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.

Great early chapter book. The trouble Wizard and Wart get into builds to a humorous ending. Ending in the message that vacations are great but there is no place like home.

This is a clever book with great wordplay, silly jokes, and a very subtle message about not worrying. Wizard (a wizard) and Wart a dog) are concerned when Zounds (a vulture) announces that "Trouble" is coming. Some minor trouble does come, in a way, but the wizard eventually get things straightened out. And (Don't Look Cause This Will Give Away The Story) the "Trouble" that Zounds was talking about turns out to be just the name of another vulture! The pictures are very colorful yet simply done. A great book for beginning readers or for adults to read to kids. The book has 48 pages divided into 5 short chapters...lots of illustrations and only one to five (or so) sentences per page.

Sarah Phillips allows readers to gain insight into the black middle class, and the rituals and contradictions that the exposure to an integrated society can create. Considering the time frame in which the story is set, it is, at times, disturbing.

The bad news is: Sarah Phillips was ahead of its time when it was published in 1984, and beyond the literary critics who praised Andrea Lee's elegantly unvarnished look at the upper reaches of black society, it did not receive much attention. The good news is: with the post-Waiting-To-Exhale realization by the white publishing world that there is no one black way of life, and that the way of life that appeared in Phillips' luminous book very much exists, Sarah Phillips may now get the attention it deserves.

Far from a catalogue of I-gots that exemplifies some of the newer fiction by African Americans who are glibly portraying a non-ghetto way of life (see--I'm upper class! I have a Rolex! A Mercedes! I wear [designer of your choice here]), Lee's novel goes back to the incestuous world of interconnected black families from the Eastern Seaboard, parts of the South and Midwest, whose hallowed folkways reflect both racial pride and the ironic need to ape their white counterparts a parallel societal world. And whose foibles are as avidly watched and relayed, sotto voce, as any characters' in a nighttime soap opera.

Sarah Phillips explores what happens when post-Civil Rights progeny--children who had to be Ten Times Better Than the whites against whom they compete (and by whom they are judged, usually more harshly) to a wider world where race is noted, but does not serve as the invisible force-field it did for their parents. Sarah, with the confidence of her family history, is able to be both detached from her background and amused by it, even as she keeps it in reserve, if necessary, to shield herself from the glib snobbism of the Europeans among whom she's chosen to live.

Lee does not sugar coat Sarah's wish to be the Only One--the only black person--during her sojurn in Europe. But she makes Sarah three-dimensional enough that the reader understands well enough the urge behind the odd wish to be exotique in a foreign setting.

Readers who are revolted by the current urge of some black writers to trumpet their socially important connections will be refreshed by Lee's chronicle of this snippy, edgy young woman.
This is very much the real thing.

I cannot understand why it is that this brilliant piece of work is virtually unheard of. Andrea Lee's collection of stories about one central figure, Sarah Phillips, is masterful and universal in its exploration of the journey from girlhood to womanhood. These stories approach adolescence with a rare grace and subtlety that deserves a wide audience, one of all races and ages. Please read this book!

This is a really fun little graphic novel, loaded with great artwork and a decent storyline. I wouldn't recommend it as a first-time read for anyone unfamiliar with the X-Men - taken out of context from the overall series - it might be a somewhat confusing introduction. But for those who know the characters and have a general idea of what is going on, believe me, this one delivers the goods.

In the past, I have generally hated the X-Men's adventures in the Savage Land, or whenever they would go to outer space or get into really super sci-fi type situations. I always felt the X-Men stories worked much better when they were grounded in very normal, down-to-earth settings, because it made the X-Men themselves stand out and seem that much weirder. But this book is an exception to the rule. It's a big, crazy, larger-than-life adventure, part of which takes place in the prehistoric Savage Land, and part of which gets hyper technological, and it works out OK.

The artwork is tough and gritty. Jim Lee draws a mean, shadowy, ugly Wolverine who kills lots of villains and looks like he needs to take a shower very badly.

And Lee's women - whoa. This book contains more gratuitous cheescake shots than any X-Men graphic novel I've seen, but it's all very pleasing to the eye. Especially the scenes with Rogue, whose bare skin can kill anyone she touches and thus, understandably, was always the one major female character who kept herself completely covered at all times. This was the first storyline in the series where they finally drew her as a scantily-clad, sexy heroine. A real treat for male Rogue-fans who'd been reading the series patiently for years.

This storyline also chronicles the transformation of innocent young Psylocke into a mature woman trained in the art of Ninjitsu, and she becomes an ultra-violent, sexy bad girl. And then there are cameo appearances by other Marvel superheroes, namely Captain America (from the Avengers series) and The Black Widow (from the Daredevil series). All in all, it's a satisfying, action-packed, well-drawn, crowd-pleasing comic book in trade-paperback format.

