Titan Books

Incestuous lesbian sex does not a novel make.

Utterly, utterly boring. This book sent in the trash before I was a quarter of the way through.

A fairly average story, of an encounter with a strange artifact, which
of course turns out to be alien. It often seems more obsessed with how
the characters look with no clothes on, and whether they are skinny
enough, than with the actual story. Almost a bit like the bad Heinlein.

Clearly there is supposed to be sexual role and identity commentary here, but I am not sure it works particularly well.

This book begins my all time favorite Science Fiction series: the Gaea Trilogy. I first discovered it by accident in my high school library. I was intrigued by the illustrations and decided to check it out. I quickly was captivated and amazed the High School would stock such a sexually explicit book! But the characters and their discovery of Gaea are what makes the book so compelling, even haunting. Cirocco Jones is one of the greatest female sci-fi heroes of all time and Gaby is no slouch either. Please if you love adventures that push characters too their limits and force them to question who they really are, then by all means give this book a chance.

Titan is one of John Varley's most highly acclaimed books, Tom Clancy calling him "the best writer in America." Having read Varley's most recent work, "Mammoth", I would have given that sentiment some credence. That is why I chose to pick up "Titan". However, by chapter 3 this author had me so confused, I felt that I couldn't continue reading.

The book begins with the crew of the Ringmaster(spaceship)coming into orbit around Saturn, on a exploratory mission near one of its moons. Varley tells us there are seven people on the ship; 4 females and 3 males. Their names are : Cirocco, Gaby, April and August, then Gene, Bill, and Calvin. Easy to follow enough right? But then he keeps talking about a C. Jones on the ship, who may or may not be the captain. So I'm thinking is Calvin the captain? But he has already told us that Calvin is the Doctor, and he keeps implying one of the females is the captain. The dialogue often goes on without emphasis on who's speaking, making it more confusing. Then he talks about "Rocky" which must be a nickname for somebody on the crew, but it is not clear who it is.

If the characters were the only confusing part of the text, then I could just go on reading and hope to figure it out later in the book. But then the crew spots a satellite that has been as of yet unknown, and decide to call it Themis. Okay, no sweat. He describes the satellite

pg. 3 Cirocco: "Just how big is it?"
August: " I should say about two or three kilometers."

pg. 11 Someone "I bounced radar signals off it. They came back
telling me Themis is over 1300 km in diameter
Someone "That makes it Saturn's third largest moon

pg. 18 Cirocco She had to keep reminding herself of the size of the
thing. 1300 meters in diameter, 4000 around the outer
rim.

pg. 24 Author Themis was 1300 kilometers across and 250 kilometers
wide.

I kept having to go back and see if I had read wrong. There is another part where he is describing what the ship looked like. He went through this long description, then finally just says, "It looked like the ship in the movie "2001: a space Odyssey"". Look, just draw a picture next time, and come up with your own ship.

This book just kept disappointing me. It's not often I stop reading a book before I'm finished, but too much inconsistencies just really turned me off to it.

Titan by John Varley was first published in 1979. It tells the story of the crew of the Earth exploration ship "Ringmaster," as it travels to investigate the moons of Saturn. As it approaches the ringed gas giant, the ship's astronomer discovers a new moon, and names it "Thetis." Upon closer inspection, they discover that Thetis is actually an enormous ship, thirteen hundred kilometers across. Just as the captain of Ringmaster, Cirocco Jones, decides that any race that can build a ship that large, could easily crush a small exploration ship, giant claws grab the ship, crush it, and the crew believes they are about to die.

But, they do not die. Well, maybe they do, but it is not a permanent condition, in this case. Instead, they emerge, alive and unscathed, but changed, inside the wondrous world contained within Thetis. As they gradually find each other and encounter the strange plants, terrain, animals, and inhabitants of Thetis, they must decide what to do next: make the best of what they have and hope for a rescue someday, or try to find out what the heck Thetis really is, who made it, and why it seems to be slowly deteriorating. If you want to write a good story, you can guess which choice the author made. What Cirocco Jones and her companions discover about the nature and origin of Thetis, called Gaea by those who live there, is truly a tale worth reading. Is it a ship? Is it an organism? Did it make itself? Are there others like it? How old is it? Is it dying?

