Titan Books

From Investments Titans, I have learned that the most important thing an investor should try to do is to minimize his/her risk. To minimizing his/her risk in the market is to have a diversified portfolio. The portfolio risk decreases as the number of different types of stock increases. But how many much diversification is enough? If an investor is trying to reduce the volatility of his/her portfolio as a whole, then he/she need more than one type of stock. But an investor also needs to have stocks that do not go up and down together. It makes perfect sense to own more different types of stock to reduce an individual's risk in an up and down market. A famous 1970 study by Lawrence Fisher and James Lorie showed that risk declines as stocks are added to a portfolio. But the research noticed that once the portfolio holds more that 20 stocks, adding more stocks will have a minimal effect on risk. The point here is to have a diversified portfolio but not to go overboard. In my opinion, having five to eight different types of stocks is being diversified enough. Yet, many analysts say owing between 12 to 20 is ideal for a portfolio. It makes perfect sense that investors will seek the highest return for the least amount of risk. You should take in count that diversification eliminates some risk, but not all. But one thing that this book does not mention is besides having a diversified portfolio, it is also important to focus on well-managed companies that have a strong franchise (brand name). I think it is very important that an investor does not pick stock that has poor management team. An investor should try to invest in a business that he/she understands well and companies that generate lots of cash and competitive characteristics. When he/she buys a stock at what you think appears to be an attractive discounted price, he/she will benefit from the future increase in value generated by owing all or part of a business that is well established. The one thing that I like about Jonathan Burton is that he makes the most important factor in investing very clear. He makes risk in the stock market very straightforward. It is not all about looking at data and number all the time. It is about looking at how much risk an investor is at when he/she is buying or selling a stock. Another thing that I like about this book is that it does not give only his opinion on investing but many others as well. You do not only get one opinion but you get many opinions. So you are not narrow-minded and set only one direction. Over all, the book is a great guide for new investors like me. I would recommend new investor to read this book but would not recommend investor to invest after reading the book because I have learned that you can not understand the stock market by just reading book but you also need to have experience as well.

Investments Titans By: Jonathan Burton

The first chapter goes through the important knowledge of investing in the stock market. The most important thing an investor should try to do is to minimize his/her risk. To minimizing his/her risk in the market is to have a diversified portfolio. The portfolio risk decreases as the number of different types of stock increases. But how many much diversification is enough? If an investor is trying to reduce the volatility of his/her portfolio as a whole, then he/she need more than one type of stock. But an investor also needs to have stocks that don't go up and down together. It makes perfect sense to own more different types of stock to reduce an individual's risk in an up and down market. A famous 1970 study by Lawrence Fisher and James Lorie showed that risk declines as stocks are added to a portfolio. But the research noticed that once the portfolio holds more that 20 stocks, adding more stocks will have a minimal effect on risk. The point here is to have a diversified portfolio but not to go overboard. In my opinion, having five to eight different types of stocks is being diversified enough. Yet, many analysts say owing between 12 to 20 is ideal for a portfolio. It makes perfect sense that investors will seek the highest return for the least amount of risk. You should take in count that diversification eliminates some risk, but not all. Besides having a diversified portfolio, it is also important to focus on well-managed companies that have a strong franchise (brand name). An investor should try to invest in a business that he/she understands well and companies that generate lots of cash and competitive characteristics. When he/she buys a stock at what you think appears to be an attractive discounted price, he/she will benefit from the future increase in value generated by owing all or part of a business that is well established.

This book is the nonmath, condensed books version of much of the financial theory written by academics about stock investing, plus some perspectives by outstanding practitioners. If you can understand the math, you will learn a lot more by reading the original works. If you cannot, these side-by-side comparisons are not examined in enough depth to help you understand who's right and who's out of date. The book is well written though, for what it is. The book's concept is simply mistargeted from what investors need to know.

Of the thinkers who were interviewed for this book, the most useful information comes from John Bogle, Gary Brinson, Richard Thaler, Joseph Lakonishok, and Jeremy Siegel. You can read any of several books by John Bogle that are more helpful than this book, such as Bogle on Mutual Funds or Common Sense about Mutual Funds. Jeremy Siegel's Stocks for the Long Run is a classic that anyone can learn from. The Lakonishok studies suggest lots of inefficiency in the markets that Brinson talks about. Thaler's work is cutting edge in helping people understand the systematic tendency for professional and amateur investors to make mistakes.

If you ignore the Markowitz, Samuelson, Bernstein, and Sharpe material in the book, you will have missed relatively little.

Modern financial practice has moved well beyond the original academic perspectives built around the theoretical assumption of a perfectly informed and rational market composed of identically-minded investors. Those useful research-based distinctions are not made here.

If you want to understand what you should be doing as an investor, I would suggest looking elsewhere. Depending on your goals and circumstances, different paths may make sense for you. If you are between 46 and 56, I suggest that you start with Charles Schwab's new book, You're 50 -- Now What?

Of the key lessons in the book, you should pay most attention to the advice to diversify, hold as much in common stocks as your risk profile allows you to do, stay invested all the time, keep costs down (taxes, fees, and trading charges), focus on indexes of sectors that have historically outperformed (such as small cap, value stocks), start investing as soon as you can, add to your investments as much as possible, and . . . leave well enough alone (forget about chasing the latest hot stock or manager to try to beat the averages -- past performance is not an indicator of what will come next).

