisa Acocella Marchetto
Meet Marisa, a self-described "shoe-crazy, lipstick-obsessed, wine-swilling, pasta-slurping, fashion-fanatic, single-forever, about-to-get-married big-city girl cartoonist with a fabulous life." Her graphic memoir, Cancer Vixen describes what happens when she finds a lump in her breast. Want to know what happens to an author when they discover their sales rank at Amazon.com? Read Marisa's exclusive strip below to find out.
Book Description
“What happens when a shoe-crazy, lipstick-obsessed, wine-swilling, pasta-slurping, fashion-fanatic, single-forever, about-to-get-married big-city girl cartoonist with a fabulous life finds . . . a lump in her breast?” That’s the question that sets this powerful, funny, and poignant graphic memoir in motion. In vivid color and with a taboo-breaking sense of humor, Marisa Acocella Marchetto tells the story of her eleven-month, ultimately triumphant bout with breast cancer—from diagnosis to cure, and every challenging step in between.
But Cancer Vixen is about more than surviving an illness. It is a portrait of one woman’s supercharged life in Manhattan, and a wonderful love story. Marisa, self-described “terminal bachelorette,” meets her Prince Charming in Silvano, owner of the chic downtown restaurant Da Silvano. Three weeks before their wedding, she receives her diagnosis. She wonders: How will he react to this news? How will my world change? Will I even survive? And . . . what about my hair?
From raucous New Yorker staff lunches and the star-studded crowd at Silvano’s restaurant to the rainbow pumps Marisa wears to chemotherapy, Cancer Vixen is a total original. Marisa’s wit and courage are an inspiration—she’s a cancer vixen, not its victim.
Customer Reviews:
Great fun during chemo.......2007-08-23
Being someone who is currently "surviving" breast cancer and chemo, I loved reading this tale from a survivor. The book is serious, moving, laugh-out-loud funny, and even instructive. I especially enjoyed the unusual genre: cartoon. It was a creative and engaging way to hear a story of one woman's encounter with cancer. I recommend it as a great reprieve from all the purely-informative books I've been given. Many thanks to the author for her efforts!
Fantastic!.......2007-08-06
In this book Marchetto recounts her experiences with breast cancer in a unique way, through the art of cartoons. It is simply amazing to see how she manages to accurately capture that which a breast cancer patient/survivor has to deal with and looks back at her own ordeal with humor and in my eyes much strength. As a survivor myself, I found her book uplifting and comforting, as well as very recognizeable. I would recommend it for all surivvors at any stage of their treatment.
I loved this book.......2007-07-11
Considering that 1 out of 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer, this disease will touch all of us in some way. This book addresses the topic with both gravity and humor, and makes it very accessible. Whether or not you relate to the specifics of Marisa's life (chic NY setting, super-cool fiance), most women will be able to relate to her struggles: the fear of facing mortality, insecurities in relationships, body image problems, evolving self-concept, etc. When Marisa has to say "goodbye" to the children she will never have, I sobbed for a solid 15 minutes. Thank you, Marisa, for sharing your story in a very real and endearing way.
Brilliant.......2007-06-08
I love New Yorker cartoons. I hate comic books. I LOVED Cancer Vixen. I've been through a terrible illness and I have friends and family who have been through cancer, chemo, and radiation. This is an excellent story of one person's experience. It's the best literature I've ever read about the cancer/chemo experience because it shows what it's all about and how it effects the patient's life and family. I could really relate! I'm a writer, but no purely written story could have had the same impact and wisdom as this beatuiful, visual story. And the writing is witty and spot on too. Marisa is a brilliant cartoonist. She was actually very brave to tell her story as she did. I wish her happiness and health!
If you are tired of pink schmaltz and need some edginess w/ your BC .......2007-05-17
I bought this book and while I have still only read parts and skimmed others, it was a refreshing change from your typical BC book. It is not for the easily offended, but if you have a dark sense of humor, and need a break from the relentless cheeriness/despair of BC, this is it. I definately laughed out loud - something I needed after a DX of Stage 3C. I probably should give it more than 3 stars...
