Graphics Books

I've read all of SiP, from the first novel to the latest, which I think is number 11, Heart in Hand. The entire series is amazingly complex, with so much depth to it-- and every graphic novel adds to that depth, often putting another layer on events you thought you understood the first time around. I recommend re-reading SiP once you're through, so you can catch all those things you didn't think were important when you first saw them!

Moore is amazing in that every character he creates is truly multi-dimensional; even the bad guys have background. No clear-cut lines in this one.

SiP was the first comic I've ever read-- and still the best. I truly recommend it highly.

Just a good story, with realistic characters, a interesting plot and great artwork. Katchoo, Francine, David, Freddie and even the neighbors have a part to play in this story line. This small collection is but the first volume in (what I hope is) a neverending story of love, hope and, sometimes, pain. If you love comics or DON'T love comics this is a book to buy!

I don't differ that much from many other teens my age, but in some ways I do. One of those ways is what and how much I read. While many of my friends struggle with eighty-page children's chapter-books, there's almost nothing I enjoy more then sticking my nose in the latest 400+ page novel. I don't usually read comics, but when I stumbled upon Strangers in Paradise, I was intrigued by the brief synopsis on the flap and decided to give it a try.

SiP turned out to be one of the greatest reading experiences I've ever had. The plot, and characters, are complex but not imcomprehensible, and the art is fabulous. It's not for people like some of my rather illiterate friends, but I recommend the entire collection of Strangers In Paradise to anyone- comic book reader or no, age doesn't matter- who enjoys a good read.

For those who aren't afraid to try something different, this is it. Funny, well drawn, and interestingly written. Just about the best non-superhero series outside of "Bone".

I love this series-I am an avid reader but never got into graphic novels-too superhero-ey, too violent, too dark...I picked up a Strangers In Paradise book at a friend's and I am now the proud owner of the entire collection. Track down your local comic book store and spend $ on one issue-Katchoo, David and Francine may become your close personal friends! If you dig the issue, get this collection to start you off into Strangerhood. Enjoy!

This book will be a very helpful tool for anyone using the new image-editing software to improve drawings and paintings. There are a number of examples that show what today's software will allow an artist to do. It gave me new ideas to try as I experimented with software, my scanner and digital camera. This book would be great for anyone who is looking for some great ideas and new approaches to art!

As a novice artist and computer user, I found this book so important and useful. It is a one of a kind book, extremely innovative and ties together both the art world and todays technology. Not only is it timely for today but will be important for the future. Bravo!!

This book was extremely helpful. It provides clear instruction and beautiful examples of how many different artists have used computer software to explore innumerable possibilities for a painting in a short period of time. Pollard and Little have presented the material in an easy to read style. It gets right to the point. An excellent tool for any artist.

This book encouraged me to buy Photoshop Elements and get started learning this powerful and complex software (I have used Microsoft's Picture It! and a watered-down version of Phtoshop before, the latter for several years). This book coveres several types of media. A number of different artists put together paintings using the software to aid in explorations of graphic ideas and planning. Basically, it is an introduction to using Photoshop (or, "...Elements") or other image editing program that demonstates the advantages, and some of the ways, a computer can be used by artists. It's chief value lies in getting you excited about expanding your tools and shows you how a computer can enhance your creativity, making it easier and quicker to explore the possibilites.

As an artist taking a Photoshop class, i was hopelessly lost in a deluge of material. This book sorts through the material and focuses only on what is necessary for an artist. Great way to take the pain out of thumbnails and value studies!

I got this for my fiance--she had a few of the original issues and wanted the whole set. It's a lot of fun if you don't mind the almost idiotic amount of scenes stolen directly from movies and other comics. Nothing original (except maybe in it's frenetic rush to cram every James Bond and Indiana Jones and Captain America story ever all together at once) but it certainly is entertaining. Note: Not recommended for guys with jealous girlfriends (lots of gratuitous eye candy in this thing).

I can remember distinctly when Danger Girl came out, one of the premier series of Image's "Cliffhanger!" imprint (along with Ramos' "Crimson" and Madureira's "Battle Chasers"). Danger Girl didn't last long - only seven issues came out before the series proper was cancelled, but what a ride it was. Danger Girl, created by writer Andy Hartnell and artist J. Scott Campbell (of Gen 13 fame) follows the exploits of a group of female spies and adventurers on the trail of some superpowerful artifacts; the only problem is, a superpowerful criminal/political organization, The Hammer, is after them as well. Super high-octane spy fun ensues as a result.

