Graphics Books

Not that detailed but great if you are not going to sit down and read an involved design book. Quick tips.

Most of the books of the same kind, you'll find 500 pages just with theory, things that you should do and you shouldn't. This one is just plane and simple, if you are an expertise graphic designer, it will show you really cool and fresh ideas.
If you are a designer with no background education, it will guide you step by step in the process of creation.
For the price you pay and the content you get, this book is one of its kind.

I've read literally hundreds of design books and frankly find most of them to be long on theory and have precious little to offer by way of concrete learning and real-world usability. This book (and The Design-It-Yourself Newsletter also by Chuck - which I also own) doesn't overburden the reader with "fluff." It's a pleasure to find a book that tells me what I should know and need to know rather than what some "expert" wants to tell me. These books are practical, useful, clear, and easy-to-follow. Do yourself a favor and invest a very reasonable sum in this book (or any of Chuck's books for that matter), and you will be a better designer for it.

Who is this book for? Non-designers trying to design their own logos, letterheads & businesscards.

How good is it? It's the best I've come across. And I've gone through hundreds of them. This book helped me design a logo and stationary for more than one business, got my creative juices flowing, gave me a lot of ideas - that I would've never thought about otherwise - and to top it all, gave me STEP BY STEP instruction on how to achieve simple but very elegant, clean & professional results!

The design of the book itself makes you want to buy it the very first time you look at it - very well organized, simple, elegant. Inspires confidence.

Does it deliver the goods as promised? SURE!

Another of Chuck's books that I read ages ago and is highly recommended and valuable even today: The Desktop Publisher's Idea Book. It still sits on my desk/bookshelf, and I go back to it often to get new ideas.

Finally, Chuck's web site - ... - is equally impressive, a treasure chest of ideas & resources for budding or amateur designers exploring the world of design.

Request to Chuck if he reads this - please let us have more of these in a series - Design It Yourself Logos 2, 3, 4... etc. PLEASE!

Bharat Suneja

I recently purchased this book at a local bookstore on my lunch hour. It was so difficult to eat lunch with my new treasure and then have to return to work. Right after dinner that evening I sat down in a comfortable chair and just read and read until I went through the entire book. I just couldn't put this book down. It was wonderful, interesting and very informative. The recipes were great and I will incorporate their use in my at home graphic design business. I have been doing graphic design for about 8 years and cannot get enough to read on the subject. I am self taught and this is just the kind of book that will help those who are just like me, or even give fresh new ideas to those who are experts. Thanks Chuck! I need more of this -- got any more like this coming?

My husband bought this for me when he bought me Photoshop Elements, and it was immensely helpful! I am now very comfortable in Photoshop, thanks to the easy to follow instructions and visuals.

The volume's strong point is its voluminous visual to illustrate every phase of digital photography from equipment to printing paper. It also bridges the gap from optical to digital photography. Technical in presentation ... for the experienced phohtographer ...

A profusely illustrated with more than 1500 full-color photographs, step-by-step 'how to' guide for taking great photographs and then digitally enhancing them using Photoshop, "Digital Photograph" by Michael Wright is very highly recommended both for its comprehensiveness and for being so 'user friendly' in its organization and presentation. Covering Photoshop essentials in general, including Photoshop 7 and Photoshop CS in particular, "Digital Photography" addresses simple and complex retouching techniques, removing 'red eye' from images, cloning, hand tinting, restoring old photographs, photo montages, digital painting, adding text to images, special effects, storing images, creating photo essays, printing, file size, composition, color theory, bracketing, lighting, backgrounding, and so much more. "Digital Photograph" is a single volume instructional guide that is strongly recommended for anyone aspiring to enhance their photography through Photoshop technology.

More pictures, less words, better understanding! This book truly is a step-by-step visual guide for taking pictures, and then whipping them into shape in Photoshop.

This book is not about about how to take better digital photos. It's a book that gives step by step instructions on how to do numerous photo editing. If you're not experienced in PhotoShop, then I highly recommend this book. For a novice, it might be a good refresher for you.

One of the things I love about this book is it actually does give step-by-step visuals on the how tos. It shows you what the photoshop box will look like, tells you were to find the tools you need, etc.

