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The Kindly Ones encompasses the direct consequences of the earlier volume, Brief Lives. In Brief Lives, Lord Morpheus (Dream) changes, for better or for worse. The actions that lead to such change must have ramifications, and The Kindly Ones details such repercussions.

In The Kindly Ones, Lyta Hall, a character who has made sporadic appearances throughout The Sandman series, is convinced that Dream has stolen her baby, Daniel. She goes to the women known as the Kindly Ones for vengeance, and even she couldn't predict the outcome.

Making use of virtually every character in The Sandman mythos, The Kindly Ones is a truly epic tale that brings us to a point in Dream's existence that would seem, based upon Brief Lives, inevitable. At times The Kindly Ones gets a bit muddled and verbose, but in the end, it was all worth it.

I've had the privilege of reading The Sandman series in completion and for the first time in the last few months, and The Kindly Ones is testament to the genius of Neil Gaiman. I don't know if it was on purpose or a happy accident, but The Kindly Ones makes use of virtually every storyline preceding it and concludes such a mammoth story ... it's nearly unimaginable someone could dream up such a story.

My only suggestion: Skip the introduction and read it after you finish The Kindly Ones. It does reveal a fairly major plot point, which, upon retrospect seems obvious, but even so, I would have liked to have avoided the introduction's cataclysmic revelation.

~Scott William Foley, author of Souls Triumphant

Lyta Hall's son Daniel is taken from her. She shows that, when a superhero, she wasn't called Fury for nothing.

Finding her mythological namesakes, she decides to put an end to Morpheus, the Lord of Dream. Morpheus is not without his own plans and defenses, however, but a promise made to a former servant costs him dearly.

This is my favorite volume of "The Sandman," by far (I still haven't read the last one, so I can't say it's my all time favorite yet). The artwork is very different from previous volumes, featuring Mark Hempel's work, which is very abstract, especially compared to the more realistic styles of other volumes. Still, I think it was well suited for such an emotional part of the story, because the expressions and moods of each character were excellently portrayed.

I don't see why a fan of "The Sandman" would ever not want to own this volume. It features the return of several past characters, including Rose Walker, Lyta Hall and her son, and Lucifer, among others. By tying in virtually all the previous volumes, it can be considered the climax of "The Sandman" storyline.

It's beautiful, poetic, heart-wrenching, and colorful; a masterpiece I can't help but flip through every time I pick it up.

Neil Gaiman once attempted to summarize the Sandman series in one sentence:

"The king of dreams learns one must change or die and then makes his decision."

As Morpheus makes that decision in the course of The Kindly Ones, it forms the climax for the entire series. And, what a climax it is.

The Kindly Ones is the story of the various "enemies" that Dream has accrued during the Sandman series (including Lucifer, Loki, the Puck and the diminutive witch, Thessaly) as they, either through conspiracy or just happenstance, take action to destroy him. The largest threat comes from Lyta Hall who, believing Dream to have kidnapped her son, sets out on a mission to envoke the wrath of the Furies against him.

This is not an easy volume to read, necessarily, though it is maybe the best of the lot. Amazingly, Gaiman picks up characters and plots from almost all of the works that had come before (some just get brief cameos, but are still represented) and weaves them into one whole story that burns to a moving conclusion.

If you're a fan of Sandman already, I don't need to tell you to read this volume. If you've just stumbled on this review, however, and are wondering about it, let me tell you that the Sandman is one of the greatest comics, ever, and compares very well to other great literature in any medium.

Perhaps the best book in a five star series.

A friend bought me the first Sandman book a few weeks ago, and upon finishing it, I immediately went out and bought the entire rest of the series. They are all wonderful, but this one is my favorite. It ties together all of the other story arcs - both the larger arcs and the stand-alone short issues - into a cohesive climax that is gorgeously written and drawn.

One thing: DO NOT READ FRANK MCCONNELL'S INTRODUCTION UNTIL AFTER YOU'VE READ THE NOVEL. There is a MAJOR spoiler on the first page of the intro; I was so mad about it that I started yelling out loud at the book. In one of the earlier volumes - I forget which - the intro contained spoilers, so Gaiman moved it to the end of the book and wrote his own short intro. I don't know why they couldn't have done that here.

