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An Excerpt from Bill Watterson's Introduction:
"I've loved comic strips as long as I can remember. As a kid, I knew I wanted to be either a cartoonist or an astronaut. The latter was never much of a possibility, as I don't even like riding in elevators. I kept my options open until seventh grade, but when I stopped understanding math and science, my choice was made. There is great personal satisfaction in attending to detail and quality, and I remain very proud of the standards the strip met day after day. I also liked the responsibility of knowing that, succeed or fail, it was all my own doing. This approach kept the strip very honest and personal--everything having to do with Calvin and Hobbes expressed my own ideas, my own values, my own way. I wrote every word, drew every line, and painted every color. It's a rare gift to find such fulfilling work and I tried to show my appreciation by giving the strip everything I had to offer."
Exclusive Images from the New Collection
More Calvin and Hobbes Books
The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book |
Weirdos from Another Planet! |
Attack of the Deranged Mutant Killer Monster Snow Goons |
Book Description
Calvin and Hobbes is unquestionably one of the most popular comic strips of all time. The imaginative world of a boy and his real-only-to-him tiger was first syndicated in 1985 and appeared in more than 2,400 newspapers when Bill Watterson retired on January 1, 1996. More than 30 million of the 17 Calvin and Hobbes books (all published by Andrews McMeel) have been sold. And now, the entire body of Calvin and Hobbes cartoons published in a truly noteworthy tribute to this singular cartoon. Composed of three hardcover, four-color volumes in a sturdy slipcase, this edition includes all Calvin and Hobbes cartoons that ever appeared in syndication. This is the treasure that all Calvin and Hobbes fans seek.
Customer Reviews:
Calvin and Hobbes - one of the best comics !!!.......2007-10-01
Got this as a gift for my wife on her b'day, C&H are her fav comics. she loved it !!! Cant go wrong with C&H.
I am a fan of pearls before swine tho' :D
It's a tiger's world.......2007-09-26
Still love Calvin and Hobbes; read it every day for years when it came out.
A perfect melange of adult and kid perspective, this strip will remind you of how you were as a kid. I was definitely Calvin, minus Hobbes. I've got the report cards to prove it.
This edition is worth getting for adults, for the quality of the printing and care in the binding. For kids I'd say get used copies of the big paperbacks; cheaper and less worrisome when your little devils inevitably tear it apart from reading it over and over.
Right up there with Doonesbury and Bloome County as a modern comic strip classic.
A Great Discovery.......2007-09-23
As a foreigner, living in England, I was introduced to Calvin and Hobbes by a friend, Rod Patten of Austin TX.
Firstly I trawled the websites, but now I have this three volume combined edition. Anytime I'm a little low or bored, out come C&H.
The humor and draftsmanship are both superb.
I can thoroly recommend this book to anyone with a g.s. of h.
truly joyous gift.......2007-09-21
I bought this boxed set of "The Complete Calvin and Hobbes" for my husband's birthday. He is thrilled with them and we are having a hard time keeping the boys "paws" off the books! I ordered them from the UK and they arrived so quickly, I was amazed. Thank you Amazon!
Comic series.......2007-09-10
All the Calvin and Hobbs comics are great and to have them all in three large books is wonderful. Books are well done and worth the money
Product Description
Picking up where Season 7 of the cult TV series left off, creator Joss Whedon expands on the Slayer's mythology if he had the opportunity to continue the show into an eighth season.
Since the destruction of the Hellmouth, the Slayers have gotten organized and are kicking some serious undead butt. But not everything's fun and firearms, as an old enemy reappears, and Dawn experiences some serious growing pains.
Customer Reviews:
Miss Buffy the t.v. show.......2007-07-24
I really miss the Buffy t.v. show, so I decided to read the comic. It was very interesting, but it cost quite a bit for a brief 5 - 10 minute read. I don't know if I'll purchase the others, unless I can find them at their original cost.
Expecting More.......2007-07-18
I only recently discovered that there was a Season 8 written by Joss Whedon and I immediately purchased the first 5 issues. After reading this first volume I'm left wanting more, but not quite as satisfied as I had hoped. Comics are okay, but seeing this on tv is so much better. If this had to be written I think I would have preferred a regular book instead of a comic book. All in all I think the first comic is just okay, but I still look forward to reading volume 2.
Buffy's back better than ever!.......2007-07-01
Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 8 takes place right after the ending of Sunnydale. Buffy, Zander, and a giant Dawn return. A few of the other main characters are missing but Joss Whedon promises they will be returning in later issues.
I loved the artwork and plot line. I mean Joss Whedon helped write this so what's not to like?
Meh..........2007-06-06
I am a big fan of Buffy, so, when I found out Joss had released a comic which would reflect his vision of season 8, I was eager to purchase it. Well.... I can honestly say I didn't like it. I love the Buff-meister and all, but this seemed really silly and not quite up to par. I think the art also lends itself to the unreality. Every character looks like they are 13. Buffy should at least be in her mid twenties.
The plot is pretty simple stuff. Buffy is the leader of a teen group of slayers who fight vampires in the future. Dawn is attending Berkeley and has a really BIG problem. Willow wasn't in this issue. Xander is Buffy's manager. Not a heck of a lot happens.
I would pick up a few issues if I could get it in the bargain bin of my local comic shop. But I wouldn't rush out to pay full price. There are better comics out there.
Sure it's four years late, but I'll take it.......2007-04-17
*Possible spoilers within.*
I wonder if Joss Whedon originally had more story to tell after the end of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," or if he simply came up with more recently. As "Buffy" ended where he'd supposedly originally intended it to, but "Angel" was cancelled when Whedon expressedy stated that he had more story to tell, I would have expected him to continue "Angel" rather than "Buffy". (I still wish he would do so, and he has recently said that he's considering it.) However, I'll gobble up anything by Mr. Whedon, especially if it has something to do with the Buffyverse. And so when the first issue of the Season Eight comics was released, I devoured it. It's a tasty morsel indeed.