If that's what you're looking for, then this book is ideal for you. As I said, if you're a novice, it's a nice refresher or quick reference book.

This is a great book for beginners and professionals. Although, if you are a beginner, you will need some basic knowledge of Adobe Photoshop CS2 or CS3.

Ctein does a great job of walking the reader through the individual photo restorations. He also lets the reader know about different types of software that will help with the restorations and how the software works. I found this to be very helpful.

I wish I had this book when I did my first restorations.

Although I am most heavily involved today in taking new photographs, I have an interest in restoring and repairing many old photographs that I have digitized with my scanner. This book is the best guide I have found for everything from minor fixes to full-blown reconstructions. It is highly recommended.

This is an excellent guide to restoration of old photos and negatives. Everything you'd want to have explained, laid out in step by step detail. This covers most all of the situations you're likely to be confronted with. Highly recommended.

This book is thoughtfully written with many good photo editing techniques that I haven't seen in other books. Worth the money. The author explains multiple methods for accomplishing similar results. A good book.

Once I started reading this book I had difficulty putting it down until I had finished it. It was so interesting to read how it would be possible to transform sometimes hopeless looking photos into beautiful photographs. It explains a lot about masking & curves adjustments & I feel that this book will be my restoration bible. Since I've had a computer less than a year & Photoshop for a few months, I didn't understand a lot of what I was reading, so I don't know if this should be a beginners first restoration book. It provides a sophisticated approach to digital photo restoration from scan to print.

Being big disney fans, my son really enjoyed receiving this as a Christmas gift. It comes beautifully packaged and is a great addition to his collection. Playing the cd's brings fond memories of the rides and attractions at Disneyland Park and makes you wish you were there.

You must be a Disney fan for truly appreciate this book. If that is your case, you'll love it!!. The "pockets" where some of the "souvenirs" are located are a little tight, and can tear with ease. Other than that, it is a nice idea.

I absolutely love this book! I love seeing replicas of letters, stories, pamphlets, early drawings, etc. When people come to visit they pick it up and are as fascinated as we are. It's one of the coolest books we own.

These books are like a pop up book on steroids...They are FULL of interesting little pieces that you can take out and look at, like letters from Walt to Lillian, ride tickets from the early days and all sorts of other things...These 2 books are worth every penny!!!

This book is a timeless classic, an absolute gem. For anyone wishing to get a real glimpse into the magic that is Disney this is the book.It offers historical insight and hands on replica memorabilia. I found this book full of information and fun.Beautifully presented.

This is one of the best commercially available books on caricature. However, I would recommend looking at a few books, rather than just this one (this isn't a standalone caricature education resource). Some of the caricatures don't look a lot like the real people they represent; whether this is an artistic choice or a limitation of the talent involved is a mystery. Many, useful techniques are contained herein; some readers may be disappointed in the results achieved and need more instruction in achieving a recognizable likeness. Worth a look; one of the best.

I purchased this book about a week ago after seeing it at a bookstore and seeing all of the excellent reviews for it. I have been studying art for a few years and having worked at a bookstore as well I know when I read a good art instruction book and this is definitely one of them. It has practical to do steps that gradually build a persons skill. A common pitfall of art books is they show a finished product of the artist but they leave it a mystery as to how they got there. This book will help seasoned artist as well as give newer ones confidence in their ability to do caricatures. Highly recommended!

I have several books on caricature and have to say this is the best. The funny thing is that some of the pages looked kind of familiar and I realized that they were some of the handouts used at the local amusement park. After looking at Harry's picture at the end, I do remember him holding some excellent training classes at the park. He has an excellent way of explaining the whole process. This is an excellent book on the subject.

Very good explaniation and a lot of figures for practice.
I like so much.

I used to do caricatures and this pretty much is what I did for over a year. This is a well designed instructional book... It gives many variations of eyes, noses, mouths, facial structure and hair style. I recommend this book as a handy reference source to my students.

I have so much love for this series. UST all over the place, heavy plot, well developed characters (even the minor ones!), good artwork, and finally, *finally* Dee and Ryo get together and wow, is it beyond good. I don't read Japanese so I don't know how good the translation is, but I like what I saw.

