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Cartoons Books sorted by Average customer review: high to low .

Cartoons
Jam-Packed FoxTrot
Published in Paperback by Andrews McMeel Publishing (2006-09-01)
Author: Bill Amend
List price: $16.95
New price: $5.22
Used price: $1.10

Average review score:

great purchase
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2007-03-17
I recieved my purchase in a timely manner. I was sooooo excited to have been able to add this book to my collection. I would purchase other items from this buyer in the future if they had something i liked.

If Laughter is the Best Medicine, Foxtrot is the Pill
Helpful Votes: 10 out of 10 total.
Review Date: 2007-02-17
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.

Jam-Packed FoxTrot. Foxtrot, All Great!
Helpful Votes: 10 out of 10 total.
Review Date: 2007-01-19
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.

The regular good stuff
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2007-09-29
Of course it gets five stars. You like Foxtrot, and you get the Foxtrot humor. If you like the comic, you'll love the book. Mine was brand new and perfect condition (as promised by amazon) and came at expected date.

The Fox Family Rules
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2007-03-08
Jason and Marcus, the ultimate geeks. I got'em all. This is my alltime favorite comic strip. It sure beats 1 strip a day. Don't do the little books just get the giant treasury books and you won't get repeats.

Cartoons
Kawaii Not: Cute Gone Bad
Published in Spiral-bound by How (2008-03-26)
Author: Meghan Murphy
List price: $12.99
New price: $7.69
Used price: $7.69

Average review score:

Just my type of humor
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-07-13
After spending some time in Japan, I find that Meghan Murphy pokes delightful fun at the culture of kawaii.

Besides the bountiful collection wonderful four pane commic there's a few treats like the manifesto, kawii-o-scope and a short story.
As an added bonus, I find that the way the book is constructed lends itself nicely to turning each commic into a postcard. My friends love recieving them.
I'd recommend this as a gift to anyone over 13, seeing as some references and wording are a more adult.

If you want to get an idea of what the humor is like, Ms. Murphy has constructed a website: [...]. Most of what you see there is also in the book. I hope you enjoy!

HILARIOUS!! and OH SO CUTE!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-05-29
I LOVE THIS BOOK!!

randomly found this in a book store & started flipping through it and i couldn't put it down! I love the (sometimes) inappropiate humor...but it definitely says the things I'm sure some of us think of! :)

Showed it off at my office & my friends LOVE it too!! We're picking up more copies so they have their own...

Looking forward to another collection! (HOPEFULLY SOON!!)

The best gift ever
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-04-22
I bought this for a friend for her birthday. I have never even heard of the website. My friend knew about the website and absolutely loved the book. I plan on giving it as a gift to at least 5 other people.

Wicked Cute!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-04-19
It's both a humorous and "keeps your mind in the gutter" type of fun. Every page is funny and cute at the same time! I love it! I can only hope the author brings more books as adorable as this one!

Perfect Cubicle Addition
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-04-22
I have the book sitting on my desk and people come in all the time to flip through it. Everyone leaves laughing! It's not too raunchy (well minus a few that might be considered not exactly 'work safe') and the majority of them of hysterical. My personal favorite is the chainsaw "whir!" but a lot of the engineers are partial to the can of botulism.

I love the way it props up even though the cover gives me a bit of trouble sometimes. It's a great book to share.

Cartoons
Manga Mania Magical Girls and Friends: How to Draw the Super-Popular Action fantasy Characters of Manga (Manga Mania)
Published in Paperback by Watson-Guptill (2006-09-29)
Author: Christopher Hart
List price: $19.95
New price: $5.94
Used price: $5.93

Average review score:

This is a must-have, and that's coming from a Hart hater.
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-06-26
I've never been fond of Chris Hart's books. The illustrations tend to be overtly generic with very little detail in my eyes, so I tend to push them to the side when I'm scanning the local bookstores for new art books and How to Draw tutorials. However, when this one came out, the cover caught me by surprise. THIS was Hart's work?

