Book Description

Nick Fury's got a job that needs doing - in Russia. The kind of suicide mission any sane man wouldn't ponder for a second. And that's exactly why he needs the Punisher. Searching for a deadly retrovirus whose sale on the black market could bring the world to its knees, Frank Castle penetrates a Russian nuclear silo...and comes face-to-face with the Mongolian! Collects Punisher #13-18. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

From Russia with blood
This third storyarc in Preacher creator Garth Ennis' relaunch of the MAX (mature audiences) themed Punisher series finds our favorite criminal killing vigilante on a suicide mission in Russia.Taking a request from Nick Fury, Frank must infiltrate a Russian nuclear silo in an attempt to obtain a deadly virus.Soon enough, Frank's up to his neck in Russian killers, and he finds himself playing the role of surrogate protective father to a young girl who's life hangs in the balance.Mother Russia isn't the typical Punisher story you'd expect from Ennis as Frank is fighting with more at stake than just his personal vendettas, and by the end of it all things are far from ending happily.Ennis' storytelling is top notch as usual, particularly his characterization of Nick Fury, which was evident on his Fury mini-series a few years back (which is more than worth your time as well), while Hulk artist Dougie Brathwaite provides solid pencil work.All in all, Mother Russia is yet another excellent chapter in the Punisher MAX series and definitely worth picking up, but just wait until the next Punisher arc, entitled Up is Down and Black is White, which may be indeed the finest Punisher story ever written. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description

This is where the legend began! A look into the early, pivotal period of the Marvel Universe, when five fledgling heroes - Iron Man, Thor, Giant-Man, the Wasp, and the Hulk - banded together to fight the foes no single hero could overcome! But how did the public react? How did the U.S. government react? Previously untold secrets surrounding the formation of the Avengers are revealed here. Five individuals must learn to work as a team and forge a legend!Collects Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes #1-8. ... Read more

Book Description

In celebration of its 65th anniversary, the House of Ideas proudly presents a timeless testament to another true Marvel visionary! Best known as the first artist to bring Spider-Man to life in the pages of Amazing Fantasy, Steve Ditko illustrated Amazing Spider-Man for four years - helping create characters such as Doctor Octopus, the Lizard, the Vulture, and dozens more of Spider-Man's classic villains. In contrast to the grounded realism of Spider-Man, Ditko also drew the adventures of Doctor Strange, a master of the mystic arts who defended Earth's citizens from bizarre otherworldly threats. Now, this deluxe keepsake edition collects his greatest moments.Stories from Tales To Astonish #26, 42; Strange Tales #94, 97, 110, 115, 126-127; 146; Amazing Adult Fantasy #7, 10, 12-13; Amazing Spider-Man #1, 31-33, Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1; Hulk #6, 249; Tales Of Suspence #48, Daredevil #162; MSHS, Speedball #1. ... Read more

Book Description

Arithon, Master of Shadow, has mastered the maze and achieved self-redemption. Now he's the guest of the formidable Sorcerer, Davien the Betrayer, an enigmatic recluse, and a peril in his own right. No faction knows how that influence will try Arithon's recovered mage power, or the new depths that have wakened a latent, rogue talent for prescience. Relentless enemies stop at nothing to achieve his downfall, but Arithon, opts for the most dangerous course. Heart and mind, he dedicates himself not to kill, though allies and enemies muster for war, single mindedly blind to the consequence. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description

Book Description

One of the best-selling and critically-acclaimed graphic novels of all-time telling the story of two supremely ironic, above-it-all teenagers facing the thrilling uncertainty of life after high school. As they attempt to carry their life-long friendship into a new era, the careful dynamics of their inseparable bond are jolted, and what seemed like a future of endless possibilities looks more like an encroaching reality of strip malls, low-paying service jobs and fading memories.

