5 comments about Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History.

1. One (two actually since there are two volumes) of the best submissions about the Holocaust which is designed to reach a broad audience. Maus and Maus II are written in the vernacular, personalizing the experiences of a camp survivor who is interviewed by his son. Excellent supplement to any Holocaust discussion.



2. When I included this and Perseplos & Maus 2 I was informed that they are not graphic novels and that I could not have one free. AMAZING! Of course after I asked for the distric manager's name/number there was a sudden change of heart BUT NOT a good instore experience from BORDERS at ALL. The GRAPHIC NOVEL is great. Borders are not.



3. This book is a survivors tale of being a Jew in Nazi Germany. The author tells his father's memories of the horrors of the holocaust. It is written in the form of a comic book. The author uses a metaphor for the people in WW2. The Jews are mice and the Germans are cats. The book talks about the author's father being a succesful person and then being captured by the Germans and finally freed from his POW camp, but forced to live in the Ghettos and hide from the Nazis who want to send them to Austwitch. The book leaves off as he is being shipped to Austwitch (a Nazi Concentation/death Camp).
   This is one of the best books I've read about the Jewish experience in Nazi Germany. It's easy to read and surprisingly informative. I would most defenintely recommend this book for someone else to read.



4. This graphic novel in no way cheapens the magnitude of it's subject. Metaphors are rich and overall a solid read.



5. In Maus, Art Spiegelman illustrates his father Vladek's story -- of growing up as a Jew in Poland, persecuted and eventually captured and sent to Auschwitz during WWII. While portraying tragedy, Maus manages to have a certain amount of beauty and humor, due partly to the various types of characters being rendered as different animals (e.g. Jews are drawn as mice, Germans as cats, Poles as pigs, etc.). Whenever Vladek and his wife attempt to pass as Poles, they are charmingly drawn wearing pig masks. The scenes portraying Art's relationship with his father are touching and feel very authentic. I'm looking forward to reading Maus II.

5 comments about The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation.

1. When I saw this volume on the bookshelf, I shook my head. I picked it up and examined it a couple of times before finally deciding to take it home. I did not believe that a graphic version of the 9/11 Commission report would be anything more than an inadequate summary at best, or a sad joke at worst. I was wrong. The graphic version of the 9/11 Commission report is fascinating, communicating in words and pictures the most important concepts and vents of that fateful day.
   
   The book lays out many aspects of 9/11, from a side-by-side chronology of the attacks of the four jetliners used that day by terrorists, to the history and operation of Al Qaeda, to the way our government did and did not respond to the crisis, to the experience of first responders and victims of the attacks. Laying out its findings in neutral tones, the report details the confusion and dysfunction that allowed 19 terrorists to enter the country, train to fly, obtain access to airliners and wreak destruction and death on America. Americans are portrayed in our multi-racial realities. Terrorists are portrayed fairly frequently as menacing, with sneers and scowls that some might consider unneeded and even approaching racist. Others might find this portrayal appropriate and even subdued, given the mayhem they eventually produced. But this is a minor criticism and id not unduly ruffle my sensitive feathers.
   
   This book is fascinating and instructive, and not at all heavy on gore. A person assassinated by a hand grenade, for example, ifs shown without blood. Politicians of oath sides are depicted accurately and without attempts at personal caricature. Definitively a good choice for the age 10 and up, and would be a helpful primer to those who plan to read the full report. The forward by Thomas Kean and Lee Hamilton, he the Commission's Chair and Vice Chain, lends credibility to the volume. A winner and a real public service.



2. 9/11 Report
   By Sid Jacobson
   This book is about the plane crashes on September 11th 2001. It's a comic book with lots of information. It has all the planes and terrorists that crashed into New York, Washington D.C. and Virginia. It's like the book, "9/11 Commission Report," only in a comic book. It also talks about what the government knew and how Bin Laden and Al Qaeda planned the attack since 1993.
   We enjoyed this book because it had clear, nice pictures and was organized well. We also enjoyed it because it was descriptive and explained a lot and it was pretty easy to follow. It was also nice because it was facts, not opinions.
   We wish it could have been different by having less boring information that didn't matter. We also wish it was different by having it more understandable for younger readers.
   We would recommend this book to the ages: 15 and Up. We recommend it to both males and females because it's important to know the crisis that happened and how we could avoid a terrorist attack next time!
   We would recommend this book because it has lots of useful information and tells facts that many people don't know about the terrorists and the attacks.
   