Average customer rating:
- An improvement compared to the first story
- What the Heck?
- Great art, very confusing story
- Huh?
- i agree with the other reviewer...
|
Supergirl Vol. 2: Candor
Greg Rucka ,
Mark Verheiden , and
Joe Kelly
Manufacturer: DC Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Supergirl Vol. 1: Power
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Teen Titans, Vol. 6: Titans Around the World
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Power Girl
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52, Vol. 1
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Superman: Back in Action
ASIN: 1401212263 |
Customer Reviews:
An improvement compared to the first story.......2007-09-16
Compared to the first Supergirl story arc, this book isn't as bad as most make it seem. First off, we get to return to Kandor which hasn't been seen since Godfall (A pretty good Superman read). The adventure in Kandor is interesting and has Power Girl and Supergirl take on the identities of Flamebird and Nightwing, heroes from Krypton's past. I admit when I first heard of this I wasn't sure it would be good but it really surprised the heck out of me.
The true gem is the way KAra Zor-el was displayed in this arc. We were shown how powerful Supergirl was in her first trade but this collection goes into her character more then her abilities. Supergirl is unsure of her role in a world that looks up to her cousin, Superman. The writers here do a good job of not only displaying a teenaged superhero who might not want to put on the cape because she has the power to make a difference. Instead we see a girl who hasn't grown up yet, She runs from responsiblity and avoids the one person who cares about her the most.
As far as the extra story thrown in involving the JLA, I guess that was DC trying to show what Supergirl was doing before the crisis and how she was recruited by Donna Troy. The thought of making sure the reader knows what happens before OYL is appreciated but they could of just easily put a paragraph explaining what happened (and saved money)
People can say what they want about this title but I feel the writers have done an excellent job of making the Girl of Steel as human as possible. The upcoming thrid volume of Supergirl is even better.
What the Heck?.......2007-06-24
It only gets two stars because of the artwork
As everyone else says, these story makes absolutely no sense. It exhibits the same problems that are occurring more often in the series: "Let's just have stuff happen and ignore whether it fits into anything". It's like they were making it up as they went along hoping no one would notice they didn't know where they were going.
They made it clear that the black costume Supergirl was a physical manifestation, not an illusion. She could physically interact with other objects (including the "real" Supergirl) and they saw her and talked with her. Where did she come from? Who knows? What was she? Dunno. At the end, when she disappears when confronted by "Truth"--Why? Where did she go? Apparently we aren't supposed to be concerned with these howlers.
BTW, DC, you've got to know better this, but you seem to keep ignoring it (or maybe your authors and editors really don't know it): You don't just run out of air when you find yourself in a vacuum, your internal organs rupture fairly quickly because your internal pressure is still there but there's no corresponding external pressure. Even more basic: YOU CAN'T TALK IN A VACUUM!
Great art, very confusing story.......2007-06-10
Title says it all. As the other Supergirl books, it's beautiful art. However, the book takes place halfway between the recent Crisis and then it has a very abrupt shift in story in the middle of the book and it makes it hard to pick back up.
Huh?.......2007-06-06
Am I the only one who had no idea what was going on? Not only is it confusing between the stories but the individual stories are confusing. I can't find enough continuity to figure out what's happening.
(I wasn't even that impressed with the artwork.)
i agree with the other reviewer..........2007-05-11
i also didn't hate supergirl: power and thought it was pretty good, even though i'll admit it was a bit wacky with the premise of let's make a black costume supergirl fight everyone. but who knows what's going on in this book. it seems to be a collection of unrelated stories.