Already one of the most heavily-publicized graphic novels in history, this new edition (featuring new covers by Clowes) should make the book more popular than ever. With lengthy write-ups in Time, Newsweek, Publisher's Weekly, Details, Vogue, Jane, and many others, press interest in the book and film promises to be higher than ever this spring. ... Read more

Reviews (44)

Identity and confusion
An enjoyable comic book that can aptly be called alternative, GHOST WORLD ultimately disappointed me because I didn't find it to be much more than entertaining. To his credit, Daniel Clowes creates characters that are believable, and I'm sure there are many people out there who can relate to the story, sympathize with Enid's dissatisfaction with her life, and agree with her general view of the world. And Clowes' treatment of his teen characters, a little cruel and unrelenting, but not cold-hearted, is refreshing. But at the end, I didn't feel attached in any way to Enid or Becky or Josh, and didn't really care anyway. Yeah, it was entertaining, but so what? And though this may be a personal bias, I wasn't too fond of Clowes' drawing style, which seemed a bit clumsy and inexpressive. I don't mean for this review to sound negative. I did enjoy GHOST WORLD, and I would recommend it without hesitation to people who are looking for something different. It's short anyway, and reading the other reviews, there's a good chance you'll find more to it than I did.

Haunting little masterpiece
Dan Clowes' graphic novel, "Ghost World" tells the story of Enid Coleslaw and her best friend Rebecca during the months between their high school graduation and the following October. The girls curse a lot, obsess over freaks and strange events in their lives and eventually come to realize their childhood friendship may not survive their transition into adulthood.

Clowes has an amazing ability to zero in on life's smallest moments and find in them a fragile poetry. He's also not afraid to make his characters fallible, and sometimes, in the manner of callous youth, even cruel. Enid and Rebecca dub a waiter "Weird Al" because of his curly hair, and play a rude prank on a poor boob whose only crime was to gain their notice by placing a pathetic personal ad. And yet you won't hate the characters. They're vulnerable and honest in a very believable way, and their emotional journey through their final months together accurately depicts longing and unease, their nostalgia for things the way they were, and their need for different lives. For Rebecca, it's to hold onto things as they are, and for Enid, it's to go someplace else not to find herself, but to become someone different.

The story's also full of humor and mystery. Enid and Rebecca inhabit a world of strange grafitti, of diners and run-down apartments where things tend to happen just outside the frame, or within windows. And Clowes' two-toned, semi-realistic, sometimes cartoony depiction of the various geeks, pervos and schmoes who inhabit "Ghost World" is dead on... the dopey expressions, the sudden crises, the need to feel something and the fear that accompanies that desire... it's all there in his characters' faces.

Reminiscent of Will Eisner's work (and just a touch of Charles Burns'), and with a hip, modern feel, "Ghost World" provides a truly amazing and unique reading experience.

Didn't like the movie...
I didn't like the Ghost world movie, but the graphic novel was a lot better. There were a couple of times I got confused with people (heh, maybe it's just me) but it was funny and there were moments when I could relate to the characters and the artwork was cool what with the blue and all and so overall I would recommend it to anyone who is as addicted to graphic novels as I am.

Brillinat writing, Brilliant art
Daniel Clowes', 'Ghost World,' is a shining example on how effective the medium of the graphic novel can be when coupled with fantastic, highly literate writing. Clowes' brilliance is demonstrated with his remarkable ability in capturing dialogue and the psyches of his late-teenage female characters - Enid and Becky. In fact, their characterizations and conversations seems so authentic and natural that it's almost as if Clowes videotaped real-life snippets of actual teenagers lives and then fashioned comic strips out of them.

Unlike the movie adaptation, which had a sustained narrative, the graphic novel is comprised of episodic vignettes that seem more like a collection of short stories. These little tales are packed with so much melodrama, sharp-humour, keen observation and emotion that by the time you're finished with this 80 or so page book you'll feel like you've already digested volumes.

