Comics Books

Peanuts are totally classic! Dude! Schroeder is like the coolest person on the face of the earth! He is so reserved and that make Peanuts worth the while to read. He also looks so cute at his little piano, playing Bethoven. This book clearly shows that and becuase I love little Schroeder, I love this book too! Beethoven forever! Rock on! (JK)

This book is a great buy! It has the classic lovable Peanuts strips we've all enjoyed. I love the format and size of the book and will purchase more in this series.

I find that after all this time I still love the Peanuts gang. Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus, Lucy and others still bring a smile to my face as the wonderful insight of the creator comes through. I wish that I was young again and still had the old paperbacks that I once read so I could go back to some and re-read them. I wish that Shultz could still create those drawings and tears just swelled up from inside reading the ending passage. Charles Shultz will be missed by me and I have read this and other books by him to my kids so they might gain an interest in these type of books. I wish they had more specials of the Peanuts ang for TV rather than some of the stuff on now. Anyone who wants great cartoons with very funny happenings for their children will definitely love this book and others by Shultz.

Peanuts has truly left its mark on the world. I can't honestly say I know anyone who has never heard of Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus and Lucy. We all know and love them. Who can ever forget Snoopy imagining himself as a World War I Flying Ace on the top of his doghouse? Or Charlie Brown's consistent, diligent, but always failing efforts to finally lead his baseball team to a win?

This final collection of Peanuts strips cannot quite live up to Schulz's genius from years past, but they are still very charming and fun to read. I'd like to see you try to come up with a funny idea every day for fifty years. In this collection, Schulz draws more self suffecient strips, than strories carrying accross the dailies, probably because it was easier on him at his old age.

Peanuts is a very rare commodity. It is certainly not gorgeously drawn, but the writing and lovable characters make up for it's visual spareness. Plus, although the drawings were somewhat crude, the were outragously funny, and the whole point of a comic strip is to make you laugh, so there you are.

Charles Schulz is a true comic genius. His later work (i.e. this collection) is not his best, but he was still able to draw a funny comic strip every day. In the words of Bill Watterson, the brilliant man behind the wonderful "Calvin and Hobbes"-"I've never met Charles Schulz, but long ago his work introduced me to what a comic strip could be, and made me want to be a cartoonist myself. He was a hero to me as a kid, and his influence on my work and life is long and deep. I suspect most cartoonists would say something similar. Schulz has given all his readers a great gift, and my gratitude for that tempers my disappointment at the strip's cessation. May there someday be a writer/artist/philosopher/humorist who can fill even a part of the void "Peanuts" leaves behind."

These were the final words in Peanuts comics delivered by the late Charles Schulz. To answer the question, you can never forget Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus and Snoopy.

I remember the last "new" comic strip came out 13 February, the day after he died. Thanks, Sparky, for all the memories and the inspiration (I work on my own cartoon strip).

These cartoons were originally published early 1999 through February, 2000 in the newspapers. Charlie Brown has a date for a dance (something that rarely happened). Rerun holds the football for Charlie Brown (he got more and more parts in the cartoon strip in the final years). Charlie Brown pays tribute to the ever scowling Joe Torre! Cartoonist Day is remembered (5 May). Snoopy writes more novels and plays golf with the musical notes from Schroder's piano. "Wolves are making a comeback," as Sally philosophises. There's also a tribute to painter Andrew Wyeth and Valley Forge, as acted out by Snoopy. Snoopy Claws can be seen downtown around Christmas.

Also, Charlie Brown hits a grand slam, Linus kicks the habit once and for all and gives his blanket to Snoopy, Peppermint Patty gets straight A's, the Great Pumpkin comes as promised and Schroeder finally admits he's got a crush on Lucy! Don't hold your breath on the last 5, folks! I was just seeing if you were paying attention!

However, this book is poignant since these were the final strips of Peanuts. Charles Schulz must have known the days of the Peanuts cartoon were numbered when he let Rerun hold the football! If you're a Peanuts fan, you'll enjoy this book!

I was impressed by the courage shown by the women in this novel. I read it as part of my own research on Chernobyl. I have relatives living in the Ukraine and decided to write a mystery story with the Chernobyl disaster as a backdrop Chernobyl Murders. Irene's novel helped me understand the victims in what would eventually become the exclusion zone more deeply.

