This was very good. Love the idea when they take a work of literature a turn it into a comic book. Most of the time they give you most of the work and you end-up not reading it because you felt like you read it before. With the Graphic Canon the thing I like most about this is that they only give you a sample of each work they have chosen. Thus, it forces you to read the actual work if you like what you have just read. If you read the introduction (which most people probably skipped) it tell you everything you need to know why this was made. I also loved the fact that it felt like my college text books. Now I have the chance again to reread what I have read before, but with a different feel to how I read them in the past.

Instead of me telling you about each part of the anthology, I'll just tell you some ones I ended up liking in this book. I liked how they drew the Homer tales. I've seen the Marvel illustrated ones, but like this art better. Forgot I wanted to read Medea. Lysistrata seems like a ply I might enjoy. Like the Book of Revelations in this volume. I want to read the Tale of Genji some time and loved the art for that one too. Still don't get Dante, but I did like that in this volume. Like the Wife of Bath again and read that one like 4 times now. Want to read Outlaws of the Marsh and Journey to the West. Should read Don Quixote some time. Also loved Paradise Lost was in this. Possibly my favorite in this volume, although didn't care for the art as much.

It should be noted before you decided weather to read this if you like samples or not. Like I said before these are only samples of the stories. Of course they're not going to give you the entire book. Treat these books as art boos and a text book for college...minus the questions and homework. Also there is quite a bit of sex and nudity in this. Some people I saw were surprised by all the "smut". How? Did they not actually read these stories before hand? It's funny how many people forget the greats works of literature (including the Bible) are full of things parents would have children avoid. I'm actually glad they inculcated that in this volume because I was taught that with these stories in both high school and college.

So if I loved this why only 4 stars? I'll probably be giving each one four starts. It's an anthology after all. I can't like everything in this. There are part I skimmed read because I got bored. Especially with the philosophy and politics parts. I was expecting this though, so I wasn't in the lest disappointed. I was also expecting not liking all the art. However, this is worth the buy if you are a fan of art and literature. But if your a comic book geek, you might not like it unless you are a fan of indie/underground comics.

There is so much to say about this 3 and almost 4 volume anthology. Really look at this in a book store or samples online before you decided to get this. It's not for everyone, but I really loved this and can't wait to read the next 3...especially the children's literature one coming out. ( )

I thought this was a lot better than the 3rd volume, for 2 reasons, I stopped reading the commentary by the editor, who I found annoying in volume 3 and also I like the source material in volume 1 much more, now I'll have to grab volume 2. ( )

Admittedly, this was not a cover-to-cover read, but a pretty thorough dip into an extraordinary, comprehensive compilation of great works of literature. I was pleased to see it is not confined to the typical "Western" collection so many of us were schooled in until the later decades of the 20th century. I was impressed both with the commentary -- insightful and incisive, and the varied and visionary art that represented each work. Some styles were not to my liking or what I would have chosen, but they still ( in most cases) did homage to the original material. I thought 95% of it came across as a labor of love. The Canon was both a memory-jogger of works I'd read and an invitation to read those I hadn't. Either way, it propelled me to turn to literature. Some standouts in my opinion: "Coyote and the Pebbles," "Poems" by Rumi, (both to my point of inclusiveness) "Canterbury Tales"- Wife of Bath!, and Shakespeare's "Sonnet 18." Yes, the entire thing is only excerpts, but as such, is a great appetizer for the works themselves. I marvel at how the works, then the excerpts, then the medium was chosen for each. Definitely not for kids -- but maybe an apt gift for the potential English or Classics major. ( )

A rich and fun collection of condensed or excerpted literary works from Gilgamesh (1000 BCE) to Dangerous Liaisons (1782). All kinds of artistic styles and media are on display, including some exceptionally clever adaptations. There were a handful of samples I found dull or impossible to follow, but it was overall an entertaining trip through the long history of world literature. Volumes two and three continue the chronological journey. ( )

the selections vary in execution. Some will be to one taste, some to another.