Wagner Books

this is a good collection of Fett One-Shots, though not representative of his work. my main gripe is that 2/4 of the one-shots is done by Cam Kennedy--not my favorite Fett artist. i was glad to see a range of older and newer stuff, but i think DH could've put together a better selection. hopefully, this TPB is successful enough that DH will release another collection, esp given the rarity of some Fett tales, notably Twin Engines of Destruction and the Wizard 1/2.

The graphic novel collects issues seven and twenty-eight of the comic-book series "Star Wars Empire" along with a couple of one-shots.

In "Sacrifice", the governor of Solem hires Fett to hunt down Yolan Bren, a local Rebel leader. I found this to be the weakest story and I had difficulty differentiating between all the green aliens.

"Wreckage" finds Fett searching through the remains of a wrecked Star Destroyer for a mysterious box. This story is undoubtedly the best of the bunch. The vivid artwork is all the more noticeable as the story has very little dialog.

In "Overkill", a junior Imperial officer enlists Fett's talents to help him get a promotion. This story is pretty good too, with a great cartoon-like quality to the artwork.

Finally, an older Boba Fett becomes an "Agent of Doom" when he is hired to hunt down two Imperials engaging in genocide. An okay story with very moody artwork.

While there is nothing new or particularly remarkable here, it is an entertaining addition to any Fett fan's collection.

I noticed the reviewer of this work called it heretical and gave it a low rating. I have to admit I have not read this specific work, but I have read many books by the authors named and have heard them and others associated with them bring up a very sincere and biblical concern regarding this Queen of Heaven heresy, and I read books by Ed Silvoso who I also respect very highly who encountered this evil where he ministered in various places. My expectations would be that any time someone would oppose a heretical cult as the Queen of Heaven cult is, that anyone opposing it would find opposition.

This anti-Biblical work is pure conjecture by the author's own admission, and should be treated as such if one must read it at all. Believers in Christ, however, should be warned that the premise of this work rests on ancient heresies condemned by Biblical believers and the Fathers of the early Church. The author has completely succumbed to those subtle and false teachings denying the full humanity and divinity of Jesus Christ, which Christians are explicitly warned against in I John 4.

Valley Cottage, NY
I have a much longer Orthodox Christian critique of this book available. Here are the basics: 1) This thesis ignores the obviously thoroughly Christian imagery of "Par" (that is also found in "Meistersinger", "Lohengrin", and "Tannheuser") the Grail, the Good Friday Spell, etc, etc. The only thing that remotely sounds Buddhist is the single statement that Kundry had previous lives. There is nothing in "Par" that expresses the 4 Noble Truths or the 8-fold Path, nor is the word enlightenment used. Where is the Buddhism then, except in the author's imagination? 2) He claims a literalist rebirth of Ring characters in "Par": so Br. is reborn as the harlot Kundry!! What a comedown, speaking "karma" wise! Sf is reborn as the callous young Par: but at least Sf felt sympathy and respect for animals. Another violation of deterministic "karma"! Yes, of course there are archetypal relationships between "The Ring" and "Par" -- as there are for all the works of Wagner seen as one integral whole, but so are "Tristan" or "Meistersinger" a 5th part of "Der Ring": answers to its dilemmas! 3) He gives no adequate explanation of the symbolism of the Spear in "Par", yet that is the whole point of the plot! 4) The thesis that "Der Sieger" became "Par" is flawed as much as saying that RW's project on Friedrich Barbarossa became "Der Ring". Rejected projects are not necessarily antecedents. RW rejected "DS" because Buddhism, like Schopenhauer was not adequate to his true, more positive goals. The nihilism in B is a dead end. B's negative principle that suffering is the ultimate reality is flawed: it does not answer the question: Why desire? And that the answer to selfish desire is not detachment, but transformative, empathetic, self-sacrifical love inspired by a personal loving God-man, and realized via the supernatural reality of Communion. Which IS what "Par" and Christianity are all about. 5) B tries to change mankind by "enlightement" but mere meditative, intellectual consciousness does not purify nor motivate the human will. That requires Divine, supernatural Grace (the Grail) as a transfiguring power. 6) B is the basis for the dehumanizing Oriental cultures because it does not teach resurrection of the individual human soul and body, but dissolution of the individual in a cosmis morass. RW seems to have seen through this. So this whole book is a gross misinterpretation of "Par" in particular, Wagner in general.

This is an utterly marvelous book that I would very much recommend to anyone interested in Wagner. The author discusses Wagner's Ring and Parsifal within the context of Hinduism, Buddhism, Greek tragedy, Christianity, and the Grail legends. The fact that the author is able to discuss Wagner's work within the context of all of these spiritual sources in many ways explains why Wagner's music is viewed in mystical and quasi-religious terms by so many of his devotees.