The world created by Mr. Varley is part experiment in world-building, part whimsy, part corny old science fiction movie, and part creative genius. It is amazing how strange the being in charge of Thetis is. Where Varley came up with the idea is something I would like to know.

For a novel that is a little over three hundred pages long, I found Titan to be fast reading. The action is pretty steady, with few slow spots, plus there are occasional black-and-white illustrations. I feel the writing is of a high caliber, with good vocabulary usage, plot complexity, and abstract concepts described well. The characters are developed well, and are interesting. I did struggle, at times, with picturing the structure and organization of the complex entity that Thetis/Gaea is, despite illustrations and detailed descriptions. It is just too strange, I think, to easily grasp and imagine.

When the story first starts, I was beginning to wonder if it were a copycat of Arthur C. Clarke's magnificent opus, Rendezvous with Rama, which does predate it by seven years, but then Titan diverges dramatically from the Clarke novel, once the characters get inside of Thetis, and it continues to move away from Rendezvous With Rama in many ways. This novel has the feel to it that the author ready had fun unleashing his imagination and letting it fly.

I knew, going in, that this is the first book in a trilogy, followed by Wizard (Gaia) and Demon (Gaia). At the three-quarters mark of Titan, I had no clue as to how this story could continue on into two more books. At the eighty percent point, I was beginning to think that the author was going to be about forty pages short of finishing. Several characters, though, develope and evolve to the point that, by the end of Titan, the set-up is there for a sequel. I am not talking about startling twists, like I found near the end of Kerebos by Nicholas Prata, but true character evolution, as found in the wondrous Waking LazarusWaking Lazarus by T.L. Hines.

This is definitely an adult novel, with its complex ideas, sexually explicit passages, a rape scene, and several deaths.
-- Chris McCallister, author of Coming Full Circle

The dialog is good, some of the characteriziation is good but in order to make a story stand out you need... a story. Martians invade, Quartermain and Miss harker go out of town and with no resistance pick up a box. Hyde fights for 3 panels. The end. The characters aren't DOING enough and excpet for Hyde aren't even remotely clever or engaging. One of your characters is a super genius, one is a superb tactician.. have them at least TRY something more brilliant than blow up the bridge and wait.

The second installment in the LOEG saga (which apparently will go on as long as Alan Moore's library holds out) is not quite like the first one.
Volume 1 was at its heart a rollicking , globe-hopping adventure story, in the same vein as the books it pays homage to: the Alan Quatermain stories, Dracula, and Victorian trash adventures. My 9-year-old brother loves it. Volume 2 is a much darker story, and my brother won't be getting to read it any time soon. Volume 2, centered around H.G. Wells War of the Worlds, takes place more in England, and there's a whole bunch of pages dedicated to character development only hinted at in Vol. 1. The star of Vol. 2 is definitely Mr. Hyde, who comes across less as a simple monster, and more lke the great Moore anti-heroes, in the same league as Rorschach or V.
To be completely honest, the main selling point of Vo. 2 was the New Travelers' Almanac, a 6-part compendium in the back that acts as the densest fan-fiction ever. Under the guise of a series of travel notes, Moore weaves in every possible fiction of the time, and fiction from other times too. (His reference to the Big Lebowski rocked my world.)

This book is not for the casual reader.

I loved volume 1 and volume 2 was even better. I thoroughly enjoyed the Almanac section of the book and the cool board game and other little "quips" that were added by Moore and O'Neill. There is a little more sexual content in this volume, but it doesn't detract from the book at all. If you are an Allan Moore fan don't pass this book up and Kevin O'Neill's artistry has a superb fit with Alan's writing especially with the time period that The League is portrayed in. It's well worth the money and I can't wait to get the next in the series, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier!

Definitely a title NOT intended for children, the second volume of League of Extraordinary Heroes features more of Moore's dark and subversive story-telling. And not being good enough to create his own characters, he's taken otherwise wholesome (and PUBLIC DOMAIN) characters from classic literature and warped and perverted these characters into violent, disgusting anti-heroes.