Don't start with this book; start at the beginning with Preludes & Nocturnes and work your way here. It is beautiful, mythical, heart-rending. And don't read that intro!

Calvin is every parent and teacher's nightmare child, with limited attention to everything except what he is interested in. His antics disrupt the classroom, disturb the home and keep his mother, father and neighbors on edge for the next event. Yet, his imagination knows no bounds, he is certainly the type of child that may grow up to be a writer, filmmaker or perhaps a cartoonist.
Watterson has a sense of humor and an outlook on life that he has channeled into one of the funniest and yet most profound comic strips ever inked and colored. Calvin's attitude towards the world at some point reflects that of every child and adult, he is a misfit and tries to cope by imaginative acts. His mouthy, yet intelligent companion Hobbes, a stuffed tiger who comes alive in his fertile imagination, assists him in his coping.
This is a funny and entertaining book of some of the best installments of the "Calvin and Hobbes" strip, it will enliven your world, no matter how conformist that world is forcing you to be.

The days are definitely packed with adventures for this dynamic, but very short duo. From spaceships and interplanetary hideous monster beasties, to creeping around the backyard and generally getting up to suburban kidlet nogoodness, the fun is never in short supply. Neither is the wit, even if delivered under thread of Spaceman Spiff's raygun.

Another great slab paperback filled with the very best of this over active duo. Themed for the holidays, Calvin and Hobbes get up to their usual mischief at the detriment of Mom, Dad, Susie and others. Read it over and over again just to get a little laughter in a boring day. Highly recommended.

Fans of Calvin & Hobbes who used to read the newspaper strip in the 80s and 90s will find great pleasure in reading this collection of C&H comics. These witty comics about the 6-year old Calvin and his stuffed tiger Hobbes, named after the famous philosophers, will amuse people of all ages. The perceptiveness and humor of Watterson deserve the highest of cartoon awards, while his artistic creations exude hilarity. This cartoon is perhaps one of the most piercing yet funny critiques of modern society.

Summer is the time when Calvin and Hobbes can hang out in the treehouse and plot their next attacks on Susie, if they're not busy fighting with each other, that is. This book also contains some of Calvin's best snowman art. Procrastinators will love Calvin's newest invention - the Time Machine, or perhaps not? This is definitely one of the best C&H books around.

Note that there are two series of C&H collections: individual wide-format albums, each covering an entire year of strips (will call it "regular"), and the vertical aspect ratio "treasury series" which covers selected comics from two regular C&H books. Note that C&H ran for a year in newspapers, so there's 10 regular books and 5 treasury books. Though the cartoons are slightly smaller in the treasury collection, each treasury book is far thicker and contains more strips than a regular book, and is furthermore less expensive, so treasury books are a real bargain. "The Days Are Just Packed" belongs to the regular series and was published in 1993.

Our boys love the C&H cartoons. They are expanding their vocabularies without even knowing it! I refrain from telling them this though because they usually shy away from "educational" books.

Her book was the only book I got for creating a Website with Dreamweaver and Fireworks. Following her tutorials I built a fabulous Website with cascading style sheets, rollovers, the works. I was never bored or confused, and I understood the "why" and well as the "how."

I've just downloaded a trial version of Dreamweaver MX and came here specifically to get HER book on Dreamweaver MX. Sadly, she doesn't seem to have published one.

Lynda Weinman knows what she is talking about. I have learned quite a bit following her lead.

I highly recommend this book. It was an excellent learning tool for me as a beginner. The tutorials were fabulous!

I enjoyed the exercises and layout of the book. For someone who never did any web development this book is great.

I must say that Lynda is, hands down, the best instructor I've ever come across on the printed page. I've been using Dreamweaver for over two years and I learned so much from this book. The chapters and exercises were so concise, so ordered and really a lot of fun. I recommend this book whole-heartedly!

No,its not just a bunch of random stuff, its a bunch of random funny stuff!! Its funny for Calvin being a little scared of Hobbes, and all that really funny stuff. Although Calvin's only a 1st grader, he sounds like he's really smart. So, I guess whoever is looking at this I have convinced them to buy it, just because it's so funny!!!!!!!