This season takes place a while after the epic finale of the TV show. The U.S. government, investigating the annihilation of Sunnydale, is now pursuing Buffy Summers, whom they consider to be a dangerous terrorist. Buffy herself is leading the thousands of Slayers currently in Europe in small groups, while the patched Xander Harris guides her from their base in Scotland. Obviously this is no small operation - in fact, it's huge.
Speaking of huge, Dawn Summers has recently lost her virginity to a "thricewise" - the result being Dawn's sudden growth spurt, from about five feet to about fifty feet. She's huge, unhappy, and currently housed in a warehouse where her tiny sister tries to sort things out with her. Buffy knows all about the repercussions of your "first time", but Dawn is waiting for Willow's return to vent. ("And anyhow Willow's the expert on boys since when now?" Buffy muses.)
In Part I of the season premiere, titled "The Long Way Home," Buffy battles a group of large, nasty beasts whose most recent victims appear to be members of a cult. (Expect a follow-up on that in future issues.) Meanwhile, in Sunnydale, government workers have unearthed someone from Buffy's past with a hankerin' for some vengeance. And cheese.
If the first issue is any indication, Season Eight of "Buffy" is gonna rock. Truly, this is going to be an absolute delight for any and all fans. Whedon's writing is as witty, creative, and shocking as ever, alluding to previous events and baddies like he so loves to do (and we love him to do) as well as the revelation from Season Five of "Angel" in which we learn that Buffy is currently dating some jerk called "the Immortal." Nope - that was one of three decoy Buffys used to throw enemies off her trail. As for the actual look of the comic, George Jeanty's artwork is excellent. Already he has the look of the characters down pat.
I was worried about how well "Buffy" would work as a comic as opposed to a TV show. I needn't have worried. "Buffy" works, and it works well. It's a blast to see the characters back, OFFICIALLY, and from Whedon's own hands at that. (In future issues, other writers from the series will be scripting the issues as well!) By all means, don't just go out and buy these, because they're selling like mad. Pre-order them well ahead of time so you can get your hands on some simply sumptuous "Buffy" action.
Buffy's back, and she's just as awesome as ever.
Average customer rating:
- An extraordinary effort -- Moore's best
- Awesome character development, ingenuous story
- One of the Essential books for comic Fans
- The Standard
- The Watchmen Live On!
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Watchmen (Absolute Edition)
Alan Moore
Manufacturer: DC Comics
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Has any comic been as acclaimed as Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen? Possibly only Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, but Watchmen remains the critics' favorite. Why? Because Moore is a better writer, and Watchmen a more complex and dark and literate creation than Miller's fantastic, subversive take on the Batman myth. Moore, renowned for many other of the genre's finest creations (Saga of the Swamp Thing, V for Vendetta, and From Hell, with Eddie Campbell) first put out Watchmen in 12 issues for DC in 1986-87. It won a comic award at the time (the 1987 Jack Kirby Comics Industry Awards for Best Writer/Artist combination) and has continued to gather praise since.
The story concerns a group called the Crimebusters and a plot to kill and discredit them. Moore's characterization is as sophisticated as any novel's. Importantly the costumes do not get in the way of the storytelling; rather they allow Moore to investigate issues of power and control--indeed it was Watchmen, and to a lesser extent Dark Knight, that propelled the comic genre forward, making "adult" comics a reality. The artwork of Gibbons (best known for 2000AD's Rogue Trooper and DC's Green Lantern) is very fine too, echoing Moore's paranoid mood perfectly throughout. Packed with symbolism, some of the overlying themes (arms control, nuclear threat, vigilantes) have dated but the intelligent social and political commentary, the structure of the story itself, its intertextuality (chapters appended with excerpts from other "works" and "studies" on Moore's characters, or with excerpts from another comic book being read by a child within the story), the finepace of the writing and its humanity mean that Watchmen more than stands up--it keeps its crown as the best the genre has yet produced. --Mark Thwaite
Book Description
Has any comic been as acclaimed as Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen? Possibly only Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, but Watchmen remains the critics' favorite. Why? Because Moore is a better writer, and Watchmen a more complex and dark and literate creation than Miller's fantastic, subversive take on the Batman myth. Moore, renowned for many other of the genre's finest creations (Saga of the Swamp Thing, V for Vendetta, and From Hell, with Eddie Campbell) first put out Watchmen in 12 issues for DC in 1986-87. It won a comic award at the time (the 1987 Jack Kirby Comics Industry Awards for Best Writer/Artist combination) and has continued to gather praise since.The story concerns a group called the Crimebusters and a plot to kill and discredit them. Moore's characterization is as sophisticated as any novel's. Importantly the costumes do not get in the way of the storytelling; rather they allow Moore to investigate issues of power and control--indeed it was Watchmen, and to a lesser extent Dark Knight, that propelled the comic genre forward, making "adult" comics a reality. The artwork of Gibbons (best known for 2000AD's Rogue Trooper and DC's Green Lantern) is very fine too, echoing Moore's paranoid mood perfectly throughout. Packed with symbolism, some of the overlying themes (arms control, nuclear threat, vigilantes) have dated but the intelligent social and political commentary, the structure of the story itself, its intertextuality (chapters appended with excerpts from other "works" and "studies" on Moore's characters, or with excerpts from another comic book being read by a child within the story), the finepace of the writing and its humanity mean that Watchmen more than stands up--it keeps its crown as the best the genre has yet produced. --MarkThwaite
Customer Reviews:
An extraordinary effort -- Moore's best.......2007-10-03
"The Watchmen" is a tour de force of the graphic novel genre, showing Alan Moore at his best. Moore invents a graphic universe, with a unique cast of characters whose interesting histories and personalities add complexity and fascination to the entire book.
