5 comments about Dilbert: Seven Years Of Highly Defective People (P.

1. The best part about this collection is that Scott comments on individual strips, saying what he likes (or doesn't like) about them or commenting on early stages of his characters' development. The strips are arranged (initially) by character, taking you through their changes over seven years. Some have changed dramatically, like the boss, who was originally tall and thin and now is short, rotund, and pointy-haired. Scott even explains the minor characters, like accounting trolls, dinosaurs, and generic co-workers. On their own, the strips would have been a good collection, but the comments by Scott Adams really make this collection fun.



2. If you've been a fan of "Dilbert" from the beginning, (or have tracked down the old collections) there is little here that you haven't seen before; this is mostly a collection of reprints of old Dilbert strips; what's new is that Adams has put in commentary between the strips. Sometimes, this is funny enough to be worth the price of admission, and the overall overview of the evolution of the various characters is not without interest, but really, an entire book of reruns is mostly not worth paying for. On the other hand, for people who enjoy Dilbert, but AREN'T familiar with all the old strips, this should be a delightful way to catch up on the history of the strip.



3. It's Not Funny If I Have To Explain It (2004) is the same concept of annotated strips, but more current. I would recommend It's Not Funny... If you are going to get one or the other. I found 7 Years of Highly Defective People in the remainder section of the bookstore for $4.99, don't know if it is still available. Get it if it is, it's a great deal. Dilbert is awesome in general, if you are going to get strip collections I recommend either It's Not Funny... or 7 Years... because the traditional strip collections are just rehashes of the strips you have probably been reading for years if you care enough about it to buy a strip collection. I personally only buy annotated strip collections, to make it worthwhile to buy them in the first place. 7 Years gives great insight to the history of the characters and the situations Dilbert encounters. A great addition to any Dilbert fan's book collection, especially if you can find a remainder copy.



4. Dilbert is the signature comic of the cubicle generation. It never ceases to amaze me how an engineer who wrestles to keep his characters even looking consistent, because he is admittedly not a great artist, has managed to make so much of his strip. The reason, of course, is that he understands the climate and atmosphere of so many of us who walk the mazes of cubicles chasing the corporate cheese. He's captured the cynicism, the drollness and the other elements that help us cope with the impersonal affronts that greet us regularly.
   
   If you have every other Dilbert, you may want to think before picking it up as it has no new material. It does however, have the unique arrangment that shows the development of so many characters. The notes themselves add an element that gives insight into the twisted mind of Adams.
   
   Viva la Dilbert!



5. This book departs from his usual "diatribe". It gives an isight as to how(and why) he created his characters

5 comments about Bury My Heart at Fun-Fun Mountain : A FoxTrot Collection.

1. I liked this book, especially because you went in to Jason and his iguana, Quincy. I think that when they harass Paige, the way she gets back at them is hysterical. Thanks for all the books, please make more, and keep the good work up. ~Brittany~



2. I get so engrossed in all foxtrot books, but I think this one defenitly topped my list. It was hysterical from cover to back. Keep up the good work!



3. I loved this book! It was just one hilarious comic strip after another! Absolutley a must-have.



4. I've been a Foxtrot reader for a long time and personally I think there is something suspiciously wrong with people who don't find Bill Amend's characters funny as all get out. If you want a good laugh, check out Bill in your local newspaper, or better yet, get one of the Foxtrot books. They are all great, really, they are.
   
   Like many of Mr. Amend's fans I'm a bit disappointed he's switching his strip to Sunday-only, but fortunately I can still read him daily in the Foxtrot books. Get them one and all and you can keep right on a laughing.



5. I have been a faithful FoxTrot reader for years. Roger, Andy and their kids Peter, Paige and Jason are always good for a reality check with a large dose of laughter. I've got two girls and let me tell you, I see a lot of my kids in Paige with, I believe, even a healthy dose of Jason thrown in. And they have Peter's bottomless stomach. Of course, they're faithful FoxTrot readers too. I used to read the strip to them, explain what was going on, but now they get it just fine and we three all laugh together. Then my girls try and explain the strip to their dad, who pretends he doesn't get it.
   