Well, in truth, it wasn't. Hart only did maybe five to six pages of drawings while the rest were done by a legion of other artists. Artists who I believe have a much stronger grasp of composition and balance than Hart does. (If I remember correctly, it was Nao Yazawa who created the most breath-taking images.) For those who grew up watching Sailor Moon as a kid, the nostalgia will hit you like a train, but in a good way. Everything about this book was pure classic.

The instruction is mostly visual, as in while there is text I certainly didn't need to read it. It's easy to pick up and easy to practice the techniques the artists are trying to teach. I highly recommend this book, as it is one of the few non-Japanese books where the drawings truly feel authentic.

One of the best Manga Mania Books
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2007-06-11
This book has better Drawings and is more inspiring than most books in this series!

Great for Ideas
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2007-08-24
This book is GREAT for getting ideas; the anatomy parts are not anything particularly spectacular, but it's great for getting ideas and concepts going, as well as what to DO with these ideas. I recommend it for those who like fantasy and/or the 'Magical Girl' genre

Outstanding book teach you how to draw cartons in detail.
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2007-07-02
An Outstanding book that teach you how to draw cartons in detail. I bought it for an 8 years old girl, she likes it too. (but, it seems a little bit hard for her) However, I borrowed the book and draw once and find out it's a great book. I highly recommend for teenagers who love Japanes Cartoon.

Another amazing book from Christopher Hart!
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2007-05-22
I am a big fan of Christopher Hart and his work. His books are the best manga tutorial books I have come across.
This one is no exception. The drawing are gorgeous, the instruction is easy to understand for beginners and is still useful for advanced manga artists who want to learn new techniques.
It has everything from cute chibis to the transformation of a regular girl to a magical girl. (step by step instruction)
My favorite is the cute little mascots which are also transformed into magical mascots.
This is worth every penny!

Cartoons
Modesty Blaise
Published in Hardcover by International Specialized Book Services (1977-02)
Author: Peter O'Donnell
List price: $6.50

Average review score:

Fun and action
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-26
I've been a fan of Modesty and Willie since the books first came out, and I was a loyal reader of the strip in the London Evening Standard for many years.
If you like action novels, with unusual villains, fast-moving scenes, and plenty of tongue in cheek humor, Modesty Blaise is the girl for you, and 'Modesty Blaise', the first novel in the series, is a good place to start.
After writing non-fiction for many years, I turned to fiction in 2003, and my first novel 'Snides' is available on Amazon. As a gesture of homage to Peter O'Donnell, I created an action duo, John Pilgrim and Sally Brandon. They're not straight copies of the originals and the best, Modesty Blaise and Willie Garvin, but I've tried to hit their target of plenty of action, with a little humor.
I own the complete series of Modesty Blaise books, and one of them is always on my bedside table. I must have read them all dozens of times, but I still keep re-reading them!

Tony Walker
Scottsdale, Arizona

Super Reader
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-08-30
Modesty Blaise is the perfect woman. That is if the perfect woman is a different sort of beautiful, witty, funny, sophisticated, terrifyingly focused and a lethal killer without commitments.

If you like your superheroes or thrillers to be up close and personal, you need to read O'Donnell's Modesty Blaise. There are gadgets, guns, and impossible missions, not to mention hand to hand combat poetry.

In this book, Tarrant, of the British Secret Service, has a problem. He wants Modesty's help, but really has no leverage, except to play on how much she cares about Willie Garvin. The reasons why are revealed.

He does so, and they go into action. A very dangerous situation, and they must be captured by a ruthless man named Gabriel, to stop a diamond operation.

Long live Modesty and Willie!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-10-31
I became an instant fan from the beginning pages of this lst of a series. Modesty and Willie are fascinating, likeable characters with almost superhuman powers between them. They fight the evil doers of the world and win against all odds. The strong, fast moving plot is deeply satisfying with unexpected twists and turns. Even though it was written over 40 years ago, the characters are still fresh and compeling. Modesty can hold her head high in the world of superwomen who break rules when necessary for the greater good. A winner for both male and female readers!