To really enjoy FAKE, the main thing you want to remember is that Sanami Matoh didn't know the specifics of American law or the NYPD (she admits as much in the author's notes). So just forget what you know about criminal procedure, the justice system and whatever you've seen on Court TV; if you can do that, you'll find this manga much more fun.

I've read a fair amount of yaoi manga and this is probably one of the best out there. You can't ask for much more in the way of plot and action. The characters are so well developed that they feel like real people and the artwork is beautiful. Seven volumes before Ryo finally gives into Dee, and the UST is maintained at a perfect level, just enough frustration to make you snatch up the next manga, but not enough to make you grow tired of it. And it's not really about the sex (or the lack of it; poor Dee), it's about getting to know these guys and their colleagues and figuring out each mystery they're involved in. By the time the series ends, you don't want to let them go.

If you're a yaoi fan and you (somehow) haven't read this series, it's one of the few I'd actually recommend buying instead of just checking out of the library. It doesn't get much better than this.

Wow, what a great story for the final volume in this series. Ryo and Dee have to protect a woman as bodyguards, who has entered the witness-protection program of the FBI. What complicates the matter is the fact that this woman is married to the number two man in organized crime in New York. But the woman also seems to have plans of her own...

Ok, in addition to lots of kissing and snuggling of Ryo and Dee in the other books of the series, this is the volume where Ryo and Dee finally make love. Actually they're making love twice. The first time Ryo is still unsure, but decides to throw his doubts overboard. But it takes Ryo another three weeks until he finally declares his love for Dee on a trip to Long Island. And after that they make love again. ;)

This series as a whole is simply terrific, the drawings are beautiful and sometimes hilariously funny and the characters are interesting. The love scenes in my opinion are always tasteful and sweet. I just loved this series.

Yes, I know 'kool' isn't a word. Oh well, shoot me.

FAKE draws to a close in an amazingly well drawn (as always) scene of pure hearmelting bliss. I was sad to see it done, and wished that it went further. There is, actually, a short after-story for everyone else in the artbook buuuuut...it's not located in the 7th book! So sorry!

(For those who can, go find Like, like Love!)

The book on Ryo's past finally closes, the weight of his parent's death finally lifted from his shoulders. Thus he is able to finally let himself admit his love (gasp!) for Dee and they have a very erotic and amazing night together, after having one earlier in the book that had been a bit more rushed.

For those who like their yaoi/shonen-ai books light...this is still a bit graphic for those looking for sweet kisses and hugs. If you want full blown graphic sex scenes...neither are here. A subdued, cleverly shaded scene with beautiful imagery are given instead!

All in all...an amazing manga ends with the amazing finish of the seventh and last book.

FAKE, we miss you already.

(Don't forget to buy the DVD! :D)

This is my all time favorite series - even though it's only Shonen Ai it is the greatest Manga Series out there. The art is great and the story is funny and sweet in a lot of places, especially when it reveals how much the two main characters care for one another. It focuses on Dee Laytner and his persistence to get into the pants of his new partner Ryo Maclean, your average uke not knowing what to make of Dee's advances and Dee isn't the only one after Ryo, their new boss Berkley Rose is and Dee has his own admirers including one hyperactive jealous JJ, who hates Ryo. This is a must have series for any Yaoi or Shonen Ai Fan!

Oh my dear God... Thank you Sanami Matoh. This is the perfect ending to the perfect series. It's my favorite series and after finishing it I can't stop reading fanfiction about these two [In fact I can't read any fanfiction other than ones based on FAKE now!]. I feel so alive after reading this series... and i'm so happy for Dee [my fav character. HE'S SOOO HOT!!!] for finally getting Ryo after 2 long years of celibacy. He deserves it. He loves Ryo so much. They're perfect 2gether.
And, in my opinion, I love Matoh-sensei's art and congradulate her for not making Ryo into into one of those ukes with no muscles at all, it's good to see something that breaks away from the mainstream. I also love how Ryo is older. Love It!! Ryo isn't too wimpy but he isn't detached from his sentimental side - and neither is Dee. This couple is amazing and I think all FAKE-addicts should go onto the web and read some fanfictions by Wildefyre, Swordy[read the Crash and Burn Series!!!!Now!!], happyberry, and all the rest.
...And if you don't know already, the characters from FAKE all appear in a short one-shot that is based a few years after the manga ends and shows who ends up with whom. This 24-page short was featured in Sanami Matoh-sensei's artbook Monotone and was called Like, Like, Love. If you like, and are interested, if you go to fakephoenix.com [no www.], enter, and go to translations, you'll find 'Like, Like, Love' at the bottom of fakephoenix's list [no downloading involved, just click the links and there are the pics]. I <3 fakephoenix's site. She takes care of it so well, in my opinion.
This is the best manga ever, and the OAV ain't too shabby if you don't think like me. [I think the animators screwed up Matoh-sensei's wonderful art and the fact that Henry was okay after getting hit with a motorcycle (in other words, the creators of the anime didn't follow the manga all too well) weirded me out, because even in the manga Henry was carried out on a strecher because of a little police brutality... but w/e].
Yeah, well, I'm done.
DeeXRyoFFRox
Signed,
A die-hard anime/manga fan

