The author put his heart and soul in this book,the publisher's high quality printing,exceptional clarity makes the Green Bay & Western a best seller

In the mid eighties, Walt Simonson redefined the mythos of one of marvel's greatest heroes: the mighty Thor. Revamping the flagging series with not only exceptional artwork and dynamic frame-sets, Simonson brought Thor back to the roots of Norse mythology and legend. Simonson's epic storyline concludes with a fantastic spin on Ragnarok (the final battle of the gods)and ties up every loose end since the beginning of the series' run. The Ballad of Beta Ray Bill collects the first few issues of this amazing moment in comics' history. It is well worth reading for any serious comics fan, fantasy/sci-fi artist or mythological affectionado.

Bill's tragic, yet mighty Ballad is one the coolest stories I've ever read. It's been 14 years since I read it and it still inspires my own work in the computer game field. Thanks Walt. You're the man!

I have been a fan of the Silver Surfer ever since I was a kid, and this collection of stories did not dissapoint. Collected in this edition are ten "golden-age" stories which truly capture the surfer at his freshest and best. Buy this if you appreciate the true art of comics

I have been a fan of the Silver Surfer ever since I was a kid, and this collection of stories did not dissapoint. Collected in this edition are ten "golden-age" stories which truly capture the surfer at his freshest and best. Buy this if you appreciate the true art of comics. Peace.

For fans of both Spider-Man and the X-Men, this isn't one you want to miss! From Spidey's first encounter with the original five X-Men to his later adventures with the other members of the team, this has it all, and then some. Written with a great sense of humor and the characters, this is a real keeper!

I remember when Barry Smith drew his first comic for Marvel Comics. It was an issue of the X-Men that we all thought was THE WORST DRAWN COMIC BOOK IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD. It turned out that Smith, newly arrived from England, drew the issue on park benches in NYC. When the first issue of Conan the Barbarian arrived it was clear he was not that bad. By the time his run as artist on "Conan" ended it was even more clear he was something special and the fact that the illustrative style that had evolved in those two-year span was not feasible within the demands of producing monthly issues of a comic book was a depressing irony.

Barry Windsor-Smith has long been my favorite "comic book artist," and this collection traces his evolution as such quite admirably. Indeed, not other collection could better serve that purpose. A simple comparison of the covers from Conan #1 and Smith's swansong issue #24 ("The Song of Red Sonja") evidences the transformation from artist to illustrator. For that matter you can also consider Smith intermediary style (e.g., #13 "Web of the Spider-God"). This transformation is as impressive because of how quickly in took place while he was drawing Conan as it is for the artistic growth. But even in his work today you can see how it is grounded in the style he developed while working on this comic.

These reprinted stories are presented in black and white, which is certainly better than nothing, but I look forward to Smith's work being presented in color as it originally appeared. I notice this most particularly in the Epilogue to Conan #20, "The Black Hound of Vengeance," which was originally presented in muted tones of gray, blue and brown. Smith abandoned panels in an interesting change of pace that underscored the emotional impact of the sequence. Without color that impact is most decidedly lost. One of the things that is still discernable is the increase in the number of panels per page from issue to issue through Smith's tenure as he became more comfortable with using art rather than dialogue to advance parts of the story. The best example of this is the hanging sequence on page 14 of Conan #10.

From a writing stand point it should be noted that there is a nice balance between stories adapted from Robert E. Howard's Conan work and original stories by Roy Thomas. For the former "The Tower of the Elephant" (#4) is usually considered the high point. The appearance of Michael Moorcock's Elric in issues #14-15 seems a bit forced, while the Fafnir character (original a quick tribute to Fritz Leiber's famous pair of thieves) becomes a wonderfully integrated character into an ongoing story line.