I am not sure I have ever met anyone who has read some Calvin and Hobbes comic strips and hated them. I suppose there might be a person or two out there allergic to stuffed toy tigers, perhaps, or had a horrible accident involving one. Those would be the only people I could think of that would not find these strips entertaining, no matter what age.

And so it began.

This treasury included the strips from the first two collections of the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes. And if you don't know what you have been missing, you are in for a treat.

The comic strip follows the misadventures of Calvin, a highly imaginative, hyperactive six year old. How imaginative? His only real friend is Hobbes, his stuff tiger. But that isn't a problem because Hobbes is really a real tiger, at least in Calvin's mind.

Since this is the first book, things are still being established. But many of the strips staples are here already. We meet Calvin's parents, teacher Miss Wormwood, neighbor Susie Derkins, and bully Moe. We even get the first couple of run ins with babysitter Rosalyn. While we don't get the hilarious social satire that would show up later, we do get some comments on the environment and Calvin's obsession with polls. (He is constantly trying to get his dad to bend to political pressure by showing his standings with household six year olds and tigers.) And we get plenty of adventures from Spaceman Spiff, Calvin's imagination again as he tries to deal with the various aliens in his life like his parents or teacher.

I tend to read the later books more often, so I had forgotten just how go the early strips are until I picked this up. There are so true classics here, most of the time at Calvin's six year old nature. Not that I'd want my kids getting any ideas from Calvin. He doesn't see anything wrong with pounding nails into coffee tables or popping popcorn without the lid on the pot.

And that does bring up the only possible flaw with the book. These strips originally appeared in 1985-1987, so at times they are a little dated. Calvin makes reference to renting a VCR or wanting to get cable. But that doesn't bother me in the slightest.

This "treasury" collects the strips from the first two books. As a bonus, there is a story told in poem form at the beginning and the Sunday strips are in color. If you have the two books, you probably don't need this one. But if you don't have them, this is the way to go.

The day this strip ended was a sad day indeed. But thanks to books like this one, we can relive it over and over again.

This collection contains earlier C&H cartoons. Being accustomed to seeing a slightly different looking Calvin in the more modern works it takes a little getting used to. His head is HUGE! His mouth...HUGE...and also very much like those Peanuts characters. The way his body and feet are drawn is also like them. Maybe they were Watterson's inspiration? Aside from the bigger head and mouth, Calvin in drawn shorter and wider than we are accustomed to and Hobbes is also bigger than him (when he is a stuffed tiger) which makes Calvin look even smaller. I thought at first that he was four or five but then he refers to himself as a six year old so that hasn't changed. I'm guessing that Watterson refined his craft in the years following...after all, this was originally published in 1988!!!

In this collection we see:
Calvin meets Hobbes
Calvin meets Susie...and does some serious flirting???
Calvin goes to the doctor and lives to tell the tale
His mom lets him try smoking
Shrunken heads for dinner anyone?
Calvin vs Rosalyn...who wins?

Many, many more memorable episodes in this collection that will keep you coming back for more!

CAUTION!!: When the information said "Includes cartoons from Calvin & Hobbes and Something Under the Bed is Drooling" I was under the impression that it contained just a few of those. Not so! It actually COMBINES those 2 books so that ALL of those cartoons are contained herein. I learned this because I ordered this together with Calvin & Hobbes...I am assuming it will be like this for other collections as well.

This calvin and hobbes collection is one of my favorites. I own every single one, but this one is better to me because it has more Sunday comics in it. The adventures, the fun, the snow, the beach...Bill Watterson shouldn't have quit. 5 Stars

The plot keeps things moving along, but what makes these novels great is the characters. Real conflict, real choices to make, and real growth over time as well. Quite a world, and quite a story. I particularly liked the first of the three novels collected here.

This is a story for people like me who love a good story.whatever the label. These are people like you and me, who laugh, love, care, hurt, You rejoice with their triumphs and cry with their sorrows. It will stay on my bookshelf forever

Partners in Necessity is an omnibus edition of three novels: Conflict of Honors, Agent of Change & Carpe Diem.