Irene Zabytko in this book presented the consequences of the worst civilian nuclear disaster in the world in a "humanely-digestible" way.The reader is initially reluctant to start reading this book, but later on , the author makes it more plausible and presents the deeply human feelings of the victims. Excellent work, Ms Zabytko!!

A short book, that can be read in one day, The Sky Unwashed is a highly important book in two respects. Foremost, this is one of the first full pictures we got about what really happened to the residents in the Chernobyl region and Kiev in April, 1986, albeit in fiction, but borne out now in articles and TV documentaries. Secondly, the lyrical beauty and masterful storytelling should elevate this novel to the stature of high literature. It is almost a year since this book came out and I read it, but it still haunts me. There are several themes interwoven and coalescing in the overriding struggle for life versus death's inevitability, the largeness of the nuclear accident, its cataclysmic proportions versus the helplessness of mankind or of the individual, of course another metaphor for the big Soviet Union and the communist ideal versus the individual. Although ironically the political and scientific disasters are of mankind's creation.

The novel plays out in snapshots: We see people working at the factory before the nuclear accident because it looks like a better life or the best alternative; the aftermath of the accident, the government putting people on buses in a hurry, telling them they can go home in a few days, but to leave everything behind; a skin rash or a burn or a breathing problem, just that, a denial of radiation sickness; Marusia and her friends planting a garden.

What can a person do when faced with a moral dilemma over which they seem to have no control and from which there is no escape, where it doesn't matter whether you are a hero or a coward, because you will die anyway? The novel asks this in several ways and on several levels, and the answers are as different as the personalities involved.

The grandmother Marusia, her daughter-in-law Zosia, and two grandchildren crowd the hospital in Kiev, where her son, Zosia's husband, lays dying, people crammed into hallways for weeks fight over blankets and food and toys, the train station is stampeded. Zosia escapes the hospital for awhile to watch a parade, to look at clean streets and flowers, and to try pretend that it's all a bad dream, even while plotting to get her children out of Kiev. Marusia takes a different route. She and other elderly women friends go back to their village and live life on their own terms with the time they have left. This is where the novel really takes its philosophical wing and its song. It is the heart and soul of the book.

As the sky becomes dirty and unnaturally clouded over Chernobyl, a society's vision gradually becomes clear and unclouded. One makes the inevitable connection to the collapse of the Soviet Union a few years later. We will never really know for sure, but the issue of handling nuclear energy safely is one that is relevant to everyone on the planet.

I must admit, I was initially drawn to this book because I myself derive from 100% Ukrainian lineage. As such, Zabytko's subject matter interested me. I thumbed through the book and thought "Hey, I've gotta read this."
The story centers around the Chernobyl nuclear disaster of April 26th, 1986. The fallout from this tragedy is said to have been the equivalent of eight Hiroshimas! Yet, as though the tragedy in itself were not bad enough, the government at that time chose to suppress information to the residents of villages surrounding Chernobyl, and to the nation at large. Folks were kept in the dark concerning the actual extent (and far-reaching effects) of the radioactive contamination. As a result, much PREVENTABLE damage was done to people at the time, and even to the children that would be born to those who survived.
The Unwashed Sky focuses on the situation facing the widow Marusia Petrenko, her son, daughter-in-law, and two grandchildren. By the time they flee their village of Starylis, it is too late. Their lives will never be the same.
Marusia decides to return to Starylis. She is not even aware that it has been declared a "forbidden zone"... all that she knows is that this is her village, the only home she's ever known, and since everything dear has been torn from her, this feeling of "home" may be the only thing she can yet embrace as her own.
She returns, and finds that her only companion is an old mangy cat. She keeps a perpetual fire, hoping that the smoke from her chimney will tell others of her presence. And slowly, some of her old friends do begin to trickle back. One by one, these old women (and one man), drawn by the same sense of a need to belong to their beginnings, return to rebuild their lives.
These tenacious Starylis "babysi" band together and draft a letter of demands that causes the Chernobyl officials to cede to their requests, and admit to certain wrongdoings, however late in the day! (Even then, they grant the women's wishes only because of how good this will look in the newspapers).
Zabytko paints a sensitive, touching picture of this time of loneliness and desolation, of undeserved and unwarranted hardship... a time when even the dirt rejected seed and the water tasted of metal.
I loved the authentic Ukrainian vernacular running through the book... I could hear my own grandmother clearly.
A wonderful testimony of the enduring power of the human spirit and its will to survive... a point made all the more sobering when one considers the non-fictional source of the author's inspiration.
In an interview with Rebecca Brown, Irene Zabytko said: "I hope that anyone who reads it comes away with the feeling that despite the cultural exoticisms, we're still part of one planet, and the endurance of the human spirit persists in all."
I think she succeeds in this.