   The FoxTrot folks are a great family, one we sort of got used to checking up on every day, so we took the news that Mr. Amend was going to cease daily distribution of his wonderfully funny people and turn his strip to Sunday only, with a bit of sadness. Still, we have these terrific FoxTrot books to keep us going with our FoxTrot fix. Mr. Amend is to be commended for his great gift to our culture and his great gift to so many lives. I truly believe a laugh a day, helps keep the blues away and the FoxTrot gang are always good for a laugh. Heck there are a lot of laughs in the FoxTrot books. I know, I have them all and I am, along with my girls and my hubby dear, eagerly awaiting the next one.
   
   Oh yes, I forgot to mention, we don't have an iguana, but my girls do have a pet gecko and, you guessed it, his name is Quincy.

1 comments about Animals (Drawing in Color).

1. This book will teach you how to get your shadows right, to express the fur of animals, their body, their face. It explains how to shade simple objects, how to draw without thinking of the result, with the help of a grid. It teaches you how to render the different parts of the bodies of very different animals. For me it was a great help, I really think it can help out beginners in making their drawings more realistic.

5 comments about Designing Apparel Through the Flat Pattern.

1. I highly recommend this book to anyone who drafts patterns, from beginner to expert. Not only can one use this information for current styles, but can also apply these techniques for historic and fantasy costume. The text is straightforward and easy to follow, and the illustrations are simple and clearly marked. Enjoy!



2. I bough this book expecting a more through coverage of apparel design. i was somewhat disappointed, mainly due to the fact that you have to buy the partner book, Pattern drafting, by the same authors in order to do anything with the instructions given. Pattern Making for Fashion Design By Helen Joseph Armstrong is a much better, easy to follow book for all levels of the pattern drafter and designer.



3. you have no content list for the book. it is very neccessory and helpful to have a content list for each and every book. I can't make a buying decision without knowing what the book is talking about.



4. I'm a fashion design student and this book for is
   very good. It's easy to understand. The images are really clear.By only seeing the image I can make the pattern quickly.



5. DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK UNLESS YOU ALSO BUY " HOW TO DRAFT BASIC PATTERNS" BY THE SAME AUTHORS. This book is good because it teaches how to use the basic "slopers" (basic patterns) and manipulate them to create OTHER design styles. IT DOES NOT, however, describe in detail how to develop the basic sloper patterns. It skims over that part, showing only brief pictures and giving basic information about the basic slopers and assumes that you already have the slopers to create new flat pattern designs. "How to Draft Basic Patterns" is the companion book that gives detailed instructions( -almost too tediously detailed insturction...) on how to develop the basic sloper patterns. I personally think they made us design students buy these two books in school because it was a chance to cash in on students buying two textbooks for class. The authors could have put all the info of both books into one book- EASILY!! If you want a good ALL IN ONE book that teaches both basic sloper development and design style creation with the flat pattern, one which is also fairly easy to read and "get through" in order to develop your patterns, try the flat pattern written book by Helen Joseph Armstrong.

No comments about Ralph Masiello's Dragon Drawing Book.

5 comments about Batman: Strange Apparitions.

1. A reviewer here correctly stated that every Bat-fan will have his or her own idea of what constitues "definitive" Batman: Caped Crusader? Master Detective? Dark Knight? Heck, I even know someone who didn't care much for the excellent (and, in my mind, an example of definitive) movie Batman Begins because he thought "It wasn't funny enough." He apparently prefers the high camp of Adam West's Batman. So it is that I, sadly, have to diagree with those who enjoyed this book. I had high hopes, based on the reviews here, but I ended up agreeing with the person who said this collection simply hasn't aged well. It's not all bad... I think the art is excellent for its time, especially that of the late Marshall Rogers. His work can certainly be described as definitive in that helped shape the look of Batman for years to come. It's more straightforward, and "old school" by today's standards, but it's still a classic look, and not just for Bats (Silver St. Cloud is SEXY). That's great.
   