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

This was my favorite volume so far. I love Haru so much he is my favorite character. I got to read more about him and I also got to read about sorry-ful Ritsu and his childhood.......I love Fruits Basket so much. This is the best manga ever written.

I love the Fruits Basket series. I love how the book is well written and the humor in it. The characters personality is perfect chosen for each character and they all fit it great! I can't wait for the next volume!

Fruits Basket book 8 is the best one so far. I've read it about 12 times. If you're a fan of Haru, you'll love this book. You also meet Ritzu in this book . it's a must buy!

Haru Sohma's personality suddenly goes black in school and he begins tearing up the classroom for no obvious reason. Yuki attempts to get the reason for these actions only to learn of some dealings with Akito that Haru has had to suffer from lately. Ritsu Sohma shows up, dressed all in a pretty kimono, this Sohma member dazzles Tohru with her good looks, and horrifies her with her inherent anxiety attacks. But the truth of Ritsu lies under the surface, and Tohru is surprised to learn it. Besides that, Ritsu is also a zodiac member, the monkey, born in 1980 I estimate. Ritsu and Tohru bond after Ritsu confesses some personality flaws to Tohru. Yuki also checks up on Haru, to see how he is doing after turning black at school.

School parent/teacher conferences are coming up, and the Sohma house is all in a panic over it. Kyo and Yuki don't know who to ask to attend, and much time is spent agonizing over what their future plans are. Tohru also breaks down a bit under the stress of all of this.

A reoccurring dream of Yuki's past puts him into a foul mood, as does a surprise visit from his brother Ayami. In an attempt to heal their broken past Ayami offers to attend the school conferences in place of Yuki and his parents.

Summer vacation begins with a trip to the haunted mansion for everyone. For Tohru this is a disturbing experience, as she is terrified of haunted houses. Haru helps her through it with some creative thinking, much to Yuki and Kyo's annoyance.

More Haru...sigh... there simply isn't enough Haru in this series I'm afraid. But fans of him will get just enough of a peek into his life to be satisfied. Ritsu is a bit annoying, but you need that to balance out the strength of all the other characters... Still in love with this series though, who isn't by this point?

I have been a fan of Fushigi Yuugi for a long time now. I have all of the manga, and have seen most of the DVDs, except the OAV (which I really wanna see xD) but it's amazing! I reccomend it!

I've been a Watase fan for about 2 years now. I have finished Ceres:Celestial Legend, Imadoki, and Alice 19. I started the Fushigi Yuugi series last year and am on the book 12. I learned that there was a prequil to the series! I was very impressed right from the beginning!The art is better than ever! And the character's are even better that what I expected. But with Watase there are always surprises!

Fushigi Yugi: Genbu Kaiden is probably my favorite Yu Watase title up to date. Takiko, the female lead, is a strong young woman who is not afriad to do what she knows is right and doesn't back down. She can handle herself and will fight to protect what she holds dear. When I first picked up the title, it wasn't because I was a huge fan of the original Fushigi Yugi. Honestly, Miaka irritated me with her generally weak and helpless behavior. To me, it seemed like she always needed to be saved. However, I could not have been more pleasantly surprised when I realized in just the first volume that Takiko was a strong, deep character with many layers to her personality and her fair share of human flaws. All in all you realized very quickly that Genbu Kaiden is significantly darker and aimed towards an older audience than most of Yu Watase's other works. Definitly a manga for you if you're a fan of the creater's work and are becoming immune to the Imadoki-style fluff. The romance in this manga is much more alluring and mature.

