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Author:
Martin Pasko
By
Running Press
 I love these Vault Books, 2008-10-31
As a kid I used to collect DC Comics and I have many a fond memory of rushing to the newsagents to get the new editions as and when they were available. Superman, Superboy and Adventure with the Legion of Superheroes were firm favourites. I would read and swap the comics and in reading the comics I would be in my own world for the time it took me to read the comics. Real bliss.
Reading the Vault bought all those happy memories back to me. The UK didn't get American comics imported on a regular basis until the early 1960s and they were hard to find for years. The Vault covers the period from inception of More Fun Comics and Action and I on reading the Vault I came across so many things I didn't know or saw replica items which were never available in the UK.
The Vault really is a treasure trove and you won't or any reader of DC comics won't be disappointed in the origins, drawings, replica freebies etc. Buy it you will like it.
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List Price: £29.99
Our Price: £18.69
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Author:
Matt Groening
By
Titan Books Ltd
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List Price: £4.99
Our Price: £1.59
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Author:
Alex Ross
By
Titan Books Ltd
The best graphic Novel since Kingdom Come, 2007-01-09
This is a great graphic novel and the first one with a good enough plot line to give the great Alex Ross something juicy to use his full range of talents with, since the ground-breaking Kingdom Come.It keeps the high quality artwork of Kingdom Come and has a good story to back it up along with all the great DC characters we know and love such as Superman, Batman,Wonder Woman,the Flash,Aquaman,Green Lantern, Lex Luthor, the Riddler, Braniac and the Joker.The good thing is that all of these characters get a reasonable amount of story to work with and couple this with the fact that the second volume is out this February, then you know there is more to come!
I won't spoil the plot, but i would recommend this to anyone who loves the DC universe, Alex Ross ( a real legend), or loves graphic novels in general.You will not be disappointed!
Roll on volume 2........i can't wait!
SPOILER AHEAD - VOLUME 2 Review Below
I can't attach a review to volume two, so i have had to review volume two here.
This is the second part of the Justice trilogy by Alex Ross, Jim Krueger and Doug Braithwaite. It picks up where the first volume left off.
Aquaman has been experimented on by Braniac with deadly consequences, Superman has been attacked with Kryptonite, the Flash can't stop running!, Green Lantern has been sent to a part of the universe he can't get back from, and the Atom has been shot! Attempts on all the key players of the JLA are under way.
The people manipulating these worrying events are Lex Luthor, Braniac, Grodd to mention a few! Other criminals we see are the Black Manta, Bizarro, Metallo and Parasite.
The plot moves swiftly through this second volume, with as much depth and intensity as the first. We find out more of Luthor's ultimate plan, and we see the JLA trying to overcome the near-death experiences thrust upon them by the criminals.
I won't spoil the bulk of the plot but there are some fantastic set-pieces in here, and so clever twists to really suck you into the plot, and the action! My favourite parts deal with Wonder-Woman and Batman. I can't say why, or i will give up some major plot points, but these two characters really get some good story arcs within this volume.
I read this through in one sitting and was utterly gripped by all of it. This is the best series of graphic novels i have read since Kingdom Come and this is because Alex Ross and co. have really got everything right.
The premise is fantastic, and very relevant to modern life in the world (you will know what i mean when you read the series). The characters are all your favourites - everyone gets a piece of the action, from the major JLA players to some of the minor ones. The pacing is spot on too. Nothing feels padded out, or self-involved, and it doesn't feel like it is forcing the pace either. There are clear plot lines, that don't give you every piece of information you need - you are allowed to have a brain and fill in the pieces yourself; and this is a great feature of this series. You are left to figure out what the hell is going on for yourself, rather than having it force-fed to you!
You also get great introductions from the authors and at the back there are sketches and biographies of the characters in the series. These are better than most published graphic novels!
And finally, the artwork is unbelievably good. Nothing out there in the world of comics and graphic novels touches these. The artwork is up there with my favourite standalone graphic novel of all time : Kingdome Come.
Can you tell that i am totally hooked by this series? It is superb from start to finish and i can hardly wait for the closing chapter to be published.
If you haven't read volume one, you really need to get it and read it before starting on this. You won't be disappointed at all!
