This is a collection of short stories about Hunter Rose, the first character in Matt Wagner's Grendel mythos to have been possessed by the dark force known as Grendel. Each of the short stories are beautifully illustrated in diverse styles by such talented artists as Teddy Kristiansen, Tim Bradstreet, Mike Allred, Matt Wager, etc. in a wonderfully clever black, white and red colour scheme. The black and white helps bring out the noir mood of the stories (and is well suited Grendel's black and white costume), while the red highlights such items as the blood and roses closely associated with Hunter Rose and Grendel. This technique is not fully innovative (see Miller's Sin City series and some arthouse movies), but is well done here. The stories are all by Matt Wagner and are, of course, well written. Unfortunately, some aspects of the stories rob them of their full power.

First of all, if you are nonfan and not familiar with Grendel/Hunter Rose, those stories whose purpose is mainly to flesh out his history are not very meaningful. You get a glimpse at his story, but that's it. Secondly, if you are a fan familiar with the characters, the fact that they were only around for a extremely brief, although brilliant run and are now a long dead and forgotten part of the mythos in more recent stories also renders the increased background of Hunter Rose less meaningful (and no new insight into the Grendel entity itself is offered). It is not unlike the black character in Kubrick's version of the Shining: sure, he was interesting in the beginning, but there was no point bringing him back into the story just to get killed by an axe. Mayber Wagner will prove me wrong when he finally takes back control of the series.

Fortunately, I believe it is still possible for readers, even casual ones, to get caught up in the short stories whose focus are more upon nonrecurring characters (thus we get their complete story). However, while those stories are effective examples of noir literature, they are all too brief for the reader to get as tied up with the characters as one would wish and the supernatural/superhero aspects of these stories also take away from their effectiveness.

Matt Wagner covered noir territory far more effectively in his Sandman Mystery Theatre series. Still, this collection is a rather handsome volume.

This was the second of Wagner's works on Grendel that I picked up, the first being Devil By the Deed. Out of the two I'd have to say I preferred "Devil By the Deed". While "Devil By the Deed" is a completely self-contained story, "Black, White, and Red" is a series of short stories that build on and add greater depth to many of the characters in the former.

While I don't really think you'd need to read "Devil By the Deed" first, I think it would really give you the big-picture of the relationship between the characters and the context in which each of the short stories take place in. You should be able to find "Devil by the Deed" for around ..., so it couldn't hurt to pick it up at least in addition to "Black, White, and Red".

The first story in the TPB is "Devil's Advocate". I liked it so much I was really excited about the rest of the stories. Only later did I find out that it had in fact won an Eisner Award in 1999 for Best Short Story. While the rest of the stories are good, they pale in comparison to "Devil's Advocate". If nothing else you should pick up "Black, White, and Red" #1 just so you can read the first story in the TPB. Depending on how much you like the other material, you can pick up the entire series.

Matt Wagner's Grendel is a character created to explore and examine the nature of aggression and its impact on the individual and on the community. The first to wear the infamous Grendel mask and wield the peculiar two bladed spear was the ruthless, self-directed master criminal Hunter Rose. In Grendel: Black, White, & Red, we are treated to a series of Wagner's short, stark, unforgettable stories, each one illustrated by a different artist and all showcasing the dark world of crime, revenge, the human psyche, and a primal justice that bears no relationship to courtroom law. This is a "must" for graphic novel genre enthusiasts in general, and Matt Wagner fans in particular!

I purchased this particular book to learn techniques...not how to catagorize my pictures under certain headings. Which is what this book is about;Mr.Hedgecoe's pictures are B U Tful but I wanted to know how he got there!He had the right headings but no content. I expected techniques and numbers not "you should do this, and not that".It was like he didn't want to give his secrets away.It has nice pics but definitley not a reference book.I hope I'm not 2 hard on him.

if you want to know everything about b/w....Buy this book! You will not be sorry you did!

if you want to know everything about b/w....Buy this book! You will not be sorry you did!

I feel quite strange presuming to give a numerical rating to a book by one of American literature's greatest authors.

It's important for readers to realize that White-Jacket is not what would, in the modern day, be considered a novel. There is essentially no plot structure. It's a melange of events, descriptive passages and polemic, narrated by the eponymous White-Jacket, whom I suspect of being Melville himself. At times the book is entertainingly humorous - as when the narrator tries to get rid of his famous jacket. And much of the description of life aboard a man-of-war is fascinating -- the book would make a helpful companion for people reading modern novels such as O'Brian's series. (And, of course, White-Jacket probably was one of the sources used by O'Brian and other aquatic novelists.) The polemic -- Melville's rants against flogging and his pacifist pleas -- I found tiresome, as I always find polemic, regardless of its aims.