Thomas' ability as a storyteller capable of crafting bigger and longer storylines would continue to grow, and while John Buscema's artwork on Conan was quite excellent (especially when inked by Ernie Chan), Barry Smith's work will always stand on a plateau. Jim Steranko cracked open the door on stylized illustration in color comics, but Barry Smith was the one who gets credit for busting all the way through.

its great all the stories were very well written however childs play started off kind of slow but turned out pretty good.and the twist at the end of the defiant ones was great.

Contains stories from all throughout the series, including the first introduction of the X-Babies! Technically, it's the X-Men de-aged, but still!

It's too bad that over the course of X-Men history, Jean Grey has died and been resurrected so many times that she's become something of a comic-industry in-joke. It's to the detriment of one's perception of the depth of the original story. She remains possibly the most complex of X-Men characters, and her dark history is chronicled in this well-written collection that tells what is considered the best storyline in X-Men's history.

My one gripe is with the artwork. Yes, it's dated, but there's a much more important issue here -- why is it that they used only one page to illustrated the climactic sacrifice? In this one scene is incorporated the fate of the whole team of X-Men (whether they will be killed by the Imperial Guard), the ultimate fate of the love between Phoenix and Cyclops, Phoenix' final decision (her humanity, or her power?), and the fate of the universe. Even the defeat of Colossus at the hands of Gladiator received more panels. The scant amount of space devoted to this devastating ending is a matter of storytelling, and the age of the comic doesn't excuse it from a fault on this level.

Other than that, it's one of the most effective orchestrations of the huge cast in the X-Men series. Most of the time, storylines in comic books like this revolve around the appearance of some anticipated character or another. Here it's driven by emotion and story development, and the Dark Phoenix/Phoenix character remains fascinating, driven less by malevolence than hunger and arrogance. One occasion where a lowbrow cultural form like the comic book has produced something worthy of deeper consideration beyond that of simple entertainment.

The Dark Phoenix Saga by Chris Claremont and John Byrne was simply the best comic book story I have ever read. While this trade paperback contains most of it, the story really ran for about 25 issues *before* the issues in the TPB.

It started as a subplot when the mutant X-Man, Jean Grey, was possessed by the Phoenix entity, a being of great power that slowly transformed her into one of the most powerful superbeings in the universe. The story contained in this book is the climactic end to the story. As Phoenix, Grey becomes more and more powerful to the point where she can no longer fully control the urges that her godlike abilities give her. A shadowy organization called the Hellfire Club seeks to control her and manipulate her power to their ends. Meanwhile, her fellow X-Men, including her love Scott Summers (a.k.a., Cyclops), seek to infiltrate the Hellfire Club. Ultimately they end up defending Phoenix after she has unleashed her powers in ways they never dreamed imaginable.

The Dark Phoenix Saga is a story of power, love, subterfuge and tragedy. Each of the X-Men has their moment to shine in this story. Of particular note is the sequence wherein Wolverine singlehandedly rescues the entire team, one of the best single-issue stories ever, in my opinion.

Claremont and Byrne were at the peak of their abilities in this story. Neither has shone as brightly before or since. While stories like The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen are often said to be the best comic story ever created, my vote goes to the Dark Phoenix Saga.

In the Dark Phoenix Saga, Chris Claremont and John Byre, firing on all cylinders, create the greatest comics story ever. It is a story that fits logically in the greatest run by an artist/writer team in a comic series ever (chronicled in the Essential X-Men Vol.2 graphic novel), but one that also stands so well on its own.

In a story where so many things are done right, it stands out because it is a primarily a story about conflict. There is conflict on virtually every page. Not just shot-em up, video game violence, but internal, character-driven conflict.

There is conflict between Prof. X and Cyclops over leadership of the X-men; between the fiery Wolverine and the control-freak Prof. X; Jean Grey struggles to control her dark side; Cyclops tries to mold the fiercly independent members of the X-men into a tight-knit team; Jean & Scott try to maintain their relationship thru the mounting chaos....

The X-men, the ultimate ousiders, rely on each other time and again and yet, their most powerful member turns on them and then saves them - repeatedly.

