Graphics Books

I just have to say alot of people said what this is about. About a girl that is gothic scarey and 4 boys that are beautiful as the light of the sun trying to make her a lady to get free rent. If I was them I do it too man, "free rent oh yeah" You get some new art in the manga, that is really new to us. But in anycase the art you learn to love I did. Just because this manga series is just so funny. Every page I was laughing so hard I couldn't even finish the page. You start looking at the art as if it beautiful the first couple of pages. I love the art now these people look Japanese. KEWL. I fell in love with these characters. I have alot of manga all kinds. But this is new to me, it's funny, cute, funny, and you get some romanitic times. I just love it. Just go to a book store and read the first one and if you don't like it. Then something is Seriously wrong with you. This is SO FUNNY PLEASE IT IS SO WORTH THE MONEY FOR TYPE OF PEOPLE IT'S JUST SO FUNNY YOU CAN'T SAY NO. OK maybe you can but don't.

One more thing this series goes to 20 volumes I checked it out. So I got 6 to go now. But they're not going to be out till next year. :(. I really do hope you like this series, as alot of people did here.
Later and Smiles ;P

I am not, by a long shot, what you would call an avid shoujo manga reader. It was actually never even my intention to read this, but my sister put a little annoying bug in my ear so (needless to say) I decided to give this manga a shot. I could not have been more grateful for actually doing so. This is, by far, one of the best mangas that I have ever read. The characters are highly entertaining and well developed, the art is beautifully done, the storyline is just awesome, and the author's ability to thrown in serious issues (such as self-esteem, beauty, and self-acceptance) is just amazing. It can be a bit over the top sometimes (not in an angsty way thank goodness), but its a comic so all is well!

I'm actually able to read and understand the Japanese version of this series, so I'm lucky enough to have read all the way up to vol. 19. All that I can say is that I'm still a fan, I will always be a fan, and I hope that you will become one too. The Wallflower isn't for everyone (obviously), its a little bit on the gothic side and sometimes that turns people off. I'm no goth either, but I can set aside my personl preferences to read and enjoy these books like there's no tomorrow. They're just that good.

the description doesn't do it justice; it comes off sounding like another coming-of-age girly story(which i guess it is but in a fantastic weird way). I give it five stars but with a few draw backs.
The good:

the most hilarious story i've read. i've never laughed so hard; Sunako is just awesome and completely different than the squealing girly mold of most shoujos. The leading lady is a horror obsessed recluse thrust into the light of four normal, handsome boys. The artwork ranges from mostly cute, funny chibi form to incredible beautiful artwork (mostly when Sunako is pissed or dressed up). There are some actual real poignant points in the manga. One scene that that i enjoyed was in the middle of 'turning Sunako into a lady' Sunako sits in her room surrounded by her horror comforts and asks Jason 'if they took away your mask and your chainsaw and made you be something you aren't what you would you do, Jason?' or something to that extent.

A couple of bad points:

though i'm going to get flamed for this the leading four men are waaaay too girly. Kyohei looks like a woman. Look at the front cover! If you didn't know any better you'd think it's a woman. I had a lot of trouble seperating the boys because they pretty much looked alike. Though the general thought is unique and funny there isn't a lot of go power for this manga. the slapstick gets old fast and starts to meander and looses the plot thread. you could read the first manga and be satisfied without reading the rest, i mean you can pretty much guess how it will end.
so. buy the first one and enjoy a laugh.

After reading through the other reviews I thought there wasn't too much to add, but . . .

I had to say something about the art. The art is extremely different. The author bases her characters on real Japanese musicians and due to this the characters actually look Japanese. Not a single character falls under the perfect looking, big eyed, shojo character that this type of work is prone to (think Fullmoon, anything by Yuu Watase). Due to this the art may be off putting to some. I think it is beautiful and completely original.

The only downside to the art is that Sunako (the main character) is usually drawn as a simple cartoon. When she is drawn she is beautiful and it makes you wish the author drew her like this more often. Also, the backgrounds are extremely sparse and sometimes there is nothing at all.

The plot lines (I have up to volume 11) are somewhat episodic (but there are cliffhangers), but it works. It feels like you're getting snipets of the life that the four boys and Sunako have together and their interactions. Plus, this is a truly funny book. Sunako tries to kill people, Kyohei is constantly being kidnapped or abused, Ranmaru has dated every women in the tristate area, and so on. There really is nothing like it.

All in all, if you want something funny, fresh, and original give this series a shot. Just know that you'll have to be patient to get the next vol. New works come out quarterly.

