Cartoons Books

Fantastic book with alot of knowledge I was unaware of. I am still in the middle of reading it but looking foward for new information.

If you are a fan of the X-men, this is an EXCELLENT book!!! Great Pictures!!

I received this book as a birthday present from an awesome friend (thanks, jon!), and I immediately read the entire thing in one night. As much as I appreciated the vast amount of information and the beautiful illustrations, I couldn't help but be irked by the little typos along the way. While it is understandable that in a book of this length, that some errors were made, if I (an 18 year-old high school student) could read the book in one night and discover these grammatical and spelling errors, I feel as though the editors could have prevented these mistakes just as easily. Aside from the annoying typos, though, this collection of X-Men trivia is stellar, and I would recommend it to any X-Men fan (especially if they aren't as OCD about typos in published formats as I am).

This hardback book is of great quality and a onderful addition to any Marvel X-Men lovers collection. The pictures are vivid and the mutant abilities & information is listed with every mutant. This is truly a X-Men Geek's dream come true! Highly recommended!

The work and personal story of a genius who's life was cut short, yet he left a legacy of artwork beyond what many could have achieved in twice the amount of time. A facinating read and inspiring illustrations.

Cartoonist Greg Irons was killed in 1984 at age 37 by a bus in Thailand so he never received the recognition he could've achieved over the decades, but YOU CALL THIS ART?! Provides a fine collection of his entire works; from the rock posters he designed for Bill Graham to his graphic comics and examples from his children's illustration and tattoo art work. The blend of black and white and color reproductions accompanies a survey of Irons' life, talents and achievements in a retrospective not to be missed!

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

This is the book I've been waiting for, and now I can retire all my old Greg Irons undergrounds to bags and boxes and display this volume proudly on my shelf, and have it at easy access for constant consultation. About the only thing I don't like about this book is the weird day-glo cover design. For some reason it almost makes the book look like an advance copy, as it appears unfinished. Aside from that I couldn't love this book more. Mr. Rosencrantz is generous in his biographical details, family photos, snapshots and art from every phase of Mr. Irons' too short career. This book is well worth every penny it costs, and so few books are these days. If you have an interest in anything from old San Francisco Rock posters, to underground comix, to record album design to book illustration to tattoo art....This is the book for you!!! Can't recommend this book highly enough!!!!

In the Summer of 1974, Back in my "Starvin' Artist Daze", I had been working on 30 Pages of Comix Art for months. One August morning, I gathered up my Guts and Drove To Berkeley, and The Print Mint. Shaking like a Leaf, I walk into The Folger Ave. Office. Inside is Bob DeRita, The Owner, at his desk talking to a Lanky Young Guy with an Long, Long Blonde Hair and a Scruffy Beard. He's calling him Greg, I have walked in to the office right in the Middle of an Pay Dispute. DeRita, is not in a Good Mood (To say the least!) and Croaks: "Well, Whatta You Want"??? Well, by now I'm about to lose Breakfast, Right in The Print Mint Office, and Silently shove my Art at him. He looks it over (Quickly) and gives it back. "Two Words, Kid... Art School" was his reply. I'm lookin' at the Door, when the Other guy, Greg, say's: "Hey Man, Let me see your Stuff". At this Point I'm ready to Crawl under a rock and Die, But, I gave this Friendly Stranger my Art, kinda hoping he was the Owner of The Rip-Off Press. He looks it over for Many long minutes (Seemed like hours) and gently hands my Art back. Greg, tells me: "You are Good Man, But, you are readin' too Much Crumb, and you are trying to draw Crumb", (He had me Cold)..."But, I see a liitle of my Stuff in your Work as well". "Your Work?" I whispered. "Yeah", he continued, "Slow Death & Deviant Slice". Now, I Knew who this was, Greg Irons was Checking my Work.

Now, it's summer of 2007 and I'm readin' this Great Book, "You Call This Art?! and it's a Fitting Tribute to an Amazing Artist. Lot's of his Comic Art is in here, Many of The Filmore West Posters as well & lot's of his Tattoo Art. I had no idea that Greg had done Illustrations for Children's Books, but, they are here as well. I Own many Books about the Underground Greats...Crumb, Shelton, S. Clay, etc. BUT, "You Call This Art", is one of the Finest Publications I have seen in years, I learned a lot about the Man, as well as the Artist by reading this one.