I'm a big fan of Fushigi Yugi. Been a big fan for years and just recently finished the manga last year, only to discover the prequel had been released!

Right from the first volume I was impressed. It's even better than the original and to me that's saying a lot.

One thing that is better about it is the romance doesn't develop right off the bat. In the original Fushigi Yugi, one thing that always bothered me (and made me laugh like mad) was the sheer corniness of the romance between Miaka and Tamahome, like how Miaka falls in love with him after first meeting him, and all the constant "Miaka!" "Tamahome!" scenes. Not to mention all the gratuitous near-rape scenes in every volume.

Takiko is a far more mature character than Miaka. She's tough, she's her own woman, and she's hilarious. Basically, she's a strong main character that, this time around, I can actually relate to--she has more of a backbone and isn't as whiny. The overall story is far more mature and refined, with the romance progressing at a more natural, subtle rate. There are no insta-romances here! It's more believeable, and in that I find it a lot more beautiful, whereas I always found Miaka and Tamahome's love cliche and forced.

The story itself is more mature, with more political issues coming into play. Really, the relationships between individual countries and cultures is more defined and more a central part of the story. Similarly, the characters are far more interesting and quirky! Really, each character fascinates me and stands on his or her own, whereas in the original there were some characters I honestly couldn't care less about.

The art is also excellent. Watase has come a long way since the original.

Overall, it's an excellent series so far! And while I still love the original and always will, even after only three volumes the prequel has already outdone the original.

Or, at least it has in my opinion. ^_~

(SPOILERS INCLUDED)
I want to start off by sayin that I'm so happy that Yu Watase made this manga. It can be enjoyed by both female and males, it has a lot of action-adventure and drama to it, and the lovy dovy stuff definetly isnt as much as the original. I always wanted to know more about the Priestess of Genbu, since she was the first priestess to get pulled into the book, and yet we know so little about her. To everyone that doesnt know yet, her name was Takiko Okuda and her Father Einosuke brougth the Universe of the Four Gods from China to Japan around 1923.This story is very much more mature and darker than the original Fushigi Yugi. Takiko is a 17 year old girl who moves to Morioka from Tokyo because her mother wanted to move back to her hometown since she's dying. Anyways she hasnt seen her father in like a year and then he finally comes home with the Universe of the Four Gods, he is obsessed with the book, and continues to translate it, ignoring both his daughter and sick wife. Takiko's mother ends up dying, so she goes to her father, who has just finished translating the book. She is filled with rage, since he hasn't stopped working on the book, and it seems that he doesnt even care about his own wifes death. Takiko tells her father that she know he wished she would have been a boy, and he says "perhaps if you were a boy maybe i could have..." and right after he says that, takiko in her rage grabs the Universe of the Four Gods and is about to start to rip it when shes pulled into it. She end up in Bei-jia a.k.a Hokkan, the Land of Genbu. She is on a snow-covered mountain, this is were she finds Uruki of the Genbu Celestial Warriors, he is a man, but when using his power, he turns into a woman, and he's chained to a wall. He is supposed to be put to death since he has killed 1000 men(most of them being assassins sent to kill him). Takiko goes up to him(he's in his female form) and just as she does, snow demons come out of the ground to feast on the humans. Takiko grabs a stick(mind you she is very skilled with the Naginata) and she trys to fight them, in order to defend Uruki who she doesnt even know. Right when she is about to be killed by the group of demons, Uruki uses his wind powers to kill them all. He is very weak after spending the night chained to the wall, and has a fever. Takiko takes him(still in his female form the whole time) to a inn, where she lays(not sex!) with him to reduce his fever. After she does, they wake up the next morning and he's in his male form. She starts freaking out, and talks about how now no one will ever want to marry her now. He thanks her and she asks him what is the animal on the wall panel, which is Genbu(a turtle mixed with a snake). He tells her about the legend of the Priestess from another world, and how everyone looks at the Priestess and Celestial Warriors as a bad omen. Since the Priestess appears when the country is on the brink of collapse. Qu-dong a.k.a Kutou whos guardian is Seiryu, is invading Bei-jia trying to conquer it since it is the biggest country of the four. We also find out that Limdo is Uruki's birthname. A bounty hunter is after Limdo and is at the inn. He trys to kill Limdo, but fails. Later on Limdo and Takiko are surrounded by a bunch of people who want to kill Limdo. When they are about to attack, Takiko blinds them all by giving off her Legendary Silver Light, which she doesnt even know how she did. Limdo escapes, and Takiko is taken away by the bounty hunter who we find out is Tomite of the Celestial warriors. Remember him from the original, he and Hikitsu guarded Takiko's Shinzaho even after dying 200 years earlier. Thats how vol.1 ends. It's a very good manga, so give it a try! Also thanks for reading my long review!