If you do decide to read this book, check your behavior against the principles I have just listed above. Most people violate these concepts, and have missed the chance to make more money.

May you achieve all of your financial goals!

The core concepts of the nine you know who, as summarized by the author, are: 1) diversify your portfolio 2) be cost conscious 3) start investing now and stay invested 4) keep your emotions in check 5) take an active, involved role in investment even if you got an advisor.

Not that insightful, right? You know these ideas quite well but just fail to execute them profitably, dont you? Now you may see why I dare not recommend it a "buy".

p.s. The best I can get is from Samuelson:- "You should take money seriously. In fact, you shouldnt enjoy investing. That's a trap. It makes you too active. You churn your own portfolio. You listen to stories, and most of the stories are not worth listening to."

Jonathan Burton relays the advice of nine top investors - Harry Markowitz, Paul Samuelson, Jeremy Siegel, John C. Bogle, Joseph Lakonishok, Richard Thaler, Gary Brinston, Peter Bernstein and William Sharpe. The author focuses on different aspects of investing - stock-market risk and reward, indexing, value versus growth investing, investor psychology, international investor strategies and risk tolerance. Burton concludes Investment Titans with observations about common themes - diversifying, investing now and staying invested. This solid book avoids repetition by focusing on different investment issues for different investors. We [...] won't give you stock tips, but we do offer book tips - this is a recommended buy for all readers interested in investment strategies.

It really shows how they made the movie

The movie was deplorable. How Stephenopolos was allowed to remake Godzilla into a T-rex and still think it was an origninal idea I will never know. Still despite the movie being bad the book is even worse. This was one of the most boring "Making of..." of all time. Despite the boring text, they are accompained by some of the worst, most grainest pictures ever. Both authors should be forced to give refunds to people who bought the book, because they did a horrible job.

The text is sparse and typo-ridden, the author does not show a particular grasp of the subject, and the photos are mostly just from the movie, not behind the scenes; further, too many of the photos are murky (this may be the movie's fault). As making-of books go, this is a below-average rush job.

It really shows how elaborate the production was to bring the creature to life. Though it could have shown more of the details going in to CG portion of the fx, it still gives one an appreciation for the job they did. Patrick Tatopoulos(not stephanopolos like the hack reviewer said who was reviewing the movie and not this book) did an amazing job of using alot of nature references to the creature which made it a visually convincing creation. Something Toho hasn't tried to do from the 70's UP; sinking the franchise all through the 90's.

A must have for all Godzilla fans. Even if you didn't like the movie. It shows you what the creators went through to make there vision come true.

The most thorough, most complete treatise concerning this master of German Opera I have ever encountered.

Let's begin by saying that this is a very difficult book, dense in style and at times obscure in its arguments. Stewart Spencer deserves high praise for his lucid translation.

What this book most emphatically is NOT is a biography. Rather, it is a set of semi-philosophical musings on the themes of Wagner's music dramas. There is NO narrative, and readers ignorant of the track of Wagner's career will be lost. Koehler is hung-up on Wagner's relation with his step-father and his sisters. Moreover, in this account Cosima is an ogre fresh from the pages of the Brothers Grimm at their nastiest. Koehler's Wagner is glad to die at age 69 just to get away from her. This Wagner is also a Freudian's wet dream, with speculations that range from the interesting to the absurd.

It is NOT a good first--or even second--book on Wagner. For biography try Ronald Taylor; for philosophy read Bryan Magee's exceptionally fine "Wagner and Philosophy" (American title: "The Tristan Chord").

What this book IS is that it's much better than some of the crap Koehler has previously published. (For a book-length pathology of "post hoc ergo propter hoc" give his "Wagner's Hitler" a perusal. His logical fallacies will have you rolling with laughter out of your chair.) I am glad I read this book, difficult as it was. I learned a lot--or at least was exposed to some thought-provoking ideas.

In sum, I'd recommend this book only to die-hard Wagnerians fairly well steeped in the literature already.

Joachim Kohler has made a career out of writing intellectually dishonest, crass books on both Richard Wagner and Friedrich Nietzsche, and while I expected more of the same here, this weighty tome actually possesses some merit.

As far as reliable biography goes, Kohler's book is more responsible than Gutman's Richard Wagner: The Man, His Mind, and His Music (but, again, that's not saying all that much), and Kohler does present some interesting analysis regarding Wagner's phobias, dreams and obsessions. The problem that arises here, though, is one that plagues all such psycho-biographies; that is Kohler's conclusions are purely subjective & cannot be conclusively proven.