If you find yourself in a position where the individuals in authority over you are, in the actual state of affairs, your moral inferiors, then on this level alone you will be able to appreciate this book.

Fascinating, entertaining account of life on a man-of-war. Hilarious in parts; always subversive. Melville's mock glorification of the U.S. Navy and its officers is brilliant.

I was very disappointed with this book. I found the writing style dry and the photographs/layout just not up to par. It almost seemed like somebody's thesis with som photos thrown in. Somebody needs to do a large format picture book on this subject with more about Jackie!

The writing is dry. The pictures are not the best and it fails to show whnat the White House looked like before the restoration. Everyone says that it looked horrible so why not give the reader a taste of what was so wrong with it? If you can find the White House guidebook that was produced to pay for the restoration read that instead. It has much betters photos.

A superb survey of the White House decor of President & Mrs. Kennedy. The book documents the ideas, process, decisions and choices behind the stunning interiors of the Kennedy White House-both the public and private rooms. What comes through the text is Mrs. Kennedy's leadership and vision - combining taste, history, beauty and great cunning - just to create and then manage this melange of egos, talent and intelligence was an accomplishment, and the results live on today (albeit not as beautifully or artistically). We all gained a greater knowledge and appreciation of our nation's historic and artistic past because of Mrs. Kennedy's work.

I've corresponded with Mr. Abbott and he's been most kind and interesting. He assisted in the current show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, "Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years," and there's a number of items on display relating to the White House decorations.

Read the book, catch the exhibit (it moves to the JFK Library in Boston in the fall).

When rating Shakespeare, I am rating it against other Shakespeare; otherwise, the consistent 4-5 stars wouldn't tell you much. So if you want to know how this book rates against the general selection of books in the world, I suppose it might rate four stars; it certainly rates three. The language, as usual in Shakespeare, is beautiful. Still, it's far from Shakespeare's best.

For one thing, this is one of those cases, not uncommon in Shakespeare's comedies, in which the play has suffered a great deal by the changes in the language since Shakespeare's time; it loses a great deal of the humor inherent in a play when the reader needs to keep checking the footnotes to see what's happening, and this play, particularly the first half of it, virtually can't be read without constant reference to the notes; even with them, there's frequently a question as to what's being said. At least in the edition that I read (the Dover Thrift edition) the notes frequently admit that there's some question as to the meaning of the lines, and there is mention of different changes in them in different folios.

But beyond this, as an overweight, balding, middle-aged libertine, I object to the concept that Falstaff is ridiculous just because he is in fact unwilling to concede that it is impossible that a woman could want him. Granted, he's NOT particularly attractive, but that has more to do with his greed, his callousness, and his perfect willingness to use people for his own ends, to say nothing of his utter lack of subtlety.

Is it truly so funny that an older, overweight man might attempt to find a dalliance? So funny that the very fact that he does so leaves him open to being played for the fool? Remember, it isn't as though he refused to take "no" for an answer; he never GOT a "no". He was consistently led on, only to be tormented for his audacity. Nor is he making passes at a nubile young girl; the target of his amorous approaches is clearly herself middle-aged; after all, she is the MOTHER of a nubile young marriageable girl. And given the fact that she is married to an obnoxious, possessive, bullying and suspicious husband, it is not at all unreasonable for Falstaff to think that she might be unhappy enough in her marriage to accept a dalliance with someone else.

If laughing at fat old men who have the audacity not to spend the last twenty years of their lives with sufficient dignity to make it seem as if they were dead already is your idea of a good time, you should love this play. I'll pass.

i've just finished reading/watching all of shakespeare's comedies and mww is one of the funnier ones. it is a lighthearted look at marital jealousy and features one of shakespeare's great fools, falstaff (of henry iv fame). the out-and-out funniest shakepearean play is still "taming of the shrew", imho, but mwv runs well ahead of the laggards, and certainly well ahead of such better known plays as "twelfth night" and "as you like it".

Shakespeare, considering he wrote this little gem of a comedy in a mere 14 days for the Virgin Queen, pulls off a play that proves both witty and fun. Unequivocally, The Merry Wives of Windsor makes for a more enjoyable play if seen live. Nonetheless, reading it is the 2nd best thing.

Sir John Falstaff is once again such a fool - but a lovable and hilarious one at that. Having read Henry V - where Falstaff ostensibly had met his end - I was pleased to see him so alive(pardon the pun) in this short, albeit clever play. It is no surprise that The Merry Wives of Windsor enjoyed such a long and successful stage run during Shakespeare's day and continues to be one of his most popularly staged plays. Recommended as a fun break from the more serious and murderous Shakespearean tragedies.

