Comics Books

I can't believe I've had this book all these years and I've only finally gotten around to writing a quick review of it NOW. Suffice to say, it's a stumper. It was ground-breaking when the original web comic came out almost a decade ago, and remains as fresh-creative-exciting and charming today as it did today.

I would love to see a VOLUME TWO! That seems unlikely, on paper, but you can always see the poor cousin online version. Not the same for bedside reading, tho.

Charly, kiddo, yr still batting 100 or 400 or whatever is a good number for American baseball players to bat. It's not like percentages, is it? 100 doesn't equal everything, does it? I never understood numbers. Heck, I'm a WORD man, not a numbers man.

dig it out, it's worth it,
=link

I read Charley Parker's "Dinosaur Cartoons" and wanted to see what else he did. This book is beautiful. And the website, zark.com is spectacular. A must-read and a must-see.

In most cases, a comic book is done on paper, then converted into a virtual comic book. In this case, a virtual comic goes onto paper! The book contains the entire Book One of Argon Zark, a humorous comic book for those who enjoy and understand humor about the internet and computers. The characters are lovable and the plot is one of the best I've yet to see in a series comic book! Great pictures and very enjoyable. A must read!

ARGON ZARK! is a really well done book. It was originally done to be an all digital on-line comic, but there were so many people saying that it deserves to be something that requires...

No electricity required! No waiting for the server to connect! No download time! No RAM requirements! No software conflicts!

...and something that...

Won't crash or freeze! Is Y2K compliant! Is lightweight, portable, bendable, tactile! Take it on the bus, train, or airship! Read it under the covers with a flashlight!

...so, that is what he did and it turned out great and to be a big success!

Take it from someone who has read it and tried to figure out how he did it so well, you MUST read it! You won't be dissapointed!

-Ovi Demetrian

Argon Zark, The Delux, Portable, Cordless Souvenir Dead-tree Edition (i.e. book) more than makes up for the lack of hyperlinks, JavaScript, and slow downloads with:

1.Instant Gratification (just turn the page and you're there, duh!);

2.a postscript showing how some of the art is assembled, and explaining some of the in-jokes to the non-web-savvy;

3.and the thing we've all been waiting for: RESOLUTION!. These are no baby 50kB jpegs like we've seen on the Web! For this book, Charley Parker has gone back to the original pre-anti-aliasing ultra-high-resolution artwork, re-rendering it in eyepopping detail. Almost all the frames from the web are here (some of the hidden frames that rely upon animation to make their point and aren't really part of the story got cut), but with more detail, more luscious backgrounds, and more in-jokes that you can see clearly. Those of us who remember squinting at the anti-aliased Page 1, for instance, to make out tidbits like "Pretzel Logic" and "Marx and Lennon" can now show it to our friends...and can even see what's on the milk carton behind them!

The book format also facilitates a more restful appreciation of the art as connoiseur's comics art... for instance, the way in which changing style of borders around frames may anticipate a page boundary (e.g. last frame of p.31), activating the reader's semiotic radar. Bottom line: This is artwork to be treasured.

Matthew H. Fields, D.M.A.

17 April 1998

It has great poster-like images and screen shots, all of high quality. The original art is also superb. If you like Gundam Wing and want some extra art or if you want to draw something from Gundam Wing get this...and the technical manualGundam Technical Manual #1: Gundam Wing cause that thing has ALL the details about the machines and the story leading up to the show.

Hm... I happen to LOVE this book. I own it. Bought it at a different website (animenation.com) with a different cover, but it's the same pictures... And the pictures are great! There were quite a few I hadn't seen before (example 1: the one of Treize and Une's head from the side. example 2: one with both Milliardo and Zechs (Milliardo with his mask on) from the side and a full shot of Noin from the front). The whole thing is layed out very nicely. I give it... *drumroll* Ten out of ten thumbs up! Eh... Right. Anyway...

For all those die-hard Gundam fans who were disappointed with the three-volume manga, this will more than make up for it.