The central character of the work ("hero" is too happy a term) is "Rorschach," a psychopathic masked avenger who is tracking down whoever is killing off a cast of masked former crime fighters, who are now in middle age if now retirement. In the world of The Watchmen, "adventuring" by masked vigilantes has been made illegal. Most of the superheroes have gone along with the law, and have more-or-less happily hung up their masks, cowls and crime-fighting devices to attempt the uneasy adjustment to normal life. Moore creates a complete reality that spans generations, where now-elderly retired crime fighters have passed the baton to a younger (now middle-aged) generation. But the stirrings of adventure lie just below the surface, and it doesn't take much perturbation to bring them to the surface.
Moore's heroes seem familiar, but they're not. Night Owl, a paunchy and bespectacled nerd, wears around in a slightly-ludicrous owl costume, complete with wings and night-vision goggles. In a bit of (I think) intentional humor, his arctic outfit is actually shaped and colored to resemble a snowy owl. Ozymandias is a wealthy acrobat, obsessed with ancient Egypt, and now spins his former glory (via toys and merchandise) into gold. Silk Specter, a leggy beauty 15 years younger than the rest, is living with Doctor Manhattan, a scientist whose 1959 turn in a radiation chamber that rendered him, naked, blue, emotionally tone-deaf, and with the godlike ability to transfer between worlds and dimensions. Not to mention that he likes to go around without clothes.
The story starts with the gruesome death of The Comedian by persons unknown. After the cops leave, Rorschach arrives (through the broken high-rise from which the victim made his unintended exit) and the fun begins. The rest of the novel spins a story of dark personal secrets, an not-so-innocent world unaware of impending danger, and the desire to take up old passions -- all set against a world in which political powers are posturing and threatening each other with annihilation. The heroes spend a great deal of time dealing with their personal issues -- former loves, the loss of friends, parenthood and aging -- while wondering whether and how to engage in the growing turmoil around them.
Moore's heroes are not bound by the rules of "good guy" niceness that we might expect in comic books. They curse, intimidate, attack, manipulate, act psychopathic and work outside the rules, leaving behind a high body count. It's no wonder they were outlawed by more decent people. The strip deals with quite dark issues -- warfare, murder, rape, abandonment, even free will and determinism. It is extremely violent, sexy and rough -- way too much for even the PG-13 crowd. The story is told as an interlocking and overlapping narrative, with lots of meaningful repetition, flashbacks ad even a tragic comic-within-a-comic whose plot mirrors the novel's own. The plot is fascinating, and will keep your reading -- though much too quickly to grasp every detail. Like any good book, this one needs to be read and reread to catch the way it plays with history and characters.
I could go on and on. "The Watchmen" is an unexpected masterpiece, taking the comic book form far from its banal origins, to tell a tale that is repellent and fascinating and extremely well-executed. It's one of the books you must read before you die.
Awesome character development, ingenuous story.......2007-09-29
Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons is my absolute favorite graphic novel. I just finished re-reading it. It's actually the comic that inspired all of my magical approaches to using comics as a magical tool/technique. I'm also always amazed at just how in-depth the story is...how much detail is put into the characters, even the minor ones.
I also have my favorite characters, which are the Comedian, Rorschach, and Ozymandias. I like all of them because they stand out as fairly unique characters even in a comic book that already has unique characters. They have very distinctive personalities...
The comedian is a very amoral character and that amorality allows him to embrace perspectives that enable him to move past situations that would stop people. He knows his nature and utterly accepts without the moral qualms that many people would have. I like his character not because of his actions, but because he is so at peace with who and what he is.
Rorschach...well my favorite scene is where someone attacks him and he uses only his shirt to essentially trap the person...your hands, my perspective. Again his is a perspective that allows him to see past the obvious constraints and find solutions where other people won't go.
And ozymandias embodies lateral thinking overall...again that perspective, that way of taking a situation and turning it from a disaster into something else. Plus a continued focus on improving himself, being able to see what he can do...and not letting limitations stop him.
I admire anyone who takes a different perspective and makes it work.
Good book...go read it if you haven't...cause it definitely applies to the post 9/11 world.
One of the Essential books for comic Fans.......2007-09-27
It might be an old book, but it still holds weight today.there is nothing else to say other then, you MUST read, and re-read to catch everything in it
The Standard.......2007-09-24
What can I say that hasn't been said already. This is the "Hamlet" of the comic book world. The "Godfather" of comics, if you will. The "Moving Pictures" of the comic book industry. What Moore and Gibbons have crafted here is a wonder unrivaled in the comics world. The sheer level of detail that they put into their work is astounding. Literally every single panel on every single page contains something important, some detail that if noticed, will make the reading experience that much more magical. I savored over this book for about two weeks before I finished it. It took me about two hours per chapter. This isn't the type of book that you can just breeze through, like many of today's comics. You will find yourself deeply drawn into this world and the lives of its characters. They will become like old friends to you. The mystery, the intrigue, the action...its all fantastic. You are in for a fantastic experience when you read The Watchmen.
The Watchmen Live On!.......2007-09-08
After hearing that the book THE WATCHMEN is at last being made into a movie, I thought now was a good time to reread it and see how it would stand up today. I first read this back in the late 80's and it is just as mind catching a story as it was then. Still love it. Hope the movie does the book justice....but why wait for the movie READ THE BOOK FIRST! OUTSTANDING!
Product Description
Roland has incurred the wrath of the evil sorcerer Marten, and must flee his home in Gilead with two of his young friends. But arriving in the supposedly friendly town of Hambry may be no safer, for the dreaded agents of Marten are abroad The Coffin Hunters! Though its not all completely bleak as Roland meets the woman who will become the love of his young life the beautiful Susan Delgado. Plus: Learn more about the land of the Dark Tower with exclusive bonus material!