Looking, Now at Greg's work, Three Decade's on, it's even better than I remember it way back from The Early 70's. There is a lot in that Art, You will see the EC influence, that he grew up with and he Brought that Love of Great Horror into the Underground for us to enjoy. This Book brings me Right back to that time Long Ago. Times have Changed, The Underground Comix Business is Kaput, and Greg is Gone as well.

Oh, Yeah...I attended some Art Classes, and my Comics ARE in print in a Small Mountian Newspaper in South Lake Tahoe, Ca. Greg, was a Good Guy and FANTASTIC ARTIST...This Book tells his Story with Ton's of his Wonderful Art...FIVE STARS.

The Ilan brothers have scored again with the "too much" theme. Their first book was a hotter than a cup-a-joe from your local greasy spoon. This one will not disappoint. These guys have their fingers on the pulse of what's hot, new and cutting edge, from java (the drinkable kind) to Java (the encoded kind), they've hit the jackpot, Vegas style, baby.

Their books are quotable like a Seinfeld episode(Mulva?); funny like a South Bronx prank call (this is Frank Rizzo, Jerky); and as cool as De Niro in Casino. Jackpot Ilan Brothers!

The Ilans have done it again! A great follow up to "You know you drink too much coffee when..." The brothers have a comically-interesting outlook on life. If you like to surf the net as much as I do, then you'll love this book. The perfect gift for anyone with E-mail.

This is the funniest book because it is so true! I haven't laughed this hard since the Ilan Brothers' coffee book. They sure know about coffee and internet addicts like me. But honestly folks, I do have "asdf jkl;" embedded on my fingers -- you have to own this book -- it is practically my new Bible -- on my nightstand, right next to that list of web sites I thinkof in my sleep that I must visit. OK, OK, so I am not as funny as they are -- but check this out -- you will totally love it.

We're all doing it (otherwise you wouldn't be reading this), so we might as well laugh at it. "It" is devoting more and more of our time online. I highly recommend you take enough time OFFline to read at least one book -- this one! It's quality humor. I've bought three copies and still don't have one for myself -- it's an ideal gift for anyone who is into the internet. These are the same authors who wrote "You Know You've Had Too Much Coffee When ..." They're onto something here and I wouldn't be surprised to see them on Jay Leno (their original comedic hook is up there with "You Know You're A Redneck When ...") Definitely rising stars, I'd catch 'em on their way up with a first edition copy of their book (ya never know, it might be worth something someday beyond a ton of laughs).

What with all the confusion from differences between the japanese and english dubbed versions and the 2 entirely separate series released in japan it's great that you can finally own the great Yu-Gi-Oh! story in it's original format intended by the author. If you're still assuming Yu-Gi-Oh! is an annoying kids show don't be so sure. This original manga is uncut with violence, peril, and back story left out of the english television show.

This volume finishes Yugi's face off against Ryuji Otogi (called Duke Devlin in the american TV show) in Dungeon Dice Monsters including a certain fire escape scene you probably thought happened somewhere else. Then it starts right off into the Battle City arc as Kaiba acquires one of the 3 Egyptian God cards and an evil mastermind plots to kill Yugi. Also the identity of Yugi's mysterious alter personality is revealed!!

As the mother of 3 sons ages 8,11,15 and with only the youngest and the oldest reading maniacs, I am always searching for things my 11 yr. old will read. I stumbled upon the Yu-Gi-Oh!:Duelist series by accident. As my son already loved the show and had a Yu-Gi-Oh deck, I decided to give the books a chance. They have been wonderful. Number 10 was our most recent purchase and my son is set on reading through the entire series. He will sit and read now for over an hour if I let him. He also shares them with his younger brother and he enjoys them too. There are other series in addition to the Duelist in the Yu-Gi-Oh book line so I have plenty of reading material available that I'm sure that my son will read. I always make it a point to read what my children read and I find them to be an enjoyable read although the stories may vary slightly from the television episodes.

This was wonderful! The story came in exactly the way the T.V. show did (with a few changes) and the pictures were great! I was afraid that it would look like a kids story book (the display picture was lousy) but it was just like the rest.

I currently own this comic book in French, and quite frankly, it's one of the best mangas of the duelist kingdom saga next to "Duelist #8"/YGO #15. There are many differences in the book that were quote on quote too "shocking" for television. On the contrary, I would have to say... more 'violent.'