The 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster scared the world witless. We all worried what might happen to us. But what became of those who lived there? It would be a mistake to read Irene Zabytko's The Sky Unwashed as a documentary novel, because, despite its commonplace beginning, it tells its story with characters who come to matter to us for their own sakes, not for what they can tell us about Chernobyl. Even so, Zabytko, a Ukrainian-American born in Chicago, writes from experience as well as imagination, for she has relatives and friends in Chernobyl, has spent time with them there and has taken their stories into herself.

The novel opens with a too-journalistic narrative of a Ukrainian family's dispirited life, pre-disaster, in a village where people seem to be going through the motions of life in a dying culture. Weddings are not celebrated festively so much as mockingly, less cheer than jeer. For young people, working at the nearby Chernobyl plant offers a chance to escape from ancestral poverty. Older ones, even in the gentler Gorbachev times, take a different view. They've lived through Stalin's engineered Ukraine famine; war; oppression. "The old women in babushkas who kept the old ways alive with their icons and litanies ... knew that the hard times never end," the prologue says.

The Petrenko family represents both attitudes. Old Marusia lives with her weak, dull son, whose wife, Zosia, nurses a vital spark that leads her into unhappy affairs in search of vibrant life. We don't like Zosia much at first. Irritable, nasty, she appears selfish despite having two young children. But after Chernobyl blows, her overbearing ill-temper and sharp tongue come in handy when the radiation-poisoned family encounters sneering incompetence at a Kiev hospital. Zosia bribes and browbeats her way to medical treatment for her husband; of course, we fear for those who lack such survival skills.

Yet it's the aged Marusia, with her traditional, lumbering ways, who carries the novel into our hearts. She goes along with the evacuation because there's no choice. When in the ensuing chaos she finds herself alone, though, she realizes that home is the only place to go. Arriving there after a hard journey, "She sank to her knees on the ground, and she made the sign of the cross. She uttered a prayer of thanks to be back on the land where her mother and grandmother had lived."

How Marusia survives in a deserted, radioactive village where the water tastes "like coins" is harrowing and fascinating. It's the center of the novel, much as the primacy of home and religious faith is Marusia's center. Eyes itching and red, body aching strangely, she goes to her church to ring its deafening bells every day. She tills her garden, aids a dying cat. Loneliness tries to crush her spirit. A few other residents return, bringing relief from isolation but also moral dilemmas and the pain of an old wrong that Marusia is now expected to forgive. She leads some villagers to an effective (but not very convincing) showdown with Soviet officials over basic demands. (It should be noted that this is a strong-women novel -- the men all tend to be weak, stupid or dead. Is that necessary to show that women are strong?)

The author resists any temptation to lard her story with lectures on the evils of nuclear power. A lesser writer would have introduced a character whose job was to pontificate instructively on radiation dangers and communist inefficiency (a lethal combination, for sure). Instead, Zabytko concentrates on showing what happens to her characters and how they respond, in their human particularity, to the terrors they face. Incidents affect them, and move us, without any sense of piling-on or wallowing in pathos. There are even mica-glints of humor.

Mainly we're left with astonished pride at human endurance, coupled with anguish and anger at what the novel shows so unflinchingly without preaching: that by accepting dangerous technologies, we risk irreversibly poisoning not only our bodies but also our very ground of being -- land, home, family.

My only previous experience with Gasoline Alley was a Mad Magazine parody called Gasoline Valley that focused on the interesting fact that the characters actually grew older as the series progressed. The Mad Magazine parody showed Skeezix aging from a baby into an old man just as the comic does however this volume features only a couple of years so at the end Skeezix is just a toddler. Gasoline Alley isn't a hilarious comic; instead it's a sweet, light hearted view of small town life in the early 1920's. The comic revolves around Walt, a big hearted confirmed bachelor who finds a baby deposited on his doorstep. This being the "good ol' days" Walt just keeps the baby becoming Uncle Walt (later in the book he does actually go to the effort to make it a legal adoption).