   Written by: Jacqui, Alena, Pascal, and Adam



3. This has to go down as something our children will be reading in school. What happened on that day can not be forgotten nor will it be with books like this.



4. While I disagree with some of the conclusions in the report, I found most of it very informative. The comic format works well for at least 90% of the pages, the rest just resort to showing logos and text boxes.
   
   I really appreciate the effort to publish this as a graphic novel, which makes it more accessible to a broader audience (including myself) who are not likely to read the lengthy report.
   
   Now, can someone please publish a graphic version of the Bipartisan Iraq Study Group?



5. Naturally, this graphic adaptation has been getting a lot of flack from different people related to the September 11th attacks, because they still feel that comics are for a child's enjoyment, to entertain and encourage a child's humor, and they don't know that in some ways they can do more than books in both informing through words and explaining through art. Sometimes a lot more can be said through a picture with words.
   
   I have to say though, after sloughing through this graphic adaptation of the 9/11 Report, I will not be reading that long and important source any time soon. The graphic novel is heavy and complicated enough to get through. But if one wishes to get the complete story of not just exactly what happened on September 11th, 2001, but all the events leading up to it with the terrorists and the state of our foreign policy with the Middle East, then pick up this graphic novel and take it all in . . . it's all there.
   
   Apart from the introduction from two of the commissioners of the 9/11 Report, the graphic adaptation begins with a four-way split streamline of the four planes, when they took off and under what circumstances, what happened on the planes with the hijackers, and what the eventual resulting attack was. What makes this quite fascinating is that by charting them all together one can see the initial plan of having all the hijackers carry out their plans at the same time, but due to different circumstances and delays this was not the case.
   
   In the next chapter, the authors go into detail on how the FAA and different government bodies could have and should have done things differently according to all their previous regulations. It does prove that had everyone been doing what they should've, some of those planes may not have hit those targets, or at least something else and less devastating might have happened.
   
   The rest of the book is spent in going into the history of the circumstances that led up to the hijackers boarding the planes. It's heavy reading, but the pictures make it a lot clearer and easier to understand. One gets a full picture on everyone and what they were doing, and how many different people and places were involved. It's actually quite surprising.
   
   The book (as I'm sure the 9/11 Report does also) is clear in pointing out that while the Bush administration was certainly to blame in some cases, the previous Clinton administration was very much also, and even had everything been working smoothly, the attacks may still have not been prevented. One can say they would've never happened had Clinton carried out the assassination of Usama Bin Laden, as he'd planned in the late 90s; but one can also say had Bush focused on terrorism in the Middle East when he came into office, as all his advisors were telling him (specifically Richard Clarke), then again September 11th may never have happened.
   
   While I'm sure the graphic adaptation covers nowhere near the same ground as the actual report, it nevertheless serves its own unique purpose in making everything more succinct and clearer and easier to understand as a whole. It's the perfect book to keep in one's library so that one day in the future one can pick it up again, read it, and understand exactly what happened and more importantly why on September 11th, 2001.
   
   For more book reviews, and other writings, go to www.alexctelander.com

5 comments about Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return.

1. This is the only book that I have manged to read the entire of it in one day!
   It is a comic book, supper easy read and very educational in terms of knowing different culture.
   I like Persepolis 2 better than 1.
   U may wanna watch the movie, as well. It won and nominated for many awards in 2007.



2. A strong sequel to Satrapi's original autobiography, Persepolis, also told in graphic novel format. In part 2, Satrapi relates her time in Vienna and her return to Iran. She grows up, in short, and grapples with her exile, her nationality and universal coming-of-age struggles -- from experimenting with drugs, to finding love. As in the first novel, Satrapi's black-and-white illustrations contrast with the multi-hued complexity of the political and religious backdrop of Iranian culture.