Like the title says, this book displays a collection of pictures -- original ones or screenshots from the anime -- that is, simply, the art of "Gundam Wing." The book does a good job of fairly balancing the pictures of the five pilots as well as other important characters. For those who surf the web a great deal, many of these pictures will be recognized immediately. And many people might also notice that the pictures are a lot crisper, clearer, and cleaner than some found on fansites, which is alone worth the price of the book.

However, there is also a good deal of pictures that have most likely not been found on the internet (although they probably will be soon because of people with scanners and a lot of free time). These pictures heighten the worth of the book, and the fact that they were drawn by the artists who worked on the anime makes it all the more satisfying. After all, where do the original artists take the time to add more of their talent to a collection of already-beautiful artwork?

All in all, there was only once complaint I had, and that was that the book was a little short. The book is only about 96 pages of art, with a brief interview with the artists. Despite this setback, the book is definately a must-have for anyone who's ever enjoyed the artwork and wants to gloss over it for days on end. Try and say something like that about "Pokemon"!

This is a really great thing to buy for any GW fan. The artwork is beautifull.....amazing.....there aren't enough good words to describe it.....I'm very happy that I bought it.....

This is a great book! It's worth the money! If you know Gundam like I do then you'll love this book. It has pictures from the Endless Waltz as well as some from the earlier movies. The pictures are very colorful and quite creative. Each character is given a few pages of pictures. If you are familiar with the pics on the trading cards, they're there too! Also the covers of the movies are included. I highly reccomend this book to anyone seeking help on drawing the Gundam Wing characters or just looking for a peice to add to their collection!

I have been a faithful FoxTrot reader for years. Roger, Andy and their kids Peter, Paige and Jason are always good for a reality check with a large dose of laughter. I've got two girls and let me tell you, I see a lot of my kids in Paige with, I believe, even a healthy dose of Jason thrown in. And they have Peter's bottomless stomach. Of course, they're faithful FoxTrot readers too. I used to read the strip to them, explain what was going on, but now they get it just fine and we three all laugh together. Then my girls try and explain the strip to their dad, who pretends he doesn't get it.

The FoxTrot folks are a great family, one we sort of got used to checking up on every day, so we took the news that Mr. Amend was going to cease daily distribution of his wonderfully funny people and turn his strip to Sunday only, with a bit of sadness. Still, we have these terrific FoxTrot books to keep us going with our FoxTrot fix. Mr. Amend is to be commended for his great gift to our culture and his great gift to so many lives. I truly believe a laugh a day, helps keep the blues away and the FoxTrot gang are always good for a laugh. Heck there are a lot of laughs in the FoxTrot books. I know, I have them all and I am, along with my girls and my hubby dear, eagerly awaiting the next one.

Oh yes, I forgot to mention, we don't have an iguana, but my girls do have a pet gecko and, you guessed it, his name is Quincy.

I've been a Foxtrot reader for a long time and personally I think there is something suspiciously wrong with people who don't find Bill Amend's characters funny as all get out. If you want a good laugh, check out Bill in your local newspaper, or better yet, get one of the Foxtrot books. They are all great, really, they are.

Like many of Mr. Amend's fans I'm a bit disappointed he's switching his strip to Sunday-only, but fortunately I can still read him daily in the Foxtrot books. Get them one and all and you can keep right on a laughing.

"There's nothing like going into a big bookstore on a cold winter evening...finding a collection of short stories that you'd always meant to read...taking off your coat...plopping down in their café...and watching shoppers come and go as you sit back and sip on coffee. Ah, bliss."
"Mom, did you bring your credit card? They have every STAR TREK book." (Jason)
"Since calendars are half-price, can I get Niki *and* Stephanie?" (Peter)
"Fourth and one and they're *punting*?" (Roger, on headphones)
"At least this place sells T-shirts." (Paige)
"Ah, reality."
- Mrs. Fox and family, herein

All the cartoons in this collection are included - in the same order - in the omnibus FOXTROT BEYOND A DOUBT except for the single-page additions of Jason personalizing a T-shirt and the dedication page's picture of Quincy the iguana with a teddy bear. The Sunday double strips are not in colour in this book, although they are printed in colour in FOXTROT BEYOND A DOUBT.