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List Price: £7.99
Our Price: £6.44
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Author:
Jeph Loeb,
Tim Sale
By
Titan Books Ltd
Another great graphic novel, 2003-12-08
In this sequel to Batman: The Long Halloween, a new District Attorney has plans to clean up Gotham, and her plans include cleaning up Batman. But, someone is playing Hangman, and with each new game, someone in the police department gets hanged. As if things aren't bad enough, a mass breakout from Arkham puts a lot of super-villains on the street (including Two-Face, Joker, Solomon Grundy, Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze, and Penguin). This is another great graphic novel, and a worthy sequel to The Long Halloween. I thought the story was nice and gripping (just like a Batman story should be!), while the illustrations were wonderfully done, making the whole read that much better. I enjoyed the Catwoman character once again, and thought that the author did a great job with the Robin character. I highly recommend this book to any, and every, Batman fan!
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List Price: £14.99
Our Price: £12.50
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Author:
Tite Kubo
By
Viz Media, Subs. of Shogakukan Inc
The Soul Reapers hit back, 2008-11-27
Ichigo and the Soul Reapers continue to battle the Arrancar in this twenty-fourth volume of the Bleach manga. As well as some great fights, this volume also includes some back-story for Ikkaku as well as information on the nature and ranking of the Arrancar.
The battles in this volume are as great as you would expect from Bleach with some great twists in the action. The humour is also as good as always but some of the dialogue in this volume is somewhat corny in places, though this doesn't distract much from the rest of the volume. The final cliff-hanger is also good and the following volumes are looking very interesting.
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List Price: £5.99
Our Price: £2.76
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Author:
Stan Lee,
John Buscema
By
Titan Books Ltd
The best on the subject I have read., 2007-10-22
I bought this a while back and considered it a tad expensive at the time. However, it covers so much ground that it was worth it. At under a tenner you can't go wrong now. Covers the basics of shapes, perspective and figure drawing which other books cover EXCEPT using Marvel characters which gives it an added hook. There is a section on inking which was interesting but not much use to me plus how to pose and group a scene.
The overlying message (i.e. the 'Marvel Way') is the exageration of body pose making the drawing more dynamic. In this respect it does VERY well with how you might draw something and then how you would do it the 'Marvel Way' Quite superb especially at this price.
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List Price: £10.99
Our Price: £4.92
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Author:
Aron Coleite
Artist:
Mark Brooks
By
Marvel Comics
 Absolute..., 2009-01-07
So Volume 19. Absolute Power. The continuation of the series after Apocalypse was always going to be tough but Vol. 19 does pretty well. The action is as good as ever and the story is sound and characters continued well. I can't help feeling though that it was lacking something more far reaching and substantial. Still a very good read and great art but just didnt quite hit the same heights as the last few volumes. Thats why it gets only 4 stars
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List Price: £9.99
Our Price: £5.42
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Author:
Mike Mignola,
John Byrne
Artist:
Mike Mignola
By
Dark Horse
The birth of a legend, 2002-05-21
This is a truly magnificent graphic novel. Mike Mignola has created something wonderfully different and original... The artwork is excellent- a unique style that fits the 'dark' nature of the story. I recommend this novel to anyone fascinated by the occult, by fairy tales, by aliens and witches and goblins.
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List Price: £13.50
Our Price: £6.43
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Author:
Neil Gaiman
By
Titan Books Ltd
Gorgeous., 2001-04-07
This is the one that hooked me on Sandman. I now have almost everything Gaiman has ever written. So this was a good starting point for me. There is a large portion of the book devoted to the script for Calliope, which is probably annoying if you are a first-time reader of Sandman, but brilliant if you're an obbsessive, like me! There are four short stories, each of which is a fine example of why Gaiman has become so famous now. My personal favourite is 'Calliope' which reveals a few things about Morpheus, the Sandman of the title. If you're a first time reader of Gaiman's graphic work, then I'd start off with 'Preludes and Nocturnes', the first in the series, but if you've already read his work, you won't be disappointed. I only direct you to the first in the series because its annoying to read things backwards, and once you've read a bit of 'The Sandman' you'll read all of it. I guarantee.
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List Price: £9.99
Our Price: £3.05
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Author:
Neil Gaiman
By
Titan Books Ltd
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List Price: £70.00
Our Price: £35.00
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