Outstanding caper novel
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-06-13
Modesty Blaise started life as a cartoon strip, but O'Donnell then put his creation into novel form, and did a superb job in both formats. This is the first novel in the series, and introduces the setting and most of the main characters.

Modesty Blaise is a former refugee and survivor of the terrible disruptions caused by the war, and as a child drifted across Eastern Europe and the Middle East in the company of an old professor. She had to be tough to survive; but her companion instilled in her a strong moral code. She took over a small criminal gang and built it up into a powerful criminal organisation infused with that moral code--they never touched drugs or vice, and occasionally co-operated with the police and intelligence services to help clean up such crimes. She retired a wealthy woman at the age of 24.

As the novel opens, Modesty and her friend and former second-in-command Willie Garvin are finding that retirement is boring and adrenaline an addiction they cannot shake. Sir Gerald Tarrant, the head of British Intelligence, exploits that addiction to recruit them for an intelligence operation for which they are peculiarly suited. What follows is a thrilling caper novel pitting Modesty and Willie against a bizarre criminal mastermind. Tight plotting and wonderful prose make this a very entertaining read, with a unique pair of heroes. It's wonderful to see Souvenir Press reissuing the novels, making them available again to both a new generation of fans and those with fond memories.

Modesty Blaise is one of the most delightful characters in adventure fiction.
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2005-11-26
It is hard to say whether the Modesty Blaise novels or the Modesty Blaise comic strips are better, but the lucky reader doesn't have to choose. Read both. The comic strips have been reprinted by Titan Books, Ken Pierce Books, Manuscript Press, and in Comics Revue magazine, and now the novels are being reissued. Also highly recommended are the books Peter O'Donnell wrote under the pseudonym Madeleine Brent.

Cartoons
Mutts: The Comic Art of Patrick McDonnell
Published in Hardcover by Harry N. Abrams (2003-11-01)
Author: Patrick McDonnell
List price: $45.00
New price: $17.95
Used price: $9.20
Collectible price: $45.00

Average review score:

GREAT BOOK FOR MUTTS FANS
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-07-10
If you love the comic strip, Mutts, you will love this beautiful color edition of the comic strips with large, easy-to-read type. It'd look great on your coffee table. Mr. McDonnell relates what inspires his strips, his personal history, and thoughts about his characters. There are roughs showing his thought process, sketchbook drawings and examples of his pre-Mutts artwork. As I suspected, Krazy Kat, was a big influence on his artistry. This is the kind of book fans enjoy.

You might want to check out a book on a collection of Krazy Kat cartoons to compare the style.

A work of art
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-01-03
Mutts and Patrick McDonnell should be household names by now. The comics are sometimes funny, sometimes dramatic, but always entertaining and thoughtfully done. The drawing is artistic and passionate with homage paid to other comics and various cultural styles. One of my favorite comics up there with Dilbert, Rose is Rose, Foxtrot, and For Better or For Worse.

Simply great!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2005-09-15
I really am a fan of Mutts. This book is worth the price. I just want everything of Mutts, so if you are a fan, you have to buy it! And no, I do not own some Amazon stock!

Yesh! A Book Better Than a Pink Sock!
Helpful Votes: 12 out of 12 total.
Review Date: 2004-01-08
Patrick McDonnell's work is among the very best gracing the newspaper comic strip pages today. There is a genuine quality to his work; an honesty that shines forth from the funnies. It is truly wonderful to see Abrams honor McDonnell and "Mutts" with this absolutely terrific monograph. The design of the book is scrumptious. Each page is carefully considered and I love the way that the designer combined sketchbook doodles and finished comic strips. It was also great to see references given for the Sunday page logo panels. They bring you just a little bit closer to the work.