Conflict of Honors: Priscilla Delacroix y Mendoza left her homeplanet when she was only sixteen, convicted of blasphemy and exiled to be homeless and clanless, but she survived. Ten years later, after working her share of grunt jobs, she was the cargo master on the Daxflan, a Liaden ship captained by Sav Rid Olanek. It wasn't an easy job as Terrans were treated like second-class citizens and the second mate, Dagmar, kept trying to "charm" her into a relationship, but Priscilla could not afford to leave the ship and damage her reputation so she stayed. Then Priscilla discovered that the Captain had taken on a cargo of illegal drugs and passed them off as innocent pharmaceuticals. Priscilla tried to hide her knowledge, but she found herself knocked out and locked up on a second-class planet with no money, no job and a resume that now claimed she was a thief.

Priscilla knew that she had to get off the planet and hunt down the Daxflan, if for nothing else than to reclaim her possessions, so she turned to the only ship in orbit at the time - the Dutiful Passage captained by Shan yos'Galan. Unbelievably, the Captain hired her as a pet librarian and then proceeded to help her with pilot and leadership training. Priscilla did not know quite how to react to the friendship of those aboard the Dutiful Passage, but she slowly started to think of the ship as her home. But Dagmar and Captain Olanek were not going to let Priscilla escape and they had a score to settle against Shan yos'Galan, her beloved Captain and source of protection...

Agent of Change: Val Con yos'Phelium, Clan Korval, future Delm and Second Speaker, was just doing a routine mission on some backwater planet in the middle of the universe when his life changed. After completing his mission, he encountered a small spitfire of a woman and saved her life, for which she promptly repaid him by bashing his head in. When Val Con woke up, the spitfire dumped him, but Val Con was intrigued, so he followed her and saved her life again. Now Miri Robertson, whose life he had saved twice, was forced to deal with Val Con, honor demanded it. She was intrigued by Val Con, whom she nicknamed "Tough Guy", but definitely didn't want a partner. As a former mercenary and bodyguard, she could handle herself and, as a target for the powerful Juntavas crime ring, she couldn't trust anyone...

However, both Val Con and Miri, both of whom were used to working alone, soon found that they worked well as partners, at least they would if Miri would stop trying to ditch Val Con at every opportunity. Val Con knew that Miri was something special, she made him feel things that he hadn't felt in years, she made him feel alive again. Miri didn't know what was wrong with Val Con, but she knew it had something to do with what he called The Loop, some kind of brain implant that gave him the odds of success on every mission/action he made. As they grew closer together, both Val Con and Miri realized that the Department of the Interior, who had trained Val Con as an agent, must have some ulterior motive in plan. But in order to find out what it was, they had to stay alive...

Carpe Diem: Val Con his lifemate, Miri Robertson were ordered not to be harmed by the Juntavas syndicate. However, personal interpretation of 'not be harmed' left Val Con and Miri on a broken-down spaceship in the middle of nowhere with the enemy Yxtrang ready to kill them for the hunk of junk they were sitting in. However, Val Con and Miri managed to rig something together and 'jumped' to one of the nearest planets - a backwater world named Vandar.

Vandar had no contact with the outside universe and didn't even know that other cultures existed. With no spaceships and no radio comm that they could use, Val Con and Miri tried to resign themselves to a long stay and set about learning the culture and the language. Meanwhile, Shan yos'Galan, Val Con's brother and his lifemate, Priscilla, began searching the galaxy for him, as did Edger and Sheather, Val Con's Clutch brothers. Back on Liad, Nova yos'Galan, Val Con's sister, had translated a cryptic message from Val Con that, while ensuring the Clan of the heir's survival, told them precious little else. But she did discover that the Department of the Interior, a department that seemed shrouded in mystery and determined to conquer the planet of Liad and from there, the universe, was also looking for Val Con. The more she investigated, the more interested the Department became in Clan Korval...until Nova was forced to call Plan B - retreat strategically, trust no one, prepare for all out war....