"Why, then the world's mine oyster,
Which I with sword will open." - Pistol

Read this book only on long winter nights when your television doesn't work and you have two broken legs. Actually, all possible theories, from the unlikely to possible are presented. The first two chapters are compelling, the remainder tedious. Also, if you purchase the paperback addition, buy a magnifying glass too.

The author has a very good experience with several disciplines of science and research. The book reads well and sounds impressive and professional, even in matters as Psychic Foresight etc... However, in the epilogue (page 391-408) he takes almost everything back and left me with a rather frustrated feeling of "what is it know ?. Is it so or is it not ?"

My conviction is that he backs away from his own work. This does not mean that I am looking forward for a nice pole shift soon to happen. However, I expected in the epilogue the same professionalism to give a modern, more holistic answer to the questions that surfaced during the years, instead of simply stating in only 17 pages that it will not be as it was seen by him.

After reading White (and Velikovsky), I am truly convinced that more than one pole shift has taken place in the last million years. Maybe not exactly as written by the above mentioned authors but nevertheless highly interesting and demanding for further research. And to be taken very seriously

This is a book that all thinking people should read

For those of you who read my reviews and use them to try to understand literature, I owe you an apology. I made a slight error in my review of this, and I will correct it now. For those of you who know me, I cherish the writings of Marlowe, Shakespeare, Milton, Hawthorne, and Dickens. I now have a 6th hero. The opening is quite captivating when through testimony we learn of Lodovico's evil. Webster also grabs our attention with the affair between Vittoria and Bracciano. Despite the questionable qualities of these 2 characters, they are easy to like. He also draws the division between the virtuous Francisco and the ambitious Bracciano well. Cornelia is memorable as the mother who despairs over the actions of her children Flamineo and Vittoria. Isabella is fine as a picture of innocence. The Cardinal is captivating as one of the most careful characters in the play,and we need not be surprised when he gets elected Pope. Bracciano's son Giovanni is drawn well. Through an early appearance, we get a look at his character. We then see him in mourning after he has lost both his parents. Finally, we see him restore order after the massacre has fully unleashed. Lodovico is fine as a picture of ambition. (The mistake I made was that I named Lodovico in the murder of Isabella. He was innocent of her murder. But it is possible to wonder if his affair with her 'Bracciano's wife' triggered Bracciano's affair with Vittoria. Ofcourse, the affair between Bracciano and Vittoria triggers the events of this play.) Webster also offers us horrifying and yet beautiful passages, chilling omens such as the ghosts of Isabella and Bracciano, and pure suspense. My only complaint about this is that Lodovico's delight in his massacre does not mix well with Giovanni's sudden rise to power and his restoration of order. In Marlowe's "Edward II," the 17 year old Edward III fills his enemies with pure terror when he gains control of the situation. Once again, I apologize for my error, and I wish to thank all of you who found my reviews helpful.

For those of you familiar with my writing, you know I cherish the works of Marlowe, Shakespeare, Milton, Hawthorne, and Dickens. Well, I now have a 6th favorite. Lodovico is frighteningly demonic. 1st he participates in the murder of Isabella, then he participates in the revenge of Isabella! Poor Isabella is memorable as a picture of innocence. Vittoria is an interesting woman. She is not exactly a picture of innocence, but she does carry herself well, and she faces her death with as much dignity as possible. Webster also draws the dissension between Francisco and Bracciano well. Bracciano is captivating with all of his ambition. Francisco is memorable as the good and decent man prompted to fury by the death of his innocent sister. The harsh tones between Cornelia and her son Flamineo are dramatic. Bracciano's son Giovanni is well drawn. First he is an innocent young man, but his lines reveal his good character. Then we see him after he has lost both his parents. Finally, he flips the tables on everyone and restores order. Cardinal Monticelso is also captivating. He is a very careful character who probes the situations without losing his sense of reason. And we need not be surprised when this careful character is promoted to Pope Paul IV. What's left? Only striking images, only well constructed passages, only pure terror side by side with beauty etc. My only complaint about this play is that Webster combines 2 wonderful final touches that would be wonderful by themselves, but do not combine well (in my opinion). Lodovico's delight in his massacre does not (in my opinion) mix well with Giovanni's sudden rise to power and his sudden crush of the situation. In my opinion what makes Edward III's restoration to order in Marlowe's "Edward II" so dramatic is the pure terror the 17 year old king instills in his enemies. At this point, I would like to thank all of you who found my reviews helpful.

The drama of John Webster is characterized by themes of revenge, misanthropy, misogyny, villainy, murder and ultimately violence. Webster's play, The White Devil parallels a modern day soap opera in which the plot keeps readers on their edge with its numerous twists and sub-plots.