For instance, when Keith goes into Jounouchi/Joey's room to steal his glory of the king's hand card, Yuugi catches him in the act, although, he is too tired to distinguish the difference between Keith and Jou--pretty sad, eh? However, in about five seconds flat, he wakes up and realizes that Keith is up to no good, and Keith slams poor Yuugi into the wall, and continues to beat him up. To put your minds at ease, however, Jou eventually comes to the rescue. Keith still winds up with Jounouchi's card, though.

The manga continues up from Yuugi's defeat from Kaiba, all the way up to the time where Kujaku Mai/Mai Valentine plays her Mirror Wall card in the finals. This means, this manga contains the entire battle between Pegasus and Kaiba, as well as the dinner table scene where they find out their opponents (which also contains some comic humor from Pegasus not seen in the anime). However, the Anzu/Tea, Honda/Tristan, Ryou/Bakura and Pegasus scene NEVER took place in the original manga. Nevertheless, you "do" get hints of Cecelia/Cyndia anyway. However, don't think that means Honda is completely neglected. He and Bakura go off to find Mokuba and actually get themselves into a decent amount of trouble.

I would recommend this book to any manga lover. (You will certainly get a kick out of it!) ^^

Bad haircuts, "clueless" parents, pimples, hormones, loyal and/or ditsy friends, the girl's posse, dreams of the uncharted future, weird friends, untamed appetites and endless insecurities-- ZITS is a hilarious commentary on the foibles of being a teenager in middle America.

In this compendium of strips, Jeremy deals with having to get girlfriend Sara a Christmas gift (he gets her a tire); body-pierced Pierce the drummer makes his first appearance; Jeremy, on a rare free weekend with his parents at an orthodontists conference, spends the weekend in the company of an armload of horror videos *and* his overactive imagination; and then there's Ms Butcher, the Econ teacher who truly does stay up at night looking for ways to torment him.

ZITS is constantly fresh, drawn with humorous and deft exaggeration - the cover illustration showing a mountain of CDs, headphones, calculators and tapes spewing out of Jeremy's backpack should ring a familiar bell with any parent of a high-schooler. "Zits: Unzipped" has been read and reread and re-reread in my household. Scott and Borgman have put together a terrific strip that can be enjoyed by teenagers and their parents. Awesome!

Zits Unzipped is 'sketchbook 5' in the comic strip books and chronicles the life of adolescent Jeremy and his suffering parents, from his relationships with parents and friends to his on/off relationship with his girlfriend. Fans of the strip may find many they've missed over the years; newcomers will relish this coverage of the teen's ironies and agonies.

Here's the plot: Team two interesting and funny fellows together to write a comic strip about teenagers. Geographically situate them thousands of miles apart connected only by email, phone and fax and instruct them to do a daily strip, plus Sunday in color. Tell these guys the content has to illustrate a lovable but sometimes impossible kid and two tolerant parents, and see what you get! Zits!

The 5th book on Zits collection is still a sure time of laugh. This book is very well balanced and is good sample of what you are missing for not having it on your daily newspapaer (like me :( ...).

I bought my 6 year old grandson three of these books for Christmas. He uses them almost daily. The step by step instructions make drawing so easy. He loves seeing how quickly he can come up with a professional looking drawing!

1-2-3 Draw Cartoon People: A Step-by-Step Guide was created by syndicated comic strip artist Steve Barr as a useful and "user friendly", methodically crafted instructional guide for young people wanting to create their own cartoon figures. Beginning with some expert preparatory advice and a few invaluable cartooning tips, Barr stars with simple, basic shapes and lines which can be quickly copied and expanded upon. The very nicely illustrated instructions continue on for drawing heads, hair, expressions, emotions, hands, arms, boys, girls, grandparents, and characters in motion. Also very highly recommended for budding artists are Steve Barr's two companion instructional books: 1-2-3 draw Cartoon Faces: A Step-by-Step Guide and 1-2-3 Draw Cartoon Animals: A Step-by-Step Guide.