   My problems are with the writing. I can certainly tell that the roots of the (mostly) wonderful Batman: The Animated Series were planted here (I'd always wondered where Rupert Thorne came from), but the writing just pales compared to what I expect today. Each storyline with a particular villain (aside from Thorne) seems rushed, and then that villain is whisked away and it's on to the next one (I would have liked more development of both Dr. Phosphorus and Clayface). And the dialogue? In a word: HOKEY. The book is loaded with all that stilted, old-fashioned "comic"-speak that doesn't come to close to sounding how people talk in real life. One example of this is the annoying trait of having characters speak their thoughts aloud, even if no one else is there. It really bogs this book down. It's something that both the animated Batman of the 90's and the comics today (thankfully) fixed.
   
   The plots leave a lot to be desired too. We see Bruce and Silver speak a lot about how deep their relationship has become, but why don't we see any of that? I'm not sure when they spent all their time together, because there's very little of that in these pages. As much as liked the St. Cloud character, this just wasn't believable. And why does Penguin leave such blatant clues, allowing Batman to easily figure out what he's up to? Isn't that Riddler's M.O.? Again, it's weak and rushed. Also disappointing was the fate of Hugo Strange. I liked him in the animated series, and in the recent "Batman and the Monster Men" collection. He's one of Batman's earliest villains, but his death was a surprise. He's the "Strange" apparition of this book, but why wasn't any of this explained? His ghost appears, and starts haunting Thorne. Was it real or imagined? This book doesn't bother to explain it, and I don't know if it ever was explained... It sure makes the final story in the collection (the Clayface one) seem tacked on and not really fitting in with the rest, aside from mentions of Silver and Thorne. Has Strange ever returned after that? I could've sworn he had (who honestly stays dead in comics?), but I may have to go back through my comic collection and see.
   
   There's a certain nostalgic quality to this collection, like all those editors notes that the bottom of a panel (another thing I'm glad the comics of today have largely done away with), as well the use of an omniscient narrator. How many times could they say "Batman does not reply!" in one book? I lost count. If this the kind of comic storytelling you grew up with -- where a guy can make a RUBBER MASK of someone he's impersonating and actually fool people -- then you might really enjoy this. Count me amongst those who enjoys the later, darker, edgier Batman tales however: Dark Knight Returns, Year One, Killing Joke, The Cult, Blind Justice, Hush, The Long Halloween, and plenty of other more recent gems I could name.
   
   Oh, and what's with the cover? It's nice, but there's no scene with a gravestone for Bruce Wayne in any of the collected stories. Very misleading.



2. This was an excellent story arc. Definitely after reading this, I can appreciate the impact it has had on the history of modern Bat tales. Just like Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams, Englehart and Marshall played a part in making Batman what he is today.
   
   This book doesn't really have a definitive storyline. The story lines carry over from one issue to the next and so there's a continuity to it all, but could be read as stand alone stories. The most interesting arcs in here are the budding relationship between Bruce and Silver St. Cloud, plus the ghost of Hugo Strange that haunts Boss Rupert Thorne. Along with Silver and Thorne, Dr. Phosphorus is introduced here. It was cool to read how he originated having read a recent Detective Comic that he appeared in.
   
   In addition to that, Pengin, Deadshot, Clayface and The Joker make appeances. They all get their own story line and one usually carries over into the next. The classic "Laughing Fish" tale is included here as well as "The Sign of The Joker" which were also included in The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told collection. That was where I first read them, but I got a lot more out of them this time around seeing how some of the other story elements like Bruce's relationship with Silver and Thorne's fear of Strange carried over. Taken out of context the stories still work, but this is the way you're meant to read it.
   