It's almost like Moore has an adgenda here: take popular characters from classics and find a way to soil them in a violent, disinteresting (and ultimately forgettable) book. The art is fairly bad too.

Neitherworld Book One Akiiwan (CreateSpace Version)Neitherworld Book Two Ishpiming
Authors Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill have become even more fearless in their victorian reinterpretation of 19th century hero-classics, this time including H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds. This volume is a little darker and the hereos are have more shades of gray - and black. This was a particularly interesting read for me, since I tried to create that same nuanced and conflicted presentation in my own two volume semi-graphic novel, Neitherworld. The League series is definitely for mature audiences - there is graphic (what else?) sex and violence, and mature themes of love and loss. The artwork is both superb and reaching. I'll have more to say about this in my review of "The Black Dossier" which takes the reformed league to even greater flights of fancy.
One thing though - sometimes the authors are a little TOO in love with their world; this comes through in the text-heavy sections toward the end. I found myself skimming League leader Wilhelmina Murray's travelogue - it is 46 pages of dense single spaced test, with sparsely, albeit, well-done (as always) illustrations. The authors are dealing with a large and grand world, but do they need to include *every* myth known to mankind? Yes, this is all tied together in Black Dossier, but even for an "adept syncretist" like me (at least, according to Kikus Discoveries), it was a bit much. It was the only place in the book where I would have liked to have seen less.

The writing is terrible and hokey. The art is generic. Not to be placed among the more literary Batman books such as Dark Knight Returns, Year One, Arkham Asylum, Long Halloween, etc. Good story, just done poorly.

"Batman: Knightfall, Part One: Broken Bat" is great buy for any Batman fan. It chronicles the emergence of Bane, a beast of a brute with the drug "venom" running through his veins and also the genius of diabolical plan to destroy the Dark Knight.

In this great work, Bane and his goons create a breakout in the Arkham Asylum and in so doing flood the streets with Batman's greatest foes for him to capture one by one (Joker, Scarecrow, Mad Hatter, Riddler, Poison Ivy, Croc, Firefly, and the Ventriloquist).

As Bane watches Batman push himself physically as well as mentally trying to find Gotham's lunatics all by himself (refusing Robin's help in many instances), the master of the "venom" drug soon discovers Batman's true identity which puts Bane in the same league mentally as Batman himself. And before the Dark Knight knows it, he comes face to face with this monster in his own palace of security: Wayne Manor.

This graphic novel is worth the buy, alone, for the inclusion of all of Batman's well-known villains. Plus, there is a great Joker story in which he teams up with the Scarecrow in a plot where they join forces to hold the mayor of Gotham hostage in an attempt to defeat Batman once and for all.

a good graphic novel. not quite as good as the first in the series.

PART 1

I had heard mixed things about this trilogy. It's hard to ignore, because its one of Batman's most intense trials and it was also a pretty big stunt to undertake. However, you can't deny the importance of such a story and the impact that Bane had on the Bat mythology. Now it's hard to judge the story overall with just part 1 of 3, but I'll stick to the highlights.

Bane has a master plan and it involves pushing Batman to his ultimate limit. He starts by releasing all of the worst prisoners from Gotham and suppling them with weapons. From there its just a matter of Batman doing his best to save the city and fighting exhaustion with little to no sleep. He takes on the Hatter, Zsasz, Film Freak, Amygdala, Firefly, Poison Ivy, the Riddler and a few other minor characters in here and manages to put them away. Before he can catch his breath he has to face Bane in a showdown which leads us into part 2.

Doug Moench and Chuck Dixon are both excellent Bat writers and they do a good job keeping things moving along at a good pace. I recognized Jim Aparo and Norm Breyfogle's artwork, and the guest artists include Graham Nolan and Jim Balent, who are both adequate. The stand out moments in here are when the Ventriloquist and Scarface are reunited, when Joker gets beat down for 2 pages by Bats in retaliation for killing Jason, and of course the final confrontation between Batman and Bane.

Looking very forward to part 2 as I want to see what the other villains are up to as well as Nightwing and Catwoman who have yet to play a role but I know are a part of this. I'm excited to see what they have planned for Scarface since Alan Grant is being added for part 2 and he always writes the best Scarface stories. Other than that, this is only the beginning.

