Comics Books

The thing is, the regular Tenchi Muyo manga continues from the origonal O.A.V. series. The movies continue from the T.V. series
"Tenchi Universe". The T.V. series and the O.A.V. series tell two different versions of the Tenchi Muyo story, as certain story aspects contradict each other. You'll notice that in the movie story "Tenchi In Love", Kiyone lives on Earth with the rest. She never came down to Earth in the origonal series, which is why she doesn't appear in the other manga stories, so you have to keep in mind "Tenchi In Love" does NOT take place in the same continueity as the rest of the manga.

Otherwise, this is another great addition to the Tenchi Muyo saga. We get some funny stories about the alien girls learning how to deal with tellemarketers, a newscrew coming to film at the Masaki residence, and a Galaxy Police inspector coming down to check on Mihoshi's progress. (Guess how THAT goes.) The movie is a great read also, just keep in mind that again, it has to be divorced from the rest of the stories.

Even if you have seen the first Tenchi movie a billion times, do not pass up this manga. The plot of the movie story is different enough to interest even those like me who basically memorized the first movie. And the other stories are cute! I love when Ayeka and Ryoko cause an accident. "Stop waving his arm around!"
*grins* Tenchi takes the girls back to school--specifically, phone school. Then, we have to watch Mihoshi suffer through an inspection by another Galaxy Police officer. And when a tv crew comes to explore the Masaki house, they get a whole lot more than they bargained for!

I adored the Tenchi Muyo In Love movie, and this is the official adaptation of it. But it is not exactly like the film, so don't turn your nose up at this just because you're seen the movie. And the other stories are wonderful too. Phone school, Tenchi's love connection, Mihoshi's Galaxy Police examination, a story about the Masaki house--it's all here! Go on, take a look--you know you want to!

If your any type of Tenchi fan, from a small one to an all out fanatic, make sure to get this! While the big draw of this is the Tenchi in Love movie on print (which has been faithfully transported, its almost like watching the movie!), there are also a few other extra stories to read! You should buy the book just for the movie, the extra stories are icing on the cake. The only way I could see you not buying the book is if you don't want to ruin the movie. But otherwise, you must buy this! You will not be disappointed.

This book reaches the standard attained by all the other books by Hitoshi Okuda. It contains the official adaptation of the Tenchi in Love movie and 4 other original stories. In one, an odd headband designed by Washu makes Tenchi more amorous than usual. Another story has Tenchi teaching all the girls in the Masaki household proper phone etiquette when dealing with prank phone calls, solicitors, and wrong numbers. In the third story, a camera crew videotapes the Masaki household for a TV show about houses, but then finds a whole lot more than a beautiful house. The fourth story is about Mihoshi's adventures when her old instructor from the Galactic Police tries to bring her back to GP headquarters. Finally, the book ends with the story of Tenchi and company having to travel back in time to prevent the evil KAIN from eradicating Tenchi's mother, Achika. Truly a book worth owning

Oh, wow, this is the funniest book! Every one of these cartoons totally cracks me up--I was rolling on the floor. I can completely believe BEK used to write for Seinfeld--he's got that just-a-touch off-color sense of humor that is so deadpan and funny. I'm buying it for my brother (he could use a good laugh about now).

This book is so great. It's a beautiful thing, too, so nice to hold. When I get the New Yorker every week, I always look for the BEK cartoons first, and I'm so glad to have my own collection. It completely cracks me up--I keep faxing cartoons to my friends, and I even sent a copy of the book to my grandmother!

I can't get enough of this book. It has truly put me in stitches. I chortle to myself as I walk down the street thinking about it; I talk about it non-stop. Kaplan has a unique, endlessly gratifying talent. His humor is brilliant and insurpassable, and his firm, knowing handle on the motives and foibles of today's humans is flabbergasting. I couldn't stop turning the page to see what he would deliver next! This book is like a little glowing gem.

You know BEK's work from the New Yorker even if you don't know his name. The cartoons are wonderfully funny and have a timelessness to them. He puts the most devastating words into the mouths of children and dogs. I highly recommend it to anyone, and especially those people who read the cartoons first in the New Yorker.

What a hilarious, insightful book! We have bought it for everyone we know! Can't wait for the next book and LOVE his cartoons in The New Yorker (it's the only reason we subscribe). Run, don't walk to you're nearest bookstore!

I bought this book because I've been a fan of Ursula Vernon and her wonderful stories for a long time. Nurk is a great story of a young shrew and his amazing adventure as he sets out to answer a plea for help. Clean socks, nail polish in the color know as "Gorgeous Grape" and Nurk's Grandmother's diary are just some of the things that make this story a great read for children and adults alike.