Customer Reviews:
The Dark Tower #2.......2007-09-15
I'm giving the same review to all the comics in this series. It's too bad that King's epoch is so monumental that this comic serialization represents only a miniscule slice but for an abridgement it is excellent and,in my opinion, they've chosen the best segment. The writing is good, the art work alone is worth the purchase of the series. The insightful essays following each segment were enlightening. The down side was the back-slapping, self-gratification-fest that ended each book. If I felt any need to know how talented each of the contributers felt the others in the group were I'd go on the internet and look it up. I'm paying for a book, not an awards dinner. bg
The Dark Tower Comic 2.......2007-04-24
This was such a cool idea, and the artwork is awesome, but I have one problem with it. I kind of feel slighted that these comics are telling the story of the 4th book. I know that the title is Gunslinger Born but I still really want to get more of the story. Maybe it could have discussed what happened between the events of the 4th and the 1st novel. I was hoping there would be more story to the Dark Tower world, and, as a Tower junkie, I was a little let down.
That said, however, the comic book looks awesome and I can't wait to keep reading.
Average customer rating:
- American Born Chinese - Book Review
- Wish There Was Something for Above 5 Stars
- AMERICAN BORN CHINESE
- Poignant, but too brief to make a real lasting impression
- Good introduction to Graphic Novels
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American Born Chinese
Gene Luen Yang , and
Gene Yang
Manufacturer: First Second
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ASIN: 1596431520
Release Date: 2006-09-05 |
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Indie graphic novelist Gene Yang's intelligent and emotionally challenging American Born Chinese is made up of three individual plotlines: the determined efforts of the Chinese folk hero Monkey King to shed his humble roots and be revered as a god; the struggles faced by Jin Wang, a lonely Asian American middle school student who would do anything to fit in with his white classmates; and the sitcom plight of Danny, an All-American teen so shamed by his Chinese cousin Chin-Kee (a purposefully painful ethnic stereotype) that he is forced to change schools. Each story works well on its own, but Yang engineers a clever convergence of these parallel tales into a powerful climax that destroys the hateful stereotype of Chin-Kee, while leaving both Jin Wang and the Monkey King satisfied and happy to be who they are.
Yang skillfully weaves these affecting, often humorous stories together to create a masterful commentary about race, identity, and self-acceptance that has earned him a spot as a finalist for the National Book Award for Young People. The artwork, rendered in a chromatically cool palette, is crisp and clear, with clean white space around center panels that sharply focuses the reader's attention in on Yang's achingly familiar characters. There isn't an adolescent alive who won't be able to relate to Jin's wish to be someone other than who he is, and his gradual realization that there is no better feeling than being comfortable in your own skin.--Jennifer Hubert
Customer Reviews:
American Born Chinese - Book Review.......2007-09-21
This book is a book of three tales about a child (Jin Wang), a Monkey King, and a visiting cousin from Japan. During the first part of the of the book you can see that in a new place, times can be difficult. People chose to be stereotypical and treat Jin Way and his friend Wei-Chin Sun like outcasts. The monkey king learns many disciplines over time, making himself become practically invincible. Danny is a normal boy visited by his cousin who starts to ruin Danny's life. As you can see this book is a thrilling graphic novel that will take through the experiences of stereotypes and problems of people and things from another place.
Written by: Austin, Neil, Pascal, Chandler (High Tech Middle Media Arts students)
Wish There Was Something for Above 5 Stars.......2007-08-29
American Born Chinese by Gene Yang was the Printz Award winner for 2007. It's been sitting in my pile for a few months now, even though I was told it would take me no more than an hour to read. All the reviews I read about this graphic novel have been very positive, and I must agree it is a masterpiece.
But, as usual, I have a different viewpoint to bring to this discussion. We all have filters we view the world through, and this is also true of the way we approach media, whether it be books, movies, poetry, etc. My Christian faith is a large filter for me, and it impacts the way I view books.
American Born Chinese is a story told in three separate stories that eventually converge. Remember Holes? Louis Sachar did the same thing. The three plotlines came together in surprising ways that add to the enjoyment of the story. It is part of the mystery of the book.
In plotline one, Jin Wang has started a new life in a new home and a new school. He struggles to fit in with his new classmates who only see his differences. His classmates focus only on the negative stereotypes they have heard about the Chinese people. He is mocked and picked on, and the only friend he can find is a bully who threatens to make Jin eat his boogers if he won't share his food. I found myself cringing a little as I remembered a classmate that was in my elementary school. His name was Nguyen Ly, but later on he changed his name to an American name. Now I understand why he wanted to do that. It is hard to be different. One more important aspect to this story is that Jin loves his transformer robot. One day, he wants to be a transformer himself.
In plot two, the King of the Monkeys is angered when he is turned away at a party for being a monkey. No matter how much skill he acquires, he is belittled for being a monkey. In his anger, he beats the tar out of multiple people using his kung fu skills. Finally, he receives a visit from the great Tze-Yo-Tzuh, a god, who encourages the Monkey King to accept his role in life and to take enjoyment in that role. Be proud you are a monkey, he seems to be saying. The Monkey King won't listen and is "punished" for his refusal.
In plot three, a teenage boy named Danny feels humiliated everytime his cousin Chin-Kee comes to visit him. Chin-Kee goes around at Danny's school seemingly encouraging all the negative stereotypes people have towards Asians. He has buck teeth, can't correctly pronounce his l's and r's, and just makes a fool of himself.
First, the technical elements: The artwork is amazing. Each drawing contains amazing colors and good use of frames to create motion and time. Also, the author uses a creative device that shows us when a person is speaking in a language other than English. The text is written in English but the quotation is surrounded by angular parentheses. This way, the reader knows the speaker is not speaking English, but we can still read the conversation.
One thing no one has pointed out is that many of the speeches made by Tze-Yo-Tzuh are taken directly from the Bible. Most of it is from Psalm 139. This is the passage where it talks about God knowing us completely, when we get up and when we lie down. We cannot escape him. I am linking the whole chapter in this for anyone who wants to read it.