And the work is really the main event here. The reproduction quality is glorious, giving us a sneak peak at what originals might look like. The color--oy, what color--is beautifully printed. If you can't see the original drawings, this book is the next best thing. The selection of work is great. They chose some of Mutts' very best, including the wonderful ice cream cone gag! That one remains one of my very favorites.

There are some really nice insights here, though they're not overblown. Like the strip itself, McDonnell writes in a true, succint way, then he lets his strip do the talking. You really get a sense of how invested he is in his creation.

If you're a Mutts fan, you can't pass this book up. And if you know of any Mutts fans who don't yet have this book, you can bank a bunch of karma by buying a copy for them. They'll love you more than a pink sock for it.

Very, very good, but not much is new here
Helpful Votes: 9 out of 9 total.
Review Date: 2004-05-02
One of the best new comic strips to come down the pike in the last ten years is Patrick McDonnell's Mutts.

Cute doggie Earl and rascally Mooch have an understated charm that's reminiscent of the relationship between Snoopy and Charlie Brown before Snoopy took to the air in his imaginary Sopwith Camel.

Mutts is a down-to-Earth examination of how pets fit into the lives of their masters and vice-versa.

McDonnell's sensitivities derive from his simple yet eloquent style that draws upon the love and empathy that the strip's characters have for each other.

The book itself is a wonderful reprinting of many of his best daily and Sunday color strips. Also included are notes that cite the sources of the title panels of the Sunday strips that pay homage to old record albums, comic book covers, famous works of art, and movie posters.

The true fan of the Mutts strip will consider this book a 'must-have'. However, I have to admit that if you've been purchasing the Mutts collections printed so far, there's scant new material in this book. For a book of its size, the autobiographical information is very lean. There was probably more to read about McDonnell in a recent Star-Ledger newspaper interview than in this book.

I bought it for myself as a frivolous, self-indulgent treat. You might not want to do likewise.

Cartoons
Myth Adventures One
Published in Hardcover by Walsworth Pub Co (1985-09)
Author: Robert Asprin
List price: $40.00
New price: $88.34
Used price: $10.95
Collectible price: $100.00

Average review score:

Get the entire series
Helpful Votes: 14 out of 17 total.
Review Date: 2002-09-03
I was never much a fantasy fan before. I watch the Si-Fi Channel and I love the fantasy movies but I would refuse to read. Then my dad gave me the original hardcover copy "MYTH Adventures" (Another Fine Myth, Myth Conceptions, Myth Directions, and Hit or Myth) with the original cover illustrations (just to show how old my copies are) and ever since I have been addicted to fantasy books. Especially the MYTH series.

Just to warn you this is a laugh-out-loud story. I would not recommend reading this in public. You might get some odd looks from people that obviously have no sense of humor. Everything is a play on words and the characters are amazingly thought up. The plot is actually imaginable and it flows smoothly. The magik (not magic, there's a difference) has rules. What Skeeve and Aahz can and cannot do in the world of magik does not change throught the series.

To make a long review short, get this book. If you don't enjoy it then don't read it. It just means that you are a boring and unimaginative slouch. However, I can guarantee that from the very first chuckle you'll be hooked. Take it from a fantasy skeptic turned MYTH addict.

Some basic info
Helpful Votes: 28 out of 28 total.
Review Date: 2003-01-11
First, if you haven't read the first two books in the Myth series, this book is a great chance to correct that. If you own the first two books, there's not much point in buying this collection. However...

According to the Asprin's new publisher, Meisha Merlin, the next few books, Myth Adventures 2 and 3 will both have NEW Myth Adventure novellas written by Asprin and Jody Lynne Nye. The short story in number 2 will be Myth Congeniality.

Also according to Meisha Merlin, there are at least two new Myth titles forthcoming, both of which will be by RLS and JLN. The next is due sometime in 2003 and will be called Myth-Alliances. The one after that is is Myth-taken Identity and is due August 2004.

Just thought you might want to know.

