Editorial Review

Scott McCloud's Read more

Reviews (8)

Amazing

Great book for establishing your comics
Scott Mccloud's Making Comics resembles a constitution for those want to establish their comics either as a hobby or as a carrier. It goes through so many details regarding creating your panels, establishing scenes, storytelling, characters designs and feelings, drawing styles, and the list goes on. Simply, the book gives you a guideline for establishing a living world in papers. What makes "Making Comics" unique is that it can teach you how to be a comic artist even if you're not good enough in drawing. The book illustrates the fundamentals of drawings comics and let you be creative for starting your own comic book. All in all, I really enjoyed reading this book, and it will help me a lot for my comics' drawings.

Disagree with review below--this is a remarkable book!
The previous reviewer accuses Scott McCloud of lacking the authority to write a guide to making comics. But McCloud's book is based on clear demonstration, not on authority.
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Subjects:  1. Cartooning    2. Comic books, strips, etc.    3. Comics & Cartoons    4. Comics & Graphic Novels    5. Drawing Of Specific Subjects    6. Educational    7. Fiction - General    8. Fine Arts    9. History & Criticism    10. History: World    11. Humor    12. Technique    13. Techniques - Cartooning    14. Comic book & cartoon art    15. Comics & Graphic Novels / Comics & Cartoons   

Reviews (2)

I wrote a review, but for some reason
It ended up in the discussion area, so please read that. Poor Stan Lee, his mighty ship has been taken over by the rats!

It's no OHOTMU, but it does the job
In the style of their 2004 publication, "The DC Comics Encyclopedia," Dorling Kindersley have released "The Marvel Encyclopedia," a guide to the characters of the Marvel Comics universe. DK are no strangers to Marvel's universe, having frequently released "Ultimate Guide" books covering the histories of Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Hulk, the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, and next year, Ghost Rider. But how does this tome, touted as "the definitive guide," stack up?
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Subjects:  1. Comic strip characters    2. Comics & Graphic Novels    3. Encyclopedias    4. Fantasy    5. Graphic Novels    6. Graphic Novels - General    7. Graphic Novels - Superheroes    8. History & Criticism    9. Marvel Comics Group    10. Reference    11. United States    12. Reference / Encyclopedias   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (22)

Ludicrous cartoon fallacies
To best judge the 911 commission it is logical to look at the commissioners themselves. As chief executive Philip Zelikow was the chief architect of the report. Zelikow is a personal friend of Condoleeza Rice one of the chief witnesses called to testify. He is also a rabid neo con who worked under Bush at the National Security council.
Comic Book Read Is No Joke...
This review refers to "The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation" by Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon...
Fast and Accurate
I wish more reports were put in graphic novel format, I think they would be huge sellers.The drawings make the characters come alive.It's almost like reading a movie. This is a fast read, enjoyable, entertaining, and it seems to be accurate.It puts everything in perspective and doesn't lay blame on one person but on all govt. agencies and politicians. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Comic books, strips, etc    2. Comics & Graphic Novels    3. Fine Arts    4. General    5. Graphic Novels    6. Humor    7. Political Freedom & Security - Terrorism    8. Political Terrorism    9. September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001    10. United States - 21st Century    11. War on Terrorism, 2001-    12. Comics & Graphic Novels / General   

Reviews (6)