I can't recommend this book highly enough and whether or not you've seen the movie you definitely need to read the original source. Top quality stuff all the way through.

struggle to find who you are
I saw the movie upon recommendation from my ex-girlfriend (as if that matters), and that's the way I found this gem out, as so many others have. This was my first encounter with Daniel Clowes, and I loved it. He always maintain some self-defacing quality in his humor (see Eightball, for example), but that actually translates to the search for true self in a rather seriously frustrating (pseudo-)real-world experiences of Enid and her pals. It is quite amazing what Clowes captures in what he probably could not experience himself --- the life of a "teenage girl" who avoids to fit in, yet could not find her own comfortable niche.

My criticism is that Ghost World is too short. I find some seriously deep qualities in what are depicted; yet the development of story goes too fast that literally nothing gets elaborate enough for me to slow down and appreciate to the extend that I wish. After reading, I just wished strongly I could read more of the stuff.

Maybe that's the joy of graphic novels --- so much is left for readers to wonder. Or it is just me having read numerous Japanese comics with elaborate story lines --- I can assure that a Japanese manga artist would make 20 volumes of comics out of a cool story like this. In any case, this one certainly made me interested in Clowes other works. ... Read more

Book Description

After the traumatic events of Invincible Volume 3: Perfect Strangers, Mark Grayson (a.k.a. Invincible) is left to pick up the pieces and try to continue on with some sort of life.His mother is a wreck, his friends don't understand and the super-villains of the world just want to beat him up. Mark has a lot on his shoulders and graduation is just around the corner.Containing the fan-favorite and sold-out issues #14-#19 and the short story from Free Comic Book Day 2004's Image Comics Summer Special, this volume is massive! ... Read more

Book Description

Babylon 5 creator and Amazing Spider-Man writer J. Michael Straczynski presents a new vision of a world about to give birth to its first generation of super-heroes! Follow the origins of these new heroes and anti-heroes - from their birth through adulthood - and examine how their lives and abilities change and shape the world around them. The god-like Hyperion discovers his whole life has actually been an elaborate government-made lie, and his reaction could mean the end of the Earth! Do the world's other super-powered beings have any chance at stopping Hyperion if the truth sends him over the edge? ... Read more

Book Description

An epidemic of apocalyptic proportions has swept the globe, causing the dead to rise and feed on the living. In a matter of months, society has crumbled: There is no government, no grocery stores, no mail delivery, no cable TV. In a world ruled by the dead, we are forced to finally begin living. This volume follows our band of survivors on their tragic journey in search of shelter. Characters live and die as they brave a treacherous landscape littered with packs of the walking dead. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Picking up the thread where her debut memoir-in-comics concluded, Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return details Marjane Satrapi's experiences as a young Iranian woman cast abroad by political turmoil in her native country. Older, if not exactly wiser, Marjane reconciles her upbringing in war-shattered Tehran with new surroundings and friends in Austria. Whether living in the company of nuns or as the sole female in a house of eight gay men, she creates a niche for herself with friends and acquaintances who feel equally uneasy with their place in the world.

After a series of unfortunate choices and events leave her literally living in the street for three months, Marjane decides to return to her native Iran. Here, she is reunited with her family, whose liberalism and emphasis on Marjane's personal worth exert as strong an influence as the eye-popping wonders of Europe. Having grown accustomed to recreational drugs, partying, and dating, Marjane now dons a veil and adjusts to a society officially divided by gender and guided by fundamentalism. Emboldened by the example of her feisty grandmother, she tests the bounds of the morality enforced on the streets and in the classrooms. With a new appreciation for the political and spiritual struggles of her fellow Iranians, she comes to understand that "one person leaving her house while asking herself, 'is my veil in place?' no longer asks herself 'where is my freedom of speech?'"