I bought this book because it's written by one of my favorite people in the world, and I like to help her keep food on the table. It also helped that I was already familiar with her writing style, which is highly entertaining.

Nurk is a children's book. Let's be clear on that. It's cute and has some fantastic images--I especially like the dragonflies are shrew-sized, four-armed dragons with insect wings. The quotes from Nurk's grandmother's journal are also welcomed and usually entertaining when they pop up.

I'd recommend it for a kid, if you've got one about 8-11. It's also got some dry jokes in it kids wouldn't get, so adults can get some entertainment out of it, too.

Nurk is a delightful adventure story that's suitable for all ages, from 5 to 105, lovingly illustrated by the author, who is one of my favorite online artists.

I can hardly wait to see this made into an animated movie!

This book is targeted towards a younger audience, and I still really enjoyed it! It's a very imaginative story of an uncertain hero who lets his openness to adventure take him on a wild journey.

I like books whose artwork is done by the author, because you know what you are seeing is really coming from the mind of the author and not interpreted by someone else. Since the author is also a really good artist, this combo comes together seamlessly.

I look forward to reading more of Ursula Vernon's stories, if her future books are anywhere near as creative and fun as this one then she'll go far.

If you're looking for a book the whole family can enjoy -- this is the book. If you're looking for a book for your pre-teens with a vocabulary-expanding text and winsome illustrations -- this is the book. If your child is not quite ready for the Redwall series, but you'd like to introduce them to that type of literature -- this is the book. If you're looking for something to read out loud to keep your children entertained on a wet summer afternoon or a long car ride, this is the book.

he loves this Hamtaro stuff :)

I was like 26 when I bought this book. I know it's for kids, but I love the Hamtaro cartoon and animation style so got it to get more into this and it worked perfectly. I enjoy the high quality illustrations and all the fun activities through out the book. If I was a kid I would have gone crazy about this one. It's as cool as the cartoons.

I REALLY like this book. It has to be still one of my favorite books. I got alot of hamtaro books and this has to be the best book of Hamtaro I own. The only thing is that I wish they could of included information about the Japanese verison but still a great buy!

And I just love all those colorful pictures!

I am a huge Hamtaro fan. I surf over the web and have lot's of information about the show. So I decided that I should try to start collecting the books a little while ago. One of my first ones was this book, but I didn't expect to learn more about the show with it. It surprised me a little bit. I found out a few more things with the book and learned alittle bit more about the Ham-Hams. I also really enjoyed the little comics in the back. It doesn't have much new things in it like Season 2 of the show or the guest Ham-Hams (Like Hannah in Season 2 in that one episode), but I enjoyed very much. It is a must have for Hamtaro fans.

For those who are fans of Hamtaro, you won't want to miss this book. This has information about all the major ham-hams --- pictures, age, gender, owner(s), star sign, hobbies and more. It also has human info and family trees. You'll also get an episode guide with varying detail, song notes and lyrics for the original opening theme (but not the new second season theme) and dance steps and lyrics for the closing theme. You'll even get to see what Penelope looks like without her yellow blanket on.

A nice bonus in this guide is an original story with the ham-hams sporting a 3D look called "Bijou's Lost Bracelet." There's also several short stories from Ritsuko Kawai (Hamtaro creator) about a group of ham-hams called the Helfpul Hamsters who are a lot like the characters from Hamtaro.

Unfortunately, it seems like Hamtaro has largely gone into hibernation lately. I hope that someday, though, they'll be able to release another book. With two seasons and a 104 episodes (and some specials) aired in the U.S. and Canada, there's a lot more episode and character info they still could cover, even if there never are anymore new episodes of the show.

This is the book where the fourth goddess, Peorth (First Class, Seconc Category), makes the scene. Unlike Urd and Skuld, Peorth bares no blood relation to Belldandy (to my knowledge).

Keichi is trying to call his sister and accidentily nails the "Earth Assistance Helpline", a goddess office in rivalry with the Goddess Technical Helpline. The stage is set. Let hilarity insue!

Peorth has come to grant Keichi's wish. The fact that three other Goddesses live with him makes her think that they must not be doing their job right (which in turn makes her act slightly cold to them, at first), espeically Belldandy.

Peorth will only grant Keichi's hearts desire... so his wish that she should go home is a bust. In fact, she is personally insulted and sets a bunch of thorny roses on him. (Owch).

Overall, the manga surprised me but in a pleasant sort of way. I expected Peorth, after watching the movie, to be serious and business-like. Instead, she is comic-lover, romantic, and somewhat paranoid... The object of her affections is... you guessed it... Keichi.