Some of the reviewers here have made the remark that this is more of a philosophy book than a biography, and this is entirely correct. If one has little desire to wade through the theorizing of Feuerbach, Schopenhauer, Schelling, Hegel and Kant, then that person would be much better served in reading either Watson's or Millington's bios on Wagner. But if you are interested in seeing the philosophical backbone of Wagner's work, Kohler's book can be stimulating. I think Kohler is correct in discerning Schelling's influence in Wagner's thought, as well as his emphasis on Hegel's ideas on Wagner. Kohler is incorrect, in my opinion, in stating that Schopenhauer's thought had virtually no impact on Wagner. While it's true that Wagner's most "Schopenhauerian" work, Tristan und Isolde, is just as much in debt to Feuerbach, Schopenhauer's negation of the individual consciousness and the primacy of the Will are indeed pervasive presences in the opera. Wagner's Meistersinger & Parsifal are even more patently Schopenhauerian.

Kohler's views on Der Ring are also interesting, but again, those views are entirely subjective, and one can easily argue against them.

Having discussed the book's merits, there are also some major flaws. Nietzsche & King Ludwig are both portrayed as hapless victims of Wagner's megalomania, and Liszt is portrayed as an artist whom Wagner shamelessly [...] and blatantly copied. There is no doubt that Nietzsche & Ludwig were both psychologically wounded by Wagner (the man was quite a pill, after all), but neither men were utter victims, and both profited from their association with Wagner, and said as much. In regards to Liszt, Wagner was definitely influenced by him, but by the time of Die Walkure, Wagner had far surpassed his mentor.

Kohler addresses Wagner's notorious anti-Semitism, and it must be said, Kohler's murky analysis of Wagner's worst vice is almost as murky as Wagner's anti-Semitism. There are much more responsible (and clearer) examinations of Wagner's ugly hatred in the books The Darker Side of Genius, The Tristan Chord, and Ring of Myths. I recommend reading these first, and then coming back to this book.

Finally, we have Cosima. I never liked her, and it's easy to agree with Kohler's assessment of her as a self-righteous, manipulative woman. But I think it's also fair to say that she adored her husband (a quick glance through her diaries will prove that), and Kohler is off the beam in stating that their relationship was based primarily on fear.

Anyway, if you have the time and patience, this is a worthy read, but if you aren't inclined to wade through 700 pages of subjective psycho-biography and philosophical meanderings, then I would stick with a more manageable volume. In any event, I'm off to listen to Act II of Tristan.

I found the German idealistic readings of the Ring insufferably pompous. They left me with a feeling of utter disgust both with Wagner's mistake at having gotten involved with the whole thing in the first place and with Kohler, for taking it's philosophical pretensions so seriously, with nary a single intelligent comment re the MUSIC. HOWEVER, the devastating critique of the oft-mentioned (not least by W) Wagner/Schopenhauer connection, and the much-deserved and well-documented trashing of Cosima make the book very worthwhile in spite of the aforementioned.

Joachim Koehler, at his best, writes well. So well, that it's a pity his book is marred by a NATIONAL ENQUIRER type of prurience, by wild unconvincing generalizations, and by an almost complete absence of interest in Wagner's actual music - which is, after all, the reason why Wagner matters today.

Having discussed the present volume's virtues and failings at 2,000-word length in the February 14, 2005 AMERICAN CONSERVATIVE, I shall simply say here: this should've been the one-volume Wagner biography that all Wagnerians were longing for, but it isn't. Best to stick with the Wagnerological surveys of Bryan Magee, Rudolph Sabor, Deryck Cooke, and (more recently) Milton Bremer for greater insight than Koehler offers. The really hard-core Wagnerian will also want, within handy reach, Ernest Newman's four-volume account.

I really enjoyed this book, more so than the others I've read so far. The plot was intriguing, the art was outstanding. I like the character development. It was simply a fun read.

The Hunt for Aurra Sing was an excellent graphic novel, but it had some glaring flaws. I'll start with the plot, though. While hunting Aurra Sing in the Coruscant undercity, two Jedi Knights are killed along with a Republic Security Patrol. Escaping her dead Master's fate, the Padawan with them escapes to tell the Jedi Council what had happened. The Council agrees on one thing: Aurra Sing must not escape to kill more Jedi. This TPB had very good art (far better than the rest in the Star Wars Ongoing series- Outlander, Prelude to Rebellion, etc.) but it still wasn't up to the level of the Republic series(or the Clone Wars TPB's). The story was very good, and so was the binding (for once) but the main problem of The Hunt for Aurra Sing was the character development. This graphic novel focuses on Ki-Adi-Mundi, who is usually a very boring character. A'Sharad Hett is as well, as he was trained by Ki and never does ANYTHING interesting. Fortunately, characters like the Dark Woman and Aurra Sing improve the overall quality of the story by adding more variety, instead of just loyal, humble Jedi who are completely by-the-book and uninteresting. Overall, The Hunt for Aurra Sing was a good read, and despite the problems, I'd tell any Star Wars fan to pick it up immediately.

I like the idea of incorporating other characters in the expanded universe, such as Hett, The Dark Woman, and Aurra Sing. However, where is this story going?

The art was descent and the writing was kind of abbreviated. This story was kind of short as well.

This is a review of ISBN 156971651X, called Star wars: Republic - The Hunt for Aurra Sing issues 28 to 31, released as a TPB by Dark Horse comics July, 2002.

This is a very good comic, but a step backward from the three that preceded it. The story by Truman is good, but the artwork is a step backward. The style is more cartoonish than what we have been getting in the REPUBLIC run of issues. The cover art is very dark and frankly, not very good.