Calling Sunako Nakahara morbid is a huge understatement. She enjoys watcher slasher flicks and scary movies, her best friends are anatomical dolls Hiroshi-kun and Akira-kun, and she has black curtains in her room to keep out the sun-light. It's easy to say that she would be happy living in darkness for the rest of her life. However, Sunako's aunt, a flighty but rich woman, is worried about her niece, Sunako used to be `normal', she used to care about things like beauty and fashion and Ms. Nakahara doesn't like the new, dark Sunako, because frankly, she's a little scary. Ms. Nakahara strikes a deal with 4 incredibly handsome boys, if they can turn Sunako into a real lady; they can live at her super posh mansion rent free for 3 years. How is Sunako supposed live with 4 men so attractive, so `bright' that she has a nosebleed (in Japan, it's said that nosebleeds are caused by lust) each time one comes too close?

On the flipside, Kyohei, Yuki, Takenaga, and Ranmaru are forced to live with a girl so scary that they are still not quite sure if she's real or a ghost, and what's more, how can they teach her to be a lady? The first day they meet her and realize that they have a huge problem on their hands: Sunako appears in an old, stained, sweatshirt, an ugly skirt and hair that covers her face, it was remarked that she looked like the girl from `The Ring'. Having never met a girl who could resist their charms, the group is determined not to be fazed by her fearsome façade.

The series, although unrealistic, is hilarious. Each of the male protagonists adds their own style of humor: Ranmaru, a notorious lady killer with so many women he must loose count, is always the one hitting on women and is often used when a parody of a corny love scene is needed. Takenaga is the intellectual who, next to Kyohei, is the best at coping with Sunako's dark side. In the beginning, he was the only person that could see inside Sunako's room. Yuki is the cute one and also the one most disturbed by Sunako and her love for horror, he normally cries after prolonged contact with her because she will do something disturbing. Kyohei is the most attractive, lead the hardest life and as a result is the toughest of the four. Kyohei is stubborn and rude; he fights with Sunako on a regular basis and he is the only one that can keep her under some form of control.

It was easy to get confused in the beginning because Tomoko Hayakawa draws Sunako in half-chibi form (Sort of small and cartoon like) and Sunako looked like she was 12 years old to me. As the series progresses Sunako gets smaller and rounder until she is in full fledged chibi mode, the author explains her reasons for this in book 2 or 3. You rarely get to see Sunako as her true self but when you do she is either incredibly beautiful or disturbingly threatening, which ever is more appropriate to the plot. The artwork is magical, with the right touch of darkness surrounding Sunako and exploding light around Kyohei and his friends. There are scenes with Kyohei and Sunako together that are so beautiful and intricately drawn it's easy to become spellbound; you can practically feel their emotions radiating off of the page. The series is very goth, but it's entertaining enough that anyone can read it.

The Verdict:
Beautiful art paired with hilarious characters and dialog makes this series one you should not pass up. It is such a relief to read a shoujo manga that dares to break the mold! A+

Perhaps looking forward to this book raised my expectations. I thought the previous two in this series were simply some of the best space opera combined with social commentary scifi available. This book simply does not deliver.

First, there are continuity errors. In one page of the novel, literally, one page, prepackaged meals are called 'prepacks'; in the rest, they're suddenly 'preheats'. Huh?

Second, she changes POV character waaaay too often. You can't even really call this a Koscuisko novel because he appears in less than half of the scenes, and is very rarely the POV character. I don't mind multiple POV novels, but someone as accomplished as Matthews should know that readers need some kind of clue at the beginning of a section as to who is narrating that section. Even just some geographical locator "on board _ragnarok_" or some such would have been an immense help. Half the time I had to go back after a page, when I'd figured out where and who 'we' were, to realign that information in my brain. Sometimes I had to stop in the middle of a section and wonder if she'd changed POV character on me or just got her pronouns confused (which she did, at least twice).

The whole novel has a sloppy feel to it. There's no compelling plot for Andrej; one never feels an awful lot of empathy for Ivers, and even though the surface plot tensions are resolved at the end, the internal problems for Andrej or Ivers are never resolved. And I don't mean 'unresolved' in a way that screams 'sequel'. She wraps everything up pretty tightly, so that I wouldn't be surprised if this is the last novel in the series--everyone's off to a Brave New World, inside the Judiciary or not, and hope is in the air, and.... all the loose ends are just oh so conveniently tied up. (Except the rioting and bombing and looting and why have a prologue in a place that's never EVER mentioned again in the novel?) It's a fuzzy and unfocussed novel that actually at times was a chore to read. I loved her other Andrej novels, but this...well, I wish I could go back in time to a week or so ago and still have hopeful expectations for this novel.

I think Matthews is taking the Conan Doyle approach and chucking Holmes off the cliff in a hope to be done with the whole mess. A shame, really.

You should buy this book.

HOWEVER, I reccomend doing so only if you've read the other Jurisdiction novels-- Exchange of Hostages, Prisoner of Conscience, Hour of Judgement, and Devil and Deep Space. It's not that Warring States isn't a coherent tale on its own-- it is, and a good one. But you won't enjoy it as much if you don't know the context, especially since a fairly major plot in the book hinges on a conflict begun two books ago. Besides, these are all fine characters who deserve some getting to know.