X-Men Visionaries Jim Lee trade paperback Is a great X-Men graphic Novel by Jim Lee! the book reprints Uncanny X-Men issues #248,#256-258,#268-269,#273-277 are reprinted together in this wonderful Marvel book collection! This book contains the early Uncanny X-Men issues that made Jim Lee famous! All the issues are written by Chris Claremont with artwork by Jim Lee. These issues lead to the popular Claremont/Lee colaboration on X-Men#1 in 1991. Most of the artwork was done by Jim Lee. Uncanny X-Men #273 was done by various artists. Buy this book if your fan of X-Men and Jim Lee. Highest Possible Recommendation!

This is a great X-Men: Visionaries Jim Lee graphic Novel! This is Jim Lee's early work on the Uncanny X-Men series! This Marvel Tradepaperback reprints Jim Lee's early years when he was the comic book artist on Uncanny X-Men. In this book reprints Uncanny X-Men#248,#256-258,#268-269, #273-277. His early work on the Uncanny X-Men in the early 1990s, lead to to the critically aclaimed Clarmont/Lee work on X-Men #1 in 1991. All the Uncanny X-Men issues are written by Chris Claremont. Most of the artwork is drawn by Jim Lee. Unncany X-Men#273 is drawn by various artist. Buy this book if your a big fan of X-Men and Jim Lee. Highest Possible Recommendation.

On the plus side, Lee Smith's Oral History lives up to its title. While reading it, I felt as if I were camped at the feet of an old uncle or a grandmother who was telling tall tales--based on truth, but making a lot of it up as he or she went along. Another plus is that Smith, having grown up in the hollers of Southwest Virginia, has a genuine ear for the dialect and the cadence of speech her characters use (although there were some instances where an uneducated Granny Younger used phrases that were probably more educated than their speaker, making them sound as if someone else [Lee Smith] was talking). Smith paints a colorful story around equally colorful characters that seem very real. I grew up not too far from this area, and I could identify with many of the people in Smith's story.

On the minus side, the story felt disjointed somehow. The beginning and the end felt tacked on. The ending felt especially rushed and contrived, as if the author couldn't think of any other way to end it, so she threw it all together somehow. But to Smith's credit, that's sometimes how tall tales and legends feel, as if the storyteller rushes to an ending just to end it all.

I also felt that as the story went along, that I was led down some bunny trails that never were dealt with. For example, what was the deal with Pricey Jane's earrings? I know she had them when she arrived in the holler, and she passed them on to Dore, who passed them on to one of her twin daughters. But Pricey Jane was good, so why did the earrings represent evil? They popped up too many times in the story for there to be no real explanation.

Overall, Oral History was good, though it plodded at times and I had to force myself to keep reading. But if you can get through those few points, it's worth it. Smith is a good writer and a decent storyteller, and I look forward to reading more of her work.

The language is beautiful. She uses it to really bring us into the minds of the characters, who vary immensely in their personalities. That in itself is a joy to read - to observe the differences between the upper-class educated romantic self-involved young man who travels to this remote area, and the dutiful spinster whose inner passions have not been wholly untapped, and the 12-year-old boy on the day he becomes a man by killing pigs and drinking rotgut. You will probably fall in love with at least one of these characters.

The stories follow a family's history from post-Civil War era up to the 80s. I agree with the reviewer who said the book was terribly disjointed, which is its major flaw and it took me three months to finally push through to the end. The first section of the book is really fascinating, dwelling in the supernatural. But then it abandons its supernatural mystery and never really comes back to answer it. That was a great disappointment for me.

Still, for love of the language and the characters, I can recommend this book.

In the tradition of her other novels like "Fair and Tender Ladies," this book truly captures the spirit of the mountain people, their lives, and their lore. Smith masterfully creates her characters through the use of mountain dialect, and each one comes alive to the reader in a unique way. The use of details that she has collected from meticulous research on Appalachian lore serves to further the reader's impression that she is truly a master at work. If you liked "Fair and Tender Ladies" then don't miss this one!

As I started this book, I was pleased to see that the author complained to Bob Buford that all of his examples were of rich men, and that she was setting out to show how women who were not millionaires could change their lives. To my dismay, most of the women whose stories are recited here are wealthy, well-established, powerful, and at the top of their professions. How does a working woman with two kids, a mortgage, and a $30,000.00 a year job make mid-life changes? She won't find out in this book.