Satrapi's starkly monochromatic drawing style and the keenly observed facial expressions of her characters provide the ideal graphic environment from which to appeal to our sympathies. Bereft of fine detail, this graphic novel guides the reader's attention instead toward a narrative rich with empathy. Don't be fooled by the glowering self-portrait of the author on the back flap; it’s nearly impossible to read Persepolis 2 without feeling warmth toward Marjane Satrapi. --Ryan Boudinot ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description

Book Description

Dark Horse delivers another fantastic collection of rare classics from a comics legend! Russ Manning, famous for his spectacular work on the Tarzan newspaper strips of the late sixties, brought fans his "Tarzan of the future" in Magnus, Robot Fighter. While his work on the original comic series lasted only twenty-one issues, Manning's creation has survived generations, influencing countless science-fiction artists and writers to this day. Fans of Alex Raymond, Mac Raboy, or Wally Wood should not miss this beautifully bound hardcover, the second Magnus archival collection and the latest addition to Dark Horse's line of science-fiction classics. ... Read more

Book Description

The inspiration behind the blockbuster movie, THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN once again uses the classic characters from familiar literature to tell a tale of epic proportions in Victorian England.In volume two, when alien invaders from Mars mercilessly attack London, the throne quickly calls upon Allan Quatermain, Mina Harker, Captain Nemo, the Invisible Man, and Dr. Jekyll to protect the empire.Using their various skills and intellect, the League goes about preparing a defense against the invasion but when the Invisible Man joins the Martian's cause, all appears to be lost.Now, as one of the members dies a horrific death, the League turns to the legendary Dr. Moreau as their last desperate hope. ... Read more

Reviews (18)

Wonderfully entertaining take on the Wells story
This book, a sequel to Alan Moore's initial series recounting the rise of the League, is a feast for both the eyes and the mind. In it, Moore pits his group of famous fictional figures (some heroic, others anything but) against H. G. Wells' Martian invaders. While the second volume lacks some of the freshness and character development of the original, it is nonetheless a great read, balancing an extraordinary faithfulness to his source material (especially Wells' book) with Moore's imaginative concepts and intriguing characterizations - and with an ending that offers a brilliant twist on the original story.

In offering this tale Moore is ably complimented by Kevin O'Neill, whose artwork offers a lush visualization of Moore's alternate Victorian Britain. Like the first volume, the panels are loaded with visual references to the fantastic literature of the previous centuries, suggesting that the extraordinariness of this world is not limited to the central characters. Deciphering the references - which has sparked much discussion on the Web - is part of the enjoyment of reading this book, and it left me amazed at the breadth of both Moore's and O'Neill's range of reading. It is only one of the many ways in which the reader is rewarded when delving into this fantastic work.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlmen vs. Invaders from Mars
Actually, my copy of "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume 2" collects the six issues put out by Mr. Alan Moore & Mr. Kevin O'Neill courtesy of America's Best Comics over the past year or so. Consequently it has nothing to do with the movie, which seems fair since the movie, just released on DVD, had relatively little to do with what now has to be referred to as Volume 1 of "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen." But then the movie merely copied the idea of the comics without capturing the magic.

The great conceit that Moore and O'Neill came up with was to create a late 19th-century version of a group of superheroes based on literary creations from that time period (in many ways the opposite of the legendary "Watchmen" series). Back again are the core group: Allan Quatermain from H. Rider Haggard's "She," Captain Nemo from Jules Verne's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea," Mina Murray from Bram Stoker's "Dracula," Edward Hyde from Robert Louis Stevenson's "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Hawley Griffin from H.G. Wells's "The Invisible Man." The works of Wells become a major factor in Volume 2 as two more of his science fiction novels are worked into the tale. The first is "The War of the Worlds," as the League is called upon to save England from the Martian tripods. The second plays a decisive role in saving the day, but I think that deserves to be a surprise for the reader.

Things do not work as well the second time around, partly because the novelty of the idea has worn off and also because the members of the League are not particularly well suited to dealing with invaders from Mars. That might explain why the soap opera elements are a bit more prominent this time around as Miss Mina becomes romantically entangled with one of the gentlemen and Hyde kicks Jekyll out of the picture. Actually Hyde becomes the most interesting character in this story, although you will need a strong stomach to read about how he deals with the group's traitor. For that matter, you should be forewarned that this trade paperback might look like a collection of comic books, but these are not for little kids. This is not as intense as "From Hell," but Moore's readers have long known that he only provides stories that have mature content. Even when Moore is not blazing new territory or reinventing the wheel in some interesting way, he is still worth reading.