To those who have read the others-- Warring States is a little different from what we've seen before. There's a little less focus on Andrej Koscuisko, and a little more on the workings of Jurisdiction. It isn't a bad thing. All the old themes are still there-- love, and sacrifice, and willful stupidity, and good intentions. And they're just as satisfying as they've ever been.

As in the previous books, the author demonstrates a really refreshing grasp of a universe that exists outside of her main protagonists. Conflicts do not arise in a void; they exist because of other characters-- whose point of view you also get to see things from. None of the characters in Warring States are just handy plot devices.

One of the really nice things about reading Susan Matthews' writing is that if a person is antagonistic, she does not tell you so. She shows you so, by letting you into their head and letting you see how they understand the world. Look, ma, they've got motivations! Ditto her protagonists, and she doesn't exactly attempt to gloss over their flaws, either. None of these people fell from Krypton to leap tall buildings in a single bound. They're just people-- like the villains-- doing what makes sense to them.

It's nice.

So she's got a bunch of great characters. And? And they exist in a well-planned world. There are well defined cultures and governments and it makes SENSE that thus-and-such a character came out of this-and-such a culture. It's all internally consistent, which means there's nothing to jar you out of what is really a fascinating universe.

In the end, Warring States is a compelling book (and we shouldn't expect anything less of this particular author) and a well written one (ditto) and a satisfying one (see previous).

Well, as satisfying as a cliffhanger could be.

Susan R. Matthews returns, after a long wait, with "Warring States," the latest in her "Judiciary" novels featuring Andrej Koscuisko. It's packaged well--a large-size paperback on good paper, and it solves the murder of First Secretary Verlaine that occurred at the end of "The Devil in Deep Space." This time Andrej, after setting one of the two plots in motion, becomes more or less tempest-tossed as the action switches to the doings of Bench Specialist Jils Ivers, who's part of a convocation assembled to pick the next First Judge (while also being a suspect in the murder).

Ms. Matthews tries hard to overcome the inherent clunkiness that she's set for herself by blending the two plots together, and if she doesn't quite succeed, she certainly fails honorably, and it's definitely worth your time. As before her sense of place is extraordinary (when Jils orders a meal in a luxury hotel suite, you'll almost taste the food; when she descends underground where the convocation is being held maybe you'll feel claustrophobic too), and her chilly prose is as lucid as ever. Unfortunately, Andrej, who's worked hard to overcome his sadomaschoism (he refuses to torture people anymore), is a crashing bore after the tempest starts tossing him about after that opening act of his--he seems to have no willpower, nor control over his own life, and his motivations seem principally to have become those which Ms. Matthews assigns him, rather than having grown organically from the story.

In short, the author probably would have been better off writing two novels instead of cramming two stories into this one.

Notes and asides: Bench Specialist Vogel, who used to be Garol Vogel has become Karol Vogel. The handsome cover, by Christian McGrath, depicts, almost certainly, Jils Ivers, but who the man in uniform is could be any one of several characters. That might just be the point.

This is a thoroughly enjoyble book! Especially if you've been reading Susan Matthews before, you'll like this one.

Why? I think that, in the previous 2, Susan couldn't make up her mind about giving Koscuisko a happy ending or getting him killed. The fact that she couldn't make up her mind, hurt those plots. Now she's made up her mind: not to kill him, not to give him a happy ending and nevertheless to change his entire universe. And that brings so much new freshness to this book...!

The plot? Warring states (I think) refers to colliding realities: the Judiciary order with its rules and regulations versus the chaos and turmoil because of the departure of its Enlightened ruler (the First Judge). Free individuals versus slaves. Loyalty to principles and people, versus loyalty to ambition and selfishness. In Koscuisko the warring states are guilt (over the anguish caused by his legal exercising of torture) versus eagerness to relive the thrill caused by the adrenaline rush provided in the act of torturing.

It's a good book in this series, on many levels. Sometimes it's a bit slow, because the dramatic tensions makes you want the action to speed up (skipping forward solved that problem for me).

You'll enjoy it.

The eagerly awaited next installment of The Life & Hard Times of Andrej Koscuisko is here! All major points having been covered in previous reviews, I'll just add my opinion that Susan has done it again. Our beloved favorite characters are all here (even Joslire through his family), including cameos from those we might have forgotten about. The emotions run just as high or higher than in previous books, despite the reformation of certain characters. Hints of what is yet to happen in this universe will keep you checking to see when the next novel is scheduled for release.

I will reiterate the warnings of previous posts, however. This is a volume of a series, so it's best to begin at the beginning with Exchange of Hostages. Otherwise, some of the shocking page-turners in this book just aren't as shocking.