These are books 3-5 in the Liaden series if you read them chronologically, which I recommend. As with the other books, I simply loved Lee & Miller's characters and world building. They spend time on the details and it shows that they have carefully thought out and executed another masterpiece. I really feel as if I know the Korval family and am taking a remedial course on Liaden etiquette, these books are that well written! If you enjoy any kind of science fiction or space opera then this book has something for you - great characters, lots of action, enemies on all sides, high tech battle sequences, romance, family relations, honor, and much, much more! You can read this book as a stand-alone novel, but I would recommend starting with the prequels (Local Custom & Scout's Progress, also found in omnibus Pilot's Choice), so that you are familiar with Liad and Clan Korval, but, these books were the originals for the Liaden universe and were written first. Also, you definitely should not miss out on any book in the wonderful Liaden universe - all of them are very highly recommended!

I bought this 3-in-1 (in hardcover), and after reading just one, Lee & Miller immediately moved to the top handful of my favorite authors, and every story I've read since has just seemed to get better than the last! Whether you like "space opera" adventure, contact/conflict-of-cultures plots, emotional (but not graphic) paranormal romance, or just plain excellent writing, the Liaden Universe stories are for you!

Liaden series notes:
This volume contains "Conflict of Honors", "Agent of Change", and "Carpe Diem", the first three tales of the "present" generation of Clan Korval, especially Val Con yos'Phelium and his foster-brother Shan yos'Galan, in plot-chronological order (the 2nd happened to be *published* first).
These are followed by the cliff-hanger "Plan B", and the [conclusion] "I Dare".
The first story ("Conflict of Honors") is all about Shan and his lifemate-to-be, Priscilla Mendoza, but then Val Con and HIS lady, Miri Robertson, take center stage for most of the subsequent volumes - though the rest of the family is far from left out.
"Pilots Choice" is a prequel 2-in-1 ("Local Custom" & "Scout's Progress") featuring Shan & Val Con's *parents* -- and by the way, read these at least before "I Dare"!
The authors' website, Korval.com, includes reference data (FAQs, pronunciation guide, etc.) and a complete bibliography for the series, including many shorter entries NOT available as standard HCs or PBs.

Trust me, if you clicked any link that landed you on this page, you can't help but enjoy these stories!

I am pretty strictly a sci-fi reader, and I am very picky about what I will buy. I "research" reviews of books before I buy them to (hopefully) weed out the crap. I was intrigued by the glowing reviews of this book, so I bought it, never having read these authors or this series before. Let me tell you how glad I was that I did...

I devoured this book and immediately got on-line to order all the other books in the series. While I was waiting for them to arrive, I re-read this book. When the others came, I devoured them, and then re-read the whole series!!! I have only re-read one other series because I couldn't bear to say goodbye to the characters, and I have never read a book three times in a row before. I even went to the author's website and bought all the companion short stories. I might seriously consider reading them again--but I ignored so many responsiblilies while reading it the last times that there are piles and piles of other things I ought to do first). There may not be any "profound" messages here, but the story comes together so beautifully, the characters are so vivid and likeable, and the universe is so consistant and interesting that I just don't want to let it go.

So, buy this book... and go ahead and get the rest of them too. You won't regret it.

i was leery at first about this manga being so complex with so many character, i had to read each book two times slowly to get all the details. but this is so worth it, it has depth and even the secondary characters are great and filled out. i love kira and kato and set.it takes some concentration and effort but what a great story. i'm a vampire kind of a girl, i never knew heaven could be so evil.ha!if you only read one manga in your life, this should be it. it's totally TASTY!

I'm assuming that if you are reading a review for volume 13 of this series, you've already read volumes 1-12 and so a) know how great the series is and b) don't need any particularly good reason to read the next volume rather than skip straight on to volume 14. That said, I'll stick to an important and helpful matter: this is the North American English edition from Viz. Despite the cover art shown on the product page, which is from the Japanese edition, this is actually the English translation. Enjoy.

The series is still strong. If you have gotten this far you'll buy this manga.

I was turned onto this series just by it's beautiful artwork. The syle is truely unique and angelic...no wounder it's about angels.

The story starts off as a young teenage boy soon finds out that he is in love with is sister! As if that could be strange wait till you here this. The boy, Setsuna, is the re-incarnation of one of the most powerful angel's in history; and now people all over heaven and hell want him.