What I got out of this story is that God created us each to be something, and he does not make mistakes. We can fight against it, but we usually just hurt ourselves. I am thinking of a very dear friend of mine. He is a wonderful person, but has been fighting God for years.
*Spoiler alert.*
When the monkey was fighting and striving, he was always angry and never got what he wanted. It was only by accepting his role in the world that he found himself. And notice his role was unselfishly giving of himself to help others. And the reason I put punished in quotes above is that I don't really think the god in this book punished the Monkey King out of anger. I believe he did it for his own good to lead him to the truth. Tze-Yo-Tzuh tried everything before he buried him in a mountain of rock.
Please don't think I am immune to the cultural implications of this book. When we see the cruelty with which the world treats Jin and his friends, it is heartbreaking. I hope people will read this work and re-think these stereotypes. But I also know that stereotypes exist, and you can only change yourself. Jin, the Monkey King, and anyone else who is discriminated against cannot wait for the world to change in order to find the happiness we all deserve. We must each act with integrity and take joy in the roles we have been given in this world, whether they are received with praise or hostility.
AMERICAN BORN CHINESE.......2007-08-15
Honestly, as I leafed through AMERICAN BORN CHINESE, I thought that the graphics showed talent, but were uninspiring; the page I happened upon was relatively weak in plot and character choice (though I certainly was taking it out of context); and I thought that when I eventually read the whole thing, I probably would not think it was as good as it could be.
Perhaps my impression of graphic novels was shaped by Japanese or American graphic artwork and story, and that's what I was expecting.
Perhaps I wanted this book to be more adult in its tone than a kid's comic book.
Perhaps I wanted grit, style over substance, or a story that starts with a POW! and never let's go.
Perhaps my first look didn't seem impressive because I was expecting something that this book was not.
Regardless what I was expecting or wanting, AMERICAN BORN CHINESE succeeds in a way I didn't think possible, even when I was halfway through it! This healthy book tells three Chinese-based stories in alternating chapters: the first is about the Chinese legend of the Monkey King; the second focuses entirely on a young Chinese-American boy who feels out of place in his American school; the last is a "sitcom" (complete with laugh-track) about Chin-Kee, the ultimate in tasteless Chinese stereotypes.
Funny, simple and beautifully paced, these seemingly separate stories really begin to grow on the reader about halfway in through smart and honest humor; artwork that is limited in scope, but faultless; and a marvelous structure that shows true ability in telling a complete story that merges all three separate tales in the end in an amazingly profound and memorable way.
What at first seemed trite became endearing, which, in turn, was transforming -- transforming my misplaced expectations; transforming my perceptions of graphic storytelling ability; and transforming what is possible when an artist really understands that "transforming" IS a possiblity.
This a great addition to the middle school library by all means, and a revelation to those who think they have seen it all. Gene Luen Yang is a real storyteller.
Poignant, but too brief to make a real lasting impression.......2007-07-29
In American Born Chinese, Yang tells three seemingly disparate stories that all relate to Chinese culture, both in ancient fables and very modern day America. The stories are well told and beautifully illustrated with solid line work and great colors. Yang is able to capture a good deal of emotion in the art without employing an overly cluttered drawing style.
The story itself, this is where I had the problem. Yang says some really interesting and important things about Asians in America and also the struggle of being a teenager...but, the thing is, it's over too quickly. The 230-ish pages are not nearly enough to contain this story. Combine that with the fact that Yang only uses the middle third of every page, leaving white space on the top and bottom of the images, and you get a story that probably could have been told in 110 pages. With this brief of a book, and the fact that Yang has to interlace three stories (all the stories are interesting, by the way, and when they finally meet up the book is painted in an entirely new light)
So, I suppose the only criticism I have of this book is that it was too short. Yang just doesn't get into enough depth for this story to really stick, but the brief story he does tell is beautiful, funny, and poignant.
Good introduction to Graphic Novels.......2007-07-03
This is a good introduction to graphic novels as a genre. It is easy to follow the story yet the themes are subtle and intelligent; the illustrations are interesting and dynamic but not over-the-top like some superhero based graphic novels I have read. Yang is adept at portraying great emotion with just a few lines of dialogue. His characters are sympathetic but strong and you get to know them like you do real friends, slowly.
A good read all around. Get it!
Book Description
You're invited to the most whacked-out party of the year. Bring your togas, your appetite, and your attitude to the first-ever fraternity "zee-ba-cue" by the Da Brudderhood of Zeeba Zeeba Eata. A small cover charge is required, but zebras always get in free. Getting out is a different story. . .
In this, the fifth collection of the wildly popular Pearls Before Swine comic strip, Stephan Pastis's original creations Rat, Pig, Goat, and Zebra join the sophomoric cast of crocodilian cutthroats in Pastis's funniest work yet.
Customer Reviews:
Fun.......2007-09-28
The book was a wonderful collection. and I had many laughs from it. I have ordered other Pearls before Swine books as a result.
Dis iss hystiracall , Brudder!!!!.......2007-08-29
If you are a fan of Stephan Pastis' twisted humor, you will love this book! If you never heard of him and are slightly "bent", you'll soon be a fan.
I purchased two previous books and gave them away as gifts (after reading them first, of course) and the party turned into a "listen to this one" and "where did you get these?" event.
I love the crocodiles and their phonetic accent and their struggles with the wary zebra who is too smart for them....because EVERYONE is too smart for them.
The other characters are great too, but this one is the best of the three I've read. Do yourself a favor and order this book. Laughter is the best medicine and Stephan Pastis makes a great doctor!
Great for the Reading Room.......2007-07-03
Irreverant, silly, dumb, twisted......
I LOVE IT.... God forgive me, I love it.
The Zeeba/Ally-gaters are the best characters yet.
Fun for everyone.......2007-06-14
Hated to read the last page of this book. It's such a delight. My whole family loved it. In fact, we kept swiping it from each other.
We're now hooked on Zeebas.