Average customer rating:
- An Eye Full From Ward
- Gigantic and comprehensive
- Bill's doxy
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The Wonderful World of Bill Ward, King of the Glamour Girls (Various)
Manufacturer: Taschen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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The Pin-Up Art of Bill Ward
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Innocence and Seduction: The Art of Dan DeCarlo
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The Pin-Up Art of Bill Wenzel
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The Glamour Girls of Bill Ward
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The Classic Pin-Up Art of Jack Cole
ASIN: 3822812900 |
Book Description
Bill Ward's long, prolific pin-up career began during World War II when he created a curvy distraction named Torchy for his fellow soldiers. His taste for impossibly buxom blondes—teetering on stiletto heels, legs encased in black nylon, torsos packed into satin gowns—precisely suited Amerca's collective postwar sex fantasy, and the late 50s men's magazine boom made him the most popular girlie artist in the country. Through the 1960s, 70s, 80, and 90s, Ward broadened his range to embrace a variety of fetish subjects, but he never varied from his template of the Ultimate Woman—except to make her breasts a little bigger, her heels a little higher, or the satin and leather encasing her a little glossier. The art of Bill Ward (1918-1998) has become so rare and collectible that photographer and veteran TASCHEN editor Eric Kroll has had to trawl through archives across America to assemble this broad selection of Ward's very best work. Drawn from over 600 illustrations! and interviews with family, friends, employers, and even some of the women who inspired him, this 352-page, meticulously researched book is the definitive tribute to the great Bill Ward and the perfect companion piece, in size and scope, to TASCHEN's The Art Of Eric Stanton.
Customer Reviews:
An Eye Full From Ward.......2007-05-23
Titilating stuff from the master of the Conte crayon bound in spectacular fashion inside this huge tome. The book is dazzlingly thorough in its collection of archive material charting the career of Ward with in depth and informative writing.
The artwork is displayed in its most suitable form, I recently bought a pocket sized collection of Ward's work and it is practically useless in comparison to this full size collection. Having the pictures displayed at this large scale allows you to see just how he worked and just how fluid and confident an artist he was.
A must for pin-up fans or alternatively anyone who wants to show off with their taste in giant books.
Gigantic and comprehensive.......2007-04-27
This is, to borrow from its title, a wonderful book. The huge (13 3/4" x 10 1/2" )tome contains nearly 400 pages, printed on nicely textured photos, crammed with trilingual text and hundreds of illustrations, many of them in full-page size, both in color and black-and-white (actually sepia). As the other reviewer has noted, there isn't any overlap between this book and _The Glamour Girls of Bill Ward_, so you can safely get both of them to have an excellent, wide-ranging collection of Ward's work. As with the other work, the core of this book is the middle section containing nearly 200 drawings from Ward's glory days between 1947 and 1967, featuring the voluptuous, gorgeously dressed glamour girls that he's most famous for. The book contains extensive samples from his early work (featuring his well-known "good girl art" character Torchy) and his later, more explicitly sexual projects, but the reader can easily see that Ward's heart and enthusiasm belonged to his beloved glamour girls; the later nude cartoons are as skillfully executed as his classic cartoons, but in my own opinion, lack much of the spirit that animated his great 1950's and 1960's works (indeed, Ward was known to admit that he did much of the later work strictly for the money, particularly the BDSM drawings which form a big part of his later oeuvre). Again, it was the Ekbergesque glamour girls that he loved drawing best, and the reader gets a thoroughly satisfactory helping of them here. Expensive (though not as much so as the out-of-print hardback edition of _Glamour Girls_), but very much worth the money. Strongly recommended.
Bill's doxy.......2006-08-15
It's unfortunate that Bill Ward's most well known pin-up work appeared in down-market, scruffy, digest-sized magazines because it meant that he was not considered with the big names like Varga, Petty or Elvgren and many others who created 'painted ladies'. This huge book (check out the dimensions, above especially the thickness: two inches) will most likely become the standard reference to his work though.
The book divides his career into three sections; the early years show work for various comic book publishers and his Torchy title where you can clearly see the origins of his later glamour style. The second section has 180 of his Conte crayon cartoons for Abe Goodman's various Humorama digest-size titles and this is the art that Ward is famous for.