This volume is the conclusion of one of the best love stories of all time. You must start with volume one and read the whole set. I've got the books and the TV series, and I re-read/re-view them quite often. It's a funny, silly, heartbreaking, frustrating and ultimately a heartwarming, beautiful story. After all their difficulties, Yusaku and Kyoko finally get together in a perfect final volume. I just wish we could have more (hear that Takahashi?)!

Rumiko Takahashi is known for letting the relationships between her romantic leads drag on for years or even decades without them ever evolving or being consummated (see Inuyasha), but as the last and concluding volume of Maison Ikkoku opens, Godai and Kyoko enter a love hotel. Godai should be in heaven, right? I mean, this is what he's always wished for. But things become a bit awkward when Kyoko says that she is thinking about Soichiro. Godai thinks she's talking about her dead husband, but Kyoko corrects him and says she meant her dog, which happens to have the same name. Is that the truth? Suffice it to say, Godai suffers from impotence at the moment of truth. Things get even more complicated when his ex-girlfriend, Kozue shows up wanting to talk about their relationship. She had already told him a guy proposed to her but she didn't want to say yes because she didn't want to hurt Godai's feelings. On top of all this Godai is going to find out how he did on the teacher certification exams. The only way he can ask Kyoko to marry him is if he passed, so there's a lot riding on the results.

I have been reading this series off and on for a little over two years now and I have to admit I got a little misty eyed when I came to certain sections of this last volume. Simply because you never wish good things to come to an end. I used to have that experience a lot with anime and manga series, but it has become rarer lately, probably because there is so much product coming out that you don't have time to lament the end of one before you start another. Instead of just centering a review on this one volume, I'll just make some comments about the series as a whole because in terms of quality they were all about the same. The central conflict of the manga that lasted through the first to most of the last volume was the lack of courage Godai had to make Kyoko his. He bumbled his way through a relationship with Kozue and some childish competition with Mitaka the tennis coach but he was just never aggressive enough to pursue Kyoko with a single-minded determination. He was too wishy-washy. Kyoko too suffered a lot because she wanted to be pursued, hunted, and caught by an alpha male. While this kind of thing makes for a lot of heartache and tragedy in real-life, in the manga world it's the perfect tried and true setup for comedy. And boy was Maison Ikkoku funny! One of the best comedies I've ever read. I've still never figured out how Takahashi was able to make such a masterpiece from such simple materials and operating mainly with character interaction rather than plot. To me, that's the hardest story to write. Making the lives of everyday people interesting and fun. It's also great to experience a relatively long manga series that has true resolution and ends on an upbeat and happy note. A great manga work.

I must have read MI a dozen times in Japanese, and I recently bought the whole series in English just for fun. I'm generally pleased with the translation, but a mistake in this volume on one of my favorite lines in the whole series prompted me to comment. "When she laughs, the world is mine" should be "When she smiles, the world is mine." Subtle, but important.
Now that I have that off my chest, ignore the nitpicking and buy the whole series. If you like great stories and superb characterization, you can't go wrong.
I'm dropping a star for some rough editing at the beginning of the series and for a few other productions problems.

Whew!
I laughed until my mouth hurt, I went thirsty while reading this series so I wouldn't wet my pants or spit out my juice. I tried not to read Maison Ikkoku in public because my laughing made people look at me.
I made sure that when I reached the more tender, introspective scenes, that I locked myself in my room so I wouldn't embarrass myself when I began to cry.
I connected with Yusaku because I'm a college student, and with Kyoko when she was in deep thought.
I don't know what powers of telepathy that Ms. Takahashi has that she can pinpoint the exact thoughts that go through a person's mind. Being a creative type, I can understand a little, but her skills are uncanny and her comedic timing plays out as some of the best TV skits.
(Just remember the double-takes of the characters and you know exactly what I'm talking about)
I'm happy to say that I was not only entertained, but also learned a great deal about proper story-telling, pacing, and emotional setting.
This was truly extraordinary. Yusaku's heartfelt plea to Kyoko, Kyoko struggling within herself over moving on, the events and circumstances in life that hinder or help us... I'm getting emotional here.
Bravo Ms Takahashi. I know there is a kind of lifetime achievement award in the comic world that you should receive, or perhaps you already have.
It took me two years to finish the graphic novels. A two years that I rushed through and now wished I had savored more, but I'm not complaining.
All Yusaku's dreams came true as well as Kyoko's.
May all our dreams be just as fruitful.
I'm going to miss these people.
And I mean ALL of them.

There were times I thought the story of Maison Ikkoku would never end--the complications just compiled and continued! But at last, the conclusion arrived, and it left me feeling relieved and satisfied. I was still left to wonder about a couple things, though. For instance, just what does Yotsuya do for a living? Was this something I was supposed to pick up at some point, or are we left to wonder forevermore?
I'm glad I started reading the series, and I'm glad I read it all the way through. All that money was well worth it.

I am not a knowledgable comic person but the art work and the information for me was just outstanding.