A lot of the jokes are repeated, for instance Walt, the only bachelor among his circle of friends, constantly uses the line `I know when I have it good' after seeing his hen pecked buddies. We also get to experience Walt's continual struggle with his weight. There are a few extended storylines including a shady land developer who takes the Gasoline Alley gang for a bit of money. The longest story is about the arrival of an attractive young lady named Blossom and her developing relationship with Walt.

Three things stood out for me in this collection. First was the always meticulous job done by editor Chris Ware who goes above and beyond the call of duty. There is a ton of fascinating background information on cartoonist Frank King. My tip is that any publisher who wants to release a comic collection like this one should call on Chris Ware. He is a man with serious passion for comics. The second thing that caught my attention is how clean and pleasant Frank King's drawings are. But what I enjoyed most about Walt and Skeezik's was the glimpse at life in the United States prior to the Great Depression.

What you need to do when reading through these comic strips is to try and put yourself into the era. These comics were created over 85 years ago and it's like peering into a time capsule. There is not a single mention of television or pop culture. Most of the residents of Gasoline Alley are chiefly concerned with the mileage they get on their tires or the cost of a new hat. Volume one pretty much satisfied my curiosity and I probably won't buy further volumes but that takes nothing away from this excellent collection. You definitely get your money's worth and it literally took me months to get through the entire book.

Commentary and editorial aside, the heart of this book is the wonderful Gasoline Alley strips. For those who honestly can't imagine what daily life was like before automatic shift, television, modern medicine, sexual liberation--this book is like being pulled through a time warp into the 1920s and 30s.

It has a lot of the same flavor as For Better or Worse. It's infested with genuine American characters. (Fair warning: the portrayals of African Americans are deeply stereotyped--but also remarkably sympathetic in terms of human feeling.)

DO NOT read it all in one sitting. Try to limit yourself to ten strips a night. Like movie serials, comic strips that appeared in daily newspapers took months or years to fully develop a story arc. You can't rush through that--and why the heck would you want to?

This collection was a little before my time, but it is great to read about the earlier days of Gasoline Alley.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The photographs really provide insite into the authours life and basis for the comic strips. I really enjoyed the dated chronology of the strips. It also provided me with a humorous way of conveying the social, political and economic happenings of that period in American History. Absolutely Fantastic, I can not wait to read the second book in the series.

I had never really understood the appeal of Gasoline Alley. I sensed that it was a pleasant enough "slice of life" comic strip, well drawn and harmless. I had given it a glance now and then over the years, not even beginning to sense the iceberg that was always there, just beneath the 3 or 4 daily comic panels. This was all before I was exposed to the collected early stuff and the absolute genius of creator Frank King. Now, after having just finished the first volume of "Walt and Skeezix" which covers years 1921 and 1922 of this wonderful strip, I am simply very grateful to the Montreal publishing house, Drawn and Quarterly, for undertaking the multi-year project of collecting all the dailies from the King years.

The effect of this strip is somewhat cumulative, and Jeet Heer puts it best in his introduction when he writes "Gasoline Alley needs to be read in bulk to be appreciated." As I read along, it became increasingly clear to me what an astonishingly bright gem I was looking at. After I had read about six months into the dailies from 1921, I knew I was onto something very, very unique. The story of Walt and Skeezix unfolded exactly at the pace of real life, with all the well drawn characters growing older in real time. This infuses the strip with an immediately gripping "realism" that in turn makes the reader identify in a powerful way with the characters. The moments of subtle insight into human nature are many and so brilliantly done I found myself re-reading a single daily strip two or three times to truly savor it, finding ever-deepening levels to appreciate (if this sounds like hyperbole for a review of a comic strip, all I can say is buy this volume and I bet you will agree).

I don't want to gush and ruin your enjoyment of this work. You should come to it yourself, on your own terms. I will just say that you can truly sense the earth turning as you read these pages, and that this strip contains some of the truest, purest moments of understanding that I have experienced in any book.

One can look at this collected work as an incredible record of American life, or simply appreciate Frank King's wonderful art, and be well rewarded for all effort. Just beneath the surface, though, lies a much larger and impressive piece of art. Chris Ware, editor of the series, writes in his preface "I am convinced that after all these books are published, Gasoline Alley will stand as one of the most individual, human, and genuinely great works in the history of comics." Amen to that, brother. I will go further even than Mr. Ware: I believe that Frank King's Gasoline Alley, taken as a whole, is one of the greatest works of literature by an American.