Between 1947 and 1967 he claims to have drawn more than seven thousand of these sexy females and despite the large number they are each worth serious money to collectors. These drawings are one, two or four to a page and printed in sepia with white highlights. Another book of his work 'The Glamour Girls of Bill Ward' (ISBN 1560975318) has about 116 Conte drawings all one to a page and nicely doesn't seem to have any pictures duplicated with this Kroll book. If you can take your eyes of the dames you'll notice how Ward used embossed wallpaper samples to create curtains, cushions and sometimes filmy negligees by putting the sample under his drawing paper and rubbing the Conte crayon across the relevant area.
The third section of the book covers work after Humorama and here I think his style lacks the creativity of the Conte work. There are plenty of examples of paperback covers, color cartoons, comics, covers to porno magazines and a real surprise, the 1954 Lili St. Cyr lingerie catalog where Ward created precise model drawings with Lili's face on each.
At the front of the book Eric Kroll writes a fascinating fifty-page introduction with many quotes from the artist and illustrated with plenty of artwork and photos, in this beautifully designed and printed book devoted to the glamour work of Bill Ward.
Book Description
Meet Jessica Jones, one-time costumed heroine turned private investigator. After realizing that her powers were unremarkable compared to those of the icons in the Marvel Universe, Jones gave up being a super hero and eventually opened up a detective agency. While her intent to help others is intact, her personal behavior is anything but valiant: She is bitter, resentful and self-destructive. In lieu of professional help, Jessica battles her inferiority complex and depression with a chain-smoking habit and alcoholic tendencies. In spite of her self-imposed exile from the spandex crowd, Jessica's cases continually lead her back to her old circle of acquaintances, which only fuels her angst even more. Jessica is imperfect and human, and her textured personality is eloquently rendered by Bendis and Gaydos.
Customer Reviews:
Graphic SF Reader.......2007-09-03
A tale of a retconned in the cracks very brief stay Avengers member, and her inability to cope with sex, alcohol, and the city. If you can get past the big implausibility that there was an Avenger that nobody ever mentioned in the past 40 years, that was not The Sentry, then you can enjoy this tale of a former pink clad loser. This is definitely a Max title, and it opens with her shagging and swearing. Do not confuse this with the tv show please.
Really good stuff !.......2006-07-19
You have to understand I reserve a "5" rating for the graphic novels that are given universal acclaim (Watchmen by Alan Moore, Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, et cetera) but there are several other reviewers who would probably give this a "5" ... I thoroughly enjoyed this and would go so far as to recommend buying the $44 Alias Omnibus book (collects all the Alias comics) if you can afford it, works out cheaper in the long run ... haven't read the rest of the Alias books yet but I'm really looking forward to it...
A Private Eye for the Capes 'n' Masks Set.......2005-07-28
Some of you old-schoolers might recall a superheroine named Jewel from back in the day, who had several adventures alongside the Avengers among others. And you WOULD BE WRONG. Jewel is an original creation for Bendis' now-defunct series "Alias" (not in any way affiliated with the acclaimed Jennifer Garner spy series on TV). She was retconned into the Marvel Universe and so she's "always been there", but as an exceptionally minor metahuman with relatively unremarkable powers, of course she never stood out.
In his ongoing "Powers" title elsewhere, Bendis has been telling the story of superhero cops. Now he brings us the superhero private detective. Jessican Jones, the former Jewel, is a one-woman agency, taking on cases ranging from the pedestrian (tailing people at the behest of suspicious spouses, searching for missing persons) to the extraordinary (touching upon the private lives of fellow superbeings and high-level government machinations). She's no World's Finest Detective or even an Oracle; she gets things done the old-fashioned way (mainly through Internet searches). She rarely has to call upon her greater-than-normal abilities, but they can come in handy.
Since this is a so-called "mature" title, there's a lot of swearing going on (partially just for the shock value to show that "Ooh, Marvel Comics is all growed up now!"). And Jessica Jones is no perfect angel. She smokes, she drinks heavily, she has one-night stands, she quarrels with her friends, she messes up. Her superheroine heritage is a mixed blessing, because it just draws the ire and scorn of the cops, while she was such a small fry in the metahuman community that she has few reliable contacts who will so much as give her the time of day.