The X-men have a truly worthy opponent in the Hellfire Culb.

Obstacle after obstacle is overcome before the truly life and death battle at the climax. The escalation of tension is evere bit as gripping as when I read the original comics as a kid. Its lost none of the magic or mystery. There is none of the letdown so often felt when we re-visit the source of our nostalgia.

There have been a half dozen stories that were much more revolutionary than the Dark Phoenix Saga - from the death of Gwen Stacey in Spider-Man, to The Dark Knight, the Watchmen and Crisis on Infinite Earths over at DC. Yet, for my money, Dark Phoenix is better - not for its novelty or originality or life-like art, but because its that good.

For comic book nerds like me (or for literate Trekkies) then the name Peter David puts an instant smile on your face. I've only read one Peter David Star Trek novel, but it was the most entertaining Star Trek story I had ever read. His run on the Incredible Hulk was the best ever written. But I digress.

Die hards who even have interest in this novel already know the story behind Spider-man. So are there any real spoilers? Not really. We all know about his relationship with Uncle Ben and Aunt (ug) May. We all know about his pining for Mary Jane Watson (sorry, no Gwen Stacy this time around). We all know about Norman Osbourne and son Harry and their developement into Green Goblins.

What might not be translated on screen is the motivations and the incredibly well-written and fleshed out thoughts provided by the clever Mr. Peter David in this novel. I found myself once again thoroughly entertained by this man's writing style. Unless Sam Raimi is a genius (okay, so he's close) he won't be able to fully communicate the "radioactive" spider's motivation behind wanting to bite Peter as Mr. David does so well in the novel. Peter David knows comics and Spider-man so well that this movie will most definitely be more entertaining after reading the novel.

After reading this novel, I believe that you'll feel like a well-educated art lover who will get to go to the Louvre for his first time this May. You'll know the ins and outs and thoughts behind scenes...but seeing the real thing will be just that, "the real thing".

There's nothing to spoil essentially although there are a few "surprises". But one real surprise I believe will be seeing if the acting abilities of Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Willem Dafoe, and company can portray these characters faithfully as I've made them out to be in my head over all these years. Sam Raimi's action sequences will be the true star and the films greatest surprise.

Fear not, reading this novel before seeing the movie should not spoil more than you will gain. It's a great read and it'll just get you prepared for appreciating this movie as it should be viewed. I bought the book today and finished it tonight, and darn it all, I wish that opening day were tomorrow.

You read the intro line correctly. This book is so much better than the movie, and the movie is awesome! What makes this book so good is that we get into the head of the characters. We get to know what they are thinking and feeling. This book also has "extra" scenes that add so much to this book. For example, in the movie, MJ doesn't get an acting job. Well, in the book you find out why she doesn't get it. I also liked how Peter wrote t his parents in his journals. The reader will also get to know Peter as a child, and find out what happened to Peter's parents.

If you're a fan of Peter David, then you have to get this book. His style of writing lets the characters come to life and we care about all of them, even they bad guys.

If you liked the movie, then you need to read this book. It adds to much to the Spiderman experience. If you start it, you won't be sorry.

For my most recent birthday (wont dismiss age for privacy reasons, thankyou), I got the Spider-Man novelized version. Now, I had just seen Spider-Man...I was kinda late, mind you. I waited 'til late June to see it, but when I saw it, I loved it! I must have drove my entire family crazy...I even resaw it on my birthday.

Anyway, Peter David did an amazing job. I know that my intense inspiration to read the book so quickly was not only because of the fact that I loved everything about the movie, but because his writing delved me in. I especially loved the scene when Peter Parker was a child, and he thought Uncle Ben made "perverted rice." Such charm...and very funny, too, considering my dad mentioned "He wont be making rice anymore" the second time I dragged him to it.

Peter David, it was a pleasure, and I'm truly glad I got to read it...I only wish more of these scenes in the book were mentioned in the movie.

Thanks, Anna