   I will agree with a previous reviewer who stated that certain elements dated this story such as the narration, but don't let that deter you from enjoying a truly great collection of Batman stories.



3. Batman: Strange Apparitions (1999) - Steve Englehart, Len Wein (Writers) Marshall Rogers, Walt Simonson (Artists)
   
   First of all, I would like to mention that although the "Strange Apparitions" trade was released in 1999, it actually collects classic Batman stories that originally came out in a string from 1977-1978.
   
   It could just be me, but, with the exception of a few key works (such as Stan Lee's early Fantastic Four stuff, Jack Cole's Plastic Man, etc.), older mainstream superhero comics (basically pre-Alan Moore) just don't appeal to me. The art is definitely fine, and a lot of it is brilliant. It's the writing that's the problem. Compared to the much more literary comic writing of today, most of the old stuff just doesn't compare. Just to put a little more emphasis on my point, notice how I didn't say that modern comic book writing is darker, or more serious, or anything like that. It's just more literary. I understand that older comic book writing is attempting to present a specific style and, in a way, capture a specific kind of innocence, but to me, it just comes off as bad writing, plain and simple. In other words, you will almost never find writing like this in most novels, plays, or even children's literature. However, you may say that comics are a visual medium. The writing is only secondary to the art. After all, there are many great comics that have no writing at all. This is true, but I feel that in mainstream superhero comics, dialogue is a huge aspect in developing character and personality, which is just as important as the action and plot. And, that's where older writing fails in general because they do a relatively bad job at portraying actual personality and character. Most of the cast that appears in older superhero comics are almost all the same. They have gimmicks that represent personality, but no actual, true personality. Thus, there is no depth of character at all, which leads to the problem of me not caring for any of the heroes themselves. Therefore, finally, they are only light fun, and, even then, they are not that much fun. Ok, I'm finished with my tangent.
   
   Steve Englehart, thankfully, is one of the better old school writers, although he still has a lot of the same problems, such as the character narrating his actions and thoughts out. However, he actually has the ability to create some personality and character in his writing. I am referring specifically to his EXCELLENT portrayal of the Joker. This is by far the most insane Joker I have seen in a comic. He is insane not because of the crazy things he does (which is how most writers try to portray this insanity) but because he has an insane sense of logic that still somehow makes sense (and also makes it funny). This is the same sort of logic that occurs in a lot of the crazy characters in Lewis Carrol's wonderful "Alice" novels and is also the kind of insanity that I find truly creepy. So, I definitely give congrats to Englehart's writing in this department. His Batman is refreshing when compared to the much more gloomy (and sometimes downright depressing) modern day Batman, but Frank Miller's reinvention is so strong that I still feel that his version is the definitive Batman. However, like I said, its still refreshing to read about a much more lighthearted Batman.
   
   Now, as stated earlier, the problem with the writing is in the characterization. However, the plots themselves are interesting. In fact, some of them are great. "The Laughing Fish", in particular, is a standout. I hear that its a classic Batman and Joker story and I can clearly see why. There is a great premise and plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader hooked.
   
   The absolute best part of this trade and series is the gorgeous art of Marshall Rogers. I had never seen any work by this man before, which is amazing considering how good he is, both technically and artistically. His technical skill is evident in his use of crisp, clear lines to create extremely realistic settings and characters that still retain an edgy, gritty look. His artistic skill is even better because this man is a master of imagery, which no amount of technical skill can teach you. He has the ability to create images that resonate and stick in your consciousness long after you finish the comic. Particularly striking ones include the Joker's smile (used on the fish, cat, fake Batman, etc.), Hugo Strange's ghost, Helena the dummy, and Batman's dark silhouette (which is a common image now, but I had not seen it used as effectively before Rogers). He is also a master storyteller, using multiple panels (an unfortunate rarity nowadays) to elaborate and depict the plot that Englehart produces. All in all, the man is fantastic.
   