This means that this is more than just a series of mystery yarns...it's also a bit of a study of what happens when you think you've reached the heights of glory, sailing through the skies alongside Thor and Iron Man, only to realize that you're really just not good enough and that your compatriots really don't think much of you.
Since the end of "Alias", the Jessica Jones character has been appearing as part of the cast of "The Pulse" and evidently has just started showing up in the new title "Young Avengers" as a mentor to the second-generation of Avengers. And with her nemesis the Purple Man on the loose again, we might see her in the rebooted "Avengers" title itself (especially since she's the pregnant lover of Luke Cage, a member of that reformed group).
If you've ever wondered what happens to a superhero when their adventures come to an end and they have to get a real job and they turn out to be a bit of an all-too-human foul-up, this is the title for you. The art is a bit sketchy, but it's rather suited to the seedy and desperate world the former Jewel now inhabits. This first collection, at least, is worth a look (the second volume is rather less impressive).
My All-Time Favorite TPB Series.......2005-03-26
***not related to the Jennifer Garner TV show***
This book is for a VERY specific demographic: people who grew up reading Marvel comics who are now adults rediscovering the world of comics. This is the Marvel Universe from an adult point of view. You've still got Captain America, the Avengers, Daredevil, your old Marvel favorites here, but they're filtered through an adult's eyes. The first word of the book is "F---!"
The protagonist, private investigator Jessica Jones, is complex, not totally likeable, like a real person. She has super powers but chooses not to use them (more is revealed about her background in the later books).
I'm not a "Bendis can do no wrong" kind of guy. A lot of his stuff is fluff written to please young fans and sell books. Not this time. This is a character piece, a huge risk in the comic biz. This might explain it's short run.
The artwork is dark and moody, a refreshing change from the typically glammed out super-hero books. The art fits the character perfectly.
All four Alias books are totally engaging from start to finish. If you only buy one graphic novel, GET THIS!
There are rumors that this series will come back. I hope so!
Jessica Jones is currently in "The Pulse," a comic where she works for the Daily Bugle. It's an "ensemble cast" kind of book so she's not really in it that much. If you really want more of her story, Pulse is worth picking up. But get the other three Alias books first!
Bendis proves he is the man..... again!.......2005-03-15
I just finished reading Alias a couple of hours ago, more than years after being originally released. I already knew that Bendis was the best writer in modern comics, since I have his whole Daredevil run and his Ultimate Spider-Man.
I decided to buy all the Bendis stuff I could find and afford, and a week ago I finally got Alias Vol.1 and aboy was it worth it!!!! While I was reading Alaias I was thinking "it would be so much more interesting if the Marvel Universe was like the Max-comics line". And am not refering about the profanity nor the cursing, but more about the real-life element in the book, or as real-life as a super-powered community could get. I mean, in this book you can really see the Marvel universe as OUR OWN universe but with super-powered beings, as opposed to what Marvel has been: another universe, similar to this one, but with super-powered beings. And the credit for that belongs to Bendis.
You can check out his Daredevil run and you'll see that the Marvel Universe accodring to Bendis feels really familiar, only that we have no-one wearing costumes out here. Of course, Bendis is not limited to gritty comics books only, but since this is about Alias, and Alias is gritty, I'll stick to that subject.
In a few short words, Alias is as down to earth as possible, as long as "fantastic" books are concerned, and those looking for a more realistic look at super heroes should definately get this one.