Unless you're particularly attached to the smaller size of this book, its cute cover art, or the three single frame cartoons that were added for the dedication and endpages as described above, I recommend considering FOXTROT BEYOND A DOUBT instead, since it includes all the content of this book with the addition of colour formatting for the Sunday strips, together with content from the previous collection RETURN OF THE LONE IGUANA.

Having said that, let's move on to the content. :)

FOXTROT maintains a continuing storyline, although the kids seem to be growing up rather slowly despite the passing seasons. This particular book begins during the Fox family's summer holidays and ends the following spring.

Some of the memorable bits include:
- Paige babysits for Margaret O'Dell from her mother's book club for the first time, whose little girl is cute but whose babysitting conditions are dire. "Hi there! You must be little Katherine!" "Um, it's 'Katherine', with a 'K'." "That's what I said." "No, you said 'Catherine' with a 'C'. I could tell. Hold on - I'll be right back." "Hi, there! You must be the little girl who's going to need massive therapy in twelve years!" (Peter, much later, takes a dog-sitting job looking after a crazed little canine Nac Mac Feegle - pit bull aggression levels in a toy dog's body).
- Jason and Marcus experiment with model rockets and with the biggest kite they can manage to put together.
- The Fox family takes a family vacation to Fun-Fun Universe (not to be confused with Disney World, of course).
- Paige learns during a speech in social studies class not to listen to her dad's advice on how to control her nerves: "Yowza! It's like a Chippendales show!"
- Peter's first anniversary of dating Denise and his efforts to select a good present (genes from his mom's side, since his dad buys spatulas for Valentine's Day). He also goes through some rather trying study sessions with her while her parents aren't home.
- Jason's classmate Eileen beats his score on a math test; she suckers him into going out for ice cream with her family afterward, even though he officially doesn't like girls.
- Paige is assigned to write a ghost story in English class. After she makes Jason the victim, she gets an A plus an appointment with the school counselor.
- Paige's brother Peter passes himself off as her secret admirer as a joke.
- Jason asks for Doomathon II for Christmas, but trades it at the computer store after his mom becomes addicted to it. "Mom convinced me that I was too young to have a game like that in the house...I mean, *I* can't do my laundry."
- Roger suffers through an efficiency expert at work who complains at finding perfectly good paper clips in the trash and is then treated to lunch at the Ritz by the boss.
- The baseball team players, including Peter, shave their heads after losing a bet with the soccer team (which temporarily cheers Peter's balding father no end).

Oh, my lord this is like the greatest Foxtrot ever written. The Strips are so cool and the stories are soooooooooooo funny espesialy when Roger smokes a cigar and Paige writes a ghost story. Truely, very fuuny

This is a great book to give to someone as a gift to introduce them to the humor of Foxtrot. It is wonderfully funny and engrossing: you will have finished it before you realize it!

When I was 11 years old (that was three years ago) I was first introduced to B.B. Explosion and I fell in love with it! I waited and waited for a new book in the series to come out and it seemed time would never stop. Now that it is over and now that I am 14 I still believe that this series is very cute but it is no longer for my age range. I'd say this manga is made for people 7-12. I still have this series and I'm so GLAD to have. It's about a young girl that's 12 who is trying to follow and make her dreams of becoming a star and sharing her music to the whole world!

I wish they had decided to publish the sequel, it's such a cute series and I would have liked to see what happened officially between Takaya and Airi!

This book is one of the best childrens mangas written. It shines truth on the music buisness without saying it is pretty harsh. Most of the charactars in the book can be found in the real word. The school that the main character (Airi) goes to really exists! This book keeps reality in check while whisking you away on the dream of a girl. Anyway, will Airi sky rocket to fame? Or fall down? You can only find out if you read...