The most fun you can have alone ............Legaly
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2003-07-15
If you like fantasy books, if you don't like fantasy books it doesn't matter you'll love this series of Books. Robert Aspirin (who by the way, edited the theives world books) has written an inceredibly hilarious series of books. Skeeve and ahz are the main characters and the situations they get into and the witty and inventive way they get out of those situations is very comical these books have everything from demons ( not demons as we know them but demons= short for deminsion traveler) to dragons ("Bleep"). I have been blind sided more than a few times by these books they are anything but predictible... you can't even count on the main characters being alive at the end of a book..( of course it's just a cliffhanger for the next book). Each book is a continuation of the last. I could talk about these books for hours, and i can get lost in them for even longer.... I have never met anyone who hasn't finished one of these books after starting it.... It is a good idea to start with the first book in the series, Another fine Myth, that way you have a good idea of what kind of relationship ahz and skeeve have and how they became friends.... the myth series is hilarious witty inventive and overall the funniest books i have ever read. I have read and re-read these books a hundred times and they never get boring

Myth Adventures One.
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 20 total.
Review Date: 2001-11-02
In reading the back of the book you would think this is anything but the first book in the sieres. But it is. Other then that I only have good things to say about this book.

More fun than a barrel of fish!
Helpful Votes: 8 out of 11 total.
Review Date: 2002-03-08
ok! I'm a long time Myth fan, so I was very suprised to see the new (old?) books brought to life again! Now, I hate to say it, but I always felt that pretty much all of the Myth books have pretty....short endings. Some are cliffhangers, some, maybe the publisher said, no only X # of pages and are very abrupt, and some are just totally unexpected.

But the concept of the Myth books is fascinating, and I have gone back many times to read then again and again... Much better when you have the whole series to continue on to! But the series is a must read for anyone who considers themselves a sci-fi fantasy fan! They are hillarious and definately worth the read (I don't suggest reading them IN a library cause I always end up stiffling my snickers and laughs!)

Cartoons
The New American Splendor Anthology: From Off the Streets of Cleveland
Published in Paperback by Running Press (1993-01-21)
Author: Harvey Pekar
List price: $19.95
New price: $11.44
Used price: $7.00

Average review score:

Fantastic
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-07-08
This was fantastic and everything I expected. I was familiar with Pekar from his appearances on Letterman in the 80s and could not locate the graphic novellas at that time. When the movie came out, I began my search again and someone informed me the collections were on Amazon.

A great place to be introduced to Harvey and June
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-05-14
If you can't love Harvey Pekar, you can't love anyone. He is a lovely man, with as many neuroses as the rest of us, who listens and watches and reports on the people and world around him. His kindness and caring for the people who populate his world - these are real stories with real people Harvey knows, including his family- is obvious and makes reading his work a delight. I found the Pekar books to be like peanuts - I kept wanting more and more and hate to finish one - unless I have another ready to read. Harvey's 'comics" are the first graphic novels I've spent time reading, and I am hooked. The drawings add immeasurably to the story - a format I would like to see developed further in the future.

Please welcome back Harvey Pekar
Helpful Votes: 25 out of 25 total.
Review Date: 2004-01-28
This is the second American Splendor Anthology. It features material that was written after the first Anthology came out, plus some older stuff that was left out of the first book. If you like Harvey Pekar's stuff, you will love this book. For people who became interested in Harvey because of the movie based on his life, you will be interested to find the comics based on his David Letterman appearances here. Also, Toby and the "Revenge of the Nerds" story is featured here. For Harvey's hardcore fans, there are some rarities here, such as pre-American Splendor comics from the early '70s, and Harvey's Forwards to other people's books. Buy this book, Harvey can use the money.

A walkin' an' talkin' man
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2008-04-20
This new collection of Harvey Pekar's quotidian American Splendor comic is not only an excellent introduction for those new to his work; it's also a great anthology for those of us who have read and loved him for years (especially since, toward the end of the volume, some of his very early stuff is collected).