What's surprising about this comic is, with a hokey premise like the one above, just how rip-roaring good it really is. At first blush a product of the mid-1990s "Bad Girls" craze (the main characters are attractive female spies in revealing costumes...hence the title), Hartnell and Campbell combine an obvious love of a good old-fashioned action yarn with pieces of 70s and 80s nostalgia - references to and influences from many pop culture institutions abound, including Star Wars, He-Man, James Bond, G.I. Joe, and many more. There are also ingenious homages to Raiders of the Lost Ark: a car-chase scene near the beginning of the volume (including a very familiar covered cargo truck...) and the climactic scene at the end are pitch-perfect tributes to that seminal action film that will leave readers smiling. Campbell's artwork is another reason to give this comic a chance: walking the fine line between cartoony and stylized, his characters are expressive and relatable, his backgrounds detailed, and his grasp of anatomy highly intuitive. Very much recommended.

But the attitude, dialog, and art in this series truly wins me over in a way that no other graphic novel has. I'll admit to not at all being a comic book junkie, but I do have a collection of close to fifty. I've never read a comic that sucked me in as fast as this one does. The vibrant coloring, extremely cliche and lame one-liners, and incredibly gorgeous women make this a very fun, very enjoyable read for any kid over 13.

I'd definitely rate the content of this book a PG-13 though, because there are a LOT of shots which show off 98% of the girl's bodies. Truth be told, those shots weren't really necessary for me because I enjoyed it for the action and humor, but I suppose there had to be a draw for the average, acne-ridden, comic book reading teenager that they wouldn't get from other comic books. And Abbey and the girls definitely do not disappoint in this area.

As a fan of a like-minded TV show called She Spies, I love this comic and would recommend it to anyone I know to be a fan of light fun reading. The action and humor is none-stop in this book. The only thing I didn't really like was the sub-plot involving "mysterious" male character "Zero". He really WAS a "zero" in my book as I couldn't bring myself to give a crap about him.

Anyway, if you ask me, this series is begging to be turned into a summer blockbuster film and I've actually begun writing a script for it. Probably doesn't mean squat since I'm not at all affiliated with hollywood, but the fact remains that I'd really like to see this series get the big-screen treatment.

To me, this graphic novel perfectly embodies what comics are meant to do. It pulls the viewer into a whole other world for the span of about an hour.

What's included:

Introduction by "Evil Dead" Star Bruce Campbell
Introduction by Danger Girl Creator/Artist J. Scott Campbell
Danger Girl Preview
Danger Girl 1-7
Cover Gallery containing all regular and variant covers
5 Page Danger Girl Sketchbook

Danger Girl is a wonderful world of action and adventure told through beautiful artwork and a story that is just plain fun. It follows adventurer Abby Chase as she is recruited into the female secret agent team known as Team Danger Girl in their attempts to stop an evil terrorist threat to the world from a neo-fascist organization called The Hammer Empire. This trade collects the first and really only good Danger Girl story as most of the one-shots that followed where done by different artists and were not up to par.

Like all the Image books of the 90's, most people paid attention to Danger Girl because of J. Scott Campbell's artwork as he was already famous from the comic Gen 13. But unlike previous Image comics that relied on art, Danger Girl and the other Cliffhanger Comics, Battle Chasers and Crimson, actually had a story that was bearable to read.

Danger Girl is heavily influenced by Campbell's love for the movies, and fortunately his love for downright entertaining movies such as Indiana Jones and Back to the Future. While the story resembles Charlie's Angels, True Lies, or a James Bond film more, it holds the feel of all those entertaining and fun adventure and spy movies by not taking itself too seriously.

A particularly enjoyable element to the comic is the "Previously in the pages of Danger Girl" page that begins each issue of Danger Girl. In just one page, the creators recap the last issue, throw in some funny captions, and always use a "cliffhanger" by warning of our heroes' "apparent DOOM!" These recaps have the campy feel of old TV shows like Bullwinkle and the Adam West Batman when they would preview the next episode.

What adds to the story-telling is Campbell's artistic style that is influenced by animation which gives the characters movement and expression rather than just magazine poses. Campbell also uses many widescreen panels along with well-timed close ups to show that he really had the cinematography of the story in mind when creating Danger Girl to make it feel like an action movie.

The weakest part of Danger Girl: The Ultimate Collection is the 5 page sketchbook in the back. It is interesting to see some inner-workings of Campbell's art, but it is not nearly enough for fans of his work. These sketches and many others can be found in "J. Scott Campbell's Danger Girl Sketchbook."

