Times were that graphic novels were about intrepid crews battling evil intergalactic empires, or apprentice wizards going on quests to recover stolen artifacts, or bands of superheroes duking it out with Earth's greatest menaces.

Lately, a growing number of graphic novels are about fairly average people leading fairly average lives. In these collections, no one is pulling on a pair of Spandex tights to race off to battle crime, nor are the conflicts on an epic and history-changing scale. Often, there are no real plotlines as such, or at least, the narratives tend to center on such relatively prosaic crises as the loss of a job or the breakup of a relationship or estrangement from family.

This particular volume pulls together some of the issues of the now-defunct sorta-monthly series "Box Office Poison", which was about the lives of Sherman, his girlfriend Dorothy, his friend Jane and her lover Stephen, and his friend Ed and Ed's cartoonist boss Irving Flavor. Sherman is a disgruntled college-educated bookstore employee (some of the most amusing sections deal with his trials at the hands of witless customers who wander in to ask for "that book about that guy in the blue cover"). He longs to be a serious writer, but seems to suffer from some low-grade slacker infestation which keeps him from accomplishing anything, while still remaining rather self-righteous about his integrity.

Jane and Stephen are academics, with Jane providing the fiery passion and Stephen a calming influence. He dearly wants to marry her; she's indifferent to the concept. Ed is a schlub with crippling self-esteem issues. He's an aspiring cartoonist who lands a job with former industry great Irving Flavor, a stand-in for Siegel/Shuster/Kane and other Golden Age comic book figures who created Superman, Batman, and others but never received a fraction of the riches their heroes brought to the publishers.

Dorothy is a successful commercial writer on the staff of a metropolitan magazine. She smokes incessantly, drinks too much, and lives in a wretched den of slovenly filth. She may also have a mysterious and shady past; Jane, her former roommate, despises her, but won't tell Sherman why.

The most fully developed plotline relates to Ed's attempt to force a comic book company to render a fair share of royalties to the aged and cantankerous Flavor. Most of the rest of the material involves vignettes about finding a new place to live after getting evicted, searching for roommates, dealing with insufferable bosses, wretched customers, and boring co-workers, and the trade-off between certain but low-paying work and the risk of seeking greater fulfillment but possible financial ruin. And, of course, the search for love.

Sherman and Dorothy make a strange and not always likable couple. Indeed, sometimes the reader simply wants to smack Sherman upside the head. Stephen and Jane live together happily, but Jane is strangely reluctant to make a commitment. Ed stumbles about unhappily, being painfully shy. And recurring characters who pop up at first in the margins slowly develop their own minor sideplots and pursue their own connections.

The artwork is quite nicely done and has a vividly distinct and appealing style. Many of the episodes are amusing; some are actually poignant. Separate sections are bookended by little flights of fancy, where both the main and lesser characters get to answer questions about sex and celebrity. On the whole, it's a well-produced work, but, like real life, it's not very focused narratively; there are small triumphs and losses, strange but bitter arguments over nonsense, relationships that implode spectacularly or simply wither away. None of the characters is without fault, but all of them have some virtue. It's kinda messy, but strangely absorbing. Give it a try.

Overall, this was the most solid PhotoDraw 2000 resource I could find. Good writing, nice sample images, and it covers pretty much every aspect of the program in enough detail to satisfy me. Well worth the money!

The serious student of World War II will appreciate the immense scholarship that lies behind the writing of "Soviet Blitzkrieg." The author, Dr. Walter S. Dunn, Jr., gives ample testimony to the high scholastic demands of his doctorate in history. In his years of researching the archives of World War II and its eastern front and amassing figures on the relative strength of Russian and German military forces, Dr. Dunn displays the rigorous discipline of the seasoned professional historian. So dedicated was Dr. Dunn to his reasearch tht he acquired a rudimentary knowledge of the German and Russian languages, the better to understand the written records of both sides.

The book describes in great detail each offensive of the blitzkrieg from beginning to ultimate outcome. This is the first time that such an epic description of the Russian-German struggles on the eastern front has appeared in English. "Soviet Blitzkrieg" is one of several authoritative descriptions of World War II events published by the author. Other books are "Second Front Now," "Hitler's Nemesis," and "Kursk."