Ross and Dini did a fantastic job in delivering powerful and heartfelt stories surrounding these great characters. Its A+ work from some of comicdoms most fantastic creators. A must own.

Alex Ross is an incredible artist and this is the type of book that really showcases his art. If you are a dc comics fan and a fan of incredible art work get this book.

This collects the large format stories put together by Paul Dini and master artist Alex Ross- Ross' photo-realistic artwork is absolutely incredible. The stories feature Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel and the Justice League- however, these are no ordinary superhero stories. Rather than fighting villains with death rays or armies of killer robots, the stories focus on the superheroes' frailties and failures, making them feel more accessible and 'human'. Superman takes on world hunger, Batman attacks the root cause of crime- poverty, Wonder Woman fights for women's rights, Captain Marvel reconciles the child and adult sides of himself, and the Justice League fight an alien virus- which the world thinks they might have created.

This is fantastic value- much cheaper than buying the stories individually. Plus you get to see some of Ross' original sketches and photo-references. Highly recommended.

From beginning to end, this book is gorgeous. This hardcover slipcased edition is a tactile wonder. Everything from the cover to every single page has a pleasant, glossy sheen not found even in other DC Absolutes. Now in previous absolute editions, I have lamented the inclusion of both a slipcase AND a dust jacket, (hello, redundant!) I am pleased that this book features both, because it's just more canvas to feature the Ross's to-die-for art.
Now if you're expecting to see a lot of the Justice League together, you'll be disappointed because 2/3 of this book is Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel in their own stories. However, the 80 page LIBERTY AND JUSTICE story that concludes the book is the cream of the crop. If you need a bigger JLA fix, then look to Ross's series JUSCICE.

In short, this should be on the shelf of any DC comics fan, and considering that the BATMAN and WONDER WOMAN paperbacks are selling for more than this collected edition, it's a friggin' steal at 32.99.

The companion CD comes with Maya 7 Personal Learning. (The key reason I wanted this book.)

You can't install the software, because it requires a software key.

The link provided to obtain the software key doesn't work.

It brings you to the download page for Maya 8.5 PLE. Maya 8.5 requires Windows XP or MAC OX X. (I'm on Windows 2000, bummer for me, eh?)
Maya moved from Alias to Autodesk.


Basically, this book provides some helpful theory. General theory you could apply to several different software packages. Also, good for improving photography techniques.

was very pleased and excited to see such a great new refreshing book on texturing. Great book for a beginner or advance maya user. Great visuals and will touch on many different topics and will show you technigues on creating difficult textures in maya.

I had certain expectations when I chose this book and I found that it lived up to almost all expectations I had. This book gives you an overview of a large range of Maya's texturing and lighting utility nodes and it explains to the reader all their individual attributes. At the end of each chapter useful tips and tricks are explored in the form of step-by-step tutorials - from lighting to texturing and rendering techniques. One chapter is devoted entirely to Maya's lighs, another to only 2D texturing nodes, a third to 3D texturing nodes, and so on.
It is a good book for people who have already some experience in using Maya and want to broaden their knowledge.
That said the book contains 13 topical chapters plus a 14th chapter filled with "additional techniques". However, the last three chapters (12-14) can only be found as PDF files on the accompanying CD. The printed book itself finishes with chapter 11. The book could also do with an update to bring it in line with the extensive changes to Maya's UI since the release of version 8.5, but if you use your brain a little you can use Maya's online reference to help you locate menus that have been moved or renamed since this book was published.

This Book is just Perfect...it tells you EVERYTHING about the Lighting and the Texturing.... if you want to learn about that 2 things... Buy This Book NOW

I bought this manual to help me ugrade from Maya 7.0 to Maya 8.5 and it's become my most prized and relied upon resource. Every tutorial I've gone through has worked perfectly (no missing steps or errors so far), Mr. Lanier writes coherently & well, and each new topic is presented in a straightforward and matter-of-fact fashion.

As a professional Video Game Artist, I've reccommended this manual to our enitire company of 300, and will continue to do so to everyone else. In the past, decent documentation on the finer points of Maya has been elusive, but Mr. Lanier has saved us! I will be adding his other manuals to my library.

This manga is unsophisticated in its artwork, storytelling, and politics. Yet that very lack of sophistication seems to me to be what gives it power that probably could only otherwise be generated by poetry, or perhaps opera.

You might as well go ahead and buy the four volumes in this series now, to save time & postage. Then you can wait, like I am waiting, in the hope that Project Gen manages to publish the next six volumes in the series.

Note: there is at least one prior English edition of Barefoot Gen, and the volume contents are not the same as in the latest edition. So if, for example, you buy volume 3 of the earlier edition (1979), you will find that it overlaps the latter part of volume 2 of the current edition (issued in 2004.) The volume titles seem to be the same in each edition, so things can get confusing if you don't stick with the same edition. If you buy used, pay attention to which edition you are getting.