All in all, Danger Girl is a fun comic that strays away from the superhero theme and actually puts a little comedy into a "comic" book. The art is great and the story is entertaining. Take Danger Girl for what it is and don't take it too serious because it doesn't take itself that serious.

The tone of Danger Girl falls somewhere between a wry pastiche and loving celebration of all things 'spy' - at once ultra-cool, and uber-camp, spectacular and cliche, tantalisingly sexy and good clean fun. The stylised, gorgeously colorful pages positively ooze action, and the cinamatic layout draws you the delightfully exciting and improbable world of Abbey Chase, renowned explorer and rogue. Like any Bond film worth it's salt, the plot kicks off with a (literally) explosive opening sequence in which Abbey, with Indiana Jones' determination (and Lara Croft's bosom) chases down a lost artifact and is introduced to covert crime-busting team, the Danger Girls - fronted by the mysterious 'Deuce' (a witty and adroit caricature of Sean Connery).

It seems as if every page that follows is riddled with references to other spy and action thrillers, from shiny gadgets to pithy one-liners (usually delivered mid-battle, or following a sticky demise) and constantly treads the line between gentle ribbing and heartfelt admiration - it seems pretty clear that this is the world that J. Scott Campbell would inhabit if he could (probably with his own island fortress and buxom bodyguards). Its hard not to grin at the pure exhilarating pace, peppered with set pieces that would honor any summer blockbuster, and I frequently chuckled with delight at the plot-refreshers between each chapter (in my head they were narrated by James Earl Jones, and prefixed with 'Previously, on DAAAANGER GIRL!).

Having been indoctrinated into the team, we chase Abbey and her Danger Girl chums as they battle across Europe in defiance of the evil Hammer Empire - a neo-fascist regime with dreams of world-domination (seriously, are there any neo-fascists out there content to just read the paper and watch Jeopardy?). Cue car chases, romantic interludes, gun, knife and fist fights and of course plenty of heaving chests crammed into leather catsuits. Every frame is furiously detailed and, as I mentioned earlier there is sufficient skin on display to induce the loosening of collars - though in a James Bond-ish, PG13 kinda way. Aside from the pneumatic qualities of its Heroines, the artwork is simply superb, and its gratifying that every page is treated with the same glamor and sharpness.

In keeping with its big-budget movie cousins, the plot really isn't that unique, and the twists and turns didn't leaving me shaking my head. Still, it all fits perfectly as a 90 minute popcorn-munching ride, and this edition features some bonus artwork (cover art, conceptual sketches etc), plus a forward by Bruce 'Evil Dead' Campbell which sets the tone nicely.

If this was a film it would be produced by the Wachowski brothers, Directed by John Woo and star Jenna Jameson and Angelina Jolie. As a graphic novel, I heartily recommend it to comic-fans, newcomers alike, and anyone else who could use a bit of Danger in their lives.

"Out" is the second volume of the Bendis/Maleev run on Daredevil and its great. This story follows up on the conclusion of the previous volume of the book, when Silke outs Daredevil's secret identity.

This story arc shows how messed up Matt Murdock's life, there is very little in costume action here, only a fight with Mr. Hyde, most of the volume just focuses on how Murdock's life is falling apart. The characterization is great for both Matt and Foggy and the developments the character goes through in this book sets up interresting ramifications for future Daredevil stories.

Bendis' writing is as crisp as ever here, as he sets up his Daredevil run as something, which is not ur normal superhero book. Bendis' talking heads style plays a large part on the developments in this book, and Bendis also shows he gets Matt Murdock's character and why he does what he does. The story feels very realistic due mainly to the fully fleshed out characters. Bendis' dialogue is also crisp, one line that strikes me is the internal monologue by Murdock "I know before I wake up...I know my life is over" absolutely brilliant

Maleev's art is great, he stepped his game up a bit with this volume, making the art here even better than it was in "Underboss". His layouts are great and his gritty and noir pencils give a grounded feel to this story and fit it perfecty.

When you end the main part of "Out" you'll most definately be left wanting more of the Bendis/Maleev ongoing story. So the three issues that follow may be somewhat of a disapointment.

The trial of the century three-part arc, despite being well written, it falls short of the brilliance that the 5 parter before this story was. The main plot consists of Matt Murdock defending a fellow super-hero in court, if your interessted in lawyering, you may get a kick outta this story, but me, not so much.

A lot of the failure in the back up is due to the sub-par artwork, after being treated to Maleev brilliance in the previous 5 parts, Gutierrez' and Dodson's artwork, is ok in their own right, but they dont really match the feel of Daredevil taht much, I still have to say it is nice tho, just no where near as good as the interiors Maleev produced earlier in the trade.