The stories are still presented as if they were being published late in the Victorian era, with ads and articles that add to the general sense of fun. I liked the final words of the penultimate issue which disparages any one who fails "to purchase our concluding number" as being "a sissy, coward, or girl." Yet Moore and O'Neil lampoon the Victorian sensibilities of their characters as much as anything, and despite some major setbacks at the end of the saga, we are told that there is now an intermission before the stories continues again. As always, it will be interesting to see what literary works serve as additional inspiration for the next endeavor, although after the less than inspiring movie I suspect Oscar Wilde might be out of the equation (or should we expect Lady Bracknell?).

Not great literature, but a good story
In this fascinating book, author Alan Moore returns once more to his League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - a group of strange, yet capable men and women (well, woman, really) in Her Majesty, Queen Victoria's Secret Service. But now, the League faces its greatest threat - the War of the Worlds! Driven from Mars by John Carter and Lt. Gullivar, these foul creatures begin their conquest of Earth (as originally documented by H.G. Wells). The British government has a few tricks up its sleeves, but before this is all over mankind will face its gravest peril and treachery will split the League itself!

This is another fun and interesting book. I enjoyed seeing so many of my Victorian and Edwardian favorites exhumed and thrust into new adventures - John Carter of Mars, Major (later Colonel) Blimp, and Dr. Moreau. As for the story itself, I thought that it was OK. This is definitely not a story of heroes, but instead deconstructs the old heroes as raw materials for a postmodern story instead.

Let me clarify - the War of the Worlds itself was handled excellently, with lots of desperate action and adventure. However, the characters themselves don't seem to come together as nicely as in the first book. Unlike the first book, there are two sex scenes (well, three I suppose), but they are all rather disappointing. It's a dark story of war and death and treachery and surviving. Overall, I enjoyed it. Was it great literature? Heck no. But, it was a fun read and I do recommend it.

Not as solid as the First
Unless you are a die-hard Moore fan, pick up volume 1 and leave #2 on the shelf.

The two stars is for the consistent quality of the artwork and thats about it. I like Moore, but this story falls way short of the first LXG and tends to cover it's lack of plot with a pointless romance and ridiculous traitor sub-plot.

The fact that it was released as a harccover with an over inflated pricetag doesn't help matters either. After reading the first LXG I was entertained and delighted with my purchase. After finishing this installment I shook my head in anger at the money and time wasted.

The End of the Fellowship.
When I read THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN VOL 1, I was completely intranced and couldn't wait until the second volume came out so that I could find out what happened to the heroic group as they faced invaders from Mars. After finally getting my hands on a copy of the book and having a chance to read it, I was a bit disappointed. The second volume of the League finds the group facing an army of invaders from Mars. I thought that one of the more interesting parts of this particular volume is how Moore ties together Edward Arnold's LIEUTENANT GULLIVAR JONES, Egar Rice Burrough's John Carter, and H.G. Wells WAR OF THE WORLDS into one coherent prologue to the main story.

Anyway, hostile Martians start invading the Earth and the League is sent in to "inspect" the problem. But, the problem gets out of hand and starts vaporizing people and things go nuts. Someone in the League thinks more fondly of the invaders than any Earthlings and decides to turn traitor. Quatermain and Murray are dispatched to find a mysterious doctor who has the one weapon capable of defeating the Martians and along the way the two seal their romance. Griffin plays a major role, but doesn't get much development and the great Captain Nemo doesn't fair any better. The only major character who really sees any development is Mr. Hyde. By now, Hyde has pretty much taken complete control and Dr. Jecyll is gone for good, though something of his essence makes Hyde a better character than he was before. In fact, Hyde is the only hero. In the first Volume, heroics were shared by everyone in the group and though they had there differences, the league was a united front. This time around, things start to fall apart and the appearance of the extraterrestrials seems too much to bear. This second volume is more violent and bawdy than the first so the reader should be warned.

