LIKE BEING IN THE ULTIMATE COMIC ART MUSEUM
598795
The last couple of years have seen a number of definitive books on 20th century comic book and strip art greats such as Daniel Clowes, Jaime Hernandez, Jack Davis. The practice of having the art newly photographed directly from the originals is thankfully becoming more common, as it puts the reader much closer to the experience of viewing the actual art (a rare opportunity, needless to say). But whereas the afore-mentioned books convey the experience of being at a gallery showing of one artist, this book celebrating the collection of Glenn Bray has the distinction of making you feel like you're strolling through the Louvre of Underground, Outsider and Counter Culture comic art!  There are generous helpings of great examples by the likes of alternative press giants like Crumb, Panter, Wolverton, Clowes, Rory Hayes, Robert Williams, Drew Friedman, alongside greats from strips, EC comics, and funny animal art like Harvey Kurtzman and Carl Barks -- ALL UNDER ONE ROOF!  (not to mention dozens of artists I was otherwise unfamiliar with, who now deserve further investigation; even Freddie Blassie gets page space devoted to him!).  It may seem like it shouldn't work, but it does: the book is over 400 pages so manages to give everyone their due.  It's smartly organized, and the reproduction of the art is top notch as mentioned. If you're interested in alternative press or underground art or comic book art in general, I think you'll find the book to be an achievement as I have. Hats off to Fantagraphics Books for putting this together (and doing it right!), and their continued dedication to preserving this great art form in their various archival editions.
3404333
I picked this book up at a local comic store after flipping through because the art intrigued me but with no real expectations. After being able to spend a little more time with the book I found that I'd stumbled upon something really great. Mike Blaney really has a great sense of humor and an imagination like no other. I find myself frquently calling over a family member or co-worker while looking through the book to share the laughs.
2468660
I stumbled on this book at a convention and bought it on a whim.  I'm so glad I did.  It's one of the most impressive graphic novels I've seen recently.  The art is exceptional, with so much background detail that you have to linger over every panel.  The story is such an amalgam of awesome things: steampunk, Sherlock Holmes, Quentin Tarantino, political commentary.  Fantastic!
4108494
I am just getting into Batman, for comics for that matter, and while I have a subscription for comics, I'm not sure if I would call myself a collector. I mention this because other reviews have mentioned other Batman titles that I am not familiar with so that perspective escapes me. However, for those of you who are seasoned with The Batman's written history and not just what the movies convey about Bruce Wayne and his alter ego(and for those of us who are not in tune with him beyond Christian Bale and his predecessors), Scott Snyder is providing such an explosion of smiles to my face! YouTube introduced me to DC's New 52 & Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo. With so many titles existing on Batman, it is very overwhelming to say the least when determining what to enjoy, especially based on what one can afford that doesn't make you regret buying. There are no comic book shops close to my home, and again, I consider myself a novice to comics, but part of my history is that of a freelance illustrator, primarily portrait work, nothing like the art of most comics. Surprisingly, I find this medium that my hands can no longer perform, gives me a mental stimulation and an outlet that doesn't make me question, "What if....." due to my disability. That is refreshing, because it has taken me nearly seven years to find this. All of that is to say, whatever Scott Snyder is writing, pick it up, especially the new Batman. The Gates of Gotham was exceptional, with artwork that I felt fit perfectly with so much history being revealed. Obviously the writing was on point, and provides some insight to how Snyder writes Batman now. I highly recommend B:GoG, and I believe you'll enjoy it, as well.
3659335
VAL-MAR Gifted and Cursed 1 is an example of a confident writer and artist taking a chance and deviating from the typical comic format. It works. The panel layout is clear and easy to follow with beautiful artwork. The writing and dialogue is minimal making every word more weighted. What the artists have done with this book is world building at its best. The foreign terrain jumps out at you. The costumes are at once exotic and fearsome. And the fight scenes. The fight scenes have a gravity and savagery to them that are breathtaking. There is a realness in the efficiency of motion by the combatants hinting at a real understanding of combat sports. I couldn't get enough. The story telling might be considered disjointed at first take with the narrator not physically in the world or the action scenes but a more critical eye will appreciate the nuance of this as it gives a layered and mysterious backstory that wets the appetite. The comic introduces a protagonist in one world and hero in another. I'm looking forward to their paths crossing.
666167
Amazing antology. Great assembly of older and also up and coming cartoonist. Highly recommend if you love alternative comics or comics ingeneral. There's something for everyone here. Funny insightful and over all beautiful
116078
It's got all the fun of manga with the characters of comic books. The art is fantastic too. I would highly recommend this for a comics fan of any age.
4892885
This reminds me of a serious version of an underground comic. I don't mean slapdash in any way, but instead something that has the kind of raw power to move that some of the more serious underground comics had that more conventional houses polished away. The lines of the poems are surprising at times and always raw in their penetrating power though not their composition, and the images as well. The images just tie so perfectly to the images and emotions of the poems. Not just replicating, but expanding and enhancing. I can't count how many times I read and looked and thought: "Yes! Just like that!" This level of combination of poetry and images is a great concept, and this book executes beautifully. The entirety disturbs, but in the best possible way.
2871956
What an amazing piece of artistic, creative, unique and innovative writing! I've never been particularly interested in comic books or comic book culture but a friend insisted I read this anyway...and I'm so glad he did!  The fact that there is no publication out there to compare this with is a testament to Mr. Leong's genius and unique perspective on the world of design, comic culture and art in general.  Prepare to be enchanted by the world of superheros and challenged by the depth to which this piece of work analyzes their artistic nature.  Broaden your horizons and learn something new!!
Also...consider seriously skipping the Kindle version.  This book is tactile and beautiful, you'll want to hold the REAL thing!!  Happy adventuring!!
2911918
This is a massive--and I do mean massive--slab of a coffee table book, and you will need a very sturdy coffee table to put it on. The 1960s is, for me, the vortex around which all 20th century popular culture swirls, and rightly or wrongly, I have no interest in the later volumes. I like my super-heroes smiley and fun and colorful, not dark, depressing, and mean, so this is my comfort zone, and it would have been difficult for Taschen to get it wrong. I could quibble about which covers were used, and which were given prominence, but somebody has to make the final choice, and this is a good selection.