   So, although the writing is definitely dated, there is enough good stuff in this trade for me to recommend it. So go buy it now!
   
   And by the way, if anyone heavily disagrees with my earlier tangent on old comic book writing and feels that they do have a strong level of artistic merit, I would love to hear them out. I am a very open-minded person and would love to give credit where its due; it's just I don't see it as of right now.



4. If you have not read these stories, you should first be aware that you know them. Or rather - you know this Batman. From the time these stories debuted, this has been described as the "definitive" Batman. This is Batman as we knew him from the 1970s onward, in comics, in film, on TV.
   
   In 1977, these stories were a shocking bolt from the blue: They presented Batman with deadly villains, real consequences, a complex personal life and internal conflicts without easy answers.
   
   Prior to these stories, Bruce Wayne didn't have much of a life, beyond flirting with Catwoman and some father-son scenes with Robin. Englehart changed all that by giving Bruce Wayne an evolving relationship with the beautiful Silver St. Cloud. She fulfilled him, made him happy enough to consider giving up his alter ego. She was a 3-D woman smart enough to determine Batman's identity from hundreds of feet away, given how well she knows the man under the mask. And her reaction is realistic - she becomes scared, torn, and the discovery upends their relationship.
   
   Previously, Robin had been shuffled off to college to make Batman a solitary character once more. But Englehart seamlessly reintegrates Robin back into Batman's world, while evolving their relationship: Dick Grayson goes after Batman, testing him, displaying maturity and level-headedness. Englehart presents Robin as a nearly-grown up partner, someone Batman can consider a friend, rather than a protege.
   
   Ahh, the Joker: The "Laughing Fish" story is often named THE Joker story. In it he is more than crazy: He possesses a guile and murderous streak that suggests a twisted sense of irony. He kills randomly - not because death or violence are funny, more because of the shock and uncertainty it creates. He finds THAT humorous.
   
   Englehart and Rogers also return two villains from the 1940s - Dr. Hugo Strange and Deadshot, though taking some time to revamp the characters and their motivations. Similar care is given to two new villains as well. Also included is a follow-on story by writer Len Wein, who provided a wonderful coda to the main arc: A new iteration of Clayface that resonates with the prior story.
   
   As for Marshall Rogers' art: He had an architectural background, and his rendering of Gotham's landscapes has an authenticity and sense of realism. There is shadow, weight, atmosphere. His ability to convey character emotions was also ahead of its time. The art here became the style sheets by which editors coached new artists for the next 10 years after.
   
   The reaction to these stories was universal: Fans immediately began calling these stories "definitive", a term that has stuck. And with good reason.
   
   Upon reading these stories Michael Uslan became convinced they would make a fantastic Batman film for adults. After 10 years of trying - and several script drafts by Englehart himself - the Batman film of 1989 debuted to rave reviews and revitalized Batman's place in pop culture. The follow-on Batman Animated Series of the 1990s was even more influenced by Englehart and Rogers, with several stories being adapted wholesale.
   
   Again - this is the Batman we all know...just done in a mature, more three-dimensional and realistic fashion. If you like Batman at all, you owe it to yourself to witness this critical step in Batman's evolution.
   
   In honor of Marshall Rogers, 1950 - 2007. May he rest in peace.



5. This collection written in the seventies is very much a throwback to the Golden Age Batman comics of the forties, not only in the resurrection of long-forgotten Golden Age characters, but also in its overall style and tone... From the strained relationship between Batman and the Gotham City Police Department, to the Joker's method of publicly announcing his targeted victims and their times of death before penetrating police cordons with ingeniously elaborate murders (outwitting both batman & the police), this Batman arc was retro and nostalgic even when it was brand new!

3 comments about Middle Age Spread : A For Better or for Worse Collection.