Agatha Heterodyne and the Beetleburg Clank is the first of the "Girl Genius" books by Phil and Kaja Foglio. It's a "gaslamp" (think steampunk, but more cheerful) fantasy comic series. Volume 1 collects the early black-and-white print comics (issues 1-3), although it removes title pages and suchlike for a continual narrative. There's also a color short at the end of book.

In the first few comics, the Foglios are still finding their feet a little, though some of the problems are due to the black and white art - they work much better in color, as the b&w is rather busy. This isn't that large of a problem, however; the art still mostly works and the characters are given their initial grounding fairly effectively.

The comic itself is entertaining - although they haven't really flexed their muscles for the full fascinating craziness of the setting that shows up later on, there is enough here to be interesting. And there's plenty of foreshadowing - you get a sense that there's a lot behind these characters and this world (and it does start to pay off in later volumes). So while perhaps not the best place to start, despite being the first volume - you can dive into the second without a problem - it's still a comic worth a read.
***1/2

I'm not a huge fan of comics and I certainly don't spend a lot of money buying comics that were originally online. Yet this series is so fantastically awesome that I find the investment in the paperback printings entirely worth it. These volumes are just thick enough to sit comfortably on my bookshelf and thin enough to read while on my back. You should really read these in color to get the full impact of their rich and vivid world.

This is definitly a must-have series for anybody who likes Steampunk. The characters are fun, the bad guys are grandiose, the outfits rock and occasionally stuff gets blown up. What more could you ask for?

If you don't know Phil and Kaja Foglio from -his- work in Dragon Mag's "What's New", from the MythAdventures series (book and/or comic), the Buck Godot stories, their (blush) XXXenophile series, or their work illustrating "Magic, The Gathering" cards (notably Urza's Science Fair Project), shame on you! Go back two spaces and loose a turn. Gas-lamp Fantasy is sort of like what Jules Verne, Mary Shelly and H.G. Wells were writing back in the day. Steam-powered wonders, cobbled-together reanimated monsters, and pneumatic nutcrackers. (who doesn't like nuts?) Add a bit more modern-times feel, fantasmagoric (tm) illustration and color, and more tongue in cheek humor than you can shake a bag of knezels at, and presto! Genius! And the Girl, DON'T forget the girl! Damsels-in-distress, damsels-outta-de-dress, damsels who would shemk me upsidy-like the head with a 3/17 occipital left-leaning heterodyne wrench if I continues! (Yowza!) So stop reading this and BUY it already! Buy the whole series! (Buy two! Gotta keep one set "Mint Condition", dontcha?)

The art is really the best part of the series. All the bits and bobs and mechanically doodads make for a very pretty comic. (And they serve as good plot devices too!)

I zoomed through the first book too quickly and hadn't yet ordered the rest of the series, which I would say is the only bad part about the book.

The drama is top notch and the fantasy setting keeps it moving forward. You'll find that the plot reveals little secrets along the way that you would never expect. The best comic I've seen from the Foglios in a long time.

This is the first volume in Phil Foglio's ongoing series featuring Agatha Heterodyne and a cast of hundreds. The book collects the first few issues of what was originally a comic book series. The publishing schedule, though, seems to have been troubled for a variety of reasons, and "Girl Genius" now appears in webcomic form (with ensuing regular compilations in print form).

Kaja Foglio, wife and co-creator, describes this as "gaslamp fantasy": crypto-Victorian science and pre-pulp adventures in a world filled with mad scientists, giant steam-powered robots, weird technology, mysterious cults, and cackling villains. A great deal of which is played for laughs, simultaneously embracing and sending up the usual tropes of the genre. The humor throughout balances between sly drollery and slapstick.