It was certainly brave (some would say foolhardy) to include several representations of DC's pitiful attempts to be hip and groovy and down with the kids, as well as so many of their embarrassing efforts to imitate Marvel's parodies and bullpen stuff. If I have a complaint, it's that some of the more goofy stuff could have been condensed down (it's right that it was included) to make way for some of the more major attractions.

I was pleasantly surprised to see the Batman TV series given attention, given Warner's persistent burying of it, and for me, the highlight of the book was around thirty pages devoted to the show's media coverage and merchandise and some very rare images (not unseen, but not the usual stuff either) including foreign film posters and reproductions of Norman Saunders' beautiful trading cards artwork. I have only two gripes: no picture/s of Yvonne Craig as Batgirl, and most glaringly, nothing at all on one of my favourite Silver Age titles, World's Finest, which often featured superb concepts and covers from Curt Swan, my hero. In my opinion, this was some of his best work. Particularly amusing are the bundles of covers on similar themes, such as weddings, deaths, and the old dumping of the costume and quitting routine, which unfortunately do serve to highlight just how cliched these storylines were. Otherwise, this is recommended without further reservations. Like the other reviewers, I wanted more on the major characters, with perhaps just token references to the comedy, war and romance titles.

Purchased from Amazon U.K., and reviewed there October 1st, 2013. If you enjoy this, you really should seek out the Two Morrows book on the 1960--1964 Silver Age comics, and the wonderful PBS book and DVD on Super-Heroes from WWII to the present day, all here on Amazon.
127914
I was fortunate enough to have been in San Jose some years back, in order to see an exhibit of Nara's work. It was impressive to see the range of artistic mediums he's worked in to date, embracing temporal materials that play into the influence of comics/manga, all the way through to more 'fine art' executions of his "Super Flat", highly influential style.
These books show the exhaustive assortment of Nara's works known to date - a total visual tour de force.
AND you even get a really cute cotton canvas tote with a randomly selected Nara image on it!
This gorgeous doorstop = perfect gift to myself (but worth the splurge on any art lover you may know).
2481065
The Ultimates is an amazing book, which captures so much of Marvel's blood, it's almost impossible to give enough credit. The Ultimates captures the cosmic spirit of Jack Kirby, daring to reach beyond the stars, and into the unknowable beyond. It presents itself in truth as the modern day Fantastic Four funny book. With Reed and co. largely absent from the new MU, Blue Marvel and co. take it upon themselves to solve everything. They are not a team of responders, they are an ensemble of ultra-talented futurists, stitching our fractured omniverse back together, reading almost as if it were a direct continuation of Hickman's Secret Wars. Ewing takes command of these larger than life concepts, writing with such vindication, that I forgot at times that I wasn't actually reading a Hickman book. Combined with Rocafort's talents, the two create a project both urgent and insightful, a must read for fans of the cosmic side of the MU, eager to understand the metaphysics which make the comic book world tick.

