≫ Download Free The Books of Magic Neil Gaiman John Bolton Scott Hampton Charles Vess Paul Johnson Roger Zelazny 9781563890826 Books

The Books of Magic Neil Gaiman John Bolton Scott Hampton Charles Vess Paul Johnson Roger Zelazny 9781563890826 Books

Download As PDF : The Books of Magic Neil Gaiman John Bolton Scott Hampton Charles Vess Paul Johnson Roger Zelazny 9781563890826 Books

The Books of Magic Neil Gaiman John Bolton Scott Hampton Charles Vess Paul Johnson Roger Zelazny 9781563890826 Books

* * * * * CONTENTS AND OVERVIEW * * * * *

This over-sized hardcover collects The Books Of Magic #1 to 4, which were originally published as a miniseries consisting of four double-sized prestige-format issues back in the early nineties. Written by Neil Gaiman, this series features Timothy Hunter, who becomes a magician apprentice under the wing of occult powerhouses of the Vertigo/DC Universe, such as John Constantine, Phantom Stranger, Doctor Occult and Mister E. The plot revolves around Tim Hunter having the potential to become the greatest mage of this age and the forces of good and evil disputing the young boy to attract him to their side.

This series presents a journey to the present, the past and the future of the Vertigo/DC magical universe, visiting distant realms such as Faerie, Camelot and Hell among others. If you are familiar with DC history, you'll love to to travel through and relive all of its magical glory. If you are new to it, you'll be inebriated with infinite realms of posibilities and at the end of the tale you'll want more. Neil Gaiman makes and excellent work condensing decades worth of occult DC history into a compelling story appealing to a wide audience.

* * * * * ABOUT THE ART * * * * *

Each one of the four chapters is gorgeously illustrated by a roster of top artits consisting of John Bolton, Scott Hampton, Charles Vess and Paul Johnson. The art is truly amazing, fully hand-painted, with a scope of ambition that matches the grandeur of the tale at hand. Each artist has a very distinctive style ad vision but they all work perfectly when put together into this epic tale.

* * * * * ABOUT THE EDITION * * * * *

This is a very handsome, high quality book. I'm glad to see that DC/Vertigo is putting a serious effort into improving its Deluxe editions line.

- The paper stock is glossy and heavy weight
- The printing quality is great, with sharp and accurate art reproduction.
- The book features a fully printed hardback under the dustjacket (unlike many of DC/Vertigo HCs that sport an awfully cheap black cardboard presentation).
- It's a solid glued-binding volume. Of course a sewn one would have been better, but there's very little gutter loss, so it's fine.
- The extras consist of 8 pages of Charles Vess and Paul Johnson art and sketches as well as Neil Gaiman's outline of issue 3.
- The book includes a 2-pages intro by fantasy and science fiction writer Roger Zelazny from 1993.

* * * * * CONCLUSION * * * * *

Great story, beautiful art, high quality edition, a book definitely worth of your money. And if you are into the DC's New 52, you will be amazed to see how relevant this series still is in DC's current continuity, as Jeff Lemire's Justice League Dark draws many elements from it.


Tags : The Books of Magic [Neil Gaiman, John Bolton, Scott Hampton, Charles Vess, Paul Johnson, Roger Zelazny] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. From Neil Gaiman, the bestselling novelist and creator of the world-renowned comics title The Sandman,Neil Gaiman, John Bolton, Scott Hampton, Charles Vess, Paul Johnson, Roger Zelazny,The Books of Magic,DC Comics,1563890828,Graphic novels.,Magic;Comic books, strips, etc.,Occultism;Comic books, strips, etc.,Comic books, strips, etc,Comics & Graphic Novels,Comics & Graphic Novels Fantasy,Comics & Graphic Novels Superheroes,Fantasy,Graphic Novels,Magic,Occultism,Science Fiction And Fantasy,Fiction

The Books of Magic Neil Gaiman John Bolton Scott Hampton Charles Vess Paul Johnson Roger Zelazny 9781563890826 Books Reviews

Neil Gaiman works on a different level when he approaches graphic novels. While the apparent story in The Books of Magic is a straightforward tale of the initiation of a 12-year-old boy's initiation into the possibilities of magic it quickly becomes clear that there is a whole lot more going on. If Gaiman has any fault at all it is that he goes to every effort to get the reader to make the necessary intellectual leaps and sometimes the reader needs a little more action.

Timothy Hunter has all the appearance of a slightly nerdy 12-year-old, right down to horn-rimmed glasses and a skateboard. What he doesn't know yet is that he has the potential to become one of the world's greatest magicians (and I don't mean the pulling rabbits out of a hat kind). But four powers do know, and decide that Tim should be prepared to make an informed decision to accept or reject his gift. Not all these agents are equally well disposed toward Tim, but each is going to take him on a trip through the magical side - for good or for ill.