Translations:
somewhat paranoid: She is very, very paranoid.
romantic: humorlously perverted.
comic-lover: a bit obsessed.

Unlike some of the other volumes, this one is basically one long story. While attempting to make a phone call, Keiichi accidentally calls yet another goddess hotline, adding a fourth goddess to the mix. Peorth, the fourth goddess, is from a rival agency and therefore considers herself in competition with Belldandy and the others. She is determined to give Keiichi his heart's desire, while Keiichi is just as determined to make sure that she won't mess things up. Peorth has decided that the best way to help Keiichi out is to try to get him to have sex with her (it's not as raunchy as it sounds, since she never gets anywhere with him - she just spends a lot of time in skimpy clothes). This volume has to be one of the sweetest Oh My Goddess volumes I have read so far. I love the end of it, it's just excellent. If you've read this series before, and you really like the whole Keiichi/Belldandy almost relationship, you'll love this volume. If you haven't read this series before, it probably helps if you like comedy with a nice dose of romance. There are no character or story explanations, so you may be a bit in the dark, but it seems like it's usually not that hard to figure out what's going on in the Oh My Goddess volumes.

Peorth is my favorite character out of AMG/OMG, and this is the book where she appears! She is sexy, funny, dedicated, and clever. She gets under Keiichi's skin without meaning too, which is even funnier! And to find out what her grudge is really about...
Anyway, read this book! In fact, read the whole Oh! My Goddess! series if you haven't already! You won't regret it!

It is said that "every rose has its thorn," (source of quote uncertain), and Peorth is probably the best exemplar of that adage. She becomes a thorn in both Keiichi's and Belldandy's sides.

A mix of hilarity and romance, "The Fourth Goddess," is well worth the money.

Keiichi Morisato was trying to dial out for food one night, when he got the wrong number, and instead contacted the Goddess Relief Hotline. He jokingly wished that beautiful goddess Belldandy would be with him always.
As a consequence of that wish, he now lives with Belldandy, her half-demon older sister Urd, and her mechanically inclined and overprotective younger sister Skuld. He's coping. Sort of.
So what are the odds of someone making the same mistake twice? Whatever they are, Keiichi beats them when he manages to dial up Peorth, a beautiful goddess who happens to know what Keiichi's secret desires are, and wants to grant him his fantasy.
Peorth will stop at nothing to get Keiichi to admit his desire for intimacy. Showing up nude in the bath to scrub his back? Getting into his bed in black lingerie? Wrapping herself over him as a wake up call? Trying to get him to drown so she can perform mouth-to-mouth? She'll do it.
Things only get worse when Peorth meddles with Urd's love potions, accidentally creating one that makes ANY woman Keiichi looks at fall in love with him. And wouldn't you know it, his sister Megumi is visiting for the day!
Keiichi and Belldandy's love for each other is put through trial after trial, as Peorth attempts not only to seduce Keiichi, but to make Belldandy remember an insult she gave Peorth long ago.
This is romantic comedy at its best, with some of the most gorgeous art I've seen in a long time to help tell the story.

Mutts always gives me a great deal of pleasure. Its low-keyed comedy is a delight.

Mutts is a fun, innocent comic--very much like the pet version of Calvin and Hobbes. It's a comic for anyone with an Earl or Mooch in their lives!

McDonnell seems to be running out of ideas of late, but in "Mutts Five" he still had some dandies. An excellent counterpart to the previous four volumes.

Mr. McDonnell's Mutts is my favorite comic. In each edition McDonnell manages to preserve the freshness of this comic strip making it a joy to read over the past few years. It's funny, lively, witty and the characters get cuter and cuter. He carefully introduces new characters while reinventing the old ones. You will love this book.

Another wonderful book by Patrick McDonnell. The stories and art are fresh and funny, silly and poignant. I have all of the Mutts books and calendars (OK, where's the 2001 calendar??)and have the same reverence for the strip as I had for "Calvin and Hobbes" and "The Far Side". Somehow McDonnell manages to endow all of the characters with distinct "person"alities, without anthropomorphizing them. Looking forward to more Mutts, ASAP.

Andy Runton, Owly: Just a Little Blue (Top Shelf, 2005)

Owly and Wormy find themselves besieged by a pair of blue jays. In order to mollify them, Owly builds a nesting box, but they reject it in favor of the dead hollow tree they've been nesting in. All is well, if uneasy, until a big storm hits the valley, destroying the tree and causing one of the jays' babies to go missing. Once again, Andy Runton has done a fantastic job of conveying a world of feeling in very simple drawings; Owly is a great series for all ages and, as Runton says on his website, for people who think they don't like comics. If you haven't discovered Owly yet, it's definitely worth searching out. ****

There isn't much to be said that hasn't been said before. Owly offers a stimulating "read" for anybody interested in giving their cynicism the night off. Oh, and it's probably a good kids' title too. =)

We have the 1st 3 Owly books, and my 4 year old daughter loves to "read" it to her 2 year old sister, who asks for it every day and night. They even play Owly games at the playground. Very sweet.