'Thought I'd Died and Gone to Cartoon Heaven
Like many of my peers, as I grew up, my interest in animation gravitated toward the full animation of the Golden Age: Robert McKimson, Bob Clampett, Chuck Jones, et al, for a long while disdaining any form of animated minimalism, even the kind represented in this book. By the age of 7 or 8, we had come to associate Top Cat, Deputy Dawg, The Flintstones, The Jetsons and all the minimal animation that had once been among our favorites with shoddy cheapness. (Even as a small child, I remember several of us sitting around talking about cartoons, and laughing to scorn at the way the same background tree kept passing every couple of seconds in Hanna-Barbera chase scenes. We wondered, did they think we weren't catching that?!) 'Limited animation', those dread words, became poision for all us growing young animation fans.
For moderns only!!
Because the style was bastardized by budget-minded network television to grind out cheesy Saturday-morning fare, modern animation has severely negative connotations for a great swath of the general public. Indeed, much of the production work beginning in the 1960s was farmed out to sweatshops in Mexico and Korea where the animation fell into the hands of lowly paid, barely competent novices. (That practice continues to this day, with such eyesores as The Simpsons.) However, in the "complacent" 1950s, when the style was developed, it was highly original and sophisticated and brought into movie theaters and television ads by Disney expatriates and left-leaning malcontents looking for a new edge. This highly anticipated book by Amid Amidi is a visual feast and an incredibly well-researched documentation of "cartoon modern" and comes with the highest recommendation. For companion videos, I also recommend some titles from Something Weird Video, notably Beer Commercials From The Golden Age Of Television, which features some priceless Mister Magoos and other "off beat" ad shorts. Also from SWV, check out their series of Hey Folks!-It's Intermission Time for other great modernistic stuff. But at Amazon's discounted price, put this wonderful book in your hands first.

Every bit as good as expected...plus!
The author, through his blog and elsewhere, has made a passion of the brilliant, colorful, and grandly stylized types of cartooning and animation that came to prominence largely in the 1950's. This book--intelligently written and organized, and magnificently illustrated--strikes me as having been a genuine labor of love. It's just about perfect.
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Subjects:  1. Animated films    2. Animation    3. Art    4. Art Criticism    5. Film & Video - Amateur Production    6. General    7. History & Criticism    8. History - Contemporary (1945- )    9. History and criticism    10. Photography    11. Techniques - Cartooning    12. United States    13. Comic book & cartoon art    14. Comics & Graphic Novels / History & Criticism   

Reviews (6)

AN EYE OPENER

THOMAS PROVES WHY HE IS THE CONAN EXPERT
On the back dust jacket, former Editor-in-Chief Tom DeFalco refers to Roy Thomas as the world renowned expert on Conan the Barbarian and it's hard to argue that claim.Outside of Robert E. Howard himself, no one knows Conan like Roy Thomas...and Roy wrote about him for far longer than Howard to boot!I still remember the first Conan comic I ever read.It was issue #42 in 1974 and the cover showed Conan battling a gargoyle in mid air.I quickly became a huge Conan fan.And now DK books have released this absolutely gorgeous over-sized hardcover book, "Conan-The Ultimate Guide to the World's Most Savage Barbarian" written by Roy Thomas.
A letter to Roy Thomas..
First off, EXCELLENT book. Now I think it's time you picked up where Robert E. Howard started, L. Sprague DeCamp and Lin Carter continued, and now YOU MUST FINISH. ONE MORE STORY, is all I (And maybe a million more fans) ask. It's time to take off from where" 'Conan Of The Isles' left off. You ARE the ONLY AUTHORITY LEFT ALIVE. Please consider this, as I have been reading Conan since I was 13.(Now 35) Thanks!!! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cartoons and comics    2. Children's All Ages - Fiction - General    3. Comics & Graphic Novels    4. Conan (Fictitious character)    5. Fantasy Illustration    6. Fine Arts    7. History & Criticism    8. History: World    9. Juvenile literature    10. Literature - Classics / Criticism    11. Movie Tie - In    12. Techniques - Cartooning    13. Performing Arts / Film / Guides & Reviews   

Reviews (5)

A GREAT ASSET FOR THE COMIC COLLECTOR
Overstreet is certainly the book to have when trying to access the value of your collection. I only regret that they removed the grading system from this book and have moved to endorsing commercial companies to do this for you. Wizard only care about what is hot right now. All in all, this book is your best bet but alway remember, something is only worth what someone else is willing to pay for it.

Paperback Poor Quality Binding.
Iv'e had several Paperback Overstreet Guides and after moderate use pages tend to come loose from the binding and the book becomes worthless as a resale not to mention trying to keep it together. The Hardbacks seem to hold up much better and are more desirable as a collector item. For the additional price I find it is worth going with the Hardback version. I have never found Amazon.Comm to offer the Hardback and I don't know why??