1. I've been reading the adventures of the Canadian Patterson family ever since Elizabeth was younger than her sister April is now. I love the way Lynn Johnston's characters grow up and develop...sure, it ensures the eventual end of the strip, but on the other hand I find it so much more interesting this way than characters that stay five-years old forever, like Dennis the Menace or the Peanuts.

   I love comic strip collections. On the whole, they're cheaper than buying a year's worth of newspapers, and invaluable if you miss several issues.

   In this particular collection, Elly and Phil's dealings with their aging parents hit a little close to home with me, as I and my brother find ourselves in a similar situation. It's uncanny because I experienced some of the guilt, helplessness, and frustration that were portrayed, and I felt a strange kinship with Elly Patterson. I mean, I, a middle aged, never-married Black American suddenly had something in common with a fictional Canadian housewife! I guess it goes to show there are some things we all go through at one time or another. I can think of no better comic than For Better or For Worse to help point that out.




2. The Best book I have ever read in a long time.I have been reading the For Better or For Worse commic strip for the past two years. My mother is the one who got me hooked on it. What the Patterson family goes through with their kids, My parents go through the same thing. Exspecially my mother who has to put up with having her eldest child going to University and her youngest in college.The one good thing that my mother has is she only has to go through this twice.



3. This is yet another wonderful book from a gifted storytellerwith an eye for realism and detail. I ... appreciate the growth anddevelopment of characters as opposed to the perpetual childhood of Dennis the Menace and the Archie Gang. Very few books have tastefully, gently and kindly dealt with the passing of a loved one the way this one does. (At one time, I was a little embarrassed to admit that I could be so moved by a comic, but now I'll freely admit that). It is truly a work of art and I love the way you can "suspend" reality by e-mailing the characters! I love the "interactive" forum of the strip and I really love the character of Jim, a savvy senior citizen who brings in some sharp insights. It is past time for seniors to get positive press and I'm glad to see it happen in this book! THREE CHEERS FOR THIS BOOK! END

5 comments about Andy Warhol Prints: A Catalogue Raisonné 1962-1987.

1. its a really great display of andy warhol's work.. theres alot of unprinted art work in the book as well.. its great i really enjoyed it. when i picked it up at the book store i sat down and flipped through it, and i liked it so much i flipped though it two more times after that. i love warhol's work, and i've seen some great books but this one is by far the most amazing. if your a die hard andy warhol fan, i totally reccomend this book.



2. All the prints, those published and unpublished by Warhol. A lot of color and the layout is good. There's a good essay (by Donna De Salvo) to introduce what Warhol's printmaking was about.
   
   As much as it may impress, seeing all these prints, unfortunately, conveys a Warhol on autopilot.The "machine" he spoke of wishing to be. Apart from a few famous themes Warhol's prints may represent a triumph of quantity over quality. Prints of many different contents but of the same mechanism, silkscreening, begin to look alike. The selection of images, initially striking in the few deservedly famous subjects (e.g. Marilyn, Jackie, the electric chair, flowers, self-portraits, the soup can, Mao), seems mostly mundane, perhaps tacky. No artist has perhaps created so much forgettable work. But the diversity holds the promise of leading you (and me) beyond any initial limiting set of favorites. Warhol attacked from many directions.
   
   After all, how much I'd like to have Marilyns or his flowers on my walls, to begin with. You have plenty to pick from in this book: even finding ten great images may be worthwhile. And, over time, as you change, your favorite Warhol prints may change.
   
   At the back of the book are a chronology and exhibition history which focus on the prints. At almost 400 large pages using excellent paper, this good value is made to stay. Nevertheless, one is left wondering whether the drive to create or the drive for wealth was stronger.