According to Wikipedia, these are the published & projected volumes in the current English translation series of Barefoot Gen:

* Barefoot Gen #1: A Cartoon Story Of Hiroshima (ISBN 0-86719-602-5)
* Barefoot Gen #2: The Day After (ISBN 0-86719-619-X)
* Barefoot Gen #3: Life After The Bomb (ISBN 0-86719-594-0)
* Barefoot Gen #4: Out Of The Ashes (ISBN 0-86719-595-9)
* Barefoot Gen #5: The Never-Ending War (17 April 2008, ISBN-10: 0867195967)
* Barefoot Gen #6: Writing the Truth (17 April 2008, ISBN-10: 0867195975)
* Barefoot Gen #7: (Not published in English)
* Barefoot Gen #8: (Not published in English)
* Barefoot Gen #9: (Not published in English)
* Barefoot Gen #10: (Not published in English)

Barefoot Gen - I grew up with this famous comic series by Nakazawa. It's about a boy called 'Gen' and his life in Hiroshima during the WWII and soon after the atomic bomb. Volumes 1 & 2 are probably the most important ones. After I read them in English, I just had to lend them to everyone I knew. If you read this story, you'll realise how silly to hear some popular opiniton 'Dropping two atomic bombs in Japan was necessary to end the war'. The author Nakazawa says that each and every event illustrated here is a true story. You'll see, for example, that two young brothers fight against each other for a little grain of rice. Gen trying to encourage a girl who used to be dreaming about one day becoming a professional dancer, but now her face was badly burnt by the bomb, although she still didn't know it - he refuses to let her see the mirror.

The bombs were dropped onto civilians in the two cities, and, in Hiroshima alone, 100,000 people, including children, elderly people and western prisoners of war, were killed instantly, and the pain they suffered from it was tremendous. The way some of Gen's family members, including a new born baby sister, were slowly dying is simply too sad to look at. But the reality is that it actually took place and was caused by human hands.

I sincerely hope that many people will find the opportunity to read this book at least once in their life-time, and I strongly believe that this book will enlighten the whole world with the message: 'What really happens when a nuclear bomb is dropped onto humanity', which hasn't really been talked about in history books for some reason. But I think it's time to face reality.

The manga form of presentation makes reading about the prelude to this event easy and fast. The book seemed to be reasonably accurate with historical documentation and the visual format allowed the author to include detail that might otherwise have become difficult to work into the story. The clothing, clogs, air raid hoods, etc. that are be depicted add depth of information to a quick read.

Keiji Nakazawa, Barefoot Gen (New Society Publishing, 1983)

Keiji Nakazawa's four-volume graphic epic Barefoot Gen has become legendary in the field of graphic literature, and also, in no small way, out of it. While many Japanese artists working in every medium have examined the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and their aftereffects, Nakazawa, who lived in Hiroshima at the time the bombs were dropped, has an understandably closer perspective than most others who have tried it. For sheer power, Barefoot Gen's only rival in the subgenre is the similarly legendary Grave of the Fireflies.

This eponymous first volume takes us through the life of Gen, an elementary school student, and his family in the months before the dropping of the bomb on Hiroshima. Gen's father, while not a pacifist, is notorious in town for his speaking out against the war, which gets him and his family branded traitors. Because of this, they don't have an easy life. The family members try to find various ways to survive in the face of shunning at best, and aggression at worst, from the rest of the townspeople.

Do you need to be told that this is a book that's going to hit you in the face like a sledgehammer with its message? The artistry, or lack of same, in the delivery is the place where Grave of the Fireflies is clearly superior to Barefoot Gen, but while Nakazawa is not above letting his message get in the way of his story on occasion, it never happens for too long a period of time. Nakazawa's characters are well-drawn, and the story spends more time focused on its characters than on its message. There is a lot to be liked here, and a good deal to be mulled over, as well. Well worth your time. ****

In our present time this portal to the topic of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and our nature as the only nation to build and to use nuclear weapons, and against strictly civilian population centers may inform our moral consideration of the present failure of our total war alone against civilians to establish a peaceful and stable and democratic society.

This present volume serves as an excellent introduction to the topic. Centering on Hiroshima, as may supplement this strong introductory reading with the recent study by Prof. Takaki, or the new Racing the Enemy, which explores the lack of military reason for dropping the Bomb against an already defeated Japanese Empire. We may also read on this specific event of crisis the moving Letters from the End of the World, or HIroshima Diary, written as was Gen by eyewitnesses and civilian victims of this our nuclear holocaust. Hershey is also important to read of course, and the reissue of Hiroshima Mon Amour, but I keep returning to this child's eye view in Barefoot Gen.