Drawn and Quarterly Books deserves a medal of recognition for this multi-volume publishing project, and I personally regret every mean thought I have ever had about our neighbors to the north.

This work is highly recommended. -Mykal Banta

Tears Of An Angel shows another side of Alita that you don't get to see in the first graphic novel. The cyborg "Battle Angel" is in love. However, the person she's in love with lives a dangerous life. The ending may or may not suprise you. It's basically a sad love story. Tears Of An Angel is a great and I hope you enjoy it.

the love story in this book is beautiful, it's wonderful, and i luv it because of this. it's sad, rythmatic, and stays this way through the entire book. it DOES end a little suddenly, tho, but don't they all?

In this second poignant volume of Battle Angel Alita, Alita falls in love with a young street urchin named Hugo. Hugo's dream is to make enough money to move to Tiphares, the mid-air city where all your dreams can come true. Unknown to Alita, Hugo is making his money by assaulting and stealing body parts from cyborgs, a crime punishable by death. A character from the first volume, Zapan, who was humiliated by Alita, finds out about Alita's feelings for Hugo and begins to conspire a plot that will destroy Alita's heart. Will Alita's next bounty be Hugo?

This manga was fantastic. While I compared Battle Angel Alita to Ghost in the Shell in my review of the first volume, there really isn't a comparison. Alita operates in a more savage world, where laws don't function unless bounty hunters enforce them. It is a place where your fellow man will let you die on the street without lifting a finger. It's such a horrible world that Alita's love stands out in even starker contrast to the evil that surrounds her. Yes, there are scenes of "ultra-violence" but what makes that different from our world? The thing I like about Alita is that there are horrible scenes of graphic violence but there are also scenes of philosophic thought and tenderness. Just like real life. Horrible beauty.

If "Battle Angel Alita" merely introduced us to the amazing cyber world of Yukito Kishiro, then "Battle Angel Alita: Tears of an Angel" builds upon that world and, more than likely, sets in motion the plot.

After her victory over the all-powerful "King of the Maggots" in the first manga volume, Alita now faces her toughest challenge yet: love. Yes, love. While that phrase usually sounds cliched, it applies perfectly in this second manga volume. Alita has it tough to begin with, but when things start to spiral down even further, she must make a choice that could end up destroying her.

Like before, the artwork is beautiful and very detailed. And, like before, "Tears of an Angel" is riddled with violence and blood and gore that sticks it in the section of mature readers who have very strong stomahchs. The story is a superb, miniature masterpiece, and it undoubtedly adds to the internal conflict of Alita trying to find her identity.

This second volume is also featured in the "Gunnm" two episode OVA anime series ("Gunnm" is the original name of the "Battle Angel Alita" series.) Like before, I advise you to read the manga before watching the series, as comparisons will most likely decrease the enjoyment of the manga. But with that said, enjoy "Tears of an Angel". Along with the first volume, the second volume is a superb triumph.

As is true of almost any tale of cyborgs the question of the difference between mechanical consciousness and mechanized humanity is one of the driving forces behind the Battle Angel Alita series. At what point does a combination or brain, spinal column and hardware gain or lose its human nature. In this second stanza in the series, Alita, who was brought back to life in the first volume, re-finds her capacity for love when she meets Hugo, a human boy. Hugo's goal is to make his way from the traps of the Scrapheap to the upper city of Tiphares.

Hugo and Alita seem made for each other, despite the gulf of artificiality that separates them. But Hugo, despite being a complete human is willing to steal the spines out of their original possessors if it brings him closer to the day he can go to Tiphares. This gruesome sideline, and the ghouls he works for gradually eat away at his own humanity until it is clear that he and Alita are really going in opposite directions. Alita will discover her spirit as Hugo gradually loses his soul.

In the meantime, we get a close introduction to the grim nature of life below the city in the sky. Hunter Killers take heads for bounty, people feed on scraps while anything good is sent to Tiphares, and black market ops farm the neighbors for profit. For such as Hugo and Alita there is really no escape, only a dark struggle that can only lead to insanity and death if the dreamer refuses to waken.