Ok, I was in borders yesterday and looked in the manga books. i found a book that had bad words in every page! ugh.. so I kept looking and saw this book. I flipped through it and looked on the back cover it said "all ages" for the reading level. I picked it up and ran to my dad to pay for it. during lunch I relized that hey, I chose a good book! the front cover may look a little odd but don't judge a manga by it's cover! it's good for girls age 10-13 and there's NO bad words! Trust someone who read the whole thing!! and I bought 2-5 with it. I defintaly spent my money on a treasure! so like, GO TO BORDERS AND SEARCH FOR B. B. EXPLOSION! YOU WON'T BE DISSAPONITED!

B.B. Explosion is my favorite graphic novel I own. Once you read it you will totally flip! Did you know most of the people in the book are real? Airi is real. Yu Yamanda is real and so is 'Da Pump'. Haven't seen anything about Yumi though! Read the others. Each english version comes out every three months!

As someone whom has seen many fascets to the entertainment industry, it is nice to see a fresh and innocent, yet VERY honest portrayal of the entertainment industry.

Airi is a young 12yr girl whom is obsessed with an entertainment show that broadcast in her homtown Okinawa. She obsesses over the hip and hot boy band on the show, and when an opne audition is announced to go to the Elite "Actors School" in Okinawa she goes in hopes of meeting her teen idol. :) Little does she know is that she in for far much more than she EVER expected.

She is mentored by a gaurdian statue named Caeser that comes to life and follows he around, he claims that ONLY people whom have what it takes to make it can see him. This adds a cuteness and somewhat fantastical character to it, that COULD undermine the story by making it see to fluffy, but it doesn't. It works with the story overall, and it is interesting to see how he's used throughout the series. :)

The great thing about this, is that it teaches you that, although the industry want someone to convey their own ideas and images, that need someone whom is comfortable in their skin, and not jsut a carbon copy of someone else. And it shows the hard work that goes on behind the scenes and the tears, without seeming soap-operish and trite, like some stories I've read. Because of its cast of young and well fleshe dout characters, it is a fresh portrayal of one girls climb to the top. :)

I would recomend this manga highly to anyone!!! I devoured the first 3 volumes in one sitting!!! It is worth every penny, and is worth re-reading, and is oppropriate for ALL ages. :D So if you're looking for something to read that is fun and fresh, and that has an overall positive message without being trite, pick up B.B. Explosion!!! :D

God Bless ~Amy

The joy in this strip comes from knowing that it's all accurate. The cartoons in this collection are on-target in their ability to make the reader realize how the things that made us mad when we experienced them with our own children are very funny when they happen to someone else!

You'll be laughing out loud at this collection.

Material is as funny as the first book years ago. Our whole family enjoys Baby Blues. I'm proud to support comics in the "wholesome, clean, safe for the family" category, like Peanuts started by Charles Schulze so long ago.

I first picked up a copy of Baby Blues when I was on my honeymoon in US. Never saw it before in my life, but after flipping through a few pages of this, I was hooked. Todate, I've ended up with the entire set in my house, all read over and over again.

The strips simply mirror my life as a parent, although I don't quite have Wanda's benefit of being a SAHM. I personally have 2 kids who are have a very close age gap of only 14 months. Wanda and Darryl's misadventures and experiences couldn't be more realistic for parents or parents-to-be.

I've introduced it to my friends, who have become hooked as well and some of them have the whole collection as well.

Buy a copy. You won't go wrong!

Here is a whole collection of "Baby Blues", a clever, brutally honest comedy satire all about child-rearing from a couple of good ol' "been-there" daddies! Features a well-meaning but know-nothing dork of a dad, a disgruntled, long-suffering mommy who smiles graciously through clenched teeth, and - the big stars of the strip - Zoe, the precicous but spoiled rotten brat in perky red pigtails and Ham, the pin-headed baby of the whole family with a personality to match his name! A very generous helping of really crazy domestic misadventures for the new parents to find comfort and reassurance in as well as for the happily childless to gloat outrageously over!