Still miss "The Farside?".......2007-05-21
If like me, you miss Gary Larson's "Farside" cartoons, you must become familiar with the little folks in "Pearls Before Swine." Stephen Pastis admits to being influenced by both Larson and Charles Schultz. My favorite strips are the ones involving the crocodiles frustrated attempts to catch and eat the zebras. The daddy croc occasionally tries to pass off buckets of KFC for "zeeba." One can only conclude that crocs must be among natures most feeble-minded creatures. Pastis is fun, fun, funny!
Book Description
Mayhem and violence rule in this collection of issues one through seven of Jhonen Vasquez's Johnny the Homicidal Maniac, as well as material seen before only in Carpe Noctem magazine. Dark and disturbingly funny, JTHM follows the adventures of Johnny (you can call him Nny), who lives with a pair of styrofoam doughboys that encourage his madness, a wall that constantly needs a fresh coat of blood, and--oh, yeah--his victims in various states of torture. Join Nny as he frightens the little boy next door (Todd, known to fans of Vasquez's work as Squee), thirsts for Cherry Brain Freezies, attempts suicide, draws Happy Noodle Boy, and tries to uncover the meaning of his homicidal existence.
Customer Reviews:
JTHM.......2007-08-24
VERY FUNNY LIGHT READING IN THE VERY DARK ZONE,IF YOU LIKE OVER THE TOP GORE THIS BOOKS FOR YOU!!
Insanity and Murder are Funny.......2006-11-26
Well actually, they really aren't, but after reading JTHM you might think they are. Jhonen Vasquez has an amazing talent; he is capable of making the most disturbing things laugh-out-loud hilarious. For this I wish to give JTHM Director's Cut a 5/5, but I cannot. But before I explain why, let me attempt to explain the meaning behind Jhonen's madness. Naturally, this is merely _my_ interpretation of his work.
JTHM is an attack (and a very violent one at that) on normalcy through the use of satire and parody with disturbing, dark themes. Due to the dark themes and disturbing content, this work could be labeled as "gothic" (and often is), but that would be rather insulting. Ironically, "goths" tend to adore the disturbing and the dark simply because it is not "normal," but they end up carving a very specific mold of normalcy out for their own clique. "If you don't fit a certain image, you're not goth and you're not one of US," a goth might say. JTHM is not only an attack on what MOST of us would consider normal, but also an attack on what GOTHS consider normal. It is an attack on all those arrogant people out there who deliberately exclude others because they don't fit in with their own definition of what normal is.
This theme pervades the entire series, from when Johnny is brutally torturing bullies for making fun of him for what he wears, to the little comments JV sometimes scratches in at the corners of his panels. But, it is not JV's attack on normalcy that is the most interesting aspect of JTHM, it is the contradictions. On the one hand, much of this comic book is rather demented and disgusting, but at the same time the book is hilarious--pulling the reader in two different directions at once. Also, sometimes there are comic strips that are completely pointless and filled with excessive (and unnecessary) violence, while there are others that have Johnny going on thought-provoking philosophical ramblings. This tension from pulling the reader back and forth (between violence and humor, and between pointlessness and meaning) is so instense that if you try to read too much at once you'll either sweat excessively, vomit profusely, or pass out from lack of oxygen because you're laughing so hard (or a combination of all three). I suggest reading in small dosages, you've been warned :)
This actually brings me to one of my only complaints. The JTHM series once featured "Meanwhiles" which are mini comic strips whose sole purpose is simply a brief, funny intermission between the JTHM series. The lack of meanwhiles lowers the value of the book (since they are really funny). But, the Meanwhiles also served as a means to break up the tension in the Johnny series. Since JTHM is so intense, the random and so often silly nature of the Meanwhile comic strips served as a pleasant deviation, and the lack of these pleasant little breaks means it's much more difficult to read JTHM in longer bursts.
My only other complaint is in the sturdiness of the actual book itself. I've only read through JTHM a few times, but already pages are falling out all over the place. I feel kind of bad negating a star primarily because of this reason (since it is not Jhonen's fault), but pages falling out really does detract from the overall experience.
Despite the lack of Meanwhiles and the overall flimsyness of the book itself, this is a solid purchase. Unless you're too easily offended or puke all over the place at the sight of blood, this graphic novel should not disappoint. Highly recommended!!!
The darkest, goriest, most awesome story ever!.......2006-11-05
I was introduced to this by my crazy friend, and I love it. Jhonen Vasquez has a very dark sense of humor, and has very comedic ways of showing someone kill people. I would HIGHLY suggest that one peeks into the book (click "Search inside this book") and read a couple of pages. In all honesty, though, if you don't like the few pages that are shown through Amazon, then you probably will not like the book. I think that the artwork is extremly well done, but it might not hold the interest of certain "normal" people.
Amazing Book.......2006-09-07
For anyone thinking of buying this book, the title explains the content: Johnny is a homicidal maniac. And this isn't an 80's horror film kind of homicidal maniac (one who likes to kill whislt in silhouette), oh no; the tortures and murders are shown in detail. The art work is very different compared to pretty much any other art work you'll find. Jhonen's use of skinny-as-hell characters and geometric drawings make this truly unique. Some may not like it, but that's a personal preferance.
That aside.
The story is non-linear in its own way (let's get one thing straight: it's not Tarentino non-linear), with different events taking place that can pretty much be interchanged with themselves (until part five), which gives the reader a simular sense of Johnny's psychosis. The dialouge is well crafted, logical (irony!) and often philisophical. If you're an intellectual, you'll thouroughly enjoy what the book has to offer...if you can manage some gore.
Also, the Happy Noodle Boy one-page segments are kept in this "Director's Cut" edition. These I found to be hilarious in their own, beyond random way. Seriously, these things are extremely random. Basically, it follows Happy Noodle Boy throughout a day in his life, which is often filled with swearing, yelling at people and usually ends with Noodle Boy getting shot.