Some of the most gemutliche, warmest pieces in the collection feature characters from Pekar's VA hospital days. Toby is present several times, but my personal favorite of all the VA panels is "Walkin' an' Talkin," where in just two pages Pekar captures the warmth, humor, and generosity of his co-workers. Three stories beautifully speak to Pekar's paranoia and his obsessive-compulsiveness: "Hysteria," "Lost and Found" (a story which introduced me to the novelist Italo Svevo, whom I've since come to really love), and "Time Flies...Time Drags." Three more stories speak to Pekar's painful history with David Letterman, including a documentary on his final appearance on the Letterman Show in which he tried to let the world know that GE, ABC's owner, engaged in morally dubious practices. (If you get the chance to watch any of the Letterman/Pekar exchanges, it's a real experience. Letterman comes across as such a smarmy yuppie, who really seems to delight in trying to humiliate Pekar.)

Also included in the volume is one of the delightful oral histories of Cleveland's Jewish life in the early twentieth century, illustrated by R. Crumb, and three single page stories illustrated in Drew Friedman's wonderful faux-photographic style.

But there are also a couple of disconcerting stories: "Broken Window" and "Festering." Both of them suggest that Harvey was attacked on at least a couple of occasions by an out-of-control father. Could this be true? Just a couple of years ago in a radio interview, Harvey described his father in quite different terms.

A great collection from a guy who walks an' talks the ordinary life.



More interesting than it has a right to be!
Helpful Votes: 6 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2004-12-17
Seinfeld, a show about nothing? Pbbbb. Never thought it was that special. Heard about this guy named Harvey Pekar who writes comics about well, nothing. Not nothing really but ordinary, mundane everyday things. Saw the movie, liked it, picked up the Anthology at the library. Hooked. Want more. More. The first friggin' page had me hooked, the old fella telling Harvey about the rag peddlers cry. 'PAAAY-PER REGGS'. The thing is I don't think Harvey needs every dollar now. Between the movie and his work being reissued and the new found interest in him and his comics, he's probably laughing, or brooding, all the way to the bank. Good for you Harvey Pekar!

Cartoons
The New Yorker Book of Cartoon Puzzles and Games (New Yorker)
Published in Spiral-bound by Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers (2006-06-01)
Author: Puzzability
List price: $17.95
New price: $5.99
Used price: $3.90

Average review score:

Brand New
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2007-01-09
The item arrived in a timely manner and it was the exact item I ordered.

I've never had a better book of puzzles!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-02-12
A wide variety of different styles of puzzles, each with the payoff of several very good New Yorker cartoons, makes this book a blast to play with. I work hard to limit myself to only a couple of puzzles each time I pick it up (and so far I've refused to share the book with the gift-giver.) I've enjoyed it so much, I'm buying a copy for my mother for her birthday.

Hey,all you puzzle nuts...give this one a look-see!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2006-11-13

I was just cruising through my Big Box Bookstore to see what was appearing on the shelves for the upcoming Christmas season.In the Games section ,between a bunch of Crossword Puzzle books and what is becoming a flood of Sudoku and other number puzzle books,I spotted this little Gem.Most people who do crosswords know of Will Shortz of the NY Times Crossword puzzle fame,Robert Mankoff of Games Magazine and the famous New Yorker Magazine's Cartoons. Well, all these are combined and with some great "Thinking Outside the Box" have come up with a puzzle book that will entertain and challenge you.Some of the other reviewers have made reasonable attempts to describe these puzzles;so I won't try.What I suggest is to search it out in the store and get a feel for them.
This book is just the thing needed for those who have become obsessed with those Sudoku puzzles,have been doing nothing but crosswords for years, or even those who have never done much in the way of puzzles.
I'll tell you one thing;if you like puzzles,and who doesn't,and also like cartoons,and who doesn't;then you'll love this latest addition to the world of puzzles.

Interesting cartoon and puzzle combo
Helpful Votes: 11 out of 16 total.
Review Date: 2006-09-27
Is this a book of New Yorker cartoons or a puzzle book? Well, it's a little of both, and the result is a novel way to laugh and exercise your brain at the same time. Most of the 83 puzzles consist of cartoons that are missing words, captions, or picture components. By figuring out the missing elements and sometimes combining them with acrostics, crossword puzzles, or other word grids, the cartoon humor is revealed.