You already know which comic strips you like, right? But newspapers don't carry every comic strip, so it's possible you aren't familiar with Baby Blues. It's also possible you like the strip but wondered what happens "behind the scenes." You might even be looking for a "housewarming" type gift in the $10-20 range.

I've been introduced to some of my favorite comic strips over the years. So this is my recommendation to the people who haven't heard of Baby Blues. My tastes range from Dilbert, The Far Side, and Calvin & Hobbes to the more obscure Overboard, Robotman and Fusco Brothers to the gentleness of For Better or Worse and Peanuts. Basically, I don't like a lot of "syrup," but my comics must have sensitive human observation. Baby Blues has a raw warmth, with more energy than "For Better" and more realistic characters than "Peanuts."

I enjoyed Baby Blues before my child was born, but it really "hits home" now. It's amusing with or without your own children. But if you're one of the "withs," the book doubles as a mirror!

I always find the lives of the artist and what goes into their drawings interesting from a perspective standpoint. (I liked "The PreHistory of the Far Side.") "10 Years and Still in Diapers" gives this perspective during the early chapters and in a friendly, mildly self-deprecating way.

Instead of yet another bottle of wine, why not bring this book to your next casual get together? Instead of yet another outfit, why not make this a baby shower gift? Besides being "painfully" entertaining, it's attractive enough for the coffee table.

Goats on a printed page. who wouldve thunk it? For long time fans, and people who have never even heard of goats, if you think you have a twisted sense of humor, then goats is for you.

please, please, please... read this book.

As I am somewhat of a Goat-head (not in the pagan sense), I am a bit bias to this book. However, a scant 6 months ago, I did not have any idea about Goats. I spend 3 weeks reading the archive (which I recommend to anyone - great stuff out there). The Book, the fourth in a series of one, is a great primer, and will give people hours and hours of enjoyment. Check out the site!...! You'll thank me later.

Jon Rosenberg's Goats can't fail to raise a smile from these jaded lips when I read it online, so a book with hundreds of those self-same strips is just the thing to see you through the long ,dark winter. Pert, pertinent character comedy, surrealism and pure sexy fun make this a must-have. If you liked Bloom County, this is for you. If you like Fred Bassett, it might just take the top of your head off. Superb.

The cover of this book alone cracks me up as does much of the content inside. "Goats" is a non-syndicated web comic strip done by Jonathan Rosenberg. This strip came to my attention when Jonathan first started it and asked me to throw him a link (my site being all about comic strips). "Goats" is a surreal strip about two male best friends Jon and Philip, their talking pet goat Toothgnip, and their evil talking pet chicken Diablo. There are also aliens, beer, women, beer, dwarves, beer, zombies, beer, and more beer.

This book is the first "Goats" book despite the fact that it is called "Volume 4". However, Jonathan has promised to follow George Lucas's footsteps and release the prequels soon ("Volume 3" will be out soon). This book covers strips from January 2000 to December 2000. The significant event of this book is that Jon (who is a loser when it comes to women) finally gets a girlfriend named Megan. She's a hottie and totally with it that makes you wonder if it isn't pity love. Ah, but if it weren't for pity, many of us would be in a world of hurt!

Bottom line, this is a pretty funny comic strip but it is NOT for the kids (in my opinion). The humor and content can often shift into the "R" range so you've been warned. Otherwise, get this book and help a web cartoonist!

Fantastic. Magnificent. Compelling, original and satyrical, a must have for any Gen-Xer's Ikea mail-ordered coffee table or the floor of the bohemian studio apartment in the parent's basement. Bringing together issues of single-life, animal rights, alien invasions, sexual dysfunction, and sado-masochism this hilarious book filled with wit and slapstick compiles the Goats comic strip for the year 2000. Not only are the comics a poignant commentary on everyday-life, through trips into the surreal they speak volumes on social issues of the day. Through the innocence of some characters and the wickedness of others, the entire gamut of human emotion is displayed among the denziens of a specific New York pub. This book makes a fantastic gift for those who've never heard of Goats and enjoy quality, edgy humor.