3. Persepolis II takes us from 1984 to 1994 in the continuing story of Marjane Satrapi's life. As this episode begins, she is 15, alone in Vienna at the Catholic boarding school to which here parents sent her to escape war and religious conflict in Iran. Marjane makes her way through the foreign landscape, learns the language, makes friends and eventually loses her way, tumbling into a world of drugs and homelessness. Dispirited, she returns to Iran and to her parents, only to be oppressed by the rigid fundamentalism that gripped the country during this period. Nevertheless, she studies art, falls in love and marries, and then faces the loss of her marriage.
   
   Satrapi's great skill is in depicting herself with utter honesty. Whether it be her volatile and rebellious nature, the "beauty mark" on the side of her nose or her experimentation with drugs and sex, she comes completely clean about how she was and how she got there. Her artwork -- stark black-and-white graphic images -- seems rudimentary at first, but quickly establishes its visual appeal and ability to communicate. This book is less political than the original Persepolis, with Satrapi wrestling more with inner demons than with those in the world at large. Her depiction of the excesses of the mullahs -- beatings, executions, petty harassment -- is balanced with her admission that some mullahs were moderate, and even kind.
   
   Persepolis II, unlike some sequels, is as interesting and vital is the first volume. By the end, I was excited about the possibility of a Persepolis III. You go, Marjane!



4. Persepolis 1 was definately more funny and dramatic than this followup novel. This book seemed dark and brooding. I also found it harder to identify with the main character. It almost as if she hestitates from fully constructing her most profound difficulties and the storyline talkes over. Still a good book though I'd repurchase it in a HEARTBEAT!



5. Like the novel preceding it, Persepolis 2 combines stark, evocative art with powerful storytelling. Unlike its predecessor, however, the story is one of adolescence rather than childhood, and Marji grows from a spunky child into a searching, rebellious, and sharply intelligent teenager. Her parents, concerned about her welfare amid the turmoil plaguing Iran, send her away to school in Austria. There, she meets a group of punks and wins them over instantly with stories of the war. Free from the watchful eye of the Guardians of the Revolution, Iran's moral police, she experiments with sex, drugs, and "revolutionary anarchist parties," an exploration that ultimately leaves her in a miserable state and yearning for home. Upon her return, she must cope with the changes that have deeply shaken both her country and herself during her absence.
   
   The cheeky humor that peppers Marji's childhood perceptions matures into a cutting wit of which she makes frequent use in pointing out the hypocrisies of both the fundamentalist regime and the radical posturing of her European friends. When members of the religious police chide her for running in public, saying that her movements are "obscene," she loudly replies, "Well, then don't at my ass!" One has to admit that she has a point. Although the story of Marji's return unfolds against the backdrop of constant tragedy, the novel's humor does not seem out of place. In one of the book's most memorable scenes, Marji goes to visit a childhood friend who has been maimed in the war with Iraq. At first, the scene is uncomfortable, as she tries to hide her pity, but the wounded friend breaks the awkwardness with a darkly hilarious joke about the war. "That day," says Marji, "I learned something essential: we can only feel sorry for ourselves when our misfortunes are supportable...once this limit is crossed, the only way to bear the unbearable is to laugh at it."
   
   Persepolis 2 is as unforgettable as the original Persepolis, and stands as a coming of age memoir that is both uniquely Iranian and movingly universal.

5 comments about Beguiled by the Wild: The Art of Charley Harper.

1. "Beguiled by the Wild: The Art of Charley Harper" tickles all my funny bones. He has delighted me with not only his unique art but also whimsical description and insights into the animal kingdom.
   I am on a hunt for the proper bookstand to display this book, to be smiled at page by page.
   I am charmed.
   Karen of Maine



2. This book is a great value for it's price. Alot of color prints and a wonderful samples of Charley's style. Charley Harper is a huge talent and this book is a wonderful example of that.



3. If you like animals, or mid century modern, you will love this book. Charley Harper's simplistic art is so wonderful and his play-on-word prose goes perfectly with his arwork. I don't know how anyone couldn't love his art or this book.



4. Great book. The stories that accompany the images are as wonderful as the artwork. This is the fourth time I have purchased this book; everyone I have given it to has loved it. I love to introduce people to Charley Harper's work-he will be missed.



5. I purchased this book, largely based upon the reviews on Amazon and the the fact that it was the only book on Charley Harper on the market at the time.
   