Besides the story, the book also includes many of the faux ads that were prominent in the 1st edition, some "games", and "The New Traveler's Alamanac". The alamanac is especially interesting because it gives clues of what happens to the League after the events of the invasion and possible ideas of what might occur in Volume Three (if it ever comes about).

Overall, though Volume Two wasn't as exciting as the first, I still found it entertaining and highly educational. It's more popular than classical this time around, but it's still pretty good literature. ... Read more

Book Description

An American graphic novel first! The complete 1300-page epic adventure from start to finish in one deluxe trade paperback. Three modern cartoon cousins get lost in a pre-technological valley, speanding a year there making new friends and out-running dangerous enemies. Their many adventures include crossing the local people in The Great Cow Race, and meeting a giant mountain lion called RockJaw: Master of the Eastern Border. They learn about sacrifice and hardship in The Ghost Circles and finally discover their own true natures in the climatic journey to The Crown of Horns. ... Read more

Book Description

The heroes have arrived.You've watched them grow.You've learned their secrets.And now, you're about to see them change the world... for better or for worse!When a god-like Hyperion discovers that his whole life has actually been an elaborate government-made lie, his reaction could mean the end of the Earth!Do the world's other super-powered beings have any chance at stopping Hyperion if the truth sends him over the edge? Collects SUPREME POWER #6-12. ... Read more

Reviews (25)

"...the uniquely stylish art is what makes this shine..."
Frank Miller is best known for his work with Daredevil and his cult-classic graphic novel THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS. After reading THE DARK KNIGHT, I was looking around for other graphic novels by Miller, and RONIN seemed like a good choice. Right away, I was amazed by the book's illustrations. Frank Miller uses a very interesting style here, using excessive lines to texture, animate and detail his work. Standard shading is replaced by lines going everywhere. There are certain pages in the book made up entirely of lines going one way, which gives a completely mind-blowing effect, usually of motion. The characters themselves are also unlike anything I've seen before, with sketchy faces and narrow, mean-looking eyes. They're almost bordering on an anime/manga style, yet still very Superhero-esque.

The storyline, on the other hand, isn't quite so fantastic. A nameless samurai is transported to a futuristic New York, where he pursues his arch-enemy. Don't get me wrong, it's imaginative and ambitious enough, but I found that it wasn't scripted all that well, and the pictures were the main medium for storytelling here. The uniquely stylish art is what makes this shine. The words are merely a compliment to the visuals. You would expect it to be the other way around, especially in a comic book, but once you see this, you'll know what I'm talking about. It reads very quickly, because there are often full-pages devoted just to a single action or picture. The book is only 239 pages, and thanks to this fast-paced style, you might be able to finish it in a couple of hours. However, don't let this turn you off from buying it, because you'll probably re-read it at least once, and the art truly is a sight to behold.

I'd recommend this to everyone, so long as they're willing to love the art more than the words. WATCHMEN could be classified as a stylistic opposite of RONIN, not only because the aesthetics are all-around different, but the words play a much larger part than the pictures do. Plus, in WATCHMEN, everything feels very un-animated, and the panels are mostly free of motion-lines, sound-effects and other standard, cinematic comic-book fare, while RONIN is chock-filled with such effects. Read this if you want action, style and a combination of story and art unlike any I've ever encountered.

Miller's diversity is astounding
Frank Miller is nothing if not diverse. I wrote a few weeks ago about his works, the various superhero works like Daredevil and Batman that made him famous and the groundbreaking works he's done outside of the genre since then, especially in regards to 300, a work of historical fiction. Aside from 300, he has also gone into a futuristic sci-fi setting in his Martha Washington stories, and with his Sin City tales he explored gritty crime drama.

And then there's Ronin, a book that defies easy categorization.