Like the first 'Zits' treasury, this book will provide you with a lot of laughs, and you will probably want to return to reread the strips again in the future. I enjoyed this book immensely and plowed right through it in two sittings, even though I had planned to stretch it out over a week.

My one quibble with the book is that several of the strips are exact duplicates of strips from the first treasury.

If you have or have had teenagers, you need to red Zits. The adventures of all the characters will keep you laughing. They even manage to capture the angst of both parents and teens.

I evaluate funnies by the drawings, and, of course, is it funny or not? With that said, here we go.

In some ways, I think this comic is influenced by Calvin and Hobbes, one of the most memorable and classic strips. This comic strip is drowned in sarcasm and irony. The drawings have a sort of sketchy quality about them, something that makes them loose and very cool-looking. They have shading and scribbly detail, but are still very clear and easy to understand.

It has more than 4 characters, allowing the cartoonist to come up with many interesting character traits. Exploring these personalities is very fun to read. A boy and a girl never seen not hugging each other, a mom, a dad, a big brother, and a boy with a guitar are just some of the characters. I think this strip has about the right amount of characters.

This book is my first encounter with the comic and it is very appealing. I won't tell you to buy it, because I'm not a salesperson. I'm merely telling you why I like it.

In Big Honkin Zits (hey, it's named after ME when I was 16..or 26) you can clearly see WHY this strip by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman is one of the fastest growing and most popular strips EVER.

The best way to explain it is: it's on the same quality level as Bill Watterson's Calvin & Hobbes at it's funniest, most irony-laced and visually comedic BEST. Once again we have Jeremy...the self-absorbed 15-year-old who is constantly (in his view) humiliated by his parents' mere existance (except when he lowers the posture and briefly show he really cares). The strip shows things from the adult point of view but ALSO does a good job of pointing out how a teen might view the parents (his parents ARE dorky).

There are several reasons why this strip is such great COMEDY, and holds up so well in a treasury form such as this. The artists use a story-line of sorts (akin to the story-line Watterson would use where a given daily strip would stand alone but is part of a group with a theme). The shorter strips work as well as the longer ones. As in Calvin & Hobbes we often see things from the teen or parental view in the form of a fantasy (his father dressed like a clown; Jeremy with huge ears after his girlfriend mentions his ears are big).It's a strip that shows character evolution: his girlfriend finally gets her braces off; he goes to his first real rock concert; sneaks into his first teen porn film etc.

But above all it's the world-class visual comedy, character facial expressions and actual irony-heavy comedy that makes this strip among the best EVER. Since there are tons of strips I'll share one that is my favorite. Jeremy's mother reads an article that says "the average teenage boy thinks about sex once every eight minutes." They look at each other and each says "Wow." She thinks: "That much?" He thinks: "That's all?"

You're going to want to read Big Honkin' Zits again and again and each time you're going to laugh as much as the first time. SUPERB selection of a SUPERB strip that happily continues to quickly grow in circulation, artistically and comedically.

Jeremy returns in his second treasury, combining strips from the books "Don't Roll Your Eyes at Me, Young Man!" and "Are We an Us?" Not much has changed since the first treasury. He still wishes his parents would get off his back, he still doesn't understand women, and he still dreams of making it big in music. But whether he's trying to decide what to do about the upcoming Gingivitis concert, win back Sara from a sophomore, support a friend's mom who has cancer, or sneak over to his girlfriend's babysitting job, he's sure to find the humor in any situation.

Unfortunately, I don't get the strip in my local paper, so I have to wait for these books to enjoy it. But I can certainly see why it has become such a popular strip. Everyone can appreciate the humor in the storylines, which poke fun at everyone equally. The visual gages are some of the best in the papers today and make for some of the best strips in the book as well. And it's easy to like these characters because they really do have good hearts just beneath the surface. My only complaint with this book is that the strips don't appear to be in order. It makes for a little confusion when a character is first introduced after we've already met him or her, but over all, it really is minor.