For the most part, the puzzles are of only moderate difficulty, although there are a few difficult ones (at least for me) that involve matching a cartoon with the decade in which it was created or matching cartoons from early and late in a cartoonist's career. Frequent puzzle solvers will recognize many of the familiar puzzle types from Games Magazine and other media that Puzzability publishes in. The foreword to the book contains a casual and loosely coupled conversation between New Yorker cartoon editor Robert Mankoff and New York Times puzzle editor Will Shortz.

This is an entertaining book that you'll hate to throw away when it's been completed because of all the witty cartoons it contains. Enjoy!

Eileen Rieback

Good Mental Stroll for cartoon fans & amateur puzzlers
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2007-04-16
I love word puzzles though I'm not a serious puzzler - I do a few crosswords a week and have owned maybe three puzzle books as an adult. I am, however, a big cartoon fan, though honestly I've been more FoxTrot & Calvin than I am the New Yorker. So, my favorite puzzles are cryptograms with cartoons. Don't find them much - but when I searched specifically for this, I discovered this book.

I enjoy the New Yorker Book of Cartoon Puzzles and Games (and have purchased a second copy for a friend) because the combo of puzzle and cartoon has proven very relaxing - I involve myself in a semi-hard puzzle, but then find a laugh waiting for me once it's solved. New Yorker cartoons do typically contain some of the least expected twists, and I found that here.

However, I don't think a serious puzzle person would be happy with this book, unless he were interested in the New Yorker cartoons. I say this only because the puzzles range from easy to medium difficulty for an adult. (A teen or younger might enjoy more of a challenge.) I still recommend this though - for a more relaxed puzzler like myself it's a good mental stroll.

Though not typically a history buff, I found it a pleasant surprise that the editors included the history of New Yorker cartoons, and with it a history of the U.S, WITHIN quite a few puzzles. Several times you are asked to place the puzzles in the correct time period (and the New Yorker puzzles go back at least to the 1920's) or even with the correct author/cartoonist. The puzzles are just challenging enough to give me a think (similar to a midweek newspaper crossword perhaps) but not overly hard. And there is an ABUNDANCE OF GREAT CARTOONS - usually five or six to each puzzle and often grouped in interesting ways/topics.

But what of those cryptograms? Good news is that they were well done, and with increasing difficulty; Disappointment is that there were only three pages of cryptograms while other types of puzzles were represented more. It does seem that the editors missed out on utilizing the perfect collaboration of crypts and cartoons.

I give it a 4 - enjoyed the cartoon aspect, most puzzles fun but some just too easy for an adult. Still worth the stroll.

Cartoons
The Party After You Left
Published in Hardcover by Bloomsbury USA (2004-04-24)
Author: Roz Chast
List price: $18.99
New price: $10.51
Used price: $3.85
Collectible price: $18.99

Average review score:

Absolutely Hilarious -- I've Given This to Everyone I Know
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-08-01
Ms. Chast should be able to retire now based on the amount of money I've spent just buying copies of this wonderfully witty book. It's good, clean humor that anyone would love. In fact, one of my friends has permanently borrowed MY copy . . .

I laughed until I stopped
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-02-11
I've always loved Roz Chasts cartoons, so having the collection in one book is a real treat. Recommed this to anybody with a sense of humour!

As Funny As You'd Expect
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-05
Roz Chast is hands down my favorite cartoonist, and I grew up reading her cartoons in The New Yorker. They were among the funniest and hands-down the most accessible in the magazine. In fact, as a teen, hers were often the only ones I COULD understand! Her humorous outlook on family and life in today's world are as distinctive as her drawing style.