The Jedi are out to hunt down Bounty Hunter - force sensitive killer Aurra Sing. Aurra is a rouge in the worst sense. She slaughters others cruelly and senselessly, and in fact she murdered Padawan A Sharad's father (see OUTLANDER).

The production quality, even if you don't care for the artwork itself, is awesome. Dark horse as of early 2002, even late 2001 has had great strides in producing great comic. They also seem to have been sensitive to the tradition of poor editing in the past, and they seem to do a much better job of helping the reader now who is who and who is speaking. My biggest complaint concerning the lazy editing was UNION. I see that Chris Warner edited that one. He is still editor-and-chief of HUNT but had an assist from David Land. Thanks for being more attentive for the fanatics like me.

The lightsabers. Some have criticized that the lightsabers in some comics were drawn to small. Looks like they may have overadjusted here because they look larger and I would say, more cartoonish.

I assume that the person who does the pencils is in effect the artist. I did not that a different person did the pencils here from the previous TPB's that I liked a lot. Lets just say that I really like the work of Jan Duursema, Magyar and McCaig, and am less a fan of the work of Robinson and Fabbri (though Robinson's art in Twilight as great).

The Hunt for Aurra Sing is another commendable comic in this Ongoing series, one that has little substance aside from the fun read it is. With the primary storyline hunting down the Jedi killer like the animal she is, this comic lacks any other plots that could have made it more interesting.

This comic is closure for the Ki-Ad-Mundi, A'Sharad and Sing characters. Next up you have Twilight, and the focus under new artist teams shifts to Quinlin Vos and his peers.

Quality of art is comparable to Emissaries to Malastare---or at least its first half, before the art went out the airlock. Here, texture and illustrations are not of Twilight's superb quality but still stand out well. Aside from the saber blades, which are little more than single-colour sticks, shadowing and resolution is actually not so bad. All cover arts here, however, issue and TPB fronts, were terrible.

The dialogue varies between the cast, which incorporates the simple-minded Jedi hunters, the Quarren political retinue, and of course Sing's delightful self-indulgent lines. Cocky, sarcastic, brazen, you just gotta love her.

The prologue scene is typical of what you'd expect from this sort of comic, but being long enough it doesn't end too quickly and had enough emotional support to see it through. Sing taking out a Jedi team after her trail---an Anx and Kerestian (8 cheek noses) Jedi Master, starts the ball rolling. Interesting to see her reluctant to kill apprentices until they're old enough to face her; the little Twi'lek girl, now orphaned, appears back in the later Aayla Secura comic, a nice continuity touch by that team indeed.

The Jedi party after her hide acts like all Jedi of that era do: predictably naive and persistently outsmarted. But hey, if they weren't shot down, the plot couldn't progress, could it? For young A'Sharad, it's to account for the murderess that killed his father; for Ki-Ad-Mundi, it's concern for his master's welfare, the enigmatic Dark Woman; and Adi Gallia's lacklustre role here has her little more than a figurehead.

Did I say Dark Woman? You bet I did. She's back again, grinning in looks, with her own issue cover in the third. If Vader only slays her just before Episode 4, there's still two decades of timeline to have more of her. Hint hint wink nudge . . .

Overall, The Hunt for Aurra Sing will appeal to her fanbase, and particularly if you've already invested in Outlander and Emissaries to Malastare.

The Titan Quest Official Strategy Guide is a solid if unspectacular product. Most of the basics are well covered. More than 50 pages are devoted to the various masteries and skills in the game with decent advice on how to build a character. They could have done more to suggest combinations of masteries that work well together but the section is certainly useful.

The next major section of the book provides walk-throughs of both the main quest and the many side quests. This information is just barely enough to get you through if you have a problem but as others have mentioned there is only one map of a single dungeon and that's it. Most of the time, that really isn't a problem. The game is very linear with a straight path. Keep moving forward and kill what gets in your way and you'll do fine. But occasionally, I did struggle to find things and the guide was not as helpful as it could have been.

There are also full sections on the items available in game and the beasties you will encounter. In all honesty, I didn't use these at all. The info is there is you want it, though. Don't want to play the game alone? There is some basic information on multiplayer games to help start you on that that path as well. And, finally, the guide also offers tips on building your own maps to share with friends or post online.

All in all, there is a wealth of material in the guide and I was happy I bought it. Most of the value for me was realized in the sections on masteries and quests but your mileage will vary depending on what you're looking for. It could use some maps and a little more detail but it is well worth buying if you want to play Titan Quest DVD-Rom.

This guide gives a good walkthrough of the game. Gives very good info on all the ability paths and even gives a couple of example characters. BUT IT HAS NO MAPS. Could get as good walkthrough with maps online!

Pros:
This book has good item stats and walkthrough. The mastery/skills chapter also has a lot of detail and tells you wheather the skill is good and if that skill has good modifiers
Cons:
I would have liked some colour in the book especially in the screenshot in the walkthrough.