What will it take to convince Setsuna, that he is greatly needed by humanity...

I hope you thought this useful...

Hypnotic~

This book is mainly focused around Setsuna Mudo and his forbidden love with his little sister Sara. Things get complicated almost immediatly (as it has a plot, a subplot and lots of extras), angels, evils, monsters, evil cd-roms that kill you and craziness insue.

Basically Setsuna is the reincarnation of the Organic Fallen angel Alexial, who has three wings, incredible power and a physchotic twin brother, Rosiel who she 'failed' to kill in the great battle. His best friend is Kira, who seems to be guiding Setsuna, and has been following Alexial through her multiple rebirths. Sara, Setsuna's sister and lover seems like just a normal girl, but is she? Many other seemingly 'background' characters come into role and the whole story starts rolling.

The drawing is so beautiful, I've been turned into a complete Kaori Yuki worshipper. I own her artbook and have read lots of her other works (I recommend Godchild). The characters are so gorgeous, you'll fall in love with them.

The plot is very very twisted and intricate. You have to read the volumes in order, otherwise it will make no sense. I have reread the first few volumes many times to understand (the first volume especially, as the first few pages don't focus on Setsuna) I first read this when I was about 12, so it was desperatly confusing, but it gets easier to read as thigns start falling into place. It's one of those things where all of a sudden a lightbulb lights up and you totally understand everything that happened.

It's such a great manga, it's so gorgeous and has a gorgeous story to go a long with it, what more could you want?

The book was pretty good but I thought there was to much from the 1950s. My favorite years were always the 1970s.

What more could a Peanuts lover ask for?! If you're not yet a Peanuts lover, you will be if you get this book:) Definite multi-gen bridge-gapper!

Muy lindo, sobre todo el formato!
Además de las historietas contiene fotos de los primeros muñecos que se hicieron en su momento.

This is my first Peanuts hardback, and it's already taken a special spot in my heart. I've been a Peanuts fan from my childhood, and this book gives a glimpse not just into the history of the strip, but also into the history of the creator of the strip. As I understand it, in this book are never-before-seen examples of Mr. Schulz's sketchpads. Some that were never published before in their raw, unfinished form.

Throughout this beautifully bound book are pages that chronicle "Sparky's" life and career -- childhood photos of his family, his page in his high school yearbook, his sketchpad from his time in the Army, various pictures of his first strip "Li'l Folks"... the list goes on. There are also pages here and there showing some of the Peanuts collectibles such as slateboards, games, comic books, ViewMaster reels, and figurines etc. And of course, this 336 page book is full of Peanuts strips --in black & white and in color-- taking you through the years in your memories.

Also included is a touching introduction written by his wife, Jean Schulz, and his 'signature' on the inside cover. If you are a Peanuts fan, you won't be disappointed with this book.

The Peanuts are pretty much everywhere you go. It is kind of sad in a way that their creator, Charles Schulz, is not. Makes you kind of appreciate the fact that our creations go on long after we have departed. Like the Chinese Philospher Lao Tzu said, "We will never know the results of our actions..." Contemplate this for awhile and it will really begin to blow your mind. We don't really know who we will affect in life with our thoughts, with our words, and with our deeds. We all have an inward duty to be the best that we can be, because the world is just a bunch of individuals and if each one of us decides to think better and do better with the gifts we've been given, then the world will be an even better place to live.

Charles Schulz and his comic strip, The Peanuts, bettered my world and it continues to do so. He has been gone almost six years now and I still miss him. Isn't that strange? I never met the man. I never heard him speak. The only thing I really know about him and his life is through his comic strip.

I was introduced to the Peanuts when I was four or five years old. My dad used to read me his comic strips and do the voices of Charlie Brown, Linus, Schroder, and Lucy...his impression of Lucy still makes me crack up when I dip into my fondue pot of memories.