   While I L O V E Charley Harper's work, I don't think this book does him justice. There is little to no design to the book and a very limited selection of Charley's work.
   
   Spend a few dollars more and get Todd Oldham's Illustrated Life book...I just received mine and it is beautiful. I don't think it has all of Charley's work, but it must have most of it. There's a great interview of Charley by Todd Oldham, as well.

5 comments about Creating Characters with Personality: For Film, TV, Animation, Video Games, and Graphic Novels.

1. I am a student studying animation, and I purchased this book for my character design class. I really love this book, it is quite usefull, and my two roommates reference it as well! One is an illustrator, and one is a video game designer. Useful to anyone and everyone...



2. This a great book for the beginning character artist. I often have a hard time drawing cartoon characters but this book always helps me out. Covers everything from personality to color, from exaggerated to semi-realistic. Highly recommend!



3. Nice book , a lot of ideas , examples. Very good choice for beginners. My students loved it.



4. This is a great book to take your drawings to the next step. I've been frustrated that my characters lacked that certain special 'something' to make them pop from regular ol' dry drawings to likable, engaging characters. This book illustrates simple examples of a line here, a curve there, to push it up a notch. I really enjoyed the suggestions, and this book has been very helpful. myspace/kris10cartoons



5. A great useful book! The best way to learn and draw your own appealing characters!

5 comments about Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began (Maus).

1. One (two actually since there are two volumes) of the best submissions about the Holocaust which is designed to reach a broad audience. Maus and Maus II are written in the vernacular, personalizing the experiences of a camp survivor who is interviewed by his son. Excellent supplement to any Holocaust discussion.



2. When I included this and Maus 1 & Persepolis I was informed that they are not graphic novels and that I could not have one free. AMAZING! Of course after I asked for the distric manager's name/number there was a sudden change of heart BUT NOT a good instore experience from BORDERS at ALL. The GRAPHIC NOVEL is great. Borders are not.



3. In Maus II, Art Spiegelman continues his father's horrific story of persecution and imprisonment in Auschwitz during WWII. Mr. Spiegelman has an enviable talent for simple drawings that convey complex ideas and feelings. Scenes with his father seem all too real - both amusing and a bit sad. Great series, I'd recommend it to anyone.



4. At first glance, Maus might seem like yet another attempt to spin the genocide of the Jewish people into something demeaning. I have seen people turn and walk away from the selection because of that, and when I suggested this as required reading in a class it was initially met with hostile responses. Looking into the reading changed the way people saw the thing being constructed here, however, and by the time the class had finished they felt like I did about the book because they were more than taken. They were moved and then some.
   
   Far from words like "stereotyping," Maus tells a story that people see as disarming at first by casting the Nazis as cats and the Jewish people as mice. This makes it seem like it is approachable in ways that humanity isn't, and it also brings about a medium that people of all ages can understand. While it might be painful for someone really young to read it can still be read by kids, and the story doesn't look like a history book at first glance so the "what" and the "why" can be seen with fresh eyes. This leads to being able to take in the characters for what they are; individuals with individual lives and not vast amounts of statistics that lost the ability to live because of a word like "holocaust" or "Nazi." To me that is one of the most important things that the book does because, amidst it all, we can see reflections of people we know. The book takes the time to painstakingly make sure we never lose sight of that; unlike other books it neither glorifies the terrible nor does it make the miniscule mundane. Here, everything matters and the results hurt. The first book take a lot of tie exploring this and the second book, here, furthers that by picking up the pieces and showing you what happens when suffering continues to dig its claws into the fabric of lives.
   It works well at what it does and then some and makes me happy I could introduce both portions to people that would otherwise miss out on it.
   This collection of two actually found my face streaked with tears and the conversations we had about the read garnered much of the same response.
   
   Much can be said about Spiegelman's work and how the characterizations are explored but the reality of the book is that it takes a hard-to-approach subject and shows it to everyone willing to explore. This means that a society hardened to the plight of something that seems so far removed can feel the pulse of something too monstrous for description.
   I highly recommend and utterly respect both volumes of this work and cannot give it enough praise.



5. Spiegelman continues the story of his father's life, through Auschwitz and afterwards, and his feelings about what has happened to him.
   
   The story is told using animal forms for the people within, different classes of people are represented as different animals. Mice, obviously are used to represent the prisoners.