PART 2

Part 1 of Knightfall ended on an exciting cliffhanger that left the reader feeling anything could happen next. Bane broke the Batman, and things might never be the same again. So Part 2 picks up right where we left off, with Bane dropping Batman's shattered body from a building and declaring himself Gotham's new ruler.

So now Bruce needs to recover, but in the meantime Gotham still needs a Batman. Jean Paul Valley, or Azrael as you might know him, takes up the mantle of the Bat upon Bruce's request. Things are going pretty good until Jean Paul goes crazy with power, dishing out his own brand of brutal justice.

Scarecrow returns to wreak havoc on some university students (and we are given a brief back story of him for the dozenth time.) I was disappointed that Scarface and the Ventriloquist weren't as featured here, but that's just me. Bruce is confined to a wheelchair with Alfred at his side and tries to save his doctor and Tim Drake's father who have been abducted by Bane's men. Most of the action revolves around the new Batman and his decline into madness. Jean Paul is haunted by visions of St. Dumas and his failings as Azrael. He also makes Robin feel completely alienated by his wreak less behavior and complete lack of concern for human life.

This is definitely Act II. A necessary midway point to lead us into the final act, but I was pretty anxious to hurry up and get to Part 3. I also felt that Jean Paul took a turn for the worse a little too abruptly and it was hard to believe that Robin put up with it for so long without getting help sooner. My least favorite part, but if you're reading Knightfall, its necessary to get you from the beginning to the conclusion.

Some years ago, two men came up with a great storyline for Batman. They created Bane, whose creation was really only for this storyline. He breaks the Batman, something countless villians and events (even the death of Jason Todd) couldn't do. ANd it is brilliant. Bane releases the captives of Arkham Asylum. A brilliant move, both for villany and for story. All of Batman's greatest enemies (and I mean all of them) wreck havoc on Gotham, wearing Batman out before Bane finally takes him down. It's a great story, one that could have went on for much longer.

Volume two has had Batman broken by Bane, but who will protect Gotham now? Will it be Robin? He's still there, but sort of out of the picture as Batman's partner (the new Batman anyway). Dick Grayson, Nightwing? YOu'd think Batman would have tapped him to take his place. Instead, we have Azrael. He's got some mental issues. He's meaner, more violent and takes no prisoners. He's no Batman, but he plays the part. This is the bat without Alfred.

Volume three is the weakest (I'd only give it four stars) and basically, Bruce Wayne is healed and has to defeat Azrael to take back Gotham and the mantle of the bat.

Overall this is a very important storyline, one of the most important in the Batman saga, very important in the DC Universe, and just as important in comic books as any other storyline.

The best graphic novels pull you into a world that may be bizarre, fanciful or exotic, but completely captivating. Ronin makes that grade easily. Beginning as a medieval samurai tale of blood and honor, the tale fast forwards to the near future, where a female supercomputer and a limbless man with unusual mental powers sit at the nexus of a world of biocircuitry in which machines self-assemble without human intervention. There are evil geniuses, demons, and nasty rbots. There are terrific fight scenes, some of which take place in the minds of the the characters. You won't always know what's going on, and a rereading wll be rewarding. But "Ronin"is a rewarding and highly crafted piece divesion that is well worth the time it taks to read and figure out.

it could have been better if the dude who draw it and wrote it took more time on it

This book is by no means bad, its just not very good. Were this book an unknown writers first tale, or a 2.99 pickup at the comic shop, I would be completely satisfied with what I received. As it is, this book is often given credit that it simply doesn't deserve. The future Miller envisions is boringly realized. We see almost nothing outside of a small compound, and what we do see are humans reduced to monsters with no character at all. The title character is boring. He's a samurai who lost his master. Thats it. Thats your whole characterization. The twist at the end is unnessesary and somewhat silly. In short, its a decent book, but its not a classic. Way overrated, but still a good read.

I still have my well-worn copy of Ronin from the early '80s. It stands today for me, as it did back then, as peerless among comic art. Though it is probably one of the least valuable comics in my whole collection in monetary terms, is the most priceless in terms of overall feel.