The reader less familiar with the battles for White Russia will benefit from having on hand a detailed map of Russia. Chapter 1, titled "The Strategic Position," describes a complicated series of movement on the eastern front that would be more understandable were the reader able to follow the action on a map.

In its 248 indexed pages, the student of World War II will find this book to be a treasure trove of authoritative information.

The book is a good history of the St. Croix River that is now the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway. The book was originally written in 1964/5 and this version is only updated in the introduction so the history ends before Congress passed the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.
Dunn does give a thorough history of the river prior to 1965. The book is a good read especially if you are from the Minnesota Wisconsin area.

If you don't like farces or promiscuous heroes, avoid this book. To tell the truth, the hero is not particularly promiscuous, although he has difficulty clearly with women. First, there is his mother and his sisters (including a married sister who is always fleeing to him with minor complaints about her husband). Secondly, there are those would-be fiancees his mother and sisters invite home. Then, there is the little problem of two mistresses too many. [Can a man really have a mistress for a different mood?]. Not to mention, there is the vicar's sister back home, an old childhood friend who has become so much more than a friend.

You can imagine the confusion generated in the life of Adam, Viscount Cheverell when he finds himself engaged to three women all during one excursion - and discovers that all three of his mistresses have come down to his family seat looking for him. What is a man to do? Beg his old friend Miss Sarah Meade to help him naturally? And what is a vicar's daughter and sister to do when her old friend asks her to shelter and calm down three Fashionable Impures who were unknown to each other (and who get into catfights, naturally)?

I have to say that I fell in love with this book when I read about the vicar (brother of the heroine) snitching the gingerbread men hot from the oven. Do I like gingerbread? Nope. But I love the idea of a vicar casually snitching his sister's efforts and naming them after Biblical characters. Adam is a bit much at times, his engagements not being his fault (you have to read the book to believe this!) but he definitely had too many mistresses. Yet his explanations almost had me believing in him.

My only regret was that the vicar was disposed of by the end of this book. I would have loved to have read a book in which he featured as the hero. [Not to mention that I felt he deserved a different partner in life!].

Rating - 4.3 (B+)
No breakdowns provided, since I read this book a while back.

For schools and teachers that are committed to implementing teaching according to the different learning styles, this is an important resource book. Detailed illustrations of various designs and techniques that will match the learning styles are given. It is important for teachers and administrators to first do the "Productivity Envrionmental Preference Survey (PEPS)" and for the students to do the "Learning Style Inventory (LSI)" which are available separately. Please note that "The inventory does not measure underlying psychological factors, value systems, or the quality of attitudes"(p.35). Table 2-1 gives a graphic overview of interpreting LSI profile. You get a good sense of the diversity among students. It is quite a daunting challenge to implement such a lerning-style based programme. The chart on p. 449 gives an overview of 4 stages. Some schools, with classrooms of 40+ students (e.g. in Hong Kong), may not have the physical space to incorporate the environmental changes required. Also where can we find in a regular school so many flexible and resourceful teachers who can creatively go beyond their usual learning and teaching styles? The awareness of the Dunns' comprehensive framework of learning styles is certainly most valuable and it helps us to be less judgemental and more respectful of individual gifts. I wonder if it would be an acceptable application to methodically stretch the whole class' learning styles, e.g., to be more visual or both global and analytic? Maybe more research can be done using these small steps of expanding one's learning and teaching styles.

This is an excellent book for aspiring veterinary students. It is well illustrated and describes the important clinical material needed to be learned about the small domestic animals. I would recommend this text greatly.

The Unseen Friend was a good, easy, mystery 'read'. It was suspenseful at the right time, and kept the reader wanting more..or at least to turn the next page! The characters, as well as the 'goings on' in the house were well thought out...and one could see the house, the characters and the various antics that occurred throughout the book in ones minds eye. It was refreshing to read, and I'm now waiting for the Unseen Friend #2.

This is a great book for someone psyching up to open his or her computer for the first time. As the title suggests, this book is geared towards upgrades rather than repair, but I would recommend it to anyone wanting to know a little more about what goes on inside the box. The photos are terrific. I wish I'd had this book handy during my first maintenance class -- Scott Mueller's book is probably the best, but a little overwhelming for a newbie.