Overall this was a good book and i was pleased with my purchase

If you played the old 8 bit Nintendo "Battle of Olympus" or any of the Diablos and enjoyed them you will love this one. Beautiful to look at, fun and challenging to play. Aside from the rather abrupt ending which seems to be endemic with RPG games it is a very satisfying journey. The great thing is that the complexities and variations of the characters is huge so you can play it over and over and never get the same result. Also, you can create your own game though I wouldn't suggest it til you've played a few times. If you really enjoy RPG you will have a great time with this game!

The book description lists "Detailed area maps pinpointing key locations". There is only one map in the book, of the labryinth in Greece, and it's not exactly detailed. Maps of any kind, even if they aren't "detailed" would be very useful, especially where you are trying to find a specific person/foe. It's easy to get 'lost' in some of the underground caves/crypts/etc and miss areas.

Colour screenshots would have been nice, or at least better detail on the ones that are in the book. As it stands, the screenshots are not useful, they just fill in page space.

Other than that, it's not a bad book, the information on the Masteries and the item data is quite useful.

If your a fan of the scarecrow, you're gonna love this! This book includes Scarecrows oldests and newests crimes, like "The 6 days of Scarecrow". Trust me, if you don't like Scarecrow now, wait until you see 'Batman Begins'. That's right, he's the villian! Buy the book, see Scarecrow on the big Screen, and enjoy Scarecrow Tales by ???? ?????. This book is awesome! Come See, Twisted Jon Crance beaten by Batman and Robin! It'll bw worth the cost of the book!

Overall a decent collection of Scarecrow stories and artwork, but in the end none of the stories were really that good. If you are a fan of Dr. Crane than this is definitely a worthy addition to your collection (simply for nostalgia, I suppose), but otherwise you may just want to pass this one by.

"BATMAN: SCARECROW TALES" TP




The contents are the followings:

l. RIDDLE OF THE HUMAN SCARECROW
originally presented in "World's Finest Comics #3", fall 1941
story: Bill Finger
art: Bob Kane
2. FRIGHT OF THE SCARECROW
originally presented in "Batman #189", Feb. 1967
story: Gardner Fox
art: Bob Kane
3. THE SCARECROW'S TRAIL OF FEAR!
originally presented in "Batman #262", April 1975
story: Denny O'Neil
art: Ernie Chua
4. THE SCARECROW'S FEARSOME FACE-OFF!
originally presented in "The Joker #8", Jul-Aug 1976
story: Elliot Maggin
art: Irv Novick
5. THE 6 DAYS OF THE SCARECROW
originally presented in "Detective Comics #503", June 1981
story: Gerry Conway
art: Don Newton
6. FEAR FOR SALE
originally presented in "Detective Comics #571", Feb 1987
story: Mike Barr
art: Alan Davis
7. MISTRESS OF FEAR
originally presented in "Scarecrow Villains #1", Feb 1998
story: Peter Milligan
art: Duncan Fegredo
8. FEAR OF SUCCESS
originally presented in "Batman: Gotham Knights #23", Jan 2002
story: Devin Grayson
art: Roger Robinson





"The Riddle of the Human Scarecrow" is a five-star story. It is the sole five-star story in this tp.

The Scarecrow has a very cruel but beautiful origin story.

It is a very psychological story.

"Fear for Sale" is the second best story in this collection.

The Scarecrow uses chemicals(his forte) to makes well-known athletes to be suicidal in their actions.

It is a good story.

"The 6 Days Of The Scarecrow" is also a good story.

The other stories lack significance & resonance. They are not good.

The Scarecrow is a very good villain. He is a deep character.





Great DC's TPBs that should be read:

. Flash: The Return of Barry Allen TP
. Batman: Strange Apparition TP
. Batman: Tales of the Demon TP
. Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told TP
. Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told TP
. Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told TP
. Wonder Woman: Hiketeia TP
. Green Lantern: Willworld TP
. Green Lantern: A New Dawn TP
. Superman: Death of Clark Kent TP
. Superman: Death of Superman TP
. Superman: Peace on Earth T.S.
. JLA: Act of God PF
. JLA: Strenght in Numbers TP



Worst DC's TPBs that should be avoided:

. Adam Strange: Man of Two Worlds TP
. V For Vendetta TP
. Y The Last Man Vol. 1 TP
. Fables Vol. 1 TP
. Preacher Vol. 1 TP






FINAL ANALYSIS:
"Batman: Scarecrow Tales" TP
2.5 of 5 stars
**1/2 = 2 for content & another 1/2 for collectability.
Rating: C-



For remembranceship!
Not very memorable stories!
For Scarecrow fans only !



-----
RECOMMENDED !!!

In this collection, we get to know the master of fear a little better, The Scarecrow. Just like The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told was released in 1988 in anticipation of the '89 Batman movie featuring The Joker, Scarecrow Tales was released close to Batman Begins, which features The Scarecrow and helped introduce him to the general non-comic reading public. The good thing about that is the stories range from 1941 all the way to 2002.

This book is shorter than the Joker stories, featuring only 8 tales, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. We start off with his origin story in 1941 which introduces us to Jonathan Crane, a man who is tired of being laughed at, and decides to use what he knows from psychology to strike fear into those who would mock him. After that we skip way forward in time to the late 60's and so forth. Apparently the Scarecrow didn't become a very prominent villain until the 70's, probably because if the greatest Joker stories are any indication, writers were using him in abundance during the 50's and 60's.