One of the major attractions is Foglio's art, which many gamers will well know from his years of penning the "Phil & Dixie" feature in "Dragon" magazine. It's drenched in color and is highly detailed, to the point that you wonder how he ever completes a page. There's almost always 18 different things going on in the background, none of which is ever really relevant, but Foglio apparently really enjoys jamming in the sight gags.

I'm a sucker for this kind of stuff, and the Foglios have done a great job in creating an internally consistent alterna-Earth with its own physical and magical laws and history and politics, and they've also introduced seemingly dozens of plot strands. This latter is both good and bad. In later issues, there is some loss of cohesiveness, and the story seems to wander off into side treks, and none of the storylines ever seem to get wrapped up. (It's sort of the "Lost" of the comics world.)

On the other hand, it's got enormous fleets of dirigibles! And scar-faced pseudo-Teutonic bad guys! And talking cats! And endangered heroines in corsets! So, you know, all of the good stuff. Check it out!

This is just one of those mangas you can't help but become addicted to. The story is SO CUTE! And it's hella funny. Kyo (the girl posing as a guy) is not your normal manga style girl, she seems to be more guy-ish (espically once you get to vol.6 and up-she seems to have a perverted mind-) It was non stop laughs when I was reading this book ( I was kicked out of my school library for laughing too loud..*cough*). The art style is also very well done, the funny expressions will catch you off gaurd :p Bottom line: TRY THIS SERIES!-you won't regret it----

I'msure if you've read the other reviews, then you know what this book is about by now.

I really loved this series. It's a bit like a modern-day Mulan, only the main character was forced to do something against her will, while Mulan was completely on her own with the important decision.

Awesome for teens. Especially if you like basketball. Highly recommended!

Girl Got Game is one of my favorite manga series. I haven't read that many series, but i still like it a lot. Its about a girl who's dad loves basketball, but when he was in collage he injured himself and couldn't play nationally, so he enrolls her as a boy in a co-ed school so she can play basketball as a guy for him.
She meets a guy who she hates at first, but eventually falls in love with, and its just a really nice story of a girl who has some problems but gets over them and falls in love along the way. I like the story most because she learns to like a guy she once hated, which shows that you can fall in love with anyone, no matter who they are, and i can personally relate to that (not with a guy i hate, but a friend who was very unexpected). So yeah, i think its a great manga, probably more for girls than guys but whatever.

Power!! (Girl Got Game) is a very good shoujo series. It's about girl named Kyou Aizawa, who ends up entering a high school known for 1. their very cute uniforms, and 2. their elite basketball team. It turns out that Kyou ended up entering the school as a GUY rather than a girl (poor Kyou, she didn't get to wear the pretty uniform>_< this was all her dad's plan).
So, anyway, when Kyou started school, she met Eniwa Chiharu, who is on the team. She didn't have a very good start with getting to know him, and later, they end up being roommates in their dorms.
Kyou has to go through many difficulties to be act as a guy and not be found out. When taking a bath, she has to make sure that the coast is clear, and that no one would come in, so she takes it while everyone else is having dinner. She has to wear the boys' uniform, and so no one will become suspicious, she also straps down her chest.
This is all I'm willing to share, for those who have not read this series. Good series, and has the same cuteness as Seino-sensei's other works, such as Heaven!!, and Suki Suki Darin (those aren't released in the US yet. I read from scanalations).
If you read this series, you will find it has similarities to Hana-Kimi. Well, good reading! Ciao! (I wanted to say that, just telling you I'm not Italian or anything of that matter.)

I started reading this manga and was very happy to find yet another good manga to read. I seem to be attracted to the whole girl-acting-as-a-guy type of manga. So the story started off good. It was about a girl pretending to be a boy so she can play basketball. But as the story continued...and neared the ending...I discovered that it was becoming very dumb. The plot kinda died and people were acting in stupid ways and I'm sorry but I do not advise you to read it. It's kinda odd to right a review like this. I'm trying to explain this in the best way possible so here you go.

Beginning = GOOD. ^-^

Ending = GAHH. WTF!?!!?!? D<