This graphic novel, a companion volume to the first "Books of Magic" series, collects the first four issues of the series and also features the character of Death, from "The Sandman". Tim Hunter may become the greatest magician the world has ever known, but that depends on the choices he makes now.
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More About the Author
Born and raised in New York City, Jane Yolen now lives in Hatfield, Massachusetts. She attended Smith College and received her master's degree in education from the University of Massachusetts. The distinguished author of more than 170 books, Jane Yolen is a person of many talents. When she is not writing, Yolen composes songs, is a professional storyteller on the stage, and is the busy wife of a university professor, the mother of three grown children, and a grandmother. Active in several organizations, Yolen has been on the Board of Directors of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, was president of the Science Fiction Writers of America from 1986 to 1988, is on the editorial board of several magazines, and was a founding member of the Western New England Storytellers Guild, the Western Massachusetts Illustrators Guild, and the Bay State Writers Guild. For twenty years, she ran a monthly writer's workshop for new children's book authors. In 1980, when Yolen was awarded an honorary Doctor of Law degree by Our Lady of the Elms College in Chicopee, Massachusetts, the citation recognized that "throughout her writing career she has remained true to her primary source of inspiration--folk culture." Folklore is the "perfect second skin," writes Yolen. "From under its hide, we can see all the shimmering, shadowy uncertainties of the world." Folklore, she believes, is the universal human language, a language that children instinctively feel in their hearts. All of Yolen's stories and poems are somehow rooted in her sense of family and self. The Emperor and the Kite, which was a Caldecott Honor Book in 1983 for its intricate papercut illustrations by Ed Young, was based on Yolen's relationship with her late father, who was an international kite-flying champion. Owl Moon, winner of the 1988 Caldecott Medal for John Schoenherr's exquisite watercolors, was inspired by her husband's interest in birding. Yolen's graceful rhythms and outrageous rhymes have been gathered in numerous collections. She has earned many awards over the years: the Regina Medal, the Kerlan Award, the World Fantasy Award, the Society of Children's Book Writers Award, the Mythopoetic Society's Aslan Award, the Christopher Medal, the Boy's Club Jr. Book Award, the Garden State Children's Book Award, the Daedalus Award, a number of Parents' Choice Magazine Awards, and many more. Her books and stories have been translated into Japanese, French, Spanish, Chinese, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Afrikaans, !Xhosa, Portuguese, and Braille. With a versatility that has led her to be called "America's Hans Christian Andersen," Yolen, the child of two writers, is a gifted and natural storyteller. Perhaps the best explanation for her outstanding accomplishments comes from Jane Yolen herself: "I don't care whether the story is real or fantastical. I tell the story that needs to be told."
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fair,
This review is from: Books of Magic, The: Bindings - Book 01 (DC Comics Vertigo) (Paperback)
This isn't my favorite of the "Books of Magic"--Summonings takes that honor. It's an interesting tale of Timothy Hunter, perhaps the greatest magician of all time, the illegitimate son of Tam Lin and Queen Titania of the Faeries.Tim lives as an ordinary boy in our world, with a sloppy but loving father, and a few rather unworldly acquaintances. His father, Tam Lin, occasionally pops up in human form as does the Amadan, a rather repulsive little sprite who waits on Queen Titania. The Queen herself is furious because the Faerie lands are dying, for reasons that no one knows. Tim has problems of his own when he ventures into the lair of a mysterious - and sinister - creature. This will lead to the discovery of what is killing the Faerie lands, and exact a terrible price in return. While I found the story tight-paced and enjoyable, I wished they'd give us a little more backstory as to how Tim knows who his true father is. It would've made Titania's comments in the garden a little easier to understand ("we made love and a child in this garden"). I also felt that the explanation for the dying Faerie lands was a little too pat. The artwork was pretty bad - often it shifted from one frame to another, becoming well-defined in one frame and blurry in another. Dimensions altered. And Titania was terribly drawn - she's supposed to be beautiful, darnit! It looks like they simply took a picture of a none-too-pretty woman and colored her green (not to mention the fact that her teeth often appear the same color as her skin). She looks much better in future books. However, the atmosphere is unparalleled. The clash with the Manticore was downright chilling, as was the effects on Tim. I was quite surprised by Death's arrival, you'll be surprised at the face and personality of "death." And the last few pages were both sweet and sad. A nice comic book, hardly flawless but nor is it bad.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not what I expected,
By cross@uci.edu (The Keep of the Three Enigmas (read the book, then you'll get it)) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Books of Magic, The: Bindings - Book 01 (DC Comics Vertigo) (Paperback)
Bindings was the first Vertigo anything I had read, and since now I own all of the Books of Magic and Sandman paperbacks, not to mention a few others, I can tell you that it's addictive. It has a few lines that I love - I'll try to type them here, but I may not have them exactly right: "Love is what keeps things moving so that they stay together, and fear is what makes you hold so still you fall apart.", and "Was this Arraune, where the lake women wove water and sighs into