Imagine it is the beginning of summer in 1983 and you are first discovering this book. (Unfortunately I too must imagine here, since I didn't find the book myself until a few years ago.) Unlike every other book you come across, Ronin #1 is a whopping 48 pages, completely free of ads. The colors are richer, deeper than the average book, and somehow more muted as well, giving the book a darker look than most of the garishly bright superhero tales it sits beside.

The style is different too than what you are used to; like he did with Daredevil, Miller is experimenting here with how to construct a comic book page. Many pages feature long panels that stretch across the page, sometimes top to bottom, sometimes from one side to the next. Of course, Miller often uses the staple he has become known for today, a device he used throughout 300, the full two-page spread, to splendidly establish the world Ronin is set in.

The drawings themselves featured in these pages can also easily be separated from the rest of the fare you find in the racks. The motions are fluid, the fight scenes dynamic, avoiding all the normal clichés. In fact in the sixth and final issue of the miniseries (which reached stores in late summer of 1984-Ronin was published bimonthly but suffered delays between issues four and five), at the end of the story the action explodes off the page with such force that it literally cannot be contained. So Frank Miller does the only thing he can do, something unseen in comics up to that time; he lets the scene unfold on a beautiful four-page fold-out spread.

Ronin featured widescreen action years before the term became popular in comics, employed to serve a story unlike any other being published at the time. On the one hand, it is the story of post-apocalyptic New York City; on the other, it is a tale of samurais in feudal Japan. Miller balances these two influences in his tale deftly, mixes them together in one tale that is about demons and magic swords and biotechnology and artificial intelligence. It is a story in which reality and fantasy blend until the only thing the characters can trust is their sense of honor, duty, and loyalty, especially to those they love most.

Luckily it is not 1983, and you don't have to wait for over a year for the entire story to be complete. Ronin is available now in trade paperback so that you can explore its world for yourself today, as I did, without any of the wait yet still with all of the assets I listed above.

Excellent story, so-so artwork
PLOT SYNOPSIS:
Ronin begins in feudal Japan, when a samurai's master is killed by Agat, the demon who has been his archenemy for years. Forced to become a disgraced ronin to avenge his master's death, the samurai finally confronts and slays the demon, but at a terrible price. Leap to the 21st century, where the Aquarius Project and its biotechnological wonders are the last saving grace for a New York that has become a festering corpse. A telepath named Billy Callas becomes the focal point for the renewed battle between the ronin and the demon, a battle which will take on horrific proportions as the violence and corruption brought on by the enemies' resurrection spreads. Who will survive?

Ronin is everything I expect from Frank Miller-a solid, hard-hitting story that deftly mixes action, intriguing characters, intelligent dialogue, and some biting social commentary. My only complaint is the artwork, which I've always felt was very crude and amateurish-looking. The cover artwork and character designs are very good but overall everything just looks like storyboard-quality drawings that were colored instead of finished artwork, especially anything that features Aquarius and its products. This is a purely subjective gripe, however, and should not disuade you from dropping what you're doing and immediately buying this book.

Miller's Earliest Opus
Of all Miller's significant works this is perhaps the most overlooked and one of the most atypical. Heavily influenced by Japanese Samurai Manga, notably Lone Wolf and Cub, this appears to both stylistically and thematically riff on the genre. To claim such does the book a disservice.

Ostensibly the story of a telekinetic cripple who is possessed by the reincarnated spirit of a masterless samurai (the ronin of the title) and his fight with a demon this is a story that can be read on many levels. The characterisation is better than most of Miller's work, with the art owing a debt to Moebius and the story showing why Miller must be considered a master of comic book pacing. There are flaws, however: certain plot points are inconsitent and explained away off panel. The paper stock and reproduction are also perhaps a little lacklustre for a work of this calibre.

Overall this is a great read of surprising depth, and personally I prefer it over the Dark Knight Returns, which was Miller's next work.

seminal
One of Frank Miller's best works. Considering it was done way back in 1983 (where cyberpunk was at its zenith), the story is still gripping. You could see where most movies, comics, games and tv series of today got their ideas. It's a must have. ... Read more