In all, this is a great book and I highly suggest you pick up a copy. I find it very hard to believe anybody could whole-heartedly dislike this book.
Jhonny kicks your [...].......2006-08-09
dude, this book is the most awesome book ever. it just is.
Oh, and I LOVE that he listens to clasical music!!!!!!! thats one smart...put psycho....guy!!
But I must say one thing...
There are chicks on the internet that think that he's "hot" and they say that they'd "so do him"
but,
1. he'd kill you
2. HE'S A FRIGGEN COMIC BOOK CARACHTER YOU WEIRDOS!
3. You must be a freak if you HONESTLY think that.
yeah..i wouldnt do 'im...i wouldnt be evil to him like everyone else in the book...but yeah...i wouldnt think that a comic book character was hot. thats just odd. like...not good odd, like, say...invader zim-odd...but odd like.....say...my uncle that steals my grandma's bath towels odd......thats just stupid.
Average customer rating:
- Still As Good
- Timeless Tale Is Sheer Magic!
- FUN!
- Wonderful, imaginative book
- Something different
|
Where the Wild Things Are
Maurice Sendak
Manufacturer: Harper Collins
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Binding: Hardcover Comic
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Franklin KID240 Speaking Homework Wiz
ASIN: 0060254920 |
Product Description
The 1964 Caldecott Medal Winner for the Most Distinguished Picture Book of the Year by Maurice Sendak. Brian O'Doherty of The New York Times said the Mr. Sendak's work "disguised in fantasy, springs from his earliest self, from the vagrant child that lurks in the heart of all of us."
Amazon.com
Where the Wild Things Are is one of those truly rare books that can be enjoyed equally by a child and a grown-up. If you disagree, then it's been too long since you've attended a wild rumpus. Max dons his wolf suit in pursuit of some mischief and gets sent to bed without supper. Fortuitously, a forest grows in his room, allowing his wild rampage to continue unimpaired. Sendak's color illustrations (perhaps his finest) are beautiful, and each turn of the page brings the discovery of a new wonder.
The wild things--with their mismatched parts and giant eyes--manage somehow to be scary-looking without ever really being scary; at times they're downright hilarious. Sendak's defiantly run-on sentences--one of his trademarks--lend the perfect touch of stream of consciousness to the tale, which floats between the land of dreams and a child's imagination.
This Sendak classic is more fun than you've ever had in a wolf suit, and it manages to reaffirm the notion that there's no place like home.
Customer Reviews:
Still As Good.......2007-09-26
I grew up just loving this book. I think it havd more influence on my imagination than any other book.
I recently had a son and purchased this book to read with him and it is just as entertaining after all these years.
Timeless Tale Is Sheer Magic!.......2007-09-19
What child hasn't dreamed of being a wild animal, untamed and free? Of having no boundaries or restrictions?
In the magical world of a young boy's imagination, a wonderland can blossom. Sent to bed without supper for misbehaving, the unrepentant and spirited Max lets his imagination soar. His bedroom transformed into an exotic wilderness, Max sets sail across a deep blue sea to where the "wild things" are. After taming all of these fearsome monsters (turns out, he's the wildest of them all), the newly crowned "king of all wild things" leads them on quite a romp....until the lonely boy decides to return to the place where he is loved.
This journey into imagination is wonderful, whimsical and extraordinary. Small wonder that "Wild Things" was named the Caldecott Medal Winner for the Most Distinguished Picture Book of the Year in 1964. Author/Illustrator Maurice Sendak has created a timeless classic - one which will always be among my personal favorites.
FUN!.......2007-09-19
Read as a child myself, who does not have this book?? If you don't-- get one! My children love it, I love it, even my husband loves it! It's fun, fun, fun! And kids LOVE to act it out quoting verbatim after reading for the 123rd time! Must have for the family library! (hang onto it even after they've grown, let them have it to read to their kids!)
Wonderful, imaginative book.......2007-09-15
This is a great children's book and is on many top lists, won numerous awards, etc. It is a wonderful, typical Sendak-style story where something scary is not so scary after all. Great for girls and boys!
Something different.......2007-09-08
I like reading this story to my little girl. She loves the unique pictures and the story line makes her giggle. It is something different than the normal fairy tale stories, which I happen to be sick of. I think it is a fun book for both me and my little girl to read.
Amazon.com
A comic book about comic books. McCloud, in an incredibly accessible style, explains the details of how comics work: how they're composed, read and understood. More than just a book about comics, this gets to the heart of how we deal with visual languages in general. "The potential of comics is limitless and exciting!" writes McCloud. This should be required reading for every school teacher. Pulitzer Prize-winner Art Spiegelman says, "The most intelligent comics I've seen in a long time."
Book Description
Praised throughout the cartoon industry by such luminaries as Art Spiegelman, Matt Groening, and Will Eisner, this innovative comic book provides a detailed look at the history, meaning, and art of comics and cartooning.
Customer Reviews:
Amazing!.......2007-09-27
This book should be compulsory teaching in schools. Very easy to read and a great education in not just comics, but also in art and story telling. Highly recommended for everyone, even for the so called comic book experts. I have been reading comics for over 20 years, and this taught me things I took for granted.
Great book!.......2007-09-18
I highly recommend this to anyone who has even the slightest interest in comic books. Whether you're new to comics or a longtime comic book fan, you will probably learn something new and interesting about the medium. In particular, this book has really changed the way I look at manga and has given me a new appreciation for Japanese comics.
The other two books in this "trilogy" are good too, but I consider this one the real "must read" of the three.
Graphic SF Reader.......2007-09-03
Not being a writer, artist, editor, or whatever, I just read them, I didn't care about the technical details, so this was quite informative, and amusing, with the style. If you are not a would be comic creator, or artist of some sort, this may be too technical, dry and textbook like, but it is clever to have a comic be a textbook about comics.