Even though I think Sin City and 300 have ported to the screen very successfully, I worry that Ronin won't measure up to those standards. It will take a truly masterful producer and director to pull it off. I sincerely hope that Miller keeps as much creative control as he has on the previous movies. Ronin deserves that.

I had an old friend who owned this book when we were younger. Having recently read this for the first time, I wish I had picked it up sooner. Very cool storyline (especially if you consider when it was penned), drawings are well done when they need to be, and simple when it will suffice (unlike most modern comic artists who need to show off in every damn panel).

My only gripe is that this it obviously a later printing, and the cover is newly drawn by Miller. If you're like me and really just can't stand to look at his most recent 'style' (if you choose to call it that), you'll wince when you look at the cover and wonder why they had to change it at all.

I have to second a previous reviewer who cautioned that this book is written for someone well-read in military history. It is not pop-history, but well reasoned military analysis. Mr. Glantz was himself an authority within the U.S. Army on Soviet doctrine and military history. The book itself is probably the best one-volume treatment of the Soviet war effort against the Germans during World War II, though the reader should keep in mind that Glantz himself is a big admirer of the Soviet way of war.

This book should be the first book those interested in WW2 history should pick up. The very basic truths of the war are clearly presented: 1.The Soviets beat the Germans basically- the Western Allies fought about 1/4 of the war in Europe; 2. the Soviets learned as the war dragged on- staring from a 20-1 Soviet/German kill ratio we end up with a 1.5/1 ratio- respectable for an offensive army (explaining also the mythical German 5 or 10 to one kill ratio of some reviews); 3. Stalin meddled less with his generals as the war dragged on- Hitler meddled more with bad results; 4. the Soviets took blitzkrieg to a new level and by the end of the war were superior in tank breakthroughs and encirclements; 5. the Red Army was the best land army in the world by the end of the war- combining intelligence and tactics with a brutal trajectory toward any goal.
The book may come across as being very pro-Soviet but that is only because of the literally thousands of tomes about the Western Allies and the German Army which give short shrift to the Soviets- when actual Soviet achievements are exposed they cannot help but look better than we're used to thinking. My only criticism of this book is in the department of statistics- I think it tends to exaggerate Soviet casualties and the numbers given on tables aren't consistent throughout the book. Still- the best basic primer on WW2.

I have read the other reviews and I would also agree that this Book supplies you with all the facts , most of them I have not read in other places. However I would recommend this book only for academics or collector of hard facts. This book is more of a text book than interesting read. Nothing against the book. But this is not the kind of treatment I was looking for, just miles and miles of yarns of facts.

I like all stories to have some emotion and some human face. Even war stories. The battle of Stalingrad is dealt with in 2 pages, everything cut down to basic dry facts. In fact I think wikipedia article on battle of stalingrad does a better job. So make your choice based on what you are looking for.

This book is truly good: well-researched and fascinating and the battle descriptions are quite engaging; not an easy thing for most to do. I find faults with this book, though:

1--The writers go into great detail about what Zhukov did in his preparations for Kursk and how the battle went along. This is all written very well and is exciting, BUT...one thing is sorely missing: ANY mention of the fact that Zhukov (whom the writers have no shortage of accolades for, though they do speak of his defeats in Operation Mars and at the Seelow Heights) KNEW exactly what the Germans were going to do and where they were going to do it because they were getting information from the Lucy Ring, which was supposedly a bunch of disgruntled German officers but most likely was the Brits way of getting their Enigma intel to the Soviets. Any idiot can create a good defense when he's given the other side's playbook denoting EVERYTHING that the enemy is going to do. I was very surprised and upset not to see any mention of this VERY IMPORTANT fact.

2--On page 275, the authors--in the context of the happenings of the `Second Period of War (Nov. '42--Dec. '43)--say, `...the Red Army destroyed Blitzkrieg as a viable offensive military concept'. Apparently the writers had their heads in the sand during the two Gulf Wars because BOTH Coalition Forces commanders--General H. Norman Schwarzkopf and General Tommy Ray Franks--used Blitzkrieg-style tactics to defeat Saddam Hussein's forces. Blitzkrieg works and, more interestingly, the way the writers describe the Soviets tactics during their drive into Central Europe VERY much shows them to echo the tactics of the afore mentioned unviable Blitzkrieg. Odd.