Despite a somewhat disapointing back story, "Daredevil: Out" is most definately worth reading for the main story, the back story, despite not as good, still manages to be entertaining in its own mertis. This book is worth every cent you put into it, but if you haven't read "Underboss" yet, I'd most definately recommend you to read that before coming to read this book, since the plotlines in that book are what moves this one forwards.

As the title implies, Matt Murdock is about to experience one of the worst days of his super hero career. In one of the crowning moments of Brian Michael Bendis' run on Daredevil, Daredevil's secret identity is outed by the press as the FBI and criminals alike gather around to make their move. Out is where Bendis really hits his stride on the title and takes Daredevil to heights that haven't been seen since Frank Miller's last runs on the title. His Hell's Kitchen is a gritty, dangerous, dark spot on an otherwise shiny Marvel-ized New York City, and his depiction of Matt Murdock/Daredevil is the most human the character has been in years. Later on, we see Murdock embroiled in a trial as he defends a low rent super hero who was at the wrong place at the wrong time; which plants seeds for further, bigger developments in Bendis' celebrated run on the title. Alex Maleev's artwork is spectacular as well, which has come to be expected if you've read Daredevil at any great length over the past few years. All in all, mainstream super hero comics rarely get any better than this.

Just a quick glance at the myriad of Daredevil trade paperbacks out there will give some indication of how many permutations this character has gone through. Unfortunately few truly understand the intricacies of the character who can turn into a third-rate ninja in one writer's hands and a cut-rate Spider-man in another's.

Luckily Brian Michael Bendis "gets" Daredevil - much as Miller and Smith have before him. As others have said in their reviews before this one, this is certainly not a conventional superhero tale as it focuses more on Matt Murdock and less on his costumed alter-ego. What appearances there are from the spandex set are limited but very effective. And you have to give credit to ANY writer who can make Mr. Hyde interesting, if only for a few panels.

Two disapointments: 1) The conniving Mr. Silke, who basically sets Murdock up for much of the misery he experiences in these issues, essentially becomes a castrated character barely even appearing in these pages. Perhaps Bendis has something up his sleeve for Silke. I hope so, as this story really wastes his potential.
2) The final third or so of the book is taken up with a White Tiger storyline that is moderately good, but certaily nothing like the Bendis/Maleev stories that precede it.

Bottom Line: The Hollywood screenwriters could learn a LOT from Bendis and Maleev. This is a worthwhile read!

For the record, I've never read anything by Bendis that was as good as Alias, which was fantastic, all the way through. I read "Wake Up" first, and I was very impressed, although I wasn't sure that I was getting a clear idea of Bendis' Daredevil, or of Daredevil himself, for that matter, as I have never read a Daredevil book. I picked up Underboss, then, and I enjoyed it enough to want to pick up the next volume.

This trade contains two stories: "Out" and "Trial of the Century." "Out" is fantastic. The idea is daring as hell, and it's handled perfectly. The characters are all completely believable and compelling--particularly, Matt Murdock, Foggy and Ben Urich; the dialogue is fantastic, the story is engaging and Alex Maleev's artwork is perfect. It has the same gritty feel of Michael Gaydos' artwork, and it looks great; figures and facial expressions are all natural, too.

Then there's "Trial of the Century," which was fairly poor. The main problem with it is the artwork, which is ridiculously poor for all of Manuel Gutierrez's issues (parts one and two). It is distorted and ugly; the way that Murdock's hair sticks up alone shows that Gutierrez doesn't have a basic understanding of how gravity works--or how hair works. Murdock looks very much like an alien in some panels.

The third issue, illustrated by Terry Dodson, is much better. It's nowhere near Alex Maleev's artwork, or David Mack's, but it's nice and stylized, and it does have something going for it.

That said, the writing on this one was okay. It wasn't as good as "Out," I think, although I'm sure that the artwork had something to do with how little I enjoyed it, but it wasn't wonderful, either. One thing that I really enjoyed in Alias was the way that Bendis could makes ridiculous characters like Speedball, or Mattie Franklin (Spider-woman III) believable, or even idealized super-heroes like Captain America or Ant-Man (Scott Lang) feel like real, relatable characters.

That doesn't go over with the White Tiger, who seems like a stereotypical hero, most of the way through. The opposing lawyer and the judge both seem like charicatures; there's nothing really impressive here. Still, it's Bendis, and, really, the artwork is probably what hurts the story the most.

Still, four stars because "Out" is so good.