I'm exactly the audience Pederson and Smith had in mind for this book: a woman in midlife who's reevaluating her current situation and her options for the future. Each chapter focuses on a single principle that can help in this search, e.g., "trust your intuition" or "get support"; then the authors give real-life examples of how that principle has worked in the lives of actual women, and conclude with questions that allow the reader to gain insight into how it applies to her own life. In general, I felt that the book was helpful to me, and offered good guidance to women (and, for that matter, men!) in just about any life circumstance. The examples were multicultural and spanned a wide range of income and education levels. And, although one chapter focuses on spouses, the authors didn't assume that every reader has one -- many of the women whose stories they told were single, divorced, or widowed. The book is well written, and the authors' enthusiasm and lively style make it a real "upper" to read. My only quibble is that the authors often seemed to equate "spiritual" with "mainstream religion," usually some form of Christianity. While I agree wholeheartedly about the importance of spirituality in guiding the way one lives, there are many other spiritual paths than joining a Bible study group or attending church regularly, and I wish the authors had made an effort to be more inclusive.

Unlike another reviewer, I believe that Rena Pederson, in her book 'What's Next', has reached women of all ages and income brackets. Any woman (or man) who wishes to discover who she is and what her journey is to be would benefit from this book. The journey begins by looking inward. By asking the questions that Ms. Pederson suggests can lead one to find their true self, discover a passion in life, and gain the confidence to accomplish the goals they wish to obtain. For me, I was in a 'stuck' place, not knowing what I wanted in life. Reading 'What's Next?' and working the exercises which are provided, started me on a path I'd never dreamed I would be capable of pursuing. I feel that I truly can "Do It" now and thank Ms. Pederson for the imputus to get started.

Gene Smith's Lee And Grant was a well-written documentation of the lives of these Civil War generals. The way the book was set up kept it interesting and almost fun to read. The format was such that consecutive chapters paralleled each man's life. For instance the first chapter pertained to Lee's father and his childhood while the second chapter was about Grant's Father and childhood. One warning I have to potential readers: this is a great book for those interested in the Civil War and these two men. If one doesn't have any interest in the topic, then this book is not for them. There aren't and underlying driving plots or surprises that make the book suspenseful. This is a historical piece highlighting two great men in our country's history. It's a great book for those who want to read specifically about these two men, not for a reader just looking for a book to read.

I enjoyed this book very much. The contrast between Grant (who led a hard scrabble life, even resorting to selling firewood by the side of the road to make a living) and Lee (perhaps the greatest man of the South) and Grant's triumph was a great story. You get a great introduction to the Civil War, even though there is a focus on the Virginia campaign because this is a biography of these two men, not an overall history of the Civil War. Highly recommended.

I was enthralled by the unique view that this book afforded. I have read many histories of the Civil War from many perspectives. This is the first time that I was introduced to these two pivotal historical figures from the human side. The juxtaposition of each of them to the other was very helpful to put the time and sequences of the war into perspective and give true scale to all that happened.

Once the Dark Phoenix Saga concluded, the X-Men became a victim of their own success, as the sensational collaboration between Chris Claremont and John Byrne began to sag beneath the weight of the artists' egos. The stories became verbose and overwrought as ideas seemed to perpetually recycle, the art lost much of its previous verve, and the title generally settled into a long decline.

There remain some notable highlights in "Essential X-Men Vol. 3", however. The courtship of Dr. Doom and Storm is classic and totally unexpected. The story arc with Cyclops stranded on a desert isle housing his greatest foe is sensational, as is the appearance of Dracula (!). Unfortunately, these high points sink beneath the weight of drecch like Kitty Pryde's fairytale version of the X-Men and the touted return of Dark Phoenix.

If you're a true fan of the X-Men, you'll want this collection to avoid bending the corners of your precious back issues. Otherwise, grab the first two volumes of this series instead.

I bought all of these to back track and read the previous things that had happened within the comic. This serves the purpose but was disapointed that they were not in color.

...

"Mutant Genesis" reprints (in color, not b&w) the first seven issues of the second series X-Men (now renamed New X-Men) from 1991. Claremont writes the first three issues, and John Byrne and Jim Lee write the remaining four. Lee provides pencils for all.

The the 3-issue story "Rubicon" represents Claremont's finale as he left the series he'd written for 14 years and made the highest selling comic EVER. It ranks among his best writing (which is saying a lot). The story revolves around Magneto's quest for vengence against Charles Xavier and Moira MacTaggert, involving nearly thirty years of X-Men history, including the effects of the Holocaust, prejudice, nuclear proliferation, and the effects of anger on the human soul. Highly recommended.

If you enjoy this trade, I would recommend Claremont's work in:
"X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills"; "X-Men: Vignettes"; and the four volumes of Essential X-Men b&w reprints.

A nice collection of artists, with some great examples of what they can do. But....
Paper stock is poor and some prints are a bit blurry.

This is a great artbook, featuring many famous furry artists. I love the art, and look at it regularly. If you're a fan of Michele Light, I recommend it.

This book started my physical collection of furry publishings, and still remains the best singal pice I have. Not only is it perfectaly published, but contains excellent examples of anthropomorphic artwork. Its my personal bible.