Pretty much all the 8 stories in here are above average. There is one Batman-less story from The Joker comic strip that features The Scarecrow as a guest villain, which didn't really make any sense by the end. However, there are a few real gems in there such as The Scarecrow's Trail of Fear, Fear For Sale, and one of my favorites, The 6 Days of the Scarecrow. Mistress of Fear also gives us a chance to feel sorry for Crane and reveals his soft side (although even his soft side is psychotic). The final story ends on an abrupt note, but overall we are still treated to some great Scarecrow comics.

If you've read the most recent representations of the Scarecrow, you may feel as though they have messed the character up. He just recites nursery rhymes and randomly sprays people with fear gas. He is not a calculating, sociopathic madman with grand ambition. I believe the latter should define the Scarecrow character. That is what he was for nearly forty years. This collection shows how well the Scarecrow character can be written if you make him a serious threat.

I only disliked two stories; "Joker vs. Scarecrow" and the story at the very end that was a short from a recent "Gotham Knights." The reason I disliked the second was because it was so short and felt like it was filler. Nonetheless, there is some redemptive dialogue between Bruce and his bodyguard at the end.

Scarecrow has really been dealt a blow. Once he seemed capable of implementing impressive plans as he stood on his own as a villain. Lately he has spent too much time on someone else's puppet strings. This collection will remind you of what a resourceful, clever, and diabolical villain the Scarecrow really is.

This trade is a compilation of a few different storylines. The primary one centers on the continuous and tenacious quest by Spoiler to be accepted as an integral member of Batman's inner crime fighting family, and in this particular instance, by actually becoming Robin. With Tim Drake currently "retired", Batman, who is quite appreciative of her steadfast persistence, finally accedes to it and grants her the Robin mantle on a probationary basis. We witness her trials and tribulations and also learn about Batman's one primary proviso for keeping her status ongoing and possibly permanent, always follow orders out in the field. It's difficult not to cheer for Stephanie. While she may be in over her head at times, her heart is clearly and admirably in the right place, plus her positive spirit is infectious. To some, just the thought of her becoming Robin may sound ludicrous, but a girl wonder is certainly an intriguing direction to explore, and it's safe to say that quite a few female fans would undoubtedly be rooting for this to occur. The eventual fate of Spoiler and the critical conclusion of this unique experiment and its' ramifications directly leads into and ultimately triggers the follow up epic War Games saga. The rest of the book involves two separate forays focusing mainly on the street crime element of Gotham. These types of tales can be interesting, but their appeal may be limited. Most people arguably prefer the over the top spectacle and shenanigans of his rogues gallery; even Nightwing's run in the past has been mildly criticized due to its' emphasis on this pedestrian style of story. In total, a mostly enjoyable yet uneven and disparate collection tied together more by their sequential publication dates than by any cohesive or connected theme.

This collection collects Detective Comics #790-796 and Robin #126-128 and is written by Anderson Gabrych and Bill Willingham (Fables) and illustrated by Pete Woods and Damion Scott. The first story is a stand-alone and deals with Batman on the eve of Jason Todd's (ex-Robin) birthday. The next two stories deals with how a female Rap star has her sister missing and injured by a rival record lable and winds up in the care of Batman's long-time friend Dr. Leslie Tompkins. Leslie is kidnapped along with the injured girl and Batman is hell-bent on finding them. And to make matters worse, the rival gang is equipped with hardware courtesy of Mr. Freeze (i.e. ice bullets that melt). The story basically re-examines the relationship between Bruce Wayne and Dr. Tompkins. The next two stories are by far the worst in this collection and features Tarantula (a character who I and a lot of Batman and Nightwing fans abhor). Apparently a Hispanic legend dealing with filth and grabage (literally) has come to life. Like I said this was by far the worst story in the collection.

Once you have dragged past or skipped over the former stories, the latter portion of the collection follows Stephanie Brown aka Spoiler and now the new Robin in her training to become Robin. We basically get a glimpse in her 15 minutes of fame as Robin. The stories are pretty-well written and is told from Stephanie's POV. We also get a look at Tim Drake's (ex-Robin) life as a civilian. But before he can get too comfortable, Robin's nemesis Johnny Warlock (see Robin: Unmasked) has hired a skilled killer to hunt down teenage boys at home matching Robin's physical description. It is up to Batman and the new Robin to stop the killer before she reaches Tim Drake. In between all this we get a stand-alone story featuring Zsasz. Zsasz in my opinion is a severly underestimated character. He is the Hannibal Lecter in Batman's Universe. He slits the throat of his victims and then tallies them up by cutting himself. This story is the best in this collection and the writer does a very good job of conveying Zsasz's threat and power.

I just have a single point to state here...the writer Anderson Gabyrch has this tendency to portray all African American characters as MTV marketed Rap Stars. Read the second story and you'll get my point. He is a new-comer and he has good potential (see the Zsasz story) but here his work suffers terribly because of the Tarantula story. Bill Willingham also writes well, his work shows Batman a little more light-hearted but still not bad.

