In 500 Essential Graphic Novels the finest paperbacks, collections and hardcovers from around the world are gathered together for the first time in a volume that reveals the sheer diversity and rich talent that abounds in this visually thrilling medium. The crème de la crème of contemporary graphic novels are listed with a plot breakdown, the creators, publisher, date of first collected release, ISBN and, of course, a review. Every review is star rated and also employs a simple age rating so that parents can see what is suitable for their children, whatever their age. The reviews are also cross-referenced, so that a title like Gen, a biographical war story, has its main entry in the War chapter, but also a link in the Biography section. 500 Essential Graphic Novels also contains a Foreword by distinguished graphic novelist Garth Ennis, co-creator of the forthcoming HBO TV series Preacher. It is an indispensable reference book for any comic fan, graphic novel novice, library or school.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This really is a very good book and I'm going to recommend it to a librarian friend of mine who is responsible for selecting graphic novels for Sunderland City library.
Divided into 10 categories, each one has an introduction followed by the 10 most important titles and then the rest. Each title has a synopsis and brief critical appraisal, an age rating, a colour reproduction of the cover and, sometimes, samples of the artwork. The indexes are very useful being by: age range, writer, artist, and title.
As with all books of this type, you'll wonder why some titles were included and some of your own favourites weren't, but that's all part of the fun of reading it.
As for how effective it is, I've bought ten titles listed and only financial restraints have stopped me from ordering more. For the moment.
Highly recommended.
Divided into 10 categories, each one has an introduction followed by the 10 most important titles and then the rest. Each title has a synopsis and brief critical appraisal, an age rating, a colour reproduction of the cover and, sometimes, samples of the artwork. The indexes are very useful being by: age range, writer, artist, and title.
As with all books of this type, you'll wonder why some titles were included and some of your own favourites weren't, but that's all part of the fun of reading it.
As for how effective it is, I've bought ten titles listed and only financial restraints have stopped me from ordering more. For the moment.
Highly recommended.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Consistently poor critical judgement, especially if you want to be directed to the very best in the field.
22 Sep 2010
By F. Marshall
Format:Paperback
This guide fails to deliver the fundamental requirements of any guide (especially one billed as 'ultimate') that you can trust its critical judgment and can learn from it. The guide is so large and comprehensive that everything good is in there somewhere, but I found that its assessments regularly diverged from both my own opinion (which is, of course, personal) and the wider consensus of graphic novel reviewers. For example Chris Ware's Jimmy Corrigan, the most awarded and critically acclaimed graphic novel since Maus receives lame criticsm ("needs a more interesting subject"). He gives it four out of five stars- as he also does the brilliant Black Hole by Charles Burns. So Kannenberg gives two books that are constantly on the lists of the top ten graphic novels lower marks than many mundane commercial superhero comics and the same number of stars as many works that will rapidly disappear and be forgotten. No doubt Kannenberg is trying to assert the independence of his personal assessment- but this is not much use if he misleads the reader.
Kannenberg also has a poor visual sense, consistently rating storyline over art and rating comics with very poor art and undervaluing comics that diverge from a mainstream commercial art style. His comments rarely provide any useful insight or perspective and he seems unable to assess any work within the history of the medium.
This book is useful as a comprehensive summary the graphic novels on the market. However if you want guidance and to be directed towards the very best in the field you would be much better served by Graphic Novels: Stories to Change Your Life by Paul Gravett.
Kannenberg also has a poor visual sense, consistently rating storyline over art and rating comics with very poor art and undervaluing comics that diverge from a mainstream commercial art style. His comments rarely provide any useful insight or perspective and he seems unable to assess any work within the history of the medium.
This book is useful as a comprehensive summary the graphic novels on the market. However if you want guidance and to be directed towards the very best in the field you would be much better served by Graphic Novels: Stories to Change Your Life by Paul Gravett.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Xsara
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
A great book if you are a lover of graphic novels and would like a reference to guide you or give you ideas of what more you would like to buy.
It is helpful in the brief descriptions it gives and is great for list making on future purchases. Good for beginners to learn more about previous titles in the discipline. The reviews are a little biased but is not hard to dismiss something you disagree with and think for yourself. The book is divided into different subsections like humour/fantasy/fiction/crime etc. Worth the money, very enjoyable.
It is helpful in the brief descriptions it gives and is great for list making on future purchases. Good for beginners to learn more about previous titles in the discipline. The reviews are a little biased but is not hard to dismiss something you disagree with and think for yourself. The book is divided into different subsections like humour/fantasy/fiction/crime etc. Worth the money, very enjoyable.
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3.7 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Indispensible
A definitive book that I will buy for myself and keep and dip into whenever I want inspiration for what graphic novels and comics to order from the library and buy for myself, a... Read more
Published on 16 Oct 2010 by Jo Bennie
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent essentials
This is a great compilation of the cannon of popular graphic literature, with a colour cover image and short written overview for all the novels and occasional excerpts of the... Read more
Published on 23 Jan 2010 by P. M. Daniels
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good reference
If, like me, you're relatively new to the world of graphic novels you'll find this a solid, comprehensive introduction to the subject. Read more
Published on 25 Sep 2009 by SJJones
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Great Way to Start
When I bought this book I didn't really know what it was going to be like. It's turned out to be a great buy. Read more
Published on 17 Jun 2009 by J. Morton
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