And none of that's to say anything about the excellently diverse and compelling cast of central characters. Truly, The Ultimates is something special, and one of my favorite new Marvel titles.
1373744
I bought the first two volumes in this series, and the third is just as good or better! Craig Yoe does the impossible: he presents comics and art (or comics art) that I haven't seen before. After collecting comic books and comic strips for longer than I care to admit, it's tough to show me something new. Arf Forum, like Arf Museum and Modern Arf before it, has plenty to look at, and most of it for the first time. Some of the material hasn't been seen in decades, other stuff has never been printed anywhere before. It really is like a comic book museum between two covers. Arf Museum isn't for the 13-year-old X-Men fan. It's for adult lovers of the comics artform who think they've seen it all. They haven't, and Yoe proves that with every volume.
4168756
When I first read The Living Corpse, it was easily the bloodiest book I've bought.  Next to Superman and Batman, this was a contrast.  However, rather than being turned away by it, I completely fell in love with the perfect balance of humor and gore.  The animated art style lends perfectly to the comedic aspect of the book while the dark colors and subject matter ground it so that it doesn't fly off into the Sunday Comic Strips.  This collection is the perfect thing to pick up for anyone trying to get into this comic series.  I've just finished reading the second story arc (now available as individual comics) and can't wait for the up coming movie.  I would definately recommend this!
3299910
Jeff Smith's take on Captain Marvel in this book manages to do something rare for writers of the Big Red Cheese: Capture the Spirit of one of the Golden Age's best characters.

The art is the best part of the book. I've never seen a better example of art that is so inviting to younger readers to enjoy comics than in this collection. The pictures are so fun and appeal to kids of the twenty-first century the same way the original C.C. Beck art appealed to the kids of the 1940s.

Much of the story is heartfelt and has great ways of showing Billy Batson's kindness. The story is a bit more real about Billy being a homeless waif and his need for family. His love for his sister Mary was very sweet and endearing.

The only downside to the book is even though it's more than 200 pages long, it's a very picture heavy story with a lot of very cool half, full, and two page pieces of art. The problem is that at times, the book seems too small for all that's going. You not only have the titular Monster Society, you have Doctor Sivana, a mystical talking tiger, and Mary Marvel. In that way, the book feels overloaded. In addition, a few of the modern adjustments such as tension over an evil Secretary of Heartland Security (or was he Attorney General, I got confused at the point) seemed to lessen the magic. Thankfully, there was plenty of magic to go around, and this book is still by far, the best representation of Captain Marvel in more than sixty years since the character was cancelled by Fawcett.
4034585
Firstly, the real selling point of this is the art. True, the writer knows how to write for the artist and has some nice one liners, but the reason I go into raptures about this book is the art.

The art operates on a scale that most comics (especially American ones) can only dream of. The sheer level of detail in some of the spreads is mind boggling and the action feels real and genuinely exciting. Although the argument could be made that the story is massively decompressed it never feels it due to the sheer level of spectacle in every panel.

The story itself is better in the first half of the book than the second. The initial arc deals with the team being set up and breaking its existence to the American public and manages to mix grand spectacle with more human moments extremely well. The second arc is far more over the top and loses a little something without the contrast.

Art wise the book gets better as it progresses. The point where the inker changes from Currie to Neary is noticeable as there is even more fine line work and more opening up of the blacks. The colours are rich and appropriate throughout.
919310
Ive always wanted to add this to my comic collection!  Neurotically yours brings me back to my young new ground days. Its like being reintroduced to part of my child hood