So booklist says grades 3 to 5, and instincts say "for kids and maybe young girls" but I can't help but love Owly. I bought this book for both my daughter and wife and I swear I almost shed a tear while reading it.

Especially for kids, it teaches an important lesson about friendship and sacrifice, as Owly and his little companion give up something they love to try to help a little forest friend out. Even when rebuffed they still try to do the right thing and help. OF COURSE everything turns out well in the end and everyone learns a little lesson about how to be a good friend. And somehow it manages not to be too corny or silly.

This book is perfect for ANYONE with a heart and I'm sure Mr. Runton's next book will be just as beautiful. I plan on buying it the day it comes out!

...these books are incredible. I literally started crying.

Love these collections from penny arcade, if you like these you should also check out pvponline too!

This book was a Gift. The person that recieved it was very pleased with the Series.

The title is really all you need to know about this particular phase of the great history that narrates our heroes Gabe and Tycho. Do not underestimate their efforts contained within this tome, for your destruction will be sealed should you do so.

"Penny Arcade" is still one of the consistently best web-comics out there, and being able to browse through the older collections in printed form is great fun. The third year of the comic, chronicled herein, was great in both gaming news to satarize, but also in the quality of the comic. If you were looking to get someone turned on to the glory of Gabe and Tycho, this would be the collection to tempt them with.

Keep them coming. I need something to read while waiting for the Apple Geeks omnibus. Penny Arcade should get Hawk to do more of their coloring for their future covers.

When I learned a new PSOH series was being made, I was a little bit weary. The first series was excellent, and I was worried the new one would taint my love for the old. But still, I gave it a chance, and I'm very glad I did. The new series possesses the same dark fairytale charm of the old, only with improved art! There is one issue I had, and that is with the second story, where some guy is running D's shop while D's away in America. It never explains who this guy is, or why he doesn't question the fact that this woman is trying to "return" a child; it merely says he the "caretaker". Perhaps it'll explain in a later book.
In addition, I really enjoyed the side-story at the end where it takes a peek in on our dear friend Leon as he continues to hunt D.
All in all, this is an excellent series to pick up if you enjoyed the original. If you're new to the series, I'd recommend reading the original before moving to this one, as PSOH: Tokyo doesn't give much introduction to the characters, and it gives almost no backstory.

Even though I not finish the 1st series, but when I see this book published, I go and buy it right away. For a person has very limited to gender of book, this is the 1st manga that I enjoy to read and re-read after that without any bored. Each story teaches a different lesson of life and mixes with humor and action. This manga has contained everything that a person like me need. Like other says, try this manga and you will love it at the first sign, and never feel bored to re-read it again and again.

For those who have no clue, this is the sequel to PET SHOP OF HORRORS -- a ten volume anthology horror series often described as a cross between THE TWILIGHT ZONE and GREMLINS. It was Matsuri Akino's first manga out of her now eleven written, and it is still her most popular.

The original PET SHOP is my favorite manga series, and I strongly recommend reading it before this sequel. However, the new series seems designed so that a new reader can follow quite well, with the relevant back-story being revealed gradually in the manner of clues to a mystery. One can even read the three Tokyo stories ("Domestic", "Double-Booking", and "Dust") without entirely spoiling the first series, if one then wants to try it. Warning: This does not apply to the side story set in Berlin ("Door"), a previously unpublished story written shortly after the conclusion of the original PET SHOP and never published. It assumes knowledge of the first series and is spoilery.

So what is it actually about? Our protagonist "Count D" once ran a pet shop in LA Chinatown which claimed to sell "love and dreams". Of course, the first series was not called PET SHOP OF LOVE AND DREAMS for good reason, and the Pet Shop soon drew the attention of a suspicious LAPD detective, and eventually the FBI. To make a long story short, D eventually departed LA abruptly and under dramatic circumstances.

Now -- several years later -- this same Count D has just opened a new pet shop in "Neo-Chinatown", a Chinese-themed mall in the Tokyo red light district of Shinjuku. As in the first series, each individual story tells us of one of D's customers and his/her new pet. Meanwhile, D acquires a new ongoing nemesis/foil in building manager Woo-Fei Rau, the son and heir of the owner, a Shanghai business tycoon. The elegant Woo-Fei is the polar opposite of the Count's last antagonist, and in fact seems to have a lot in common with Count D himself . . . such as being wicked. Not that this helps them get along.

