The God of Thunder returns!

This compilation features the first 6 issues of the new monthly Thor series. It finds Thor returned to Earth post-civil war, once more fused with Dr Donald Blake, as the only Asgardian God remaining. He embarks on a quest to find his fellow Asgardians, and has an encounter with an old Avengers colleague on the way, with violent results. Wondered what Thor thougth of the close created by Reed Richards and Tony Stark? It's within these pages!<br /><br />Superbly written and amazingly drawn, the Thunder God has truly returned with a vengeance. Expect great things from this series.

Reality Check

I feel there's a need to respond to the review that calls Arkham Asylum"UTTER RUBBISH". Frankly, that statement is ridiculous. Books like Arkham need to be taken in context. They exist to show something different. For the publishers to show off a little, to display a bit of extravagance. To showcase talent they may have in the stables and give a character the treatment they deserve. Personally I think the script for Arkham gives it a greater dignity than many of the so called"landmark" titles achieve (Digital Justice anyone?).<br />I first bought Arkham on its release when I was an impressionable teenager but have returned to it on numerous occasions as an adult and even bought it again when my original copy went awol. Whilst I would concede that it might not be the strongest plotline in a Batman story, in my opinion that's just missing the point. <br />Arkham is a prime example of the type of literary indulgence that has been used to flesh out the world of Batman or explore a different vein on numerous occasions. That is, there's no new characters, no major turn of events that will register on the Batman richter-scale (eg Death in the Family, Killing Joke) but it does go someway into presenting aspects of the character that help some readers see him in a different light. In Arkham's case that is to really emphasise the dark, psychological element of Batman and the space he occupies. The fact that, like his nemesis, he exists in a form of complete psychosis so utterly defined by the death of his parents, the resulting feelings of solitude and his almost scizophrenic dual identity ("Mommy's Dead. Daddy's Dead. Brucie's Dead"). Though all of this may have been explored in other stories, Morrison and McKean have, like several others before them, been given the oppurtunity to attempt to do something different. <br />The artwork plays a key role in this. The whole book is a thing of real beauty. Alex Ross may rule for out and out brilliance of illustration but in my experience, only Bill Sienkiewicz in Elektra:Assasin has done anything so astounding as Dave McKean's work here using varying media. Yes, some frames may not drive the story forward much but hell, just take them in and enjoy them. Those drops of blood in the glass shard scene are just exquisite. The character profiles at the end of the book that serve no real purpose but as an excercise in superb graphic design.<br />Arkham Asylum should be in anyone's collection whether a Batman fan or not.<br />

Unfortunate let down

I first heard about Firefly and Serenity about 9 months ago and since then I've been hooked. The characters, the setting, the dialogue, all of it is the product of a great imagination and genuinely talented writing. After watching the TV series and the film I craved more which is why I was so happy to discover this comic collection. <br /><br />Unfortunately it isn't anywhere near the heady heights of its filmed counterparts. Set in between the events of Firefly and Serenity it aims to create a bridging plot. Unfortunately it does not achieve this. I found the story dull, with nothing there to keep my interest going. It neither asked nor answered any questions of the characters and I felt really let down by the end. <br /><br />Having said that, the artwork is extremely close to the look of the film and some of the dialogue is close to normal Joss Whedon standards. I'm glad I read it, just because I enjoy Firefly so much, but don't expect to be blown away in the same ways that Firefly and Serenity managed.

Its good but its just a prequel to the Civil War.......

This book is a fun read but not absolutely essential to understand the Civl War storyline. Well, I guess it helps.<br /><br /> The strongest part of this book would be the 'Illuminati' special at the start. It shows some interesting tensions between some of Marvels most well known characters. Also it has a fight between Iron man and Namor so, whats not to like?<br /><br /> The worst part of the book is the Fantastic Four story because its just not as interesting as the other two storys. <br /><br /> The Spider-Man part of this book is a good, entertaining read. It has a simple, yet interesting story to it and we also get to see Spider-Man test out his new costume so its all good!!! <br /><br /> So this Graphic Novel is fun to read but don't go expecting anything that memorable. The actual Civil War storyline is much, much better.

Not the best to start on

Personally as a hardened Sandman Fan, I gotta say that when I bought this, I was lookin forward to something, but I realised when I'd finished reading it, that if preludes and nocturnes, vol. 1 of the sandman library, was the first sandman graphic novel I'd read, I wouldn't have picked up another. It's a good one to read when you've read all the others, for those last snippets of information that still elude ye, but cos most of whats in it is explained in other volumes. but i'd recommend you start with volume 2 the doll's house.

Brubaker is THE comics writer!

I have been into comics since I was a teenager and to be honest had never read Captain America. I was always predominantly a Spider-Man, Iron Man and X-Men fan.<br /><br />After following the Civil War saga I subsequently purchased Captain America #25 and I became hooked (I have since purchased the trade paperbacks collecting the previous issues). Ed Brubaker is without a doubt now one of my favourite comic book writers - his film noir/crime thriller style of writing is unique and adds a sophistication to comics that can so often be missing.<br /><br />With Captain America, Steve Epting's emotive and atmospheric art work complements Brubaker's style perfectly.<br /><br />Needless to say I have also checked out his work on Daredevil and it is equally impressive and I have now found out that he also writes Uncanny X-Men!<br /><br />This hardcover collecs issues 25-30 depicting the tragic death of Cap and the fallout thereafter as the Winter Soldier (an old friend of Cap's) goes on a one man mission to put a stop to the Red Skull's plans to destabilise the peace.<br /><br />If you are a comic book fan you simply have to purchase this and also the Ed Brubaker omnibus collecting issues 1-25 you, will not be dissapointed!