Be warned: This collection may cover Daredevil #32-40, but Daredevil hardly appears at all. There's only a brief appearance by a super-villian, and that's by the fourth-string Mr. Hyde. There are cameos galore, but of the appearances by Spider-Man, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Elektra, Jessica Jones and the White Tiger, only Spider-man does any real "super-heroing". The story doesn't advance or conclude with a big battle royale and a resolve where our hero saves the day and the world is put right, but with...well, find that out for yourself.

This is the best Daredevil storyline since Born Again.

Read Underboss before this to get the full story. In breif: Daredevil's secret identity has been outed by a tabloid newspaper (whose source is also an unconventional surprise). The repercussions are real and, no, there won't be a resolve with both Matt Murdock and someone else disguised as Daredevil appearring in the same place at the same time.

Bendis' strength as a writer of dialogue and creating memorable, vital characters is at its' peak here. Matt Murdock creates his own problems and ruins good opportunities because of his own flaws, not some super-baddie vowing revenge. Maleev's artwork is dark, gritty, moody and somber: an ideal match for Daredevil (and the colors by Matt Hollingworth and even the lettering by Richard Starkings are also well-suited and noteworthy).

Bendis and Maleev as a creative team for daredevil is so effective and evocative because they were both clearly influenced by Frank Miller. However, they are are not just aping Miller, they're embellishing. Their vision for Daredevil will forever change the character and in time may be remembered as just as important as Millers'.

The only drawback is the artwork in the last White Tiger story. It's okay, and it's a good story but without Maleev, it's just not the same, and it would have been really interesting to see what Maleev would have done with the story-line.

Pick this up. It's not just the best mainstream comic today, it may be the best thing in the entire field.

Wendy Pini has certainly outdone herself! Her artwork has always been versatile, changing to fit the mood of the story. In this graphic novel, she used vivid watercolors to tell the tale. It's amazing! The stories are also superb, in the honored tradition of Elfquest. My favorite story is the one about Tyleet and her adopted human cub, Little Patch. Wendy Pini is definetly my favorite artist! :)

This compelling book contaning 5 of Wendy and Richard Pini's Hidden Years comic books. Which in my opinion are well thought, written, and drawn. These stories can make you cry, and they can help you understand the mysterious world of Elfquest, which few know but love. This must be at the top of every Elfquest lover's list, for it is a very very good book.

A collection of short stories, _Hidden Years_ fills in some missing spots in the storyline, mostly from the time period before the 'Shards'and Kings of the Broken Wheel timeline. It was really nice to see that a story could indeed be covered in the equivalent of one issue of a comic book. My favorites are the story depicted on the cover and the origin story for Skywise. No spoilers here, just go out and get it.

Wendy is arguably the best comic book artist of our time, and this little gem has got to be her greatest work ever. This is the very first book by the Pinis that I bought. (Which may I recommend that you don't get this first. You will be very confused, even though the stories are great in themselves.) This one book started the Elf-mania in my family. Now, I buy all of them, even the off-the-wall side stories that are more humorous than anything (see "New Blood" and "Worldpool"). It's really great artwork and rich color are the best. And Strongbow is a heartthrob.;)

In a slightly smaller format than the original paperback volumes, the Elfquest tales that occurred between the great espiodes of the elfin adventures on The World of Two Moons are all presented in full, glaring colors that really blinds your eyes which are more accustomed to the gentler tones of the colorized comic-book collections. Here you meet Strongbow and his wolffriend, Kyavek and her winged boyfriend, Ember and her coming-of-age discoveries, Tyleet and her foster kid, and Skywise and his ill-fated parents. Personally, I feel that the gentle little Tyleet had inherited her mother's child-hunger, so she had a chance to fulfill her aching maternal instincts with an abandoned infant from a nearby human camp. Pretty sappy, in my opinion. But all the Elfquest fans get to unlock even more mysteries about their most favorite elfin characters as well as color-saturated new stories to boot!

I thought this was one of the best books in the EQ series, and coming from me thats saying quite a bit, oh and Winnowill is a subject worth thinking about.

ElfQuest is a wounderful series for anyone whom reads it. It is full of some of the personal expierences from Wendy and Richard Pini's own life, it contains moral lessons, it has incredible insight, a dynamic story and georgeous artwork, do not pass this book up! IT ROCKS!!!

If you are new to the world of elfquest this is the third book in the elfquest line.Before it comes the books Fire and Flight(book #1)and the Forbbiden Grove(book #2). In this book, you meet the Gliders, a group of elves that claims to be the High Ones. You also meet the dark and evil Winnowill, a healer but one which uses her powers for hurting rather then healing.Lastly you learn the secret of the Wolfriders... I won't give away the story but I do reccomend you buy this book for its art,story and feeling...