The author analyzes the impact of Buddhism and Hinduism in Schopenhauer's writings. Schopenhauer of course had a major impact on Wagner's thought and it is interesting to see the mingling of Eastern and Western culture in Wagner's output. The author's discussion of Greek tragedy and the Grail legends is also insightful and revealing. Fans of Joseph Campbell will enjoy this book with its cross-cultural references. Those interested in the ideas of Carl Jung, particularly his concept of the "collective unconscious", will also find this book appealing.

The belief that the opera Parsifal shares many of the same emotional currents as the Ring is an idea shared by at least one other author, Robert Donnington, in his also magnificent book, "Wagner's Ring and Its Symbols." It is fairly easy to see the parallels between Siegfried and Parsifal as both begin their emotional journeys as impetuous and immature youths. Both ultimately achieve a state of wisdom with that wisdom coming sooner and probably more completely to Parsifal. There are also parallels between Wotan and Amfortas as both are very troubled men attempting to seek some level of redemption and peace.

As stated above, I would also recommend Robert Donnington's "Wagner's Ring and Its Symbols." Both of these books provide tremendous insight into the phenomenal and incredible Der Ring des Nibelungen of Richard Wagner.

... and I finally got the book that should compile some centennial articles about Roma/Gypsies.

Placing Janet Tompkins article about welfare fraud by Gypsies in California disqualifies the intent of the book - it reaffirms the view that the Gypsy Lore Society is spreading prejudices instead of contributing toward better understanding between Roma and Gadje (at least that would be desirable approach.)

Ljerka Vidic's article about Musical Practice of Nomadic Rom in Bosnia is sad and empty. Being Roma from Bosnia myself what I found was an article based on the suggestions from an informant about Gypsy music ( term that Vidic notoriously places within quotation marks although the article is about Gypsy music). Well, those musicians were not nomadic and from an ethnomusicologist I expected to learn more than her desire to make westerners understand what we ( Balkan) understand as seljacka (peasentry - negative perception) and disco-folk music. If you want to find more about Saban Bajramovic - check the Amazon.com and ask yourself why he was only mentioned in her paper. Ljerka, please do not consider yourself an expert on Gypsy Music just because you got your degree on the topic. I addition to the paper you need a soul to understand the vibes that inspired so many people in Yugoslavia including Bregovic or Sasa Ilic.

Jane Dick Zatta's article has interesting title but I truly question did she ever had a contact with Roma.

On the other side, there are some realy good articles as I expected to be placed in a centennial publication. Fraser, Willems & Lucassen, Jusuf and Cortiade submitted interesting information about Roma history and language.

This paperback is a collection of some of Richard Wagner's writings, viz:

1)
To the German Army Before Paris (a short, and unimportant poem meant to be set to music by another composer);
2)
A Capitulation (a second-rate burlesque, lampooning the French);
3)
Reminiscences of Auber (where Wagner gives a back-handed compliment to the French by praising an obscure French composer and an even more obscure opera);
4)
Beethoven (which is about Wagner himself and his feelings about music much more than it is about Beethoven);
5)
The Destiny of Opera (here, Wagner re-plows the same ground as in "Opera and Drama");
6)
Actors and Singers (a long article where Wagner critiques the theater stage, not to be confused with the opera stage);
7)
The Rendering of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony (detailing the "improvements" he made in the orchestration; the performance was for the dedication of the foundation stone laying at Bayreuth);
8)
Letters (to an Actor; to an Italian Friend [Arrigo Boito] on the Production of "Lohengrin" at Bologna; to the Burgomaster of Bologna; to Friedrich Nietzsche);
9)
Some minor (short) essays (a Glance at the German Operatic Stage of Today [detailing his criticisms about the German opera houses he visited while scouting for talent for his upcoming Ring performances at his new opera house in Bayreuth] ; on the Name "MusikDrama"; Prologue to a Reading of "Die Götterdämmerung Before a Select Audience in Berlin").
10)
two reports about Bayreuth (where he is starting the construction of his personal opera house)

In 1893, the London Wagner Society published an English translation of the 8 volume set of Wagner's Collected Works. William Ashton Ellis supplied the rather clumsy English translation, perhaps excusable since Wagner's prose was equally clumsy. "Actors and Singers" is a reprint of volume 5 of that set, which covers the years 1870-1873. Note that the title "Actors and Singers" is merely one of the articles contained therein and does not constitute the entirety of the book (it is, however, the longest one, but not the most important one); in fact, it could have any one of a number of titles, including "Beethoven" or "The Destiny of Opera".

Do I recommend this book? Well, it is all written by Richard Wagner, so it is by nature at least a little interesting. Much of the material here is pretty inconsequential. Only "Beethoven" was of great interest to me, and, to a lesser degree, "A Glance at the German Operatic Stage of Today". I do recommend it for that reason alone, but my endorsement is rather lukewarm.