Get Beyond the Bad Advice that Family and Friends Give

Young people mostly get their career advice from friends (who usually don't have any more experience or knowledge than they do) and family (who base their ideas on what worked three decades ago). Either way, you get off track pretty easily.<br /><br />There's plenty of good career advice in books and articles, but most young people wouldn't sit still long enough to read those sources. A Whole New Mind author, Dan Pink, comes up with a great solution: Create a career advice book in the form of manga.<br /><br />Most career writers when they want to simplify a message use a fable, with a few illustrations that show the key perspectives. The fable is clearly secondary to the details.<br /><br />In The Adventures of Johnny Bunko, the story is more interesting than the advice. Having read a lot of Mr. Pink's writing, I thought I knew what he would probably advise. But I didn't realize that he would make the story so interesting, and that the manga format would add so much power to the story telling. Nice work!<br /><br />What's the advice? Let me rephrase to make it clearer to you:<br /><br />1. Don't be rigid about planning out each step well in advance . . . it's not possible to do.<br /><br />2. Build on what you're good at (Peter Drucker originated that one) and avoid relying on what you aren't good at.<br /><br />3. Focus on what you can do for others (start with the boss) rather than what's in it for you (you can read more about this in How to Be a Star at Work).<br /><br />4. Keep at it. Practice makes perfect.<br /><br />5. Take on big challenges and learn from them.<br /><br />6. Make a difference.<br /><br />I like this advice. I hope my youngsters will read this book and apply it. I know they probably wouldn't if it came from dear old Dad.<br /><br />If I could add one piece of advice, it would be to:<br /><br />Set some written goals about how you want to spend your life. Those goals will help you keep focused.<br /><br />Well done, Dan Pink and Rob Ten Pas!<br />

Best Graphic Novel I've Read In A Ten-Year History Of Doing So...

I started reading comics in 1996. Fortunately, for me, this was the year that 'Kingdom Come' was published.<br /><br />Any self respecting comic-book fan should be ashamed if they do not appreciate Alex Ross' incomparable, airbrushed artwork. Similarly, Mark Waid's writing leaves you hanging on. So much so that, to this day, a full ten years after reading the story, I still class it as one of my top ten books (the rest, obviously, being regular, prose ones).<br /><br />Put simply, I've always been fussy about the condition my possessions are kept in - usually this would lead to me only reading books at home, where nothing could happen to them (as opposed to damage possible in travel, etc.)...<br /><br />..Honestly, however, I couldn't do this with 'Kingdom Come': I even remember sitting at my sister's school parents' evening with my nose in it; the damage done to the book (from carrying it with me everywhere) was worth it - my copy of 'Kingdom Come' has since been joined by two newer editions! I think this is evidence enough that the book is worth a read, isn't it? A book all comic-book fans (at least those who read comics in the era of the book's publication) should (have) read.

Good but not the Ultimate

I'm fairly new to comic books and in particular The Ultimates. Having read Utimate X-Men and Ultimate Spiderman I moved onto these guys. As I knew nothing of the Avengers I came into this book as a complete novice and feel this may have diminished my enjoyment. I think the main issue was the pace of the story, as I knew nothing of the characters I was left wondering when the story was going to begin.

That said the artwork is as good as any I've seen and I like the modern setting just like the X-men and Spiderman collections. The great thing about all these Ultimate collections is the fact that you just keep on reading and you get wrapped up in the storylines. As a result I will definately be reading on and I suspect that as we find out more about the charecters the story will become more absorbing.

I gave this 4 stars purely because of my lack of past knowledge of the characters. I think if I was already a fan it would have gotten 5 stars

Marvel Zombies Saga: Terrifying and Brilliant

I First Bought MARVEL ZOMBIES vs. ARMY OF DARKNESS from my closest Waterstones store expecting it to be a crap way of Cashing in on the recent Boom of the Dead Craze.<br /><br />as i turned the first Page and started Reading Part 1, I Knew i was wrong and have never enjoyed a Graphic Novel as much as this before... (30 DAYS OF NIGHT Came a Close second to the MARVEL ZOMBIES saga)<br /><br />So next i bought (Naturally) MARVEL ZOMBIES (The Complete 5-Issue Mini-Series) and was amazed at the story and yet confused as i missed out a whole storyline.<br /><br />Now a Friend of Mine ordered the MARVEL ZOMBIES: DEAD DAYS book for me for my 19th Birthday and became more enthralled in this world of Super-Heroes turned Monsters.<br /><br />MARVEL ZOMBIES 2 is coming out in June and i am already deciding to place the order for it.<br /><br />Please do another series: ULTIMATE MARVEL ZOMBIES Possibly?

Pocket book

I have been a Tintin fan almost all my life. I have read all the Tintin adventures in my native language (finnish) and wanted to try finally the english translations. I liked it more, in finnish translations, that Snowy is Milou. Why they didn't use Milou when it's the original name? I also didn't like how small the book was (should read more carefully the"Product details" heh). The book could fit in a pocket and therefore would be a good on travel. So, translations(Snowy)and dimensions(too small): -2 stars

Drokking Excellent

Now lets not get bogged down in the"post-ironic viewing of a stict law based culture" or the fact that Judge Dredd is older than I'am.<br /><br />This collection of Dredd's first year in action is still as good now as it was then. Introducing character's like Walter the Wobot and Dredd's clone brother Rico. Whilst at the same time setting the scene for event's for many years to come. From the fact that Mega City 1 is only days away from destruction and only the Judges can stop the tide of rampaging robots and the terrors of Cursed Earth. to the backdrop of the contiuning Cold War with the Sov-Blocs. This gives the basis for an all time great.<br /><br />Drokking Excellent