This is a wonderful collection that should win new fans and satisfy the old. Buy it today and enjoy the laughs.

If you are looking for a small, comprehensive analysis of how to do animation, this is your book. Walter Foster is one of the best companies out there on drawing books, though I wouldn't recommend them all. I highly recommend this one. :)

This is a great way to see how animation starts. I would recommend it to anyone wanting to choose Animation as a career. I am taking Web design and Animation.

This book is simply the best animation how-to guide for the novice or talented amateur. Very well presented and beautifully illustrated. It's a classic book that has been around for many years and should be around for many more.

The book is arranged like this: Drawing principles, character design, then animation. The principles are about constructing forms and wrapping guidelines & features around them properly, facial expressions, building a simple skeletal foundation, how bodies can be drawn, and hands!

The character design section is small, but brilliant. There are great example drawings to work from and trust me when I say the characters are pleasing to look at.

As for the animation section, it's got the essentials for walks, runs, understanding squash & stretch and line of action in movements. It might not have enough movements as one may want, but really, using what you learn here to analyze actions from life will enable you to learn how any movement can be strengthened for animation. I actually haven't started animating yet (still doing the drawing sections), but I know I'll be perfectly fine with just this. Harold Whitaker's "Timing For Animation" does seem like it could be a perfect supplement to this though, so you might wanna check that out as well.

Other pages include things about dialogue phonemes, takes (when's the last time anyone's seen a Tex-Avery-style reaction in a cartoon? learn this and bring it back!) pointers on animation, and, best of all, TONS of characters to practice from.

The book is only eight bucks and, being from Preston Blair, a genius from the golden-age era of animation, you can't go wrong. Buy it, follow everything that he says, draw from each drawing in the book until the concepts seep in, and make some cartoons. Even if you wanna draw comic strips and/or comic books, get this now!

Very informative in the use of art work. Hopefully, this book will help my son in the future with his career in art work.

An action-comedy manga about a beautiful tomboy, with a twist. Though the character design may not appeal to everyone, the writing is topnotch and had me laughing out loud at times. A rarity. I highly recommend checking this manga series out.

What can I say that hasn't already been said about "Cheeky Angel", just bye it now and see for Yourself You wont be disapointed.

I've read the other reviews, and I just wanted to add mine. "Cheeky Angel" is an interesting "gender-bender" since, until about 3/4ths through it do you get an indication that things are not exactly as they seem. There IS a trick to the gender-bending question, but you have to be paying attention. Or, for some people, it doesn't matter.

Now, that said, enjoy the ride. Frankly, the things that make this worth reading are Genzo and his silly ways. I've enjoyed the anime and I have to say that it was a great ride. Miki, Kobayashi, Yasuda, and Fujiki all help make this a great cast, but it's the rarely seen characters like Megumi's father and mother, her maid, and Genzo's sister that make it fun. Plus, Megumi's rival who arrives around the middle adds to the fun.

This is NOT just a shoujou piece, since there is a LOT of fighting and bad words in it. I was a little disappointed with Viz's translation, since I don't think they give justice to Miki, but at least it was released in English.

Also, the anticipation of Megumi's first kiss is killer, possibly worse than Ranma 1/2 because that one just got silly after 30+ volumes. Besides... we all know she's gonna fall for Genzo. Afterall, I would. ^___^

There's a lot of questioning "what makes a man manly" and "what is feminine" since it is a gender-bender, but I like this discussion because Megumi is so adamant that she's NOT a girl. And Genzo tries SO hard, and he's SO cute, and I just love him to death. With Kobiyashi's strange crush on Soga, the faithful Fujiki, and the ever-peeping hentai Yasuda, this is just fun.