Each of the four voyages - whether it be meeting historical or present day magicians, trying to stay alive, visiting the world of Faerie (where you have to follow all the rules), or taking a trip to the very end of everything - are both an adventure and a lesson in magical things. Tim learns about dark and light, chaos and order, and power and its absence. Heady stuff for a 12-year-old, and Gaiman does not shy away from complex discussions.

In the end Tim must make up his own mind and understand the consequences. He will do so better prepared than he would have been otherwise. And Gaiman will have shown the reader the inside picture of his version of fantasy. It is often intricate and full of dark promise, but always, there is somewhere where the light falls on wonder.
Not of of Neil's better works, but it could have been. John Constantine, Mr. E, the phantom Stranger and doctor occult (an interesting character), take turns showing a boy, Tim Hunter his possible future as a mage. The best part were the cameos; Zatanna and death. Worth a read, but far from great.
Magic, Owls, good vs. Evil.

I reread this recently, it was so good!

Neil Gaiman is a master storyteller, and clearly a gentleman.

Many of the topics are cherry picked from this series and later appear in Harry Potter, did Neil complain? Nope, he went on and kept creating. And his works continue to enthrall. Truly a well of ideas. British writing at its finest.

The illustrator did a great job, and I wish this had been more than a four issue mini series. Neil, since you are revisiting Sandman, how about some more tales of Tim Drake too?
This is an unfortunately overlooked gem from Neil Gaiman. Neither Harry Potter nor Dr. Strange portrayed the world of magic as intricately and beautifully as this tale of a teenage boy learning about the mystical world of the Vertigo/DC universe. It's not really for children, as this graphic novel has some dark content. Promethea was never this good.
In the Books of Magic, Neil Gaiman integrates every important mystical character and concept from the DC comics Universe into an introductory course for one boy, a boy who has the potential to be the most powerful magician of the day, a 'chosen one' if you will. He defines just what magic is, what you can use it for, and what using it may cost you in the end.

The artwork in this book is incredible, richly detailed and vibrantly colored by each of the four artists. And the writing itself, being done by Neil Gaiman, is of course exceptional.

If I have one complaint about the book, it's that it spends too much time discussing the dangers of magic, and too little seeing the benefits. The story is about offering Tim Hunter a choice about whether he wants to become a magician, and with all the doom and gloom he runs into it seems like a loaded choice. Still, this was a fun journey through time and space, that I can recommend to anyone.
* * * * * CONTENTS AND OVERVIEW * * * * *

This over-sized hardcover collects The Books Of Magic #1 to 4, which were originally published as a miniseries consisting of four double-sized prestige-format issues back in the early nineties. Written by Neil Gaiman, this series features Timothy Hunter, who becomes a magician apprentice under the wing of occult powerhouses of the Vertigo/DC Universe, such as John Constantine, Phantom Stranger, Doctor Occult and Mister E. The plot revolves around Tim Hunter having the potential to become the greatest mage of this age and the forces of good and evil disputing the young boy to attract him to their side.

This series presents a journey to the present, the past and the future of the Vertigo/DC magical universe, visiting distant realms such as Faerie, Camelot and Hell among others. If you are familiar with DC history, you'll love to to travel through and relive all of its magical glory. If you are new to it, you'll be inebriated with infinite realms of posibilities and at the end of the tale you'll want more. Neil Gaiman makes and excellent work condensing decades worth of occult DC history into a compelling story appealing to a wide audience.

* * * * * ABOUT THE ART * * * * *

Each one of the four chapters is gorgeously illustrated by a roster of top artits consisting of John Bolton, Scott Hampton, Charles Vess and Paul Johnson. The art is truly amazing, fully hand-painted, with a scope of ambition that matches the grandeur of the tale at hand. Each artist has a very distinctive style ad vision but they all work perfectly when put together into this epic tale.

* * * * * ABOUT THE EDITION * * * * *

This is a very handsome, high quality book. I'm glad to see that DC/Vertigo is putting a serious effort into improving its Deluxe editions line.

- The paper stock is glossy and heavy weight
- The printing quality is great, with sharp and accurate art reproduction.
- The book features a fully printed hardback under the dustjacket (unlike many of DC/Vertigo HCs that sport an awfully cheap black cardboard presentation).
- It's a solid glued-binding volume. Of course a sewn one would have been better, but there's very little gutter loss, so it's fine.
- The extras consist of 8 pages of Charles Vess and Paul Johnson art and sketches as well as Neil Gaiman's outline of issue 3.
- The book includes a 2-pages intro by fantasy and science fiction writer Roger Zelazny from 1993.

* * * * * CONCLUSION * * * * *

Great story, beautiful art, high quality edition, a book definitely worth of your money. And if you are into the DC's New 52, you will be amazed to see how relevant this series still is in DC's current continuity, as Jeff Lemire's Justice League Dark draws many elements from it.