I had doubts about reading Jacobean Drama, but once I picked up The White Devil, I was hooked. I was especially intrigued with the duality of the heroine Vittoria. In Vittoria, Webster offers us a character we love to hate, but finds ourselves pitying her, perhaps even siding with her.

The White Devil is certainly a play worth reading.

After I read this book the first time, I donated it to a local nature center library. But a part of it stayed with me, and I found myself thinking about it and occasionally sharing it with others. So when I saw another copy of this volume in a used bookstore, I scooped it up for myself. I stood there and thumbed through the pages until I found it -- Chapter 10, "Flying Squirrels: Phantoms of the Night," the story of a young flying squirrel named Hepsey. John Terres had the opportunity to keep Hepsey almost like a pet for most of her life. While that kind of arrangement is generally not a good one for human or for wild creature (and would easily have been fodder for a 1960s Disney film), Terres learned quite a bit about squirrels that a more formal study might not have revealed. He wondered about her nut-hiding talent, for example. So he put 100 hickory nuts out on a table and left the house. When he came back, each nut was hidden somewhere -- in a shirt pocket, in a shoe, etc. He put another 100 nuts out that same night, and they disappeared as well. Based on Hepsey's behavior, Terres projected that a typical squirrel could probably store 10,000-12,000 nuts in one winter season. A fascinating tidbit of information like that sticks in your head. But the fun of it all is in his narration of the escapade and of other Hepsey happenings. That chapter is arresting enough to warrant reading aloud during a nature center program.

Terres' ruminations and nature observations are based on his rambles through the North Carolina landscape. "How Vultures Find Their Prey" is another interesting test (by sight or by smell?) that you will remember. But it's Hepsey who will capture your imagination.

Terres, who was editor-in-chief at Audubon, spent a decade wandering the Mason Farm Biological Reserve in Chapel Hill, NC. The former farm was donated to the University of North Carolina to allow students to observe the wildlife there. Terres, likewise, set out to chronicle the life he found there, hiding in blinds, perching in tree stands, etc.. & he offers a wonderful account of his observations.

He describes each of the seasons & then gives detailed descriptions of the lives and habits of some of the farms residents: flying squirrels, turkey vultures, wild turkeys, cottontail rabbits, and the like. He came to know some of these creatures individually, including a heroic black turkey and his own pet flying squirrel. He endows them with personality and character and, like him, we start rooting for them in their struggles to survive.

GRADE: B+

At first, I was turned off by how much of a rip-off of Narnia this was. But get into it, and you realize it has a style all its own. Gaal, the semi-mortal Christ-figure, is a majestic, personal character, sometimes cryptic and sometimes playful. Murmia, the evil-personified figure, is no crystalline icecube like the White Witch, but is a seductive, appealing magician; and beneath her beautiful exterior is a rotting,decrepit hag. Pervading this whole book is the new character Mary's search for beauty and acceptance, and Murmia plays upon this and recruits Mary to her side. Only Gaal can take the girl back for himself. Also appealing, though certainly nothing new in fiction-writing, is the thoughtful intertwining of several plotlines at once, which atone for White's clever yet mediocre style of writing. Characterization is one of the strenghts of "The Iron Sceptre."

It's not as good as the first of the sequel, but it's okay. It's too much like THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE, however. Four stars is pretty good for it.

Wanting to move up to a more sophisticated WEB language (from ASP,VB) I've bought quite a few books on .Net and C#. However, all of them left me with a lot of questions on how to just get started with the language.

This book solves all those problems. Anyone new to C# or just object oriented programming, can learn from this book.

The way that Karli eases you into the concepts and describes what each line of code does is extremely helpful.

This book is probably NOT for the Intermediate to Advanced programmer as Karli covers a lot of basic programming concepts. However, It also is a great primer for anyone wanting exposure to the language.

I would rate this book as being among the top 3 books out there on C# right now (the other two being C# and the .NET Platform by Andrew Troelsen and Programming C# from Jesse Liberty). The language is clear and each topic is succintly covered without sacrificing content. However this is not the book for advanced users given that the book does spend a good deal of time discussing programming fundamentals.

In order to get the most out of this book be sure to work on the case studies found at the end. These do a great job of tying everything together.

I wanted to learn C# (and learn more about .Net), and I'm coming from a mostly VB and ASP background. I was happy with Wrox's "C# Programming with the Public Beta" book (co-written by Watson), but wanted something that was more complete. At close to 1000 pages, this book certainly FEELS complete. It is also smartly outlined with excellent examples and exercises at the end of each chapter (but where are the answers??). Best of all once you step through the chapters on Windows and the web, there are TWO complete Case Studies (something I love about the Wrox books), and an article about building an Online Shopping Cart Using C#.
This book is similar in quality to Ivor Horton's "Beginning Java 2" books. (Only with better examples, in my opinion).