3--My third and final problem with the book is that they answer the question of `Who defeated Germany?' with the only answer possible after looking through the information in this book: it was the Soviets who beat Germany. The only problem is--THIS IS WRONG!!! The Soviets DID NOT defeat Germany; America, Briton AND the USSR defeated Germany. Not a single one of them could have defeated Germany on their own. America needed the UK as a place to launch the attack, Briton would have been starved into submission if it wasn't for the US getting food and supplies to them across the Atlantic and the USSR not only needed the aid it got from the US, as well, but, even though it did fight the majority of German divisions, the Germans had to worry about not only the Soviets but also Briton and later America. If Germany did not have to expend its already limited resources against these two foes, as well, things might have been different. The writers also say that the Russians would have defeated Germany regardless of D-day happening: I can't think of a more ridiculous statement in this book. D-day and the Germans preparations for it tied up a large amount of forces (and Rommel) which could have had a definite impact on the Ostfront. The fact that Stalin was continually urging the Allies to open a second front I think lends credence to this.

The authors also say that Hitler's interference with his generals in the field was not as important as it was eventually made out to be and that it was basically a convenient excuse for the German failure. This is untrue; Hitler did the WORST thing to the generals in the field with his orders: he prevented them from using the very revolutionary tactics that had not only brought them success in the beginning of the war, but were being used AGAINST them by ALL of their enemies.

I do think that this is a book worth getting; the wealth of information on the Soviet struggle is worth it alone, but there are just some things to look out for. This could have been a great book, but the writers, as is usual with many books on this topic, have found their niche and are going to play it up.

This book presents a lot of tactical detail. E.g., Unit A was reorganized and attacked the left flank of Unit B in the early morning of XYZ. It works neither on the human nor the strategic levels. Moreover, the authors seem rather approving of Stalin. E.g., they switch back and forth from calling "Dictator" and "Premier". The latter seems a stretch in anyone's lexicon.

I watched the movie about 8 months ago and by the end of it I had no idea what happened. I gave it another couple months and I watched it again. It all clicked! The movie definitely ranks on my top ten movie list for its genre. What an awesome surprise it was that it was a graphic novel. After reading through it, it makes a lot of the movie make more sense. A must read if you like the movie.

This is one of the best books I ever bought
If you really understood the movie you'll love the graphic novel

You Liked the Movie, You'll LOVE the Boook M-T. / "Izzy".

O M P A R A M A R M A I N A M A R

To augment other reviews out there, the HARDBOUND "Fountain" is more of a coffee table photo book, cached with a discreet copy of the screenplay. If you're looking for the graphic novel (which is excellent!) look under the softcover book with the same title. If you're looking for the screenplay, this is a great find, and Mr. Aranofsky is a tremendous talent.

I understand some of the confusion surrounding the hardcover, as the cover illustration bears little resemblance to the film, and suggests a graphic novel...

Darren Aronofsky, The Fountain (Vertigo, 2005)

The long and somewhat tortouous story of the making of The Fountain is about as interesting as the movie itself. Rather than a straight novelization, Aronofsky wanted to do the print version as a graphic novel (and one that, Aronofsky says, is a quite different beast than the finished film, by design), and worked with artist Kent Williams. The finished product is short, sweet, and exceptional.

In case you haven't seen the movie, well, you're pretty much out of luck; it's impossible to give a synopsis of this without spoilers. It deals with Tom Creo and the love of his many lives, Izzy, and shows the two of them in three different stories-- in the 1500s, during the Spanish conquest of Mexico; in the present day; and far in the future. Williams' artwork is captivating, if reminiscent of Dave McKean at times. Aronofsky's story isn't quite up to the level of the artwork; telling tales in the impressionist manner he approaches this story with is a risky business, and when it's not perfectly executed, the end result often feels unfinished. Such is the case. You'll get a lot more out of this if you've seen the movie, I think. ***