'THE' Comic book guide
As usual Overstreet has come forward with the benchmark that we all use for pricing/grading comics.They cover gold/silver/ bronze age all the way up today.If you want an accurate reference for pricing your comics, Overstreet is the way to go. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Antiques    2. Antiques & Collectibles    3. Antiques / Collectibles    4. Antiques/Collectibles    5. Comics    6. Graphic Satire And Humor    7. Reference - Price Guides    8. Antiques & Collectibles / Comics   

Reviews (8)

Outstanding collection
If you are looking for a great, affordable complete set of the Little Nemo comics, this is it!Taschen always does a great job and this book is no exception.The quality of the images are excellent and the reproductions, though not the same size as the originals, are large enough to easily read.

Nice Reproductions of McCay's Seminal Strip
This Taschen book adequately reprints the first run of Winsor McCay's seminal comic strip, Little Nemo in Slumberland.Little Nemo is a 9-year old who drifts off to sleep each night only to be transported to Slumberland, a hallucinogenic world of circus performers, royal court attendants, exotic personages of all stripe, and animals both tame and wild.I loved looking at these strips as a child, but I didn't understand them until much later. Nemo for all
If you know of Little Nemo, but do not have this collection, go for it.Anyone that appreciates well drawn and written Sunday comics should try LN.Come on gang, become a Nemoite!! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Anthologies    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Comics & Cartoons    4. Comics & Graphic Novels    5. Commercial - Illustration    6. History & Criticism    7. Humor    8. Art Nouveau    9. Cartoons & comic strips    10. Comic book & cartoon art   

Reviews (8)

stretching further than Mr. Fantastic!
Here is an excerpt of a review written about this book by Peter Sanderson."Mr.Weinstein is single-minded. He attempts to connect everything he finds in comics to Judaism. He tells us that the Fantastic Four is a family, and then notes that family is an important concept in Judaism. What religion or culture doesn't value families? Weinstein brings up the Justice League, and says that the Bible preaches the pursuit of justice. What holy book doesn't? He mentions the Flash, and then informs us that "Believe it or not, the notion of super speed is rooted in biblical lore." The original Flash wore a winged helmet and had wings on his boots like the god Mercury. Isn't he the more likely source?"
Fun & Interesting
This book is fun to read and chock full of interesting information that makes it a treasure trove for comic book lovers and even only those who are peripherally interested in comic books! A great insight into Jewish culture and how it intersects with comic book culture.

With Great Thought Comes A Great Book
Who would've thought Bruce, Peter and Clark were jewish names? Simcha Weinstein handles the subject matter of connecting comic book superheroes with their biblical and judaic origins with profound thought, wit, and a healthy dose of humor.
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Subjects:  1. Comics & Graphic Novels    2. General    3. Graphic Novels    4. History & Criticism    5. History: World    6. Judaism - General    7. Literary Criticism    8. Non-Classifiable   

Subjects:  1. Comic strip characters    2. Comics & Graphic Novels    3. Encyclopedias    4. Fantasy    5. Graphic Novels    6. Graphic Novels - General    7. Graphic Novels - Superheroes    8. History & Criticism    9. Marvel Comics Group    10. Reference    11. United States    12. Cartoons    13. Encyclopaedias & reference works    14. Reference / Encyclopedias   

Editorial Review

In the fourth volume in Fantagraphics Books' Read more

Reviews (14)

The best comic strip ever?
There was a time when the newspaper comic strip was HUGE.In the early 1900s, the success of a newspaper was in part due to the comics it featured.That era has long since disappeared, and it often seems that the comic strip is a neglected relic.There are still some good comics out there, but they are getting rarer and the newspapers treat them with less and less respect, cramming many onto a single page that used to hold just a few.
Completely Awesome... Peanuts 1957-1958
This series is going to be a regular drain on my bank balance for the coming decade, as that is how long it is going to take Fantagraphics to finish publishing this collection, if they stick to their published schedule.
Hitting Its Stride
Here the Peanuts gang becomes familiar, as they start hitting the usual topics that would develop and blossom over the years. Every one of the main characters has secured their place, and Snoopy starts his development into the multi-faceted character we know and love.
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Subjects:  1. Art & Art Instruction    2. Commercial - Illustration    3. Form - Cartoons & Comics    4. History & Criticism    5. Humor    6. Individual Artist    7. Humor / Cartoons   