Really. Read it just for Genzo. He's really worth it. XD

Cheeky Angel is about a lovely girl. No, a down right hottie female student. She has fine hands, silky long hair, white smooth skin and can beat the stuffing out of any boy she meets. The problem is, six years ago she was a guy. But when she asked...at the time he asked...a genie to make him the "manliest man on Earth" the tiny creature turned him into the "womanliest woman on Earth."
Now Megumi, who all the boys drool over, has another problem. The baddest dude in town seems to like her. In fact, he seems to be in love with her.
What's a girl...er...guy to do?

I never would have thought I'd be reading something called "Cheeky Angel!" Thankfully, I had some extra time at Borders the other day, and picked this up on a whim. I'm very glad I did.

The basic premise, as has already been described, involves a scrappy little boy named Megumi who gets transformed into a girl by a devious genie - but of course, even as a girl, he retains all of his martial arts moves and violent impulses. As the story opens, it is 6 years since the "curse" took effect, and Megumi has blossomed into a certified babe, now entering high school, where he/she instantly becomes the school obsession. Young Meg almost immediately has the misfortune of encountering the reigning tough guy Genzo; he's making his ex-girlfriend cry, Meg beats him up, and naturally, he is lovestruck.

While the plot sounds simple so far, I have a feeling there is more to the whole "curse" thing than meets the eye, so I'm anticipating plenty of plot twists and turns in the future. Most importantly, this manga is hilarious; I can't recall laughing out loud so much while reading a graphic novel, at least not of late. And, there's some action as well, since Meg still can't keep from getting into fights that showcase her martial arts prowess.

I understand there is also a 50 episode anime series based on this manga that ran in Japan; hopefully, if enough people show interest, it will be licensed and released here in the U.S. soon.

For those looking for a great blend of humor and action, this is very recommended.

I was very saddened to know that life of this young child can be considered to be normal...until the child grows up. I felt in every line drawn an emotion was spilling off of the page...the words were so carefully chosen...the detail in each frame is fascinating. This author is more than a comic she is a master of the arts.

I can't say enough about this author/artist. I've just finished reading the book and am almost speechless. For anyone out there still dealing with demons of their own less than perfect childhoods, this book takes on the feel of a close friend in the same situation. The author, in a semi-autobiographical fashion, recounts a childhood of sexual abuse, drug abuse, and general coming-of-age well before it ever should. Full of amazing illustrations (Gloeckner is a lauded medical illustrator as well as excellent cartoonist), this book is sure to please anyone looking for something different, and in my case, cathartic. I don't think I could begin to recommend this book highly enough. I'm just glad that I live in a day and age where this book is not only allowed to be published, but can earn accolades as well (the least of which is from me). Thank you, Phoebe!

This collection of Phoebe Gloeckner's comics is definitely not for the faint of heart, but it's worth a reading. If you haven't read her novel, Diary of a Teenage Girl, I think you will find this book a better introduction to her work. The themes are much the same and the comic art is very well done.
The subject matter is pretty bleak.

A Child's Life is hard to read but even harder to turn your eyes away from. Her child-like drawings combined with adult events and content perfectly express the difficult adolescent limbo between girl and woman.

"A Child's Life" by Phoebe Gloeckner is like witnessing a car wreck or a street fight: you are horrified and appalled, but you can't stop looking. This beautifully drawn book gives graphic insight to the devastating impact of psychological and sexual abuse on children and teens, but also portrays the importance of facing and overcoming bad early life experiences in order to have a productive adult life. In my lifetime, I have known too many people in their 30's, 40's and even 50's who suffered childhood/adolescent problems that seem minor compared to what "Minnie" endured, and who continue to use their past problems as an excuse for continuously messing up their lives throughout adulthood; "A Child's Life" should be mandatory reading for these folks. Without doubt, a childhood of abuse and neglect is horrible, but we do ourselves and our society a disservice when we rely on it to excuse our own bad behaviour and avoid growing up and moving on with our lives. Phoebe Gloeckner is a new kind of hero who survived a hell on earth and bravely lived to tell the tale in an intelligent and scorching manner. (N.B. This book should not be given to children or young teens; it would frighten them. Older teens, depending on their maturity level, would find this book compelling and cautionary.)