It's difficult to read this story now without a tinge of melancholy in light of the recent heartbreaking and tragic passing of Michael Turner. The entire comic industry, along with his family and friends, has lost a remarkable talent and, by all accounts, a great guy also. He didn't do many complete stories outside of his own projects, which makes this rare assemblage of impressive illustrations all the more cherishable. This trade is one of the very few that I occasionally peruse strictly for his beautiful artwork alone. From his fearsome Batman to his gorgeous Wonder Woman, his amazing ability is strikingly evident in every panel. Not to be slighted, Jeph Loeb's writing talent is also quite evident in this tale that is easily the best of the four that he worked on for this title. His trademark dueling internal monologues are showcased, as is the return of Supergirl. This time around, Superman and Batman are joined by Wonder Woman and Big Barda on a perilous mission to Apokolips to rescue Supergirl from the clutches of that dastardly despot Darkseid, highlighted by a titanic physical battle and also one of high stakes poker between Batman and Darkseid. The sole flaw is that the story should have ended about thirty pages sooner upon their return to Earth, since the closing pages appear more like an epilogue whose primary purpose was to set the stage for the introduction of Kara to the rest of the DCU, and painfully cheesy it was at that. Nevertheless, still a very solid story with stunning art, the likes of which, sadly, we will never see again. Michael, you will be missed.

Jeph Loeb is known for two things in the world of comics, creating amazing stories that become instant classics and creating unreadable dribble. This stories falls into the latter category, and being backed up on art by Michael Turner who apparently has never seen a human body doesn't help matters. Save yourself some money and skip to Superman/Batman Volume 3.

I came in late for much of the comics and their first printings so getting this little trade paperback was lovely. I enjoyed the art and the story (though I stopped reading super-girl long ago because quality went down hill).

I'd recommend this paperback however.

First things first.

I am not a gigantic comics fan. I've never been to a comic book shop. I know the big names. Basically, if they had a live action TV show, I know them.

So, my opinion is not as well-informed as that of some.

One of the readers I am not a frequent reader of comics is the silliness involving Supergirl that this collection tries to correct. Big fans know what I'm talking about - Supergirl is dead, she's replaced by an ectoplasmic being who is called Supergirl, yadda, yadda, yadda.

So, Supergirl from Krypton is re-introduced here as a concept. Thank goodness.

The story itself is good, but not nearly as good as Volume #1 in this series. The art is interesting - the men are hyperdeveloped to the point of silliness (their suits look like they are painted on to professional bodybuilders) but the women are wonderful - this rendition of Wonder Woman is the best I've ever seen, including Linda Carter!

Good read, not as ground-breaking as others before it, but still a good read for your suspension of disbelief

A different take on the Superman origin.


This is updated, of course. However, it has the knew Lex in Smallville element for a time that plays into the bigger story. His mother helping him come up with a 'secret identity' he leaves for Metropolis to become a reporter - at a Daily Planet that takes about uploading mobile phone and on the spot reporter work to news servers.

The main conflict is again between him and Luthor, as the latter uses the media to try and turn public xenophobia against the superpowerful alien - even going so far as mass mercenary violence.

While this Origin of "The Man Of Tomorrow" isn't in the current DC Comics continuity, I think that this is one of the greatest rendiitions of Superman that I have ever been exposed to. Mark Waid has again crafted a masterpiece that is not only a treat to read, but Lienil Yu's art is visually exceptional also. I have heard that some people bash his artwork, and for the love of all that is holy, I can't understand why. "Superman Birthright" is a fresh re-telling of the origins of one of earths greatest heroes.

Being a fan of smallville the TV show that brought the Superman mythology forward into the 21st century. I took to reading Superman Birthright with a sense of skepticism. Could this story be retold yet again from a different angle and still do justice to the character. Well reading through the first few pages, all doubts were lifted as the story that unfolded was not only great drama but I felt really hit a home run for what Superman really stands for. Highly recommend this book.
Secondly, the ART, although I have some minor issues with some of the inconsistencies between the characters facial appearance from one page to the next, the ART is really fantastic. The coloring even more so. Lately, in a lot of comic books the coloring I've feel has gone overboard and become distracting. This is definitely not the case, the coloring is fantastic, really pops out and does justice to the Icon that is SUPERMAN.