Reviews (1)

A DREAM BOOK FOR MARVEL COMIC BOOK FANS!
We've all heard audio commentary on DVD's but audio commentary on a book?That's just what you get in a fabulous new book from Sterling Publishing, "The Amazing Marvel Universe".The book is a beautiful, over-sized hardcover that has a very unique feature to it.It has a speaker with push buttons that play audio comments from longtime Marvel Comics writer, editor-in-chief, and publisher, the legendary Stan Lee.The book itself is written by another Marvel legend, himself a former Marvel Editor-in-chief as well as writer and comics historian, Roy Thomas.The book features Stan's choices of the 50 greatest moments in Marvel Comic's history.
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Subjects:  1. Comics & Graphic Novels    2. History & Criticism    3. History: World    4. GRAPHIC NOVEL - BG-PSYCHGY/SELF HELP    5. Sale Books   

Reviews (43)

DC, I still don't get them.
I am a marvel fan. I like DC, but I am not a die hard fan. DC is fantasy. Marvel less fantasy.(At least after that 90's weirdness.)I love Batman and Superman, but the rest of the DC Universe is out three. In the Justice League cartoon, Doomsday was just an alien who wanted a fight. According to this Encyclopedia, he was created on Krypton (Which makes his body able to kill Superman) and was sent into space in a suit he could not escape from. He lands on Earth and spends hundreds of years trying to break free. He finallly does and digs his way to surface. Instead of celebrating, he kills Superman. Wow! Get this book if you like things like this. Personally, DC leaves a bad taste and I can only take so much at one time.

Can't Have Everything
I enjoyed the book.Yes, there are some characters missing.However, I don't think you can include EVERYTHING.Some things just fall through the cracks.Overall and for the most part, this is a very good text for the DC Universe.And with the way the comic universe changes, you can't put everything in a one volume text.This book came out before Infinite Crisis.Look what that did to the DC Universe.

A Must have for ANY comic fan.
What a wealth of information! The book covers over 1000 characters, teams, locations, and vehicles. Based solely on how much is covered in the book; this is an absolute must have for any comic book fan - Marvel, DC, or otherwise.
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Subjects:  1. Antiques / Collectibles    2. Art    3. Comic books, strips, etc    4. Comic books, strips, etc.    5. Comics    6. DC Comics, Inc    7. DC Comics, Inc.    8. Encyclopedias    9. History and criticism    10. Reference - General    11. Techniques - Cartooning    12. United States    13. Art / Cartooning   

Reviews (2)

Comic Lit Goes Legit!
Following his success of Manga: Sixty Years of Japanese Comics with another affirmative and considered guide to comics, Gravett now focuses on the phoenix-like return of the "Graphic Novel" that failed to live up to expectations in the early '90s. However, time has moved on and this book reveals how the medium has evolved dramatically over the past ten years. Gravett's masterstroke is to reproduce at least two full pages of sequential artwork, giving readers a real flavour of each title examined. Annotated notes alongside the artwork explain the material in a manner reminiscent of fine art books. Not only that but the excellent, if initially hard to follow, thematic cross indexing means there are endless ways of making connections between disparate titles such as Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (Dystopias) leads to Enkil Bilal's Nikopol Trilogy. Follow another link (Nature) and you get Jiro Taniguchi's The Walking Man. It's a close as the Internet on the page as you'll ever get. This book is perfect for librarians and educationalists looking to broaden their, and their students', knowledge and while many comics aficionados will be familiar with the titles, there are still a few surprises and the chapter openers contain many anecdotal nuggets. A perfect present to convert that literary die-hard who'd have to admit that comics haven't just grown up, but are now entering a self-assured and confident middle-age.