We are fortunate in this reprinting for the informed and astute introduction by Art Spiegelman, the creator of the Maus series which does a similar though more symbolic treatment of the Nazi Holocaust. Art strongly recomends this first person account of a small boy on the morning of the Bomb, and its immediate effects upon himself and upon his family. Please read this book and remember. Our Popes continue to visit the Peace Park at Ground Zero in Hiroshima, to pray for peace and nonviolence and for the development of peoples.

I am a big matt groening fan so I bought this. One out of every 10 was funny and the others...

This book is really funny,and yet so realistic (apart from the talking bunnies). You can definitly see some simalarities between the charactors in the Simpsons and the characters in the book. I plan on buying all 5 books

I must say, Big Book of Hell is 10 times better than Huge Book of Hell. Funnier, less preachy, bigger, and just plain better. It's honest, and extremely observant of the little stupid things we do every day. Matt's detailed descriptions of school and work are so true, I wish I would have written them. Bongo's anti-school agenda is so funny and true. The strips with the eyes and Bongo strapped in a chair are among my favorites. Another thing Big Book has that Huge Book doesn't, is that it is TOUCHING! Witness the 8 Steps of Handling a Divorce (or something to that nature). I almost cried when I read it. In some ways, its more personal than Huge Book, other times, more universal. Which is why Greoning's work (and the Simpsons) are so brilliant: touching, personal yet universal, bitter yet hilarious, observant without being fake. Big Book also has TREMENDOUS re-read value. I highly suggest anyone looking for a laugh or some delicious insight to purchase Big Book of Hell.

It's one thing to say that life is hell and sit back and sulk. It's another thing to turn it into hysterical, scathing humor. Matt Groening's "... is Hell" series is by far the darkest and funniest exploration into our modern life. If Mark Twain were a cartoonist, this is what he would have produced. Compare these cartoons to those animated yellow people (Bart, Homer, et al.), and The Simpsons are no longer a dysfunctional family.

I've been a huge fan of the Simpsons since they first aired, and recently I decided to check out Matt Groening's other works. I bought this book used and it was worth every penny. The comics here are unlike any other. I particularly enjoy them because they are totally irreverent, yet honest about the state of American society today. Many of the 'School is Hell' series appear in this collection. They are my favorites--they get me through long nights of studying. It makes me wish there was a 'Life in Hell' TV series to go along with the Simpsons.

With each new Bone book I get, I never get disappointed. Each book is more and more engrossing. While the black and white issues are the originals, the colors add more to the overall story than I would have guessed. The art is great, the epic story is amazing and the colors just help bring everything together even more.

I gotta say that once you get into the Bone series, it's hard to stop reading it, and I really enjoyed this volume, which is mostly about the antics and schemes of Phoney Bone as he tries to swindle people out of their money, hurting others along the way as things backfire terribly. Definitely great stuff!

The Bone series really hits its stride in this volume. Continuing the excellence from previous volumes, the story deepens and builds into a truly great fantasy tale, on par with classics of the prose fantasy world. I'd give this volume more than 5 stars if I could. Highly recommended.

Side note: - While I understand the all ages appeal of the Bone series; I find it odd that these books get shelved (and buried from a wider range of readers) in the young adult sections of the major chain stores. It would be better to shelve them with Graphic Novels or SciFi/Fantasy.

Jeff Smith's BONE: THE DRAGONSLAYER provides another fine graphic novel in Book 4 of the Bone series. Here the forces of evil are growing - and the roots may be within the Bone family itself. Full-color graphic novel pages entice kids to read the Bone adventures, and even newcomers will find it easy to jump in.

Action, suspense, mystery, with a winning plot and great characters, this beautifully mastered chapter in the bone series is top notch! I can't wait for the next book in the (assumed nine-part) series to come out!

This one is political incorrect, violent, bizarre and disgusting. It's great! Just to laugh. Garth Ennis is almost back in his old shape (the one he has in Preacher, I mean). If you liked Preacher and Punisher Max, you will like this one as well.

This series is way too cool! I love the concept of the "super heros" being the bad guys with ego's a mile wide. I am sure that if any human could gain super powers, they would eventually become corrupt like the "super heros" in this series. Luckily The Boys are there to keep them in check. I highly recommend this series to anyone that is sick and tired of the do good heroes in comics. This is the best!

I had no idea what I was getting into when I first read this series. At that time I was not very familiar with Garth Ennis and a friend recommended it to me. All I knew was that it was a world where superheroes were corrupt and a U.S. government backed mercenary group hired to knock them down a peg. The only warning that I was given that the content was pretty mature.

When I read the first issue, I was blown away and hooked instantly. The individual characters are simply astonishing, which is quite an accomplishment seeing how many of them there are. Sure, the content is very mature, but I think that it can't be any other way. Some of these characters are the scum of the Earth and there wouldn't be any other way to accurately portray this to the reader.

I highly suggest buying the first volume to see if you like it. If the "adult content" doesn't bother you, then I believe that this could be a very enjoyable series for you.

This is what adult comic books should be about. This breaks up all of the old stereotypes and gives you the regular yokels perspective.