Waid has taken the classic tale of Superman's origing, put enough of a fresh spin on it, while keeping it faithful to the original story and created just what is a great book here. And I love the artwork.

After reading it, I felt that it is a real shame that Birthright wasn't used as the reboot canon that it was originally intended to be. The art is just fantastic and makes the story really come alive. When I think about it, it is the artwork that stands out the most. It is just brilliantly done and has things that I haven't ever seen before, or have rarely seen at the least.

The story itself is very interesting, and adapts the Superman mythology from a lot of sources-including the Lex/Clark friendship similar to what is seen in Smallville the TV series. I just gave it four stars since it does have a couple of slow parts, but it is overall really amazing. Superman looks really threatening in some panels, and it is good to see that Superman is a force that isn't to be taken lightly.

Awesome read that leads into another read, definitely a worthy introduction to a well-written Series.

The plot of this story isn't all that great, it doesn't break any new ground or is even that original, but the characterization of both Superman and Batman, especially in their thought boxes, are spectacularly unique. The way they play off each other and practically finish each others thoughts is something that has been imitated since with nowhere near the insight as the original. McGuiness' art is, as always, cartoonishly appropriate.

Illustrated by Ed McGuinness and written by Jeph Loeb, this volume collects the first six issues of the Superman/Batman comic book. This book is like a throwback to the team-ups of yesteryear such as World's Finest. Highly enjoyable!

Superman and Batman is there a better pairing in comics? I don't think so and this is exactly why I think it. Superman and Batman are just perfect foils for each other. Batman the paranoid pessimist, Superman the over trusting optimist. I could go on but, I'm not going to the two just fit together. The story is solid with several different characters from across the board heroes and villains both making appearances throughout. Art isn't the best you will ever see but, it's not too bad. I recommand to anyone who likes either of the characters.

PLEASE!!! So mediocre, just a lot of whining and pining. Loeb was great with Long Halloween, etc. But this is drivel. Gets a second star for the art.

This doesn't seem to integrate as nicely as the others. It starts slow but picks up the pace about 1/3 in. Still a great Sin City tale.

Sin City was a little weak in the middle, especially in Book 6, but with this volume Frank Miller finishes with a bang. The art is wonderful and the story intrigued me. There were also hilarious images referencing other famous comics in a scene in the middle of the book that made me laugh out loud. "Give 'em hell, boy!"

A new character is introduced here. Wallace is a struggling artist, just trying to get along. He rescues a woman, and gets into a whole lot of trouble for it.

Finding himself in the middle of a conspiracy, his high level of talent at the killing thing holds him in good stead, as does his Vietnam war background.

Frank Miller's Sin City is always full of surprises, with its gritty dialogue and creative/graphic violence. Book 7 of 7, Hell & Back is a love story. This book is quite different then the others, some color is shown and you'll see what I mean if you read it. I hope you enjoy this book!

The final book in the Sin City series, HELL AND BACK is a solid conclusion that neither reaches the heights of some of the earlier books though, thankfully, also does not reach some of the low points we have seen. Any reader who makes it through everything will not be disappointed.

HELL AND BACK's main character is new to the Sin City collection. Wallace is a war vet with fighting skills that rival those of Marv. Like Marv, he is motivated by an altruisitic, indeed tender, concern for others that he deems worthy of his troubles. The girl he just meets and saves, Esther, is worthy enough. When Esther is kidnapped, Wallace kills about...oh, exact numbers are hard to come by, but an awful lot of scum bags to get her back.

We once again encounter Delia, the beautiful yet deadly assassin introduced in Book 6, BOOZE, BROADS & BULLETS and we get a better understanding of exactly what kind of organization she works for. Let us just say, not many people will be busted up over the pile of bodies left in Wallace's wake. I do not know if there are any plans to make this book into a Sin City movie, but if there are, some of the more tender-hearted may experience some sleeping problems after seeing it.

Given that HELL AND BACK introduces new and interesting characters, it is hard to complain that the book is considerably bigger than the others in the series. (Who would do so anyway?) If Frank Miller ever writes more of these stories, picking up right here would be a-ok.