This collection mainly sets the premises for the atrocious Batman War Games crossover (see my review). All in all the stories are good...not great but good. Recommended for the Batman completists.

"Batman: War Drums" is a collection of some of the latest stories in the comics. Batman has been moving from what I would have called "self-contained" storylines to some type of "expanding" storylines. Let me explain what I mean.

"Self-contained storyline:" typically a story told within four to six issues of the same comic. One storyline might run from Batman #300-#306, for example.

"Expanding" storyline: A story is much more complex, spanning several issues of several different comic titles. You read one part in Batman, finish in an issue of Robin several months later. NO MAN'S LAND, Knightfall, and Contagion are examples of such a storyline where multiple characters are involved. These type of storylines are in-depth. Batman stories seem to be moving in this direction.

However, "War Drums" has some self-contained storylines, including Batman pursuing kidnappers, a mystery at a new factory, and an encroaching gang war. What I find interesting is that in War Drums you see a combination of the two storyline types mentioned above.

You get the satisfaction of seeing one plot unfurl and complete itself. At the same time, you see a bigger picture developing around the self-contained storylines. The kidnapping, factory mishap, and scuffles that are resolved are all episodes pointing to a bigger trend in Gotham.

The work seen here, however, leads up to "War Games," which looks interesting. I hope the comics writers are learning that we are tired of following five or six titles just to get one good story. On this front, "War Drums" looks promising.

I can't say I'm very well-versed in Batman-I only started reading Robin at the beginning of the Unmasked arc.
War Drums chronicles a time right before War Games which I am reading right now in weekly installment form.
For me, this book was heaven-sent, because I missed an issue of Robin chronicaling the very short career of the girl Robin, and this book explains exactly what happened that so many people I've talked to seem confused about.

I had actually read the War Games series as well as War Crimes before finally getting around to this one. I can tell you it didn't make that much of a difference whether or not I read it before or after. There are a lot of stories in this trade paperback, but the only one that interested me that much was the final one where Stephanie Brown takes over as Robin for a short while. In fact it is so short, I can barely even count her as being one of the Robins as it was only for about 49 days.

A lot of the characters involved in War Games sort of get their own stories in here. Leslie Tompkins, trying to help the unfortunate, as she is abducted to try and give birth to a baby when the mother's been shot. You get some nice backstory here about Leslie and her relationship to Bruce and Alfred. Mr. Feeze makes a brief appearance but doesn't exactly play the villain.

There's a boring story about Tarantula and an ancient legend known as the Mugre (don't ask). You also see the teaming of Orpheus and Onyz. Green Arrow has a small role in this but he is wasted as he dissapears as quickly as he arrives. You see Tim Drake struggle with his promise to his father not to go out as Robin any longer and also his relationship with Stephanie, his soon to be replacement. One thing that bothered me about this was it seemed like Batman accepted her as Robin almost immediately. It seemed pretty out of character to me, but I suppose he does the same thing in Dark Knight Returns as well.

It's a crossover storyline so it is a split over Detective Comics and the Robin comics which means the artwork changes every 20 or so pages which isn't so bad. Both artistic styles are quite different but I'd have to say I prefer the way Batman is drawn in Detective Comics.

Overall it's not too bad, but there were a few stories I could have done without, and I wished we could have seen more of Stephanie as Robin in here.

Lady Shiva swap.


As part of the whole One Year Later deal, the Birds of Prey have a new member - Lady Shiva - the Canary has gone off for some further training, leaving Shiva replace her as part of this deal.

Needless to say, the international assassin and mega-martial artist and the rest of the Birds have different working styles.

Or, what do you get if you stone cold deadpan killer, ex-mafia chick, and a librarian?


4 out of 5

I first started to like this book with Chuck Dixon. No disrespect to him but Gail Simone is very good. I recommend all the Birds of Prey titles with her writing. Too bad she has moved on to Wonder Woman. The art is also very good.

Although I disliked previous TPB , I must admit this one has plot, humor and everything that made me start collecting Birds of Prey! Not many people can write like this, and art is good or great, like always.

This book collects yet more of writer Gail Simone's run on DC Comics' Birds of Prey series. Collects issues #86-90 & 92-95. Issue #91 was omitted,but doesn't hurt the collected storyline(as #91 was just a 'standalone' story).

(since some have apparently not found my review helpful, I have re-written it...!)

I have read and enjoyed all the previous BOP graphic novels. The art and writing have been consistently entertaining. Especially appealing was the penciling of Ed Benes. I was eagerly awaiting the current compilation, and pre-ordered it...

The cover features work by one of my favorite artists, Terry Dodson, so I was looking forward to his work inside. Unfortunately, I couldn't even manage to finish reading this book. The artwork is not by Benes, or Dodson, it's by Paulo Siqueira, a gentleman who seems to have no business penciling comic books at all. The artwork is amateurish at best. The compositions and layouts are lifeless, and the rendering of the human form is crude. I am sorry to say this is a real fall from grace for a book that has enjoyed a several years as one of the best in the DC lineup. It is a shame that Ms. Simone's skillful writing has to be interpreted by this low-rent hack of a artist.