This is the third book out of four collections of the original quest which are, in my opinion, works of genius!! The first book is Fire and Flight, the second - The Forbidden Grove, and the last (In my opinion, as the stuff that follows doesn't really seem like Elfquest to me) is the Quest's End. I have been reading those same four books over and over again for 15 years and I feel that they have enriched my life.

Of course, being an ElfQuest fan, I love pretty much everything ElfQuest, including this book, and so will you if you like ElfQuest in general.

However, this is the paperback/black and white edition-don't buy it! Warp and Marvel comics are coming out with hardback, color editions of I believe all of the ElfQuest storyline, just slightly re-organized from the last hardcover/color edition of their graphic novels that they released- heads up, don't go paying fifty bucks online for someone's used old copy! Unless you're really impatient don't go buying this! The next one to be redone in color and hardback should be #3! They've done 1 and 2!

Although it will be more expensive that way, if you're going to bother getting into something that is primarily a visual medium, why not in color as it was meant to be seen? Nothing "artistic" about this kind of B&W, it just loses.

VERY GOOD!! the best yet.

VERY GOOD!! the best yet.

I say this is more (much more) bloody than others of four ordinary ElfQuest, but it is writed well. There is a story much morer than ever in "Fire & Flight". Kahvi's the new character in this( you see her in picture) , and she is the chief on elkriders, who call themselves Go-Backs. Go-Backs live in shadow of mountains were is a HOME OF HIGH ONES. And with wolfriders they found it. once more i will say: Wolfriders never die. Yes, I know one-eye just did in a "Captives of Blue mountain", but, if you read this, you se how many of Go-Backs die. And that is normal. But NONE of wolfriders. They have armors as much as Go-backs.

But to end this, I tell you: Wendy and Richard teach us in every book , and they tell about life.

Believe me, you just won't believe this! This is the most skillfully drawn and written part of the whole "Elfquest" series next to the part about the adventures in the Blue Mountain. In fact, you won't see anything like this ever again in any Elfquest tales, nor even the future ones yet to come, I suspect. The great epic of war against the bloodthirsty Trolls of the Great White North begins right after the imprisonment of elves in the Blue Mountain by the witchlike Winnowill - a real teeth-rattling clash of so many different characters, old or new with their individual personalities and differences. In additional, a whole galaxy of the fantastic environment on the far-off World of Two Moons really opens up for the very first time to your mortal human eyes - from the monstrous labyrinth of the Troll lair to the shimmering walls of the long-lost Palace of the High Ones - with a whole bagful of earth-shaking surprises to boot! If you already have this rare book or are lucky enough to get your hands on a copy, I sincerely promise you that you just won't be able to put it down, nor read it just once!

For the first time since the original Elfquest story was released as a 20-issue series (from 1978 to 1984), it has been published in the original black-and-white format; the new Reader's Collection printing of Book 4 includes issues 16 to 20 (the last five), dealing with the elves' campaign to wrest control of their ancestral home, the Palace of the High Ones, from a hostile, heavily armed tribe of trolls.

By now much ink has been devoted to the originality and emotional conviction of the Pinis' tale, and of course Wendy's artistic skills need no further explanation. However, it is good to see, once again, the sheer quality - and expressiveness - of the artist's pencil-work as originally presented; some of this was obscured by the mediocre coloring of the editions published since the late Eighties (quite unlike the elegant coloring-work of the earlier Donning versions of the first four volumes, still worth having after all these years).

It has been said many times before, but it should be said, again, that the Pinis demonstrate their storytelling prowess by breaking the conventions of fantasy fiction; most importantly, the fulfillment of the quest is seen to be costly, even in the loss both of lives and innocence; and the battle, though necessary for the elves to reach their goal, is not their be-all and end-all - the truly life-changing events lie further ahead. The climax of this story possesses a nuance and thoughtfulness worthy of "real" fiction, and this, even more than the superlative artwork, gives the tale its substance and emotional power.

A final note on the presentation: some printing errors have unfortunately crept into this Reader's Collection book (as they also have in volumes 5 and 12a (the first printing only) of the series) - many pages are out of their proper order, so if you are new to EQ, try to find and earlier edition of Book 4 to enable yourself to follow the plot correctly. That caution aside, it is good to have the original EQ storyline again - now priced to gain a new audience.