If you are just starting out, or are looking for an easy-to-follow instruction book that gets you to *actually put a pencil and paper in your hand* and start drawing in the next five minutes, you MUST have this book! The art of simplicity is not that of being basic in your explanations. It is the highly evolved skill to present to your recipient (in this case the reader) everything you need them to know WITHOUT them getting overwhelmed, becoming frustrated, or feeling that what you are teaching is beyond their abilities. This book is a masterpiece of highly entertaining education. You will watch your skills develop even as you scoff that this can't possibly be this easy to do.

This is a fun book, and while its surface qualities may give the impression that it was written for the "under 8" crowd, nothing could be further from the truth. This is a book that anyone can learn (quickly) from. You begin drawing the most elementary of shapes, which you connect (step-by-step) to more simple shapes which, when you step back from your labors and look is suddenly a recognizable picture. The author does not limit your style at all, but instead starts you off with the basics of style that you will use in many formats of illustration. This is all done with such non-condescending verbiage and format that you will think to yourself "this is too easy," and before you know it, you can draw very complex cartoons.

Cartoon illustration is a staple in our society. From greeting cards to "how to books" and multi-billion dollar corporate logos, cartoon illustrations have become embedded in all aspects of marketing. You see them everywhere, and they seem easy enough to do, but for most people the moment you pick up a pen, something horrible goes wrong in your hand-eye coordination.

I have read a LOT of books on cartoon illustrations and even after absorbing their collective wisdom, I generally limit myself to stick figures to this day. This is one of those rare books that come along quietly and breaks the teaching mold; allowing ANYONE to be able to create fun cartoon illustrations with minutes, and over time to create increasingly more sophisticated illustrations. A must have, and fine addition to any library for anyone who has, or will, ever pick up a pen and try to illustrate a point to someone else.

My 2 persian cats are my children so I could totally relate. This book would be a fun read for any cat lover, whether they have children or not. Also, I found the illustrations very enjoyable.

For those of us who choose to have kids with four legs and a tail, this is the perfect book. You'll never have a cat asking for piercings, never have to change diapers, they LOVE liver and litter training is a breeze. Sure, some people will never understand the bond between cats and humans but I know I'm their mama and they're my kids.

This book mirrors reality.
My wife and I have 3 short hair domestic cats, all adopted.They are our fur-children!
My Dad calls them his grandcats.Not having any children in our younger days, and unable to have them now, our cats are our 2 year old kids.
Watch your cats.
By far, this book is well written, and the graphics are excellent.If you have no cats, this book is not for you.
Also recommended is "I learnt everything for business from my cat". E-Ruff-moew-gruff or read this book, lady.

Fontanarrosa es una maestro absoluto en el arte de concatenar ideas, muchas veces disímiles o incluso absurdas a través de las palabras y juegos de palabras, de tal manera que finalmente se transforma en una lógica propia de Inodoro, El Renegau, y su perro Mendieta.
En las primeras tiras, las historias contadas son más largas, y de entidad propia; en la tiras más recientes, de una página, cada cuadro típicamente contiene un juego de palabras, y la concatenación de los mismos casi va guiando el desarrollo de la historia. De esta manera pareciera que cada episodio se va moldeando a partir de la conexión de los cuadros.

Inodoro es domador de caballos, holgazán, y un agudo observador de su entorno. Gusta del diálogo, la siesta, y de las mujeres, aunque su concubina, Eulogia, no le permite desarrollar esta afición; por ello también es un machista frustrado...

Acá van dos "perlas" del Inodoro Machista que lo ilustran en alguna medida:
"Después de tantos años, si tengo que elegir otra vez, la elijo a la Eulogia con ojos cerrados. Porque si los abro, elijo a otra"

"¡Malaya (maldición) con las mujeres! Andaríamos todos más tranquilos si Tata Dios con esa costilla que le sacó al Adán se hubiera hecho un buen asado de tira"

Inodoro Pereyra is a very funny and innocent character living in the Argentine Pampas with his dog "Mendieta" and his wife "Eulogia". In this book, you can read all the comic strips that were published for 20 years in Argentina, as well as other foreign countries. The author, Roberto Fontanarrosa also known as "el negro" was born in Rosario, Argentina, and has delighted his public for a quarter of a century with his play on words and the innocent character of Inodoro Pereyra.