Deadline is a great novel. One of the best avengers spinoffs.
One of the scenes in the press room is a winner though I don't know what Patrick Macnee put in except his name. read it
Also read Dead Duck.

This Avengers book will remind you of the classic story's that have been followed, by the best Avenging team of Mrs. Peel and John Steed. Follow them as they try to search out the fraudsters at work amongst the presses of the Courier newspaper. The book is a must for Avengers fans it will allow your imagination to follow a classic Avengers adventure. Resulting in your return to the book to keep up with the gripping story. Patrick MacNee thankyou for keeping the Avengers well and truly alive with this book.

Another dangerous and exciting mission for our favorite agents. Something's terribly wrong at the Courier. Anti-British sentiments keep appearing in the headlines. What criminal geniuses are behind the stories? It's up to the Avengers to save the day.

This Avengers book will remind you of the classic story's that have been followed, by the best Avenging team of Mrs. Peel and John Steed. Follow them as they try to search out the fraudsters at work amongst the presses of the Courier newspaper. The book is a must for Avengers fans it will allow your imagination to follow a classic Avengers adventure. Resulting in your return to the book to keep up with the gripping story. Patrick MacNee thankyou for keeping the Avengers we and truly alive with this book.

The cover of Rigg and Macnee is the best part of the book.Emma Peel does not appear until page 50. In a delightful scene, Steed summons Emma at 3 a.m. to meet him in a night club. He knows she is approaching by the snapping of every man's neck as they all turn their heads to look at her. When Emma discovers it is nothing urgent, she berates Steed, who signals frantically for the check. Unfortunately, the plot does downhill. The Avengers and Me is charming and a joy to read, Blind in One Ear offers insight into Macnee's highly unusual childhood and the forces that shaped him. Like Dead Duck, there is none of the sparkling repartee, and the plot is dull and pedestrian. The best Avengers novel- Julie Kaewert's adaptation. Is anyone going to reprint Geoff Barlow's avengers novel- The Saga of Happy Valley? Why not ILL (interlibrary loan) MacNee's novel? Then purchase the book if you want to. I wouldn't buy either of MAcnee's novels if I had it to do over again. I would purchase his book, The Avengers and Me. It charms, sparkles and delights. Macnee's novels just disappoint. Terrible plots!

Dark Horse has done a good job with their "Art of..." books of late, and I was excited that they produced a book on Sin City. The real enjoyment of this book is seeing Frank Miller's sketches, which are nothing if not impressive, and a great many of these, as well as unpublished works, are presented. What is disappointing, however, is that too much of the book is devoted to individual pages from the numerous Sin City miniseries and one-shots, which makes it seem less impressive and somewhat of a waste of money. Additionally, unlike the more complete and interesting "Art of Hellboy," there is very little annotation or commentary on the images, which makes this book a lesser offering than it should have been.

Innovative technique, closer to fine art than comic illustration.
My major quibble is that the technique is kept a big secret.
Artists share ideas freely. Only 3rd rate hacks hoard.
Share your technique, dude. It won't hurt a bit. You'll watch your
ideas grow and spawn new ideas.
Also, if Miller used other artists, they should be given credit under their work.
Goes without saying.

I saw this in a comic book store and boy, was this a disappointment. Most of the material has appeared in the pages of the Sin City comic books. Here, they're reproduced at a larger size but big deal. Compare this to the recent Art of Hellboy and you'll see a huge difference in terms of value. Do not buy this book if you already own the Sin City comics or graphic novels because you're going to be getting something you've already seen.

I have been a huge fan of Frank Miller since his Wolverine mini-series done in the late 80s. I'm a huge Sin City fan, and I own all of the graphic novels, even though I also own most of the individual issues, so you can imagine my joy when I heard this project was first announced. It arrived today from Amazon, and I'm returning it tomorrow morning. This book is about 90 percent reprints of pages from the various Sin City mini series, and some promotional items, with perhaps a dozen or so rough layouts and sketches. There were exactly 4 images in this book that I hadn't already seen!!! I can't believe he would try to milk [$$]from his fans like this!!! If you own the majority of the graphic novels in this series, don't waste your money on this. There is very little about his thought or design processes. If you haven't read any of the books in this series, this is a good teaser for the full graphic novels.

I bought this hoping that it would wash the bad taste of DK2 away, but now I feel doubly cheated.

It's really a shame that Sin City fans are responsible for this book's poor overall rating. The title says it all- it's about the ART of Sin City, so people who want to see all original material should just wait for new Sin City comics and stop complaining about this book.

With that said, I should really take a moment to compliment Dark Horse for producing books like this and The Art of Hellboy, both of which are valuable to artists like me who do not read comics but are in awe of many of the artists who work in the field. I could name many artists who I wish had books like this one- compilations of finished art and sketches that showcase the art in large format and take the readers/viewers behind the scenes of how it was produced.

If you are an artist who is looking to master the aesthetics of black and white design, I highly recommend both this book and The Art of Hellboy. I also recommend both books if you are a fan of art and enjoy discovering complexity in what appears to be simple, and vice versa. However, if you have every Sin City comic and are distraught because you bought this book expecting it to be all new material, then do us artists and art fans a favor and put your copy back on the market.