5 comments about Gil Elvgren: All His Glamorous American Pin-Ups (Taschen 25th Anniversary Special Editions).

1. If you love this era of art, this is a beauty. Great coffee table book to spark conversation.



2. He wasn't the first but he was the best. In terms of technique, taste and visual impact Gil Elvgren ranks as the modern day Rembrandt in the world of illustration of beautiful women. He was my principal inspiration as I am a nationally published illustrator and am frequently called upon to paint beautiful girls in ads. As a student at the University of Minnesota, majoring in studio art, my style and artistic goals were the pariah of most of the art faculty except the very best artist they had on the faculty staff. He understood what I wanted to achieve and I never got less than an A in any studio class. In my senior year I visited Brown & Bigelow Company in St. Paul, where I lived, and submitted samples to Clair Fry, the famous art director who commissioned Elvgren and many other top flight artists for their famous calendars. It was then that I learned that none of these men were on staff but located across the country. He loved my work and gave me great early advice as to how to get going in the commercial art business as they knew nothing about that at the U. of M. I followed his advice and started my career which has lasted over thirty years.
   
   Gil Elvgren was the best for the reasons I previously stated but in addition his work was always in good taste. His girls were downright wholesome and "the girl next door type". They often had the look of being unaware that they were being watched and were usually caught in somewhat innocent and private moments. His work could never ever be termed salacious or perverse as so many of his later day copiers are. The art of the pinup, for the most part, has degenerated somehwhat since Gil Elvgrens day. It probably started with the advent of Playboy and Penthouse magazine and their "foldouts". As long as we have these wonderful retrospective books on artists like Elvgren the public will have the chance to see what great pinup art used to be by the absolute master of the genre.
   
   For anyone interested in my contributions to this art genre my official website is www.dickbobnick.com .



3. Wonderful picture book, many "suitable for framing." There is something charming about these pinups from another era, not at all sleazy.



4. What a great Chistmas present this great book made!
   There are countless images of funny, sexy and clever pin up situations.
   This book spans several decades of incredible art.
   Gil Elvgren is indeed a master of his craft.
   
   As someone who enjoys beatiful women, art and illustrations; This is a great book to add to any collection.
   
   Ed Schenng



5. Gil Elvgren is by far the best pinup artist of all the pinup artists. Just compare his art to some other pinup artists. Put them next to each other and you will see that Elvgren is the best. This book is the best collection of Elvgren's art to date. It collects nearly all of his art in categorical order. The only complaint is the size of some of the art reproduced is quite small -- maybe too small to appreciate properly -- but nonetheless, it is the definitive Elvgren pinup collection.

5 comments about Gardner's Art Through the Ages, Volume I, Chapters 1-18 (with ArtStudy Student CD-ROM and InfoTrac ).

1. I was quite dissapointed with my purchase. The seller could have stated in his discription that the book had water damage. Pages were stuck together. I would have bought from a different seller had I known about terrible condition of the book.



2. The item was in great condition. This book was very expensive in the college bookstore. It is well worth going online to save money on these college textbooks.



3. I gave 4 stars only because I don't remember if there were any problems with the length of time between ordering and receiving, but the book was in perfect condition. Thanks.



4. we just got these books for my art history class, and this thing is amazing. color photots, detailed information, and interactive site. yeah, its nice
   
   oh, and FYI im 14, not 13. i just didnt feel like registering with amazon lol



5. this book is perfect for the class I am taking. aj

5 comments about The Horus Heresy: Collected Visions.

1. This book completes me! Its a must have if you love 40k. Lots of pictures and lots of literature; puts all the pieces together for pre-heresy and heresy period, well a lot of the pieces. Whenever I am introducing someone to the 40k world I first show them the book.



2. The art is decent, not the highest quality. Some images are more "artistic" than others..... My real gripe is the lay out. It feels like a bunch of art slapped together in illustrator with super tiny font text chucked in for good measure. The text is too uniform and small. They could have used more "effects" with image transparency, text, and taken a lot more time to create an appealing collage effect.
   You can tell that a lot of work went the actual creation of the art that went into the book. The way it is displayed cheapens it.
   If you do not have 20/20 vision or bionic eyes make sure you read this book under excellent lighting or you will surely go blind and insane. Maybe even be fouled up by the dark gods and start a heresy of your own.