Balancing what is almost a post-apocalyptic vision, is Yukito Kishiro's wonderful artwork. He has the same eye for detail that made 'Ghost in the Shell' such a compelling spectacle. The cover art made me wish, for the second time that this series had made it as a feature film or OAV series. If you have been feeling drawn deeper into the world of manga, Alita is a great introduction to Japanese science fiction.

The book was better than I expected, and arrived before I expected it to.
Great buy. Thanks. :D

This book is so much fun. I'm a digital artist and use Illustrator as my tool. I learned so many techniques from this book. The pictures are big and bold and the author teaches without making you feel like a novice.

I bought this book for my husband and he loves it. He is constantly drawing little pictures for me. It will certainly bring out the inner artist in you. This book is easy to follow along with.

A casual glance through this book originally made me think it looked too cutesy and not what I wanted. I'll still say that too many of his characters and examples are cutesy, and rather stilted. But there's a lot of excellent material here. I found several tips that I (so far) haven't seen in several other books. I've had several nagging questions: Exactly how do I get things done? How is a finished cartoon created? On what size and kind of paper, using what tools? Blitz walks you through all of that stuff. The section on drawing backgrounds and perspective was also really handy.

I'd say this is the single best book I've seen to get started on cartooning. Even if you want to draw some other, very different style (like, some kind of dark Batman comic or something), if you have little or no cartooning experience, this book will be helpful.

I don't consider my self to possess any artistic abilities when it comes to drawing. I wanted to enter a contest on YouTube where I had to draw pictures of things. I got this book. Followed the easy to use instructions, drew my pictures, entered the contest and won the $5,000 grand prize. I would definitely say I got my money's worth from this book and much much more. Highly recommended.

Bill Pete started out as a daydreaming, doodling boy, and made it all the way to Walt Disney! Bill was born in Grandview and was raised in Indianapolis. He lived happily with his Mother, two brothers, and grandmother. His father was a traveling salesman, and didn't really come into his life until later. Ever since Bill was young, he loved to draw. During class, he would doodle in between the margins, and his books were a big favorite amongst the other kids when he sold them as second-hand. His childhood was fun filled, and he had some big hopes and dreams. First of all, he wanted to go on a safari and sketch the animals, but most of all, he wanted to be an artist. One day, in the summer of 1928, Bill's father returned "home" broke, travel weary, and demanding money. After arguing for many days, Bills mother gave in and paid his father. With that, his father drove away. Not long after that, Bill's grandmother tragically died, which put the family in complete shambles. They had to move, and everything changed. The Great Depression started, and Bills father kept taking money, so he kept them poor. Bill went through school well as a student, graduated, and went to college. That was when the work became harder. Bill was facing flunking some of his classes. One night, he ran into an old friend from school, and was persuaded to start taking some arts classes. Bill began painting, and it is there that he met his beautiful wife Margaret Brunst with which he eventually had two sons. He graduated with flying colors, and took a job as a painter. Finally, he realized he didn't have a steady income, and applied for Walt Disney Productions. He became a good friend of Walt Disney himself! Bill helped create many classics starting with Snow White, and going all the way to Jungle book. As time went by, Bill decided that after 27 years, it was time to leave. Bill had become attached to the company and his job, but mostly Walt. It was hard to say "good bye." About one year later, Walt Disney died. Bill went on to writing stories and illustrating them for children of all ages. They all relate to him in one way or another, but the one that felt the most connected to him was "Chester the Worldly Pig". Chester was who he was, and he had always been so. And like Chester, Pete "had grown beyond his expectations."

I can see myself in Pete sometimes. He never gave up and kept dreaming and kept his spirit alive. He has an easy flow to his writing that makes you feel relaxed and know that you're in for one heck of a good story. I loved his book for the truth that it told, and for the wonder that makes up Bill Pete. Keep dreaming, if you strive, you can reach the stars and soar beyond.

The book that introduced me to Bill Peet as a child and helped in inspiring me to push my art and chase my dreams. A must have for any lover of original Disney art or aspiring artist.

Wonderful book. A must for any Bill Peet fan. He captures himself in Bill Peet style - with words and illustrations - just as I would expect. The book is simple and direct, with life lessons woven between the pages.