Excellent book for comics novices and fans alike
This is a terrific resource for anyone looking to get into comics or a comics fan looking for more reading material.Gravett discusses 100 comics, by such greats as Art Spiegelman, Neil Gaiman, and Daniel Clowes.The book is informative, well-written, and has tons of sample excerpts from various graphic novels.Most importantly, it's a lot of fun to read! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Comic books, strips, etc.    2. Comics & Graphic Novels    3. Graphic novels    4. History & Criticism    5. History and criticism    6. History: World    7. Literature - Classics / Criticism    8. Popular Culture - General    9. Comics & Graphic Novels / History & Criticism   

Subjects:  1. Comics & Graphic Novels    2. Fantasy    3. General    4. Graphic Novels    5. Graphic Novels - Superheroes    6. History & Criticism    7. Literature - Classics / Criticism    8. Comics & Graphic Novels / General   

Reviews (2)

Joe Kubert jumps ahead to an adaptation of "Tarzan and the Lion Man" for Volume 3
The good news is that for Volume 3 of "Tarzan: The Joe Kubert Years," editor-writer-artist Joe Kubert adapts another one of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan novels.The bad news is that it is not one of my favorites."Tarzan and the Lion Man" was the 17th of the Tarzan novels and while it afforded the opportunity for ERB to lash back at what Hollywood did to his creation, the story has to do with an actor who is a Tarzan look-alike and talking apes that talk English.This one is a lot more like ERB's science fiction stories than his usual jungle adventures for the Lord of the Jungle, and while it is a faithful adaptation, it is not one of ERB's best.Volume three includes issues #224, #226-235 (#226 was an issue illustrated by Russ Manning), and while there are plenty of good stories here, this collection does not have anything great enough to justify rounding up this time like I did with the previous volume:
FANTASTIC 3RD VOLUME OF CLASSIC KUBERT
Joe Kubert has worked on a myriad of titles throughout his fifty plus years in the comic book industry but he's perhaps best remembered for his legendary work on Hawkman.However if you had to press me to pick my favorite Kubert work I'd have to say it was his work on Tarzan for DC comics in the 1970's.Kubert continued on a proud legacy of great artists on Tarzan that included Hal Foster and Burne Hogarth.Kubert may even be considered the definitive Tarzan artist.His work was ingrained with a sense of wonder and adventure that was also notable in his Hawkman work.Kubert seemed born to draw Tarzan.His style was so powerful and dynamic--a perfect fit for the "Lord of the Jungle".
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Subjects:  1. Comics & Graphic Novels    2. Graphic Novels    3. Graphic Novels - General    4. History & Criticism    5. Humor    6. Comics & Graphic Novels / General   

Editorial Review

Joe Kubert's Tarzan was one of the rare collaborations between character and artist that now seem definitive regardless of how many other talented creators try their hand--think also Curt Swan's Superman, Jack Kirby's Fantastic Four, and Barry Windsor-Smith's Conan.Read more

Reviews (6)

Joe Kubert's faithful adaptation of "Tarzan of the Apes" for DC Comics
Way back in 1929 Edgar Rice Burroughs' "Tarzan of the Apes" was adapted in newspaper comic strip form by illustrator Hal Foster.A full-page Sunday strip began in 1931 drawn by Rex Mason, and since then Burne Hogarth, Russ Manning, and Mike Grell have been some of the big names that have drawn the Lord of the Jungle.The only problem is that I never lived anywhere that had Tarzan in the Sunday comics, so for me Joe Kubert is THE artist that I associate with Tarzan.By the time Kubert's took over the book with issue #207 of "Tarzan of the Apes" (April 1972), I had read all of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan novels, so even though I was only buying Marvel comics at that time when I saw the 1st DC issue with its 52 BIG pages ("Don't take less! Only 25c), I picked it up and Kubert's faithful four-part adaptation of the first ERB novel sold me on the comic.After all, not only did you have the first 26-page part of the adaptation, but an introduction to ERB in "The Dum-Dum" (written by "Marvin Wolfman"), which would be the book's letters page, an adaptation of "Tarzan's First Christmas" from Hall Foster's December 27, 1931 Sunday strip, and the first chapter of an adaptation of ERB's "A Princess of Mars" starring John Carter by Murray Anderson.What more could an ERB fan possibly hope for in one comic book?