3. It's a great book for any Warhammer 40K fan! I really do not own alot of Warhammer 40K novels but this is a great way to start!



4. This book is a must have for all fans for the 40K and 30K universe. It has amazing illustrations showing the Primarchs and the Legions as well as several other known individuals. while the story is one we all know, hose that don't will be struck by the simple yet intriguing story of brotherhood and betrayal.



5. This massive art/source book relates the single most important event in the mythos of Warhammer 40K: the Horus Heresy. The book is full coffee table-sized and is printed on over 400 thick, high-quality gloss pages. The $50 retail price is surprisingly cheap, and I would bet that in the not too distant future, good copies will be selling for much more that that (assuming BL follows its usual practice of printing a limited number), so don't wait until its too late, go ahead and order your copy now.
   
   THE HORUS HERESY: VISIONS is full of art, mostly celebrating space marines and other characters from the story. The quality of the art is highly variable, with some looking as if it came out of a 5th grade art class and some being full-sized poster worthy. With well over 1000 pieces, you're bound to find many that will please you and some that don't. My favorite artists in the book are Adrian Smith and Michael Phillippi, who each have numerous works here and a couple of full two-page works that are truly amazing. My least favorite have to be the conceptual work by John Balanche, which was over-used and just doesn't capture the essence of WH40K.
   
   As for the writing, the book reads like a hybrid between a gaming source book and a novelization of the Horus Heresy. Alan Merrett does an excellent job of relating important information without getting overly technical or wordy. For the most part, the text is broken up into stand-alone sections that describe a specific event, character, or group. You can open this book to any page and find material of interest, without being lost in the overall flow of the story. Also, Graham McNeill contributed two pretty good short stories ("Battle for Prospero" and "The Kaban Project") that take up about five pages each and get you into the feel of everyday life during the Horus Heresy.
   
   Overall, this is one BL book that shouldn't be missed. Buy it for the art, buy it for the information, but don't miss out on this epic collection.

5 comments about Atlas of Human Anatomy for the Artist (Galaxy Books).

1. I am an art student who wanted a guide to the human body. I could not be happier with "Atlas of Human Anatomy" because of the detailed illustrations combined with easy to grasp sketches. The written sections are not extremely long, and while they do delve into technical language that can be difficult, it is overall all well balanced with the illustrated elements. I find both sides important, and as a comprehensive resource on the human body for the artist, I highly recommend "Atlas of Human Anatomy for the Artist".
   I can only say that it has helped me tremendously.



2. My professor/adviser of art advised me to get this.
   
   It was great advice :D



3. This book surprised me. I already have several dozen books on art anatomy, but Peck's book has more. He goes into expressions, cultural and age distinctions, and locomotion. Is this the only book you'll need in studying anatomy, probably not. But each book you get on the subject, and study (NOT JUST COLLECT) will hone your visual memory until drawing the figure becomes second nature. Note: Study means putting time and effort on that drawing pad!!! Also, nothing beats drawing from life or imagination! These books are to supplement these areas.



4. This book is a cheap and good reference for beginning figure drawers. The diagrams are fairly clear but some of the hand-drawn references get confusing.



5. I bought this book on the account of the positive reviews here. A part of me regrets buying this book because I expected a figure drawing book. It isn't. It's a reference to human anatomy and I guess half if not most of the book is useful. I just can't give it 4 or 5 stars because Mr. Peck uses more words than visual diagrams to explain how the body moves and where fat develops. The section about fat is purely textual. It would have been better if there's a diagram of an average person overlaid with outlines where fat develops.
   
   I still use it to supplement Joseph Sheppard's Drawing the Living Figure though.
   
   I ordered Anatomy of Movement by Blandine Calais-Germain and I hope the high reviews of that book reflect its actual quality.
   
   I guess it's true that there is no one-stop shop book on anatomy and figure drawing. An artist must have access to a library - personal or otherwise - to learn from.
   
   Again, Mr. Peck's book in my opinion doesn't deserve 4 or 5 stars but if you do buy it, you won't regret it as much as let's say buying an anatomy book authored by Christopher Hart (blech).