I got this book because I wanted to really know more about Charles Schulz. What kind of man was he really? What drove him? What inspired him? Turns out that he, himself, was baffled by the Creation Process just like all "true" artists are. True artists are very humble beings. They know deep inside that they are not responsible for their creations, they are merely the channels through which the power of creation takes place. Being an artist and a writer myself, I know that sometimes I'm in this zone where the process of creation is moving through me so powerfully that all I need do is surrender to It and everything is all taken care of. Not to be preachy, but that's Spirit, that's Love, that's the Light we were all created in and out of. And because all of us are made in the Image and Likeness of Light, of Spirit, of Love, we are all creative and we are all creators. The question then becomes, "What am I willing to create?"

This book makes me cry. Not in a sad way, but in a way that just makes me miss my friend. And although I see evidence of his being here all around me, I know that this world is never going to be the same without him.

Peace & Blessings, Mr. Schulz.

For somebody interested in art, a book with many pictures is easy to read and enjoy.

The convenience of the pocket edition is incredible and the quality of the images and analysis is excellent.

The Story of Art is a classic introduction to the history of fine art. The sweeping scope is matched only by the driven narrative that will fascinate the neophyte and the well versed. This book is THE introductory text for any study of art.

As his title indicates, in The Story of Art Gombrich presents the whole of western art history as a chronological narrative -- from prehistoric times on up to his own times -- clearly setting out everything from ancient sculpture to Renaissance painting to modern architecture.This book can change the way you look art.Intellectually and physically pure delight.

Having already been exposed to art history and criticism, I felt at times that this book was overly simplistic. (It was originally written for "young people" after all...) What was harder for me to appreciate were the frequent passages in which Gombrich gives vent to his own personal opinions (gushing on about Rubens for instance.) He makes a token effort to be objective but his Eurocentric bias toward the superiority of Classically-inspired Renaissance art is clear.

However, as an introduction to Art History and Art Appreciation, you could do a lot worse. Gombrich is easy to read, he states himself clearly, he presents the history of art (in Europe) as a steady evolution of ideas, rather than a compartmentalized series of Eras & Styles as so many academic textbooks do. He selected illustrations that most effectively elucidate his point. Useful as his book is, it would be a mistake to treat him as a final authority on the subject. _The Story of Art_ is merely an INTRODUCTION to art. Once Dr. Gombrich has opened the door for you, you should leave him behind and continue your explorations on your own, or at least with a different guide. Form your own opinions; that's part of the experience of art.

About the Pocket Edition specifically: The text is in the front (printed on very thin "Bible" paper) and the illustrations are in the back. Phaidon has provided two built-in ribbon bookmarks so you can keep your place in both sections. It's an interesting solution for making the book smaller. I can vouch for the fact that it's easy to carry around, since I took it with me on two trips while reading it, but the arrangement does have its drawbacks. Having to flip back & forth to look at the pictures as they are referred to in the text, and having to hold two places simultaneously while reading means that you have to use both hands. I like to read while I eat (yeah, I'm one of THOSE people) but found it was impossible with this edition. If portability and price are your top concerns, then this is the edition to get. Otherwise, shell out the extra $$ for the full-sized version.

amazing collection of course. purchased it on amazon in 1996 for twenty bucks when i was in middle school. fairly sure it played a major part in my alienation as a twelve year old, as it caused my weirdo sense of humor to flourish greatly. absolutely amazed it sells for hundreds of dollars. guess i should have taken better care of it, eh? i cut up the cover to put it on my wall. silly twelve year old.

This comic inspired me so much when I was in high school. I can't even begin to describe how hilarious and well-done it is. SUCH a shame it costs so much, because it's one of the things you'd like to share with the entire world. I wish I would have taken better care of mine...not that I would ever sell it anyway. I keep coming back to it over and over again, and I'm alomost 29 now. There is so much artistry and humor going on in every single panel. It's like a cornucopia of non-sequitor humor, jabs at cheap American culture, and sheer unadulterated cartoony mayhem. If you don't laugh out loud, over and over again, there is something seriously wrong with you. Plus, there are so many little fun extras (Fizzball, the Road Trip game, Sam & Max explain our Bizarre Universe). Get it and you'll be glad you did.

