The Year's Best Graphic Novels, Comics & Manga

by Byron Preiss (Editor), Howard Zimmerman (Editor), Neil Gaiman (Contributor)

Perhaps you used to love superhero comics but now think they're too juvenile to read. Or maybe you hate superheroes and love comics, but can't find alternative titles that grab your fancy. Maybe you've heard about manga but have not had the time to see what all the buzz is about.If you have an interest in any area of graphic illustration and want to see what is current and good, this volume is for you. Here you will discover a broad variety of graphic stories and modern methods of telling them. In these pages you will explore the work of new and wonderful artists and creators, as well as new stories from seasoned professionals and award-winning illustrators and writers. Year's Best Graphic Novels, Comics & Manga draws from the areas of monthly comics and collections, graphic novels, manga, self-published work, and small and independent presses. You will find old favorites and make new friends. Much of the work is in full color, but excellent black-and-white stories are also included. The first of its kind, Year's Best Graphic Novels, Comics & Manga will not disappoint either the fanatic comics fan or the casual reader. This volume is loaded with nuggets of gold and rare gems that await readers' discovery.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Anthologies, Fiction

272 pages, Hardcover

First published December 13, 2005

About the author

Byron Preiss was the president of Byron Preiss Visual Publications and Ibooks, and was recognized as a pioneer in digital publishing. He was among the first publishers to release CD-ROM's and electronic books.

Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., Preiss graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1972 and earned a master's degree in communications from Stanford University. He produced The Words of Gandhi, an audio book that won a Grammy Award in 1985. He was also the co-author of Dragonworld, a novel he co-wrote with J. Michael Reaves that was published by Bantam Books in 1979.

A proponent of illustrated books, as well as comics and graphic novels, Preiss also published works by celebrity authors including Jane Goodall, Billy Crystal, Jerry Seinfeld, LeAnn Rimes and Jay Leno.

Reviews

[Erika · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tänkte att jag skulle bli inspirerad att läsa några av de grafiska romaner som den här boken ger smakprov på, men utfallet var ganska magert. Det är få av berättelserna jag får tillräckligt mycket grepp om och den här volymen känns mest som en säljkatalog tryckt på för billigt papper. (Utdragen ur Blacksad 2 saknar helt den magi jag av erfarenhet vet att den besitter och lyfter liksom aldrig från pappret.)

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you look at the purpose of books like this as being 'look at all these great books that I now want to read' this one was a fail for me.

[Jonathan Maas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just great - read it and then find a few ones you haven't read before. Just a great overview.

[Kai Charles(Fiction State Of Mind) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of samplers from various graphic novels released in 2004, I discovered a lot of books to add to my TBR.

[Sloth Slaughter · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got it for my birthday from my dad who gets a huge catalog of bargain books. This "anthology" is basically an advertisement. They crammed like 30+ "excerpts" into this thin volume, so you get maybe 3-5 pages per. It's basically just the stuff the different publishing houses are trying to push. There are pages where they just feature all the best selling comics of a publisher. And there are lots of works that were not published this year. Like Blankets, which I hate.

[Nazary · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting showcase of different comics and mangas that ultimately falls short. They took 5-10 page exerpts from a variety of source, sometimes from the middle of a series that often left you confused as to what was going on and what the comic was about. It's interesting and definetly makes you want to check out some of the comics mentioned but it doesn't feel like a book you should pay for. Instead it seems like a freebie they give away on free comic book day.

[Peacegal · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is something of a ripoff. While it highlights a variety of comics from many genres, readers get only tiny snippets of graphic novels, in some cases only two or three pages long. I doubt that anyone would wish to purchase this title.

[Terry Collins · Rating 2 out of 5]

A sampler of some of the most acclaimed comics and graphic novels published in 2003 - 2004. Excerpts can run for several pages, or just two ... a quick dip into the pool of the best the comics industry had to offer a decade ago.

[Rob McMonigal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Note: The Intro is by Neil Gaiman, not any of the rest!!

See my review here: http://trebro.livejournal.com/244982....

[April · Rating 2 out of 5]

My thoughts are here:

http://www.greenmanreview.com/book/bo...

[Brett]

Comics,Anthology

[Liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like that the major entries have portions of the original comics, but I wish that there was a brief synopsis or blurb about the plot as well.

[Sasha Boersma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Near summary of various works. Turns out I've read many if the original works :) picked up the book for the Gaiman forewarn, which is great as always.

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many familiar sights, and perhaps some new stories to look into

[Biogeek · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting introduction to many genres.

[Ulrich · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not for me, although I can see the value of this work for its target audience.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

An assortment of 2005 comic samples, mostly American.

[Roy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Does not contain full stories, only snippets.

[David · Rating 1 out of 5]

meh