The only issues I have with this book are far too minor for me to subtract any stars. For one thing, there are no page numbers, so in order to find your favorite cartoon, you just have to flip through the entire book, which is colorful and fun but inconvenient. Then there's one New Yorker cover included, from 1990. However, she does not include the title of the illustration (which normally appears inside the magazine, not on the cover) and since it's from 17 years ago, finding the title will prove difficult. Not knowing the title doesn't detract from my enjoyment of the art, but it would be nice to know it!

If you're like me, The New Yorker is the only place you've been exposed to Roz Chast's work. Apparently she does cartoons for a number of publications, and many of them are included here. Therefore, I hadn't previously seen most of the cartoons in this book, which made it a fun new treat for me. I'd recommend this book to people who've never heard of Roz Chast (What better way to be introduced than this?) and to people who are already fans. most of the cartoons are hilarious. I actually bought this as a gift for my aunt, but I couldn't resist reading it myself first. I don't regret either decision for a minute. It's a great book and it'll make my aunt very happy. Make someone you know -- or yourself! -- happy today, and check this one out!

From the house of low goals...
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2007-01-29
Favorites in the New Yorker, these cartoons' self-effacing, on-point humor will tickle you. The battles of the sexes, the generations and things (guilt, social angst) we maybe didn't realize till Chast shows us. A middle age travel book that's perceptive, well-drawn, unselfconscious and funny best of all.

The best
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2007-01-16
Since her first cartoons in the New Yorker I have found Ms Chast to be absolutely in line with my own sense of the absurdities we find around us. Maybe it's generational, I find the same with Matt Groening and both the Simpsons and his other cartoons. A great book with an excellent chronological collection of some of her best.

Cartoons
Pose File 7: Light & Shade (Pose File, Vol 7)
Published in Paperback by Books Nippan (1995-10)
Author: Elte Shuppan
List price: $49.95
New price: $89.00
Used price: $54.95

Average review score:

Please read this disclaimer
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 1999-02-26
---I'm sorry to do thid to you, but the previous review was actually meant for a book of the same title. (Pose File volume 1). I do not own this particular book you are researching, but If I get a copy, I will be sure to get back to you on this.--I am not saying that this book is good or bad, just that I cannot speak for it personally...

Cobalt

Another useful book
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2004-06-18
This book has one unusual strength: most poses are shown from many angles, up to about two dozen in some cases. This gives extra insight into unusual foreshortening and into how the figure articulates.

The weakness of this book is that, in order to show so many different views on a page, each figure photo is relatively small. This is especially disappointing because the models are all Japanese, where most pose books show only European features and figures. This book never meant to document details of faces, though, so I really can't complain,

light and dark
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2000-03-14
From moderate shadow to deep chiascuro effects this is a beautiful addition to the Pose File series. The other books excellently describe the figure, in proportion, motion and moving through space, but mostly in an even tonal scale. This volume emphasizes the extremes of that scale, making it a necessary addition to the set.

Every Art Student will want one of these
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 1999-02-26
---You may be wary of the idea of buying a japanese book, where 99% of the text is in Kanjii. Rest assured that this book is as useful in the states as it is in Japan, because the main body of these books are beautiful photographs of female models taking every pose one could imagine in any studio.--Being a fellow who works in cartooning and graphic novels more than any fine art. I find this series endlessly useful as an excersise in my spare time.--Just pick a page and draw all it's figures until your arm is sore, and you will be all the better than trying to glean useful practice from old Playboy Magazines.--Pose File books are for, and will always be about fine artists who have a passion for the ultimate machine.

Cobalt

PS. THIS is the right review for the right book Sorry about any confusion

good book, decent series, outrageous price...
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 9 total.
Review Date: 1999-10-11
I'm trying to learn how to draw, and the books in this and similar series would be really helpful--if I could afford any of them. I found this book in a store where I live and decided to buy it until I checked the price tag that the store had stuck onto it. because I lived in Japan for a while, I'm used to the printed price that appears on all books, so I had just looked there. I have decided to wait until Christmas when I can buy it myself for a decent price. Blah.


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