A re-issue has pretty much been confirmed which will most likely contain everything in this book, plus all the missing comics including the new webcomic. With all that it'll probably bring the page count alot closer to 200.
Otherwize it's an awesome book, but I wouldn't pay as much as people are selling it for. I don't blame them though. It's a rare item and rare items have high prices.

I don't pretend to know what legal situation/absolute insanity is preventing the re-release of this nugget of genius, but I beg you for the love of all that is holy: DO IT! PLEASE!

This is one of the funniest things I have ever had the good fortune to read. I borrowed it from a friend over 10 years ago, and I now wish I hadn't given it back (I don't see this guy much anyway...). From time to time, I'll try to explain this comic to someone, and the vacant, unfamiliar stare I get in reply is absolutely heartbreaking. Whomever it is that has the authority to reprint this, I am literally begging you to do so. I will gleefully pay upwards of $50 for a reissue, especially if it has some little tiny extra, like an introduction from Purcell; a bundt cake recipe, or just a couple of new sketches. I'm desperate, and $200 for a comic just feels dirty (though I confess, I've considered digging out the credit card for this).

Please.

I love Sam & Max, A 5 STAR collection to be sure, and know for a fact that this collection is soon to be reissued. To those sellers who are charging UPWARDS OF $300 (?!!) for this little black and white 160 page book, YOU MAKE ME SICK! For that much money, I expect the book to be delivered to me in a frikkin' gold plated briefcase by an armed-to-the-teeth Secret Service agent. I HOPE YOU NEVER MAKE A DIME, you bottom-feeding nostalgia vampires.

The art style is ugly and (usually) unrealistic, but at least it's unique. This is a very original manga; the author obviously has a great gift for storytelling. It's worth the buy.

Monkey D. Luffy wants to be King of the Pirates. He has always had this dream, from when he was a kid, and now he is off on a small boat armed with a large heart and a rubber body. Yes, a rubber boy. You see, he ate the fruit of the gum-gum tree which turned him into a boy of rubber. And now he must go forth, fighting pirates and the law, to find the One Piece, the greatest treasure in the world. The problem is nobody knows where it it and he has no training in navigation.

Hehe... this is one of the most awsome mangas ever. Its about a little boy who wants to become a pirate. His hero is shanks and fights several enmey who are powerful... buggy, captain kuro, arlong, krieg, crocodile, mr 1-5, lucci, and enel...( i may have forgot some.) Anyways, he finds new abilities and funny ways to fight enemy pirates... BUY IT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!

One piece is one of the most popular Shonen Jump mangas, and Eiichiro Oda is still managing to make new volumes of the series. After re-reading this volume, I have came to the conclusion that this is a series that I want to be a fan of. Everything was well plotted. Luffy reminds me a little bit of the young Goku of Dragon Ball. There is quite a bit of humor, but it didn't really make me laugh. It did, however, make the scenes better.

Luffy wants to be the king of pirates, and he has to get the treasure of One Piece. But first, he must get a crew. This is where Zoro comes in. A bounty hunter arrested for saving a little girl from Captain Morgan of the Navy's son's dogs. After Zoro joins the crew, Zoro saves a shipwrecked crew of Captain Buggy, who is also a rubber man. Did I mention that Luffy ate the devil's fruit and now he's like rubber? No? Whatever.

This is an excellent volume. It's one of the best Shonen Manga up to date, but probably not the best. The scenes are better than those dry, desert lands like Trigun. There is humor, and it moves pretty fast paced except when Luffy tries to rescue Zoro and does.

Eiichiro Oda, One Piece: Romance Dawn (ViZ, 1997)

Now, come on, what can be cooler than pirates? Oda kicks off his popular manga series in a way that kind of surprises me: we get the backstory of Monkey D. Luffy, King of the Pirates, before we actually get to the plot. (Well, okay, there's a page or two that sets up the hidden trasure for which the series is named.) A truly pleasant surprise, that-- a manga that actually goes in chronological order! Romance Dawn is the story of how Luffy became a pirate in the first place, his amusing beginnings with his first boat, and the recruiting of his first partner (Zoro). If you've been watching One Piece on Cartoon Network, it's definitely worth digging into the manga-- especially if you wandered in halfway through, like I did. *** ½