Compared to the first series, there are many differences, including more polished artwork. The look is less Gothic and more urban. The tales seem (so far) less gory and more sad. The most striking difference is that in the early volumes of the first series, the individual stories were the stars, the ongoing story developed gradually, and Akino didn't even make up her mind what city it was set in till late in the series. Here in PSOH:TOKYO the Shinjuku setting is being carefully established from the start, and while the individual stories are okay, the real fun is in the ongoing story arc, which starts being developed from the first page.

A friend informed me that there was a new series for Pet Shop out and I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. I loved the first series and anyone who buys the second series will love it too. If you haven't read the first series it's one you should buy.There are four stories Domestic,Double Booking,Dust and the side story Door. I was wondering if the Detective would catch up with Count D and it looks like he will/did. I say this because he's the caretaker in the story Double Booking! I wonder if the story of that encounter will make it into one of the upcoming books. Now if they'd only make another dvd series, I've always though that the stories on the dvd where only just a small glimpse into the world of Count D!

Absolutely Beautiful
I have already seen the manga in Japanese. A friend of mine had it. It is on the Shonen-Ai side. But the story is different from any other you have seen and it is beautifully drawn. I hope amazon could sell the art book of these series. A have seen de DVD also it have the 4 stories of the manga that are more on the horror side, but the manga have many more stories, some are romantic ,some are funny some are sweet , some are sad, you won't get bored. Now I'm buying it in English because I want to read the stories.

I've always bought comic books for the cover art. But with tens-of-thousands of comics out there, it was almost impossible to know which ones to search for. Of course, if I remembered a comic from when I was a kid that was a start, but what of the thousands I'd never seen? I was a blind collector. Gerber's books cover almost every comic book published till about 1965! 20,000+ photographs...fantastic! Even if I couldn't buy them all, I could at least see what was out there. The only weakness is that some later issues of the longer running titles are omitted. I would liked to have seen them all, but can understand the desire to wrap things up. For the price of one good 1950's era comic you can view just about ever cover published...a very good deal.

What a [great] set of volumes. I am a huge comic collector, owning every issue of Spider-Man ever printed, but I am also a great fan and collector of various other comics, and a comic-history buff. These books are a joy to just flip through, learning about Golden and Silver Age comics. The pictures are gorgeous, all in color on glossy paper. And there's 10's of thousands of them! Well worth the money and worth their weight in gold if you're a true comic fan and collector! Might be a bit much for just the casual comic enthusiast. These 2 books and the two volume Marvel set are the standard by which all other collecting resources should be held to!

What a [great] set of volumes. I am a huge comic collector, owning every issue of Spider-Man ever printed, but I am also a great fan and collector of various other comics, and a comic-history buff. These books are a joy to just flip through, learning about Golden and Silver Age comics. The pictures are gorgeous, all in color on glossy paper. And there's 10's of thousands of them! Well worth the money and worth their weight in gold if you're a true comic fan and collector! Might be a bit much for just the casual comic enthusiast. These 2 books and the two volume Marvel set are the standard by which all other collecting resources should be held to!

What can you say about two books that have 21700 comic book covers beautifully printed on gloss paper? WOW! for a start. No one is going to better Ernst and Mary Gerber's five-year labor of love to complete this project. If you collect comics from 1935 thru 1965 you need these. I don't collect them but as a publication designer I have an interest in the visual aspects of popular culture so I got a set...despite the price!

Open either book anywhere and start looking and it soon becomes apparent that this is a very comprehensive collection, I kept coming across comics that ran for a few issues, sometimes only one issue. Each cover has up to twenty-five pieces of information, essential for collectors. Many show a cover of the only copy known to exist. The first sixteen pages of each book has text about collecting comics and their values. I liked the page in book two that is devoted to ads that appeared on the back covers, strangely some collectors only go for these, if you do, go for a copy of 'Hey Skinny!' by Mike Beller and Jerry Leibowitz, surely the only book about the subject.

Author Gerber says on the jacket flap...''if you spend one minute examining each picture, eight hours per day, five days a week, it would require an astounding NINE weeks to complete the job.'' Nine weeks later have a rest and then go and buy the two volume 'Photo-Journal Guide to Marvel Comics' and start to look at a further 7700 covers!

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

I was amazed at the scope of this book, every cover from 1935-1965, and the labor that must have gone into compiling and producing it. Its extremely well photographed, carefully indexed, and the quality of paper and binding is excellent. For serious comic book collectors, it's worth every penny. A lifetime book.