This is a work of solid scholarship that covers an important period in the history of Christianity. The section on the social and political context of the second century C.E. is particularly helpful for the general reader. Wagner analyzes the philosophies of five early Christian leaders--Ignatius of Antioch, Turtulian, etc.--using the categories of biography, and then the leaders' views on human nature, identity of Jesus, the Church, and Christians and society. This approach allows comparisons and, because the topics are so important for us today, provides contemporary readers with a window on the diversity of the early church that helps us understand current controversies.

When Amy goes to visit her cousins over her summer break, they tease her into thinking there is a monster under her bed. Then one night Amy finds the monster, only it is a little different from what her cousins described.
A nice story about monsters under the bed, (they're not all bad), lovely illustrations.

The participants in this anthology (a mix of comics legends and younger talent) were asked to create an original piece of work based on something that they personally experienced. The sixteen pieces, like every anthology, be it fiction, non-fiction, or sequential art, are a mixed bag that different readers will have very different reactions to. Personally, I've never been a fan of prose forms of memoir or autobiography genres, so I held little hope for this collection. Naturally enough, many of the contributors took up some theme relating to art and creation. Some of these work, like modern legend Frank Miller's amusing "Man With Pen in Head" (about going to the premiere of the awful Daredevil movie) or Eddie ("From Hell") Campbell's thoughtful and self-explanatory"I Have Lost My Sense of Humor". Alas, others of these lapse into sheer cheesiness (especially grandmaster Will Eisner's "The Day I Became A Professional" and Will Stout's "Eyes") or pretentiousness (Paul Hornshemeier's "Of This Much We Are Certain").

The best pieces are those that tell straightforward personal anecdotes with a bit of humor or some kind of insight. Fabio Moon & Gabriel Ba's "Qu'est-ce Que C'est?" is a great piece about being away from home and the vulnerability that brings, it's also my favorite from an artistic standpoint. Sergio Aragones contributes a funny story in his signature Mad Magazine visual style about the time he met Richard Nixon and traded signed copies of books. Bill Morrison's charmingly drawn reminisces about his childhood fascination with "Batman" is cute, if not particularly provocative. Linda Medley's "Recess" is kind of weak in the art department, but has really sharp dialogue to make up for it. Some of the other personal stories tried a little too hard and ended up being kind of pretentious, such as Paul Chadwick's "The Building That Didn't Explode", Metaphrog's "A Traveller's Tale", and Jason Lutes' "Rules To Live By" (although I still love his clean visual style).

The rest of the pieces are kind of throwaways that don't leave much of an impact. Diana Schitz's "Tuesday Night at the Jazz Club" features the wild art of Arnold Pander, but otherwise, the three pages left me flat. Matt Wagner's "Comic Book Chef" is a lame effort in recipe presentation with pretty unengaging art. Stan Sakai's "France" is a straightforward account of his trip to a comic convention in France, with a lame punch line. Ultimately, there were enough decent bits to pull me through the bad parts, and it's not a bad way to sample the styles of a bunch of different sequential artists to see what one might like. I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for Fabio Moon & Gabriel Ba.

So here we have one of my favorite Batman writers, Matt Wagner, spotlighting one of my favorite villains from Batman's rogues gallery, The Riddler. It seemed like a great pairing to me so I couldn't resist.

The first thing that struck me as troubling, is why Wagner didn't illustrate the story himself? Not only is he a good writer, but I love his artwork, especially on Batman. The artwork grew on me slightly, I loved how dark and shadowy it got in some scenes, but I still couldn't help wishing Wagner had done it. That alone could have pushed it up a star for me.

The only other negatives were it was too short. If it had been as long as Wagner's Batman: Faces, that would have been a nice length. However, the story isn't very complicated so it might have been worse to try and stretch it out. I also was a little annoyed at how easily it seemed The Riddler's master plan was foiled by Batman. You'd think he would have had it planned out a little better. Other than that it wasn't a bad story and I still love Wagner's writing. I would recommend it to Riddler and Wagner fans only. Now I just wish he's take a crack at Scarface and the Ventriloquist.

While this book has some good, basic information about adoption and foster care, it's a little outdated. It uses language like "real" parents, "natural" parents, and presents the idea of adopted children being chosen (an explanation that adoptive parents know puts an undue burden on their children).

The writing also tends to change audience and makes it difficult to know who should be reading it. The title sounds almost like a "how-to" book for parents to read; the text, however, switches between talking about adopted children in general and addressing the reader directly as an adopted child. It reads as if two different authors tried to put it together.

I gave this book 3 stars because it does address some difficult issues such as race, identity, anger, depression, and searching for birthparents, but it's just not put together very well.