After reading Dan Ablan's "Inside Lightwave 8" - more or less THE standard in Lightwave - there were more questions raised than answered. Not that Ablans approach is a bad one, it's just that he picks up so many different aspects of the program along the thread of the book, that at times it can be confusing. This isn't the fact with "Essential Lightwave v9". Although the whole covering of every aspect from the absolute beginning seems a bit cumbersome, it's worth it at the end. This over 900 pages issue helps you get into nearly every detail of Lightwave and handle the program like some kind of 3D Photoshop.
Add the companion DVD with hours of live modeling and animating, plug-ins and illustration fotos and you surely got something to start your way into 3D via Lightwave.

I am only on Chapter 6 right now but it has really helped me learn 3D the Lightwave way. The other reviews have said it better and convinced me. This is just my 2 cents to agree!

Overall, I think this is a very helpful book however it would have been better with color illustrations and the ones included are to small.

The best general Lightwave v9 book around. Masterfully written, great tutorials and clear explanations.

I agree that the pictures should have been color, but I don't think the book publisher has been able to make that a profitable venture, especially with the limited appeal of a book like this. Unfortunate, but they don't have the budget of Visual Quickstart and the like.

I am glad they spent their budget on making the content kickass. Black and white pictures just make the diagrams that much clearer ;-)

This is book contains some of the clearest explanations of Lightwave tools I have ever read. What makes this work as more than a reference (which it certainly will be for a good while) is that the tools or features are explained along with some genuine use cases for when you'd want to use such a capability. The example usages are well written and easily to visualize thanks to generous illustrations. Yes, they are small, but are well labeled.

I much prefer the Essential series (also own Essential Lightwave 8) for its concise descriptions and get-to-the-point examples. The information density here is excellent. Little if any fluff. Unlike the previous version, this one is divided into beginner, intermediate, and advanced sections which might help guide your reading. I found the section on projection mapping to be worth the purchase of the book alone. I've read the Lightwave PDFs, the Wordware Lightwave Texturing book as well as numerous help forums, and web sites and I've not once had UV mapping explained so well. The tutorial on how to build a UV map for a fighter jet goes through not only the unwrapping process but the types of maps you might want to try to make better textures. This type of pragmatic advice above and beyond the goals of the tutorial are some of the great hidden benefits to this book. Often tutorials will just go far enough to explain how to do something without much hinting as to why.

Take the discussion on sub-patching as another example in the Advanced Modeling section. I've worked with sub-patch modeling for years and was always curious as to how pros decided when to use it or not. As it turns out my way of thinking was pretty close to the contents, but it always helps to read someone else's impressions. Basically this book made me go back to read some of the tools that I thought I already knew just to make sure I'm not missing something.

One thing that I had issues with is that some of the tutorials depend on plug-ins. At least in one case, the plug-in used was not included on the DVD and the link to it in the appendices was not working. I managed to find it using search engines after a while, but I'm not sure why all the used plug-ins weren't included on the DVD. This problem was in reference to one of the video tutorials on the DVD (surfacing with weightmaps).

If you own the previous version there is repeated content, but not so much as to invalidate buying this version. Its a good 33% thicker and there's much more to learn including a new section on stylized characters, character rigging, node editor, the aforementioned projections section, discussions of the new 9.x cameras, etc. I haven't made it through the whole book yet but it looks like some of the old tutorials and examples have been expanded as well.

Finally, I like the fact that you can easily come back to a section describing some functionality and re-learn without having to read a whole chapter. Often I'm in the middle of a project and want to just remember how to use a tool. I can find that section and easily refresh my skills with this book.

Bottom line: If you're anywhere near starting in on learning Lightwave you owe it to yourself to read this book. Do the examples. Watch the videos. Intermediate users can probably still benefit especially those coming back to Lightwave from an older version. I rank myself as an Advanced-Beginner (2 years Lightwave hobbiest).

Over the years, I have bought a pile of "How to" books on After Effects,Première Pro, Photoshop and Illustrator and I did not feel any urge to write anything about these books before buying Ms Hartman's Illustrator guide.

I liked the writing : unpretentious, simple with a warm tone that clicks with the reader.

The first lesson in itself, is worth more than half the price of the book.

This book honestly is like a guide line. Especially if you need to look up something you can't remember, you can probably find what you need in the book.

This book really showed me, step by (illustrated) step, the way to make the most out of using Illustrator. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes the hands-on approach to learning. In the very first lesson, the author helped me create a logo that was really great looking, which gave me a boost of confidence to go on and do more. This book is just great for a beginner, to learn all the essentials of Illustrator.