Average customer rating:
- A Magical Improvisation on Family History
- Seeing the Elephant
- A Beautiful Book
- Nostalgic
- Comically sad and far too short . . .
|
Chicken with Plums
Marjane Satrapi
Manufacturer: Pantheon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Similar Items:
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Embroideries
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Monsters Are Afraid of the Moon
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Persepolis Boxed Set
ASIN: 0375424156
Release Date: 2006-10-03 |
Book Description
In her acclaimed Persepolis books and in Embroideries, Marjane Satrapi rendered the events of her life and times in a uniquely captivating and powerful voice and vision. Now she turns that same keen eye and ear to the heartrending story of her great-uncle, a celebrated Iranian musician who gave up his life for music and love.
We are in Tehran in 1958, and Nasser Ali Khan, one of Iran’s most revered tar players, discovers that his beloved instrument is irreparably damaged. Though he tries, he cannot find one to replace it, one whose sound speaks to him with the same power and passion with which his music speaks to others. In despair, he takes to his bed, renouncing the world and all its pleasures, closing the door on the demands and love of his wife and his four children. Over the course of the week that follows, his family and close friends attempt to change his mind, but Nasser Ali slips further and further into his own reveries: flashbacks and flash-forwards (with unexpected appearances by the likes of the Angel of Death and Sophia Loren) from his own childhood through his children’s futures. And as the pieces of his story slowly fall into place, we begin to understand the profundity of his decision to give up life.
Marjane Satrapi brings what has become her signature humor, insight, and generosity to this emotional tale of life and death, and the courage and passion both require of us. The poignant story of one man, it is also a story of stunning universality–and an altogether luminous work.
Customer Reviews:
A Magical Improvisation on Family History .......2007-08-10
Having read Persepolis I and II, as well as Embroideries, I was excited to snatch up Chicken With Plums as well. And despite some of the negative reviews here (which almost dissauded me), I found this book one of Satrapi's most magical, perfect creations. It's quite different than the autobiographical, child-like Persepolis I, though readers of Persepolis II and Embroideries will recognize the general tone and style. That said, it's a work that takes you by surprise with its directness, honesty, and sheer invention.
The book follows the last eight days of Nasser Ali Khan's life, as he decides to resign himself to death after his wife, in an argument, destroys his precious "tar"--an Iranian sitar-like instrument. He is a master musician, renowned throughout the country, and the great love affair of his life (despite one thwarted human one) was with this reciprocating instrument. Unable to find another tar to requite his passion, he loses all taste for life and its joys, and decides to stay in bed until Azrael, the Angel of Death, comes for his soul. While waiting, we get a series of flashbacks and flashforwards as he--and others--recount the stories and anecdotes that frame his life. Reading this book is like listening in on family stories around the dinner table, which by their very nature are fragmentary, interrputed, and from multiple points of view.
Though a simple story, the manner of telling it is amazingly complex and mesmerizing. Satrapi's storytelling is at its most concise here, but so much is revealed about the very human passions that shape a life, and how blind we are even to the people we live with. This is a magical book, filled with Satrapi's beautiful characterizations of the people she knew and loved. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.
Seeing the Elephant.......2007-08-03
Drawn in bold black and white, Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel illustrates the moving and disturbing life and last days of her uncle, Nasser Ali Kahn. He was a famous Iranian musician, loved for his virtuosity, and the sensitivity with which he played his beloved tar.
It's a tale of how a man's happiness was gradually eroded by his culture, loss, suppressed feelings, and unrealizable expectations.
The story starts with an older man in black walking down a city street. He encounters a slender woman with her grandchild. He hesitates. Asks if her name is Irane. She doesn't recognize him. Wonders how he knows her name. He, Nasser, apologizes and walks on to a friends business where he hopes to buy a replacement for his recently broken tar.
We later learn that the broken tar had special meaning for Nasser. When he was a young man, the parents of the woman he'd fallen in love with forbade her to marry him because he was only a musician. Losing her plunged him into deep depression. He had difficulty playing. Nasser's tar master tried to console him by telling him, "To the common man, whether you're a musician or a clown, it's one and the same. The love you feel for this woman will translate into your music. She will be in every note you play." He then gave Nasser his own tar and instructed him to go on playing.