It is hard to recommend this impressive volume to non-Argentinians (perhaps Uruguayans could be an exception). In my honest opinion, this comic strip is the best Argentinian one after immortal Mafalda. Every single aspect of Argentine society is reflected with sarcasm, tenderness, wisdom by this absurd gaucho character. If he wasn't funny enough there is his loyal squire Mendieta, or his "Dulcinea" Eulogia, or the irreverent parrot flocks, or Nabucodonosor, the arrogant champion pig. Since a heavy component of the comic strip is the language used (or abused by Don Inodoro) I feel that many non-native Spanish speakers may get lost. In a personal note, to give this book only five stars is being unreasonably selfish. It deserves 10.

very extencive and complet.

The Comic Book Checklist and Price Guide published by KP Books and the editors of the Comic Buyers Guide continues to be my comic price guide of choice. The 2007 edition is another 832 pages of prices and information from primarily1961 to the present. A more apt description may be from the beginning of the Silver Age to the present as if covers those DC books such as Showcase # 4 which kicked off what we know today as the Silver Age of Comic books.

There are several things I love about this book. First, it can, if you wish, be used as a checklist. Rather than list comics in a run of issues (for example, Avengers 101 - 110) and listing one price for each issue in that run, this book lists each issue number individually with a check box next to it to check off if you own that issue. Hence the reason that it covers only the silver age to the present, otherwise it would be about 2000 pages instead of 800. I like this idea as a quick reference to one's own personal collection. Second, it lists only the near-mint price for each book with a grading guide to figure out prices for lesser condition books. Anyone who's been collecting comics for any length of time can easily do this right off the top of their heads and I've never found it necessary to list three different prices for comics.

Another thing I like is that the book lists the month and year of each issue. This is a small tool that I think people overlook but that I have found to be very useful. But I think what the Comic Book Chcecklist Price Guide doesn't give you is just as important as what it does give you...namely it doesn't give you hundreds of pages of ads like Overstreet does. It also doesn't give you dozens of pages of stale market reports from dealers whose motives are somewhat dubious in what they report in terms of price information. Rather than rely on this `advisor' information this book has garnered real world data from auction services like eBay to provide what I feel is true pricing, black & white data and that's all I really need...not some dealer in Hoboken claiming to have sold book X for seven billion dollars.

If you want a true price guide without all the vacuous fluff then this is the comic book price guide for you!

Reviewed by Tim Janson

Best title in its class!
This Title has a very diverse collection of titles and values good for finding the value of an old unheard of comic. There is normally multiple dollar values for each comic edition and its associated grade on a scale of 1-10. All this book needs is some more guide lines on how to price out comics that are signed and have CGC authentication. They do have general rules for determing CGC (professionally graded comics from a new company) comic values but they seem a little off especially when combined with fractional grades.

G is for Genuine - a witty and hilarious book on vice by Gina Barreca and Nicole Hollander.

I is for Insatiable - both authors' thirst and talent for uncovering the nuances and humorous truths about women's intimate secrets, everyday habits and complicated needs.

N is for Nursing - which is what you're going to be doing to your sides from laughing so hard, and...

A is for Again and again and again! You can't read this just once.

Learning your ABCs never felt soooo goood! My friends and I laughed and snorted and guffawed - this book is wickedly funny and astonishingly accurate. Whoever said that vice was something to be ashamed of never had the pleasure of reading this little gem. E for Excellent.

G is for Genuine - a witty and hilarious book on vice by Gina Barreca and Nicole Hollander.

I is for Insatiable - both authors' thirst and talent for uncovering the nuances and humorous truths about women's intimate secrets, everyday habits and complicated needs.

N is for Nursing - which is what you're going to be doing to your sides from laughing so hard, and...

A is for Again and again and again! You can't read this just once.

Learning your ABCs never felt soooo goood! My friends and I laughed and snorted and guffawed - this book is wickedly funny and astonishingly accurate. Whoever said that vice was something to be ashamed of never had the pleasure of reading this little gem. E for Excellent.

...Just when I thought I had seen it all...The ABC OF VICE comes along! For less than the cost of a couple of happy meals...for less than the cost of a movie AND popcorn (with extra butter)-
BETTER THAN A KLONDIKE BAR!- this book offers some real bang for your buck...26 choices of vice, including your own "bad girl coupons" to match...ingenious!

...a diet defined by eating just one bite out of every fancy chocolate in the box?!..There is something here for everyone to laugh out loud! I'll be giving this book to all of my friends for Christmas.

Girls not only want to- but these girls KNOW how to have fun!