This Book is about my favorite author Bill Peet. This book tells about his life starting his career at Walt Disney, then going to wright his own books.
Bill Peet was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, he started drawing when he was around 6 or 7. He dreamed of being a author one day. When he got into college he was in different art classes, during going to college he entered painting compititions and one most of them for extra money.
When he was asked work at Disney Annex he gladly accepted, this was around the mid 30s. After working there for a few years he was asked to work on Pinnochio. During his time at Disney he had many arguments with walt himself. He drew Dumbo, and drew the rats and the cat in Cinderella.
After he quit working for disney, Bill realized that he was a good writer too.His first book was Huberts Hair Raising Adventure, which I own along with acouple more of his books, my favorite is The Wingdingdile.
Bill Peet a tall thin man that had a dream, and made it come true wrote about 30 to 50 books, retired win 1989 after he wrote this book.This book is excellent and it will make you want to keep on reading.

I nevertheless found it quite fascinating and engrossing.

Peet is a self-professed reluctant student, especially of English classes, but he is nonetheless quite the good writer. Peet's illustrations add a lot to the pace and feel of the book and are a joy in their own right. His stories of life in Indianapolis before World War II will be interesting to any native Hoosier (as am I).

However, the most interesting part details his jobs at Walt Disney studios. His descriptions of how they made movies in the old days as well as the insider's look at Walt Disney himself are fascinating. Peet worked on several Disney movies, including Pinnochio, Fantasia, Cinderella (he created the lovable mice) and the original 101 Dalmations.

Peet brushes over his life after he left Disney a little too quickly. I would have liked to have read his descriptions of life in the publishing world as well. Also lacking is much history of his family life.

That being said, it was still fascinating, entertaining and totally worth the reader's time.

I give this one a grade of A-

Will there ever be a new edition of this title? It's been ten years. Any info. would be much appreciated.

I'll start this review by saying that, in fact, I haven't read THIS book, but I own Grant's older book from the '80's of the same title (which I bought from a used book seller for $3!), and I assume that this is the same material, but with some new stuff added. I plan to buy this newer book, because I can't wait to see this author's views on the subsequent movies that came out.

John Grant's description of the Disney movies and cartoons is amazingly detailed, and he profiles every character, from Mickey Mouse to obscure supporting characters that most people have forgotten about. While reading the entries, I remembered several movies and cartoons that I had seen as a kid, and forgotten about. It made me want to run out and buy all the old movies on DVD, so I could watch them again and relive this simpler time!

While Grant is definitely a Disney fan, he does look at the movies with a critical eye, and is willing to admit some of the shortcomings they had, including some of the racism that appeared in the earlier films (although I think he was a little too soft on this, which could be seen as insensitive to many people). He also has this charming, very British style of writing, that's addictive to read. Great escapist fun for any Disney fan!

This is almost certainly the best book on Disney animation ever published - it is difficult to think of superlatives that other reviewers haven't already (quite rightly) used in their praise of it. (To the reviewer who complained about the omission of Eega Beeva: Eega Beeva is a character in the comics, not the animated movies.) Astonishingly comprehensive, beautifully illustrated, and written with the kind of stylish wit that makes the mere act of reading the text a joy in itself, the Encyclopedia deserves all the praise that has been heaped on it.

I have only one complaint. This is the third edition, and was published in 1998. Why oh why has there been no subsequent edition? What has gotten into Disney's corporate head that they have not begged Mr. Grant, well known for his extensive writings elsewhere, to bring the story of Disney animation up to date? Such a book is desperately needed!

This is a definite must-have for any Disney fan. The book is divided into three basic sections: Characters in shorts, characters in television shows, and characters in features. Each category has a mention of every Disney character created until 1997 including interesting articles about them. This is also a great place to find information on lesser-known or forgotten Disney characters such as Spike the bee from a number of Donald Duck cartoons and Little Hans, a star of his own wartime propaganda film. Combine this with hundreds of pictures from the films and you have a book that is sure to be a favorite of any Disney fan.

First, while the title of this book is accurate, it is also misleading. This is no fluffy, flimsy book containing some fun descriptions of Disney characters from the latest popular films. This is an intense, in-depth look at EVERY Disney animated character since Walt began his career. The book is divided into two parts, "Shorts" and "Feature Films". The shorts have the usual gang, Donald, Mickey, Goofy, Pluto, and so on. After each characters bio is a list of every Disney short they've appeared in. Don't be worried or fooled by by this truly encyclopedic book - it is not a boring A to Z book. Color photos pop off of every page, including some from rarely seen Disney shorts. The feature films section not only includes detailed character bios, but plot summaries and "making of" details, cast and crew credits, and more. You buy this book, you will have a list of EVERY Disney short ever made (including the early "Alice" shorts and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit), every feature film in chronological order, and enough information about each one to be the champ of any Disney trivia game!