Great if you're clueless about comics.......2007-08-29
Having read comics before, the book seemed almost as if it were talking down to me. However, the section of the book that dealt with the structure of comics and their elements (i.e. Splash pages, the gutter, etc.) was a welcome education. It's a pretty quick read and if you're completely new to the comic/graphic novel genre, it's a good one to read. But if you're a seasoned comic veteran, opt for one of Mccloud's other books instead.
enjoyable and informative.......2007-08-18
I'm kindof rediscovering comic books after years of not reading them, and I was curious to know a little more about the medium when I picked up this book, and I really liked it. Not only is it full of information about how comics are written and drawn, but it also IS a comic book, making it fun to read. The author's personality really contributes a lot to the narrative, and I think anyone interested in comics and graphic novels ought to read this book.
Average customer rating:
- Excellent read
- DEMEAMING, INSENSITIVE, STEREOTYPING, TOO GRAPHIC - JUST NOT CORRECT
- Sometimes truth is better than fiction.
- Maus
- Immensely sad. Full of pathos. An immense work
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The Complete Maus: A Survivor's Tale
Art Spiegelman
Manufacturer: Pantheon
ProductGroup: Book
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ASIN: 0679406417
Release Date: 1996-11-19 |
Book Description
At last! Here is the definitive edition of the book acclaimed as “the most affecting and successful narrative ever done about the Holocaust” (Wall Street Journal) and “the first masterpiece in comic book history” (The New Yorker). It now appears as it was originally envisioned by the author: The Complete Maus.
It is the story of Vladek Spiegelman, a Jewish survivor of Hitler’s Europe, and his son, a cartoonist coming to terms with his father’s story. Maus approaches the unspeakable through the diminutive. Its form, the cartoon (the Nazis are cats, the Jews mice), shocks us out of any lingering sense of familiarity and succeeds in “drawing us closer to the bleak heart of the Holocaust” (The New York Times).
Maus is a haunting tale within a tale. Vladek’s harrowing story of survival is woven into the author’s account of his tortured relationship with his aging father. Against the backdrop of guilt brought by survival, they stage a normal life of small arguments and unhappy visits. This astonishing retelling of our century’s grisliest news is a story of survival, not only of Vladek but of the children who survive even the survivors. Maus studies the bloody pawprints of history and tracks its meaning for all of us.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent read.......2007-09-12
I read Maus I and II back in junior high and thought it was really cool that I was reading a book while also reading a comic. I purchased and re-read the boxed set recently when I stumbled upon it on Amazon. It's excellent. Truly a one-of-a-kind story, told in a way that gets the reader engaged in the details of what went on back in World War II. I love the cleverness of the Jews being portrayed as mice and the Nazi soldiers as cats. The only qualm I have with this series is that Maus II (the second and last book) ends rather abruptly, which is sort of understandable if you read the books. Honestly, I wanted more from the author and the storyline. Either way, it was a good read back when I was age 12 and still a good read at age 25.
DEMEAMING, INSENSITIVE, STEREOTYPING, TOO GRAPHIC - JUST NOT CORRECT.......2007-09-01
I just don't understand, how any type of stereotyping, as maus is loaded with it, can be acceptable. Stereotyping like bigotry, can "never" be justified! The graphic nature of this book is also "disturbing." With so many other books out there, I personally am unable to understand why anyone would use this book that offends "other" (3 million Catholic Poles for starters)holocaust victims. Many, many books out there get the job done, without such dark graphics and offending peoples, who were also victims. There are three books that I feel are truly objective, factual and just not as offensive, as Maus is: "Auschwitz," by Sybile Steinbacher, Richard Lukas' "The Forgotten Holocaust," which "objectively" talks about "everyone's" suffering in the holocaust; and finally, Michael R. Marrus' "The Holocaust in History." On Marrus' book: "An ideal introduction to the subject for any student of the Holocaust, and an authoritative summary for the expert." Yehuda Bauer, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem(back cover). With all the suffering and sensitivity on the Holocaust, "all" victims' feelings should be considered - maus does "not" accomplish this.
Sometimes truth is better than fiction........2007-08-21
I stumbled across this a few days ago in a book shop in Cambodia, of all places. I sat transfixed reading the book until 4 a.m., when my eyes could no longer focus. When I awoke the next day, I finished the book.
We are provided with a narrative by the father, a Holocaust survivor, and a more recent portrayal of the author (the son, who happens to be the artist, also). We see the trials and tribulations of his father and his mother as a young Jewish couple in World War 2 era Poland during the Nazi invasion and subsequent occupation.
We also get to share the experience of being the guilty son of Holocaust survivors. He worries about seeing his father as the stereotypical "miserly old Jew." Can he have judgment about people who have suffered through so much? Can he have a bit of animosity towards his parents, as most people tend to do? The author has to question how his mother could have survived the Nazi regime, but committed suicide when he was 20. He has to question the relationship with his father. Is he annoying or pitiful or admirable?
All these muddled emotions and the true story of a man who lived through the most brutal crime of the 20th century all come into play.
The drawings are great. The format is great. The idea to show different races as different animals is also great. Because, as silly as that sounds- isn't even sillier that people see our own races as different creatures?
Maus.......2007-08-10
As a Polish/american/alsacian I need to say this book is amazing. It captures all cultures together and produces the most authentic representation of WW2 I have ever read.
Immensely sad. Full of pathos. An immense work.......2007-06-13
More than a graphic novel. Rather a powerful moving tale of a son's recovery of a father's experience of the years of the holocaust and how this trickled down into contemporary family life. Reflective and immense in scope. I would recommend this book genuinely to anyone interested in what makes life worth living. The vignettes of Spiegelman's father are harrowing and inspiring, accentuated by a matter of fact story telling style. Spiegelman's insertion of his own family into the narrative serves to contrast the relatively normal travails of a modern family with those of families on the edge of survival and extinction.
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Books Index
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Serenity [HD DVD]
The Complete Peanuts 1959-1962 Box Set