From then on, Nasser's joy was his music. His playing thrilled his audiences
Since childhood he'd been unable to meet the conventional expectations of others. His mother's, his brother's, his teachers', the parents of the woman he loved, his wife, his children.
His mother urged him to marry a woman he didn't love so that he would forget his loss. Although the woman he married did love him, she resented his music. His children, influenced by their mother's attitude, became estranged from him. This drove him further and further into his music.
After he failed to find another tar equal to his broken one, feeling that without that tar and his music there was nothing else he wanted, Nasser came to the conclusion, "To live, it's not enough to be alive." He decided to die.
This where the novel really begins. Through Satrapi's masterful construction, we are able to piece together what we need to understand who Nassar was, and why he would make this tragic choice.
Satrapi reveals Nasser's life and character by skillfully rearranging temporal events - picking up a incident, then dropping it, and then weaving it in later on in the story with new threads. She loops the past into the present, the future into the past. Sometimes, from frame to frame, she switches back and forth between the past and the present, showing how a character's unhappy memories and lingering hurt become emotional IEDs on the path to true understanding.
There are many lenses through which to "see" another person, many ways in which to know them. At Nassaer's mother's funeral, a mystic tells him the story of five men in the dark trying to describe a whole elephant from the part each has touched. "We give meaning to life based upon our point of view," he tells Nasser. In Chicken With Plums, through characters and events, Satrapi gives us the whole elephant.
As the novel progresses, Satrapi's drawings become more expressive and surreal, adding more decorative touches. Her work resembles animation, almost cartoonish, but her story has the depth of a great novel. She has the timing of a film maker, knowing just what to show when, and how to keep the mystery and tension to the end.
Chicken With Plums has touched me deeply. It's a heart breaking story of love on many levels, fulfilled and unfulfilled. I believe Nasser died of a broken heart. Without Irane and without his music, he could not find a way to be in this world.
A Beautiful Book.......2007-07-17
People who have been critical of this story seem to be missing the story's heart. Chicken with Plums is enigmatic. The character doesn't understand himself and since this is a story passed to her, she doesn't make things up. It is a very pragmatic way to tell a story.
Its a mystery of sorts, different than Persepolis because in that stoy's case she had all the keys at hand and even then Persepolis isn't deeper only more voluminous. It seems to me the nature of her stories to allow for the character to be at a loss and also the reader. She seems to be saying, here are the clues, pick through them, draw your own conclusions.
She seems to be inviting us to unknowing, wondering. It's a beautiful book where she only tells you what she knows and if you are the kind, and there is nothing wrong with this, who likes all the answers at the end than this is not the book for you. It is book for walking and thinking about, it is a daydreamers book, an agnostics book.
Nostalgic .......2007-04-12
As an Iranian I enjoyed this story a great deal. I still believe Satrapi's best work is Persepolis (the first one). Overall I enjoy reading all her work.
Comically sad and far too short . . ........2007-04-03
It's easy to be disappointed in this book if you expect something of the scale and depth of the author's "Persepolis." But Satrapi has set out to tell a different kind of story in this book, and judging by that, I'd say she has come much closer to succeeding than some reviews here might suggest. Telling her story twice, first from an outsider's point of view and then from the perspective of the main character, Satrapi gives a postmodern twist to her material. And filling in what were surely the scant details of a life she could only have known second- or third-hand, she joins a well-established genre of creative nonfiction.
If the book can be faulted, it's that the material is so rich and cries out for much fuller treatment. In its few pages, you want to know more about these characters so that they spring in three dimensions from the flat comic-strip world they inhabit. This may have more to do with the limitations of the graphic novel than Satrapi's storytelling itself. I have no reservations recommending this book for what it reveals of lives lived in a culture that is both familiar and very different and its comically sad story of a self-absorbed man so disappointed with his world that he wills his own death.
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- Break the One-Armed Bandits!
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8, Issue 2
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8, Issue 2
- Cartoon Guide to Statistics
- Christianity for the Rest of Us: How the Neighborhood Church Is Transforming the Faith
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Books Index
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