Modern stories demythologizing long-underwear sooper-heros have been around for a while... "Marvelman," "The Watchmen," DC's Vertigo imprint, and more recently "Powers" and Marvel's "Ultimates" timeline. But few books have approached the topic with such sheer venom as Garth Ennis's "The Boys," in which a mysterious, steroidal hardcase named Billy Butcher assembles an anti-supergroup whose aim is to take the stuffing out of the supergroups that have run rampant over the world. Butcher gets government backing, and puts his Scooby gang together, then sets his sights on some relative small fry: a teen supergroup filled with sex-crazed ultra-brat packers called the Kix. Ennis has a parallel plotline involving an, a-list elite superhero group called The Seven, who are this world's version of the Justice League or the Avengers -- and they are equally crass and unlikeable, and by the end of this first book, we're ready to see them get taken down a few pegs. Looks like Butcher and his headstompers are just the folks to do it. The characters are generally pretty thinly portrayed (which I often find true in Ennis's work) but the plot and the mood are compelling. It's a fun, though rather dark-toned, grisly book, with themes that may seem familiar to folks who have read Ennis, Alan Moore, et. al., over the years. I'm looking forward to Book Two. (ReadThatAgain)

I bought this for my kids. My daughter loves reading and couldn't put Clan Apis down. After reading she told very excited it was a lot of fun, and most importantly, that she learned a lot about bees while reading. The book takes the form of a comic strip, but the drawings are amazing, and it is packed with information about bees, many of which I never knew about before.

I was looking for some engaging books for my 8-year old who is into science and has never found most books for his age group very interesting. I got this for him - but I could hardly give it to him because I kept wanting to read it. I just love the drawings and the hilarious comments from the bugs and flowers.

And my son loves it too. He reads it at night and in the car ride to school to his carpool buddies. A very fun and entertaining "comic book."

It's hard to find a book that is as funny, interesting, educational and deeply humane as this graphic novel. The story is charming but not saccharine. Main characters-- all of them honeybees-- die, some quite heroically and others simply grow old. And while the bees are to a great extent anthropomorphic they remain bees and their world is filled with alien and fascinating information.

All in all this was a wonderful book.

Other reviewers have already mentioned that this book: (1) tells an emotionally deep and action-packed and delightful story (suitable for adults and children), (2) includes a great amount of scientific information, and (3) includes outstanding drawings. The only thing I can add is that the book is the most amazing and perfect combination of story and science education I have yet managed to find in a book. The story's emotional depth and impact is comparable to that found in the best children's stories that I remember, e.g., Charlotte's Web. (In other words, the story can make an adult cry, in a good sense.) And the science subject's coverage (just right) and focus and presentation are as good as the best found in any knowledge-wrapped-in-fiction book that I've read, e.g., Russell Stannard's super Black Holes and Uncle Albert.

Clan Apis is incredible. Every other knowledge-wrapped-in-fiction book I've read seems in comparison to have a far, far more pedestrian story. For example, the following books with good or at least decent science/knowledge instruction cannot meet Clan Apis's super-high standard for a first-class story: George Gamow's science-awesome "Mr. Thompkins in Paperback" (not the Stannard-updated abomination "New World of Mr. Thompkins" (bad)); Stannard's science-awesome "Uncle Albert" books; the "Magic Treehouse" books; the "Magic School Bus" books; Stephen Hawking's (and daughter's) uneven but exciting "George's Secret Key to the Universe" book; and Hosler's own "Sandwalk Adventures" book (which I didn't like much, I forget why not). Fellow reviewers or comment writers, please share with us any other good knowledge-wrapped-in-fiction books (or movies/shows) that you know about. Thanks!

Let me just start by saying the author, Jay Hosler, is one of the best human beings you could ever have the fortune to meet. I am one of his students at Juniata College, and I can tell you everything this man does is quality and excellent. Dr. Hosler's first book, Clan Apis, is my personal favorite because I think it best illustrates him as a person.

Dr. Hosler loves inverts, and mostly, bees. So, it is obvious that this graphic novel is a labor of love for him. Every page and every character is scripted and illustrated in the utmost care and love. His gift for narrating an amazing tale and combining that with clever education is not just obvious in this book, but in the classroom. Everything he has ever taught me has stayed with me to some capacity because of his ability to clearly communicate ideas.

Not only is Clan Apis a wonderful story about bee biology, but it is even a tasteful way to introduce young readers into many adult topics such as leaving home, independence, and death. Dr. Hosler executes every bit of this story with style, humor, and decorum. He has created a story that not only entertains but educates on many levels, an achievment most major movie studios have not accomplished in animation in years (You listening Disney? Pick up this for a screenplay!).

If this hasn't convinced you to buy this amazing, quirky book, then do it for the fact he has two really cute kids and has to put up with a room full of annoying biology geeks like me everyday.