This product showed up speedily and in very good condition. I am very happy with it.

This epidsode will make you want to continue on to the next issues. Its fun, its sad, and it's entertaining.

I own this series in Japanese, and it is a wonderful read! It has all the important elements of a good shoujo manga: it is romantic, twisted, with a shoujo (in the traditional meaning of the word) involved in finding a new family and love triangles galore. It is just a very fun read, no matter the language!

This volume was definately one of the best so far. It was so good, it surprised me! No part of this volume is boring. I loved the parts with Kureno (he's one of my favorite characters), and the class trip was the best! This volume raises LOTS of questions, those of which you'll have to find out for yourself. But trust me, this volume is so worthy of the $10 you'll have to spend, that I'll read it again after just reading it yesterday! Take my advice, you will love this volume. Fruits Basket really does put all else to shame!

I absolutly love this series. While at first it may seen strange you just can't help falling in love with the characters (<3 kyo) and their whole story. Before you know it you end up rooting along with the characters on their journies. While they are aimed at a teenage audience my mom aunt and 12 year old brother even enjoy them! This series was the first Manga I had ever read and its what actually got me started on reading manga and enjoying it. I Absolutly cannot wait until the 14th book comes out...
I highly recommend this series to everyone of all ages.

I got this book in a 3-pack and could hardly stop laughing. Jim Davis has really reached his pinnacle of humor! Buy the book!

This is the best book Jim Davis had made.

Garfield is funny when kicking odie off the table,playing with mice,being lazy,and hating mondays all in in this book...... Garfield feeds the kitty

I have two cats. They are both fat and lazy. I think the only difference between my cats and Garfield is they these do not particpate in the weddings of the mice. This is book is funny. Buy it! Read it! Enjoy it! and don't forget to LAUGH!

No matter what kind of a mood I'm in, I'm always entertained by reading Garfield comic strips. I have no problem admitting that, even though I'm in my early twenties. I think it's a very hilarious strip and it gets better with every year. "Garfield: Feeds the Kitty" is yet another very amusing collection of funny Garfield strips.

Laugh along as Garfield takes on dieting, Mondays, his owner Jon, the very not-so-bright Odie, smart-aleck mice who always get the last laugh, and much more. With Garfield, you know it's never a dull day (even if HE finds it dull).

Again, Jim Davis never misses a beat with making Garfield funny and entertaining. While some strips are funnier than others, the overall product is very satisfying. You'll want to re-read the book over and over again. It's a great read, especially when you need some cheering up.

The 35th book in the Garfield series, "Garfield: Feeds the Kitty" is a very hilarious collection of Garfield hijinx that you won't want to miss out on. If you're a Garfield fan, I highly recommend you checking it out. Always nice to have something that is bound to get a laugh or two from you.

Linda Barry nails tweener angst. And her drawings are so different from anyone else's, they're mesmerizing.

I read the "Marlys" comicstrip back when it appeared in DC's City Paper. Marlys, her friends, her mother are drawn in gorgeous and grotesque panel-cartoon style. Barry's characters are bizarre yet familiar. The angst is universal. Think Gidget on acid: a super gift book to delight a funky friend.

If your a long time fan or have never heard of Lynda Berry this is a book you must own. For the first timer the drawings might seem alittle rough,(but you get past that real quick and realize its perfect)just like the stories about Marlys. I love Lynda Berry and her work. Iv followed the stories of Marlys since the early 80's. I can so relate to Marlys and her environment and I think many others will too. Im not a writer just a huge fan so I hope you all will give it a peek and find out for yourselves. Matt Groening (creator of Simpsons) says "Lynda Berry rocks".

Wow! Number one!! This book captures the feeling of childhood in an amazingly touching fashion.

I love Marlys and her goofiness. She is alternately hilarious (as when she describes all the different methods of fake smoking, such as the gum cigarrette with its realistic coughing, or a hot dog, for when you're having hobo feelings) and touching (as when she describes her sister's threat to kill herself when the tree outside loses its last leaf - which prompts Marlys to glue a bunch of leaves back onto the tree). I love how she reminds me so poignantly of the bossy kid that I was, and the wacky things that kids think. This book is way worth it.