3. UNLIKELY IMPORTANT IS THE POMP AND DUSTY RESOLVE FROM ONE REVIEWER. THIS IS WITHOUT EQUAL A HAND BOOK FOR THE SILKSCREEN PRINTER. A VIRTUAL BLUE PRINT OF COLOR AND COMPOSITION LAYERED IN COMPLEX RICHNESS .
   FOR THIS REVIEWER, PROCESS,PROCESS,PROCESS IS WARHOLS GIFT TO ART HISTORY {EVEN IF HIS ART IS MISTAKENLY THOUGHT OF AS VAPID . }
   MASTERED BY SUCH PRINTERS AS ALEXZANDER HEINRICI AND RUPERT JASEN SMITH, SILKSCREEN PRINTING IS IN FACT A VERY COMPLEX ARTFORM.THESE PRINTS WHERE NOT MADE WITH THE AID OF COMPUTERS, SUCH AS TODAYS "ARTISTS" EMPLOY.RATHER THIS BODY OF WORKS ARE PAINSTAKENLY PRODUCED BY HAND EITHER BY WARHOL OR BY ARTISAIN PRINTERS.
   COMPLEX PHOTOGRAPHIC MEANS ARE EMPLOYED FOR WARHOLS STENCIL MAKING. AS IMPORTANT TO ART HISTORY AS SENEFELDERS LITHOGRAPHIC PRESS INVENTION, SO WILL SILKSCREEN TECHNIQUES ANDY WARHOL PIONEERED. PERHAPS WARHOLS WORK WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED IMPORTANT TO ART HISTORYS FUTURE PERVEYORS.IT WILL IN FACT BE TESTIMATE THAT A PRINTMAKING MEDIUM WAS MASTERED AND BARRIERS PUT DIRECTLY IN WARHOLS PATH BY BROW BEATEN ART CRITICS WAS CRUSHED,BECAUSE WARHOL GOT HIS REAR END OFF THE COUCH AND DID SOMETHING. I RATE THIS BOOK AS A 10 AND IS A MUST FOR STUDENTS OF PRINTMAKING AND MODERN ART.
   SINCERELY PETRA



4. This is more of an encyclopedic collection. Get it only if you are a student (or more than just a fan). To be sure, there are many, many beautiful images (as was much of Warhol's work esp in the 80s) but most of the images are 2-inch or 4-inch squares. This is not a coffeetable book designed for delightful perusing and seeing large images.



5. With a lot of so-called bargains on ebay, this really helps to verify if it is an athentic Warhol print. Good are the infos on Warhol's "after" prints like Sunday B. Morning.

4 comments about Keep the Home Fries Burning : A For Better or for Worse Collection.

1. Writing funny & real comics is what I meant.



2. This is my favorite of the early FBoFW collections, from back in the days when it was only serious some of the time. (Not that I don't like it now, just that it is different these days!) Chronologically speaking, this was the era when Elizabeth went to kindergarten and Michael was in grade school, so none of the teenage angst Johnston portrays so well is on display here. But childhood is played for plenty of laughs as we see Elizabeth off to her first day of school ("My baby has joined the system," Elly muses) and Michael endures a Halloween party with his mother as chaperone - one of the funnier sequences in the collection.

   There are a few Great Moments in Patterson History along the way, as Connie and Lawrence move to Thunder Bay and the kids' friends Brian and Dawn move into their old house. Even Deanna Sobinski makes an early appearance, though she doesn't look like the same person Johnston draws today (then again, she was only nine years old). And as always, we find that there are laughs to be had in everyday events. If you like the more recent strips and books, you'll love this one.




3. I've been reading FBorFW for over twenty years. The Pattersons feel 'like family'. Like 'The Last Straw', I bought this book for my Dad and before I could send it to him, my teen-aged sons read it. They too are now hooked. Lynn Johnston deals with real life issues. I've laughed, cried, and reflected over this strip as I have no other. It's the only one I've kept up with consistently since I began reading it. I also check it out on-line as my newspapers do not carry it.



4. in trying to collect all of this series of books this is a good one to buy

No comments about Comickers Art: Tools and Techniques for Drawing Amazing Manga.