This book is a guide to learning Adobe Illustrator CS and digital illustration. The approach is divided between reading sections and step-by-step exercises. Each chapter is divided into several short lessons with accompanying images describing the steps. The key combination and minor interface differences for Mac and windows are explained when necessary.

Overall, this was a good book that provided a smooth experience to learning Illustrator and design in general. The basics of Illustrator are easy to understand through the reading and exercises provided. Although the lessons are short, there is plenty of opportunity to practice on your own. You are initially walked through an exercise, but then usually given a chance to finish part of it on your own. The "Exploring On Your Own" sections provides extra practice and places to look for more information on the various topics discussed. The rest of the book in dedicated to providing useful information on design concepts such as color chords and art principles (line, fill, value etc). The color chords such as analogous, dyad or monochromatic will definitely help on my color choices on my next project. The CD provides all the needed lesson files and any additional samples for practice.

As for problems, most were really minor with this book. There were only a few minor errors spotted such as steps with missing detail or incorrect menu paths. Also, I did think the review questions at the end of each chapter would have been more helpful if the answers were provided. Actually, the biggest issue I had with this book was the novel sized format it was published in. The book is small and the pages are difficult to keep open. Even my document holder was barely able to keep the pages open. For most of the book I had to use one hand to keep it open while working the mouse with the other. I am probably just being a little finicky since most of these minor problems had little effect on actual content.

In the end, this is still a fine book to quickly get up to speed with Adobe Illustrator. The coverage on related design principles was just a bonus. Since this is a short book, do not expect deep coverage on Illustrator techniques. If you need more advanced concepts and/or less on design, then another book will probably work out better. However, the material that is covered is done so well and it should provide a good start for any beginner.

I am a computer programmer/web designer familiar with adobe photoshop, but I wanted to learn more about designing with illustrator. I knew how to get around the program, but was not confident in using it. This book was wonderful - it's great for beginners, and I love how it encourages you to use keystrokes to get things done, instead of the mouse (much faster).

Gary Larson is a twisted, demented personality and we are all better for it. His cartoons are some of the most absurd, yet hilarious concentrations of humor that have ever existed and this collection is no exception. Nothing is too sacred or too bizarre to escape the drawing and writing tools of this master. If you have a macabre sense of humor or can tolerate one, then you will love this book.

Far Side really doesn't need a review. It's hilarious and anyone who has ever read it will agree with me. It's a classic! My favorite one from this book is the fear that no matter where you are, a duck a watching you. Too funny!

Gary Larson has created the funniest cartoons in the history of mankind. Unlike other comics you do not need to read them in a series as each individual cartoon tells its own hilarious story in a stand alone fashion. Therefore you do not need to have read the previous volumes to enjoy this edition to its fullest.

Fourth in the series of Far Side collections, the 1994 originally released Gallery 4's cartoons come from the smaller books Wildlife Preserves, Wiener Dog Art and Unnatural Selections. This volume is forwarded by Robin Williams who gives a four paragraph opinion on Larson and his work. Far Side Gallery 4 also have a unique cover where the lenses of the woman's glasses have been cut out, meaning when you open the cover, still viewing the exact same drawing, the glasses are on their own on the next page. This however does mean Gallery 4 has the most fragile cover of all the galleries.

A mixture of four comics to a page and full page comics make up this volume, most are black and white but with the occasional coloured pages every now and then. Classic Far Sides in this volume include aliens with the moon landing astronauts in a jar about to shake the jar to see if they'll fight, the hospital for mothers whose children stepped on sidewalk cracks, the famous Mr Ed verse Francis the talking mule debates, punk accountants and many more hilarious cartoons such a chicken reading a sign on the other side of the road saying Why Do You Need a Reason?

This like all Larson's work is a must own!

This book is a real HOOT!

I guess the thing that makes Larson's cartoons so different is that his mind is just a little further off in space than where most of ours dwell.
Reading a whole book of these cartoons is a very different thing from looking at individual cartoons over an extended period.After 10-15 pages your mind tends to get climatized to this thought process and his cartoons almost start to feel like the normal ,rather than perverse, way to look at things.
We all need this exercise in mind-stretching and it is great to do it with humor.
I strongly recommend it to anyone who is not already a fan of Larso;myself for instance,at least until now.
If there are a few cartoons in the book that you did not "get";it simply means your mind is not totally warped yet.Just keep at it,you'll make it!
Enjoy !

Gary Larson is by far the most genius, the most innovative cartoonest ever to hit the world. This gallery has a forward by Robin Williams and tons of Larson's best work. You can't not love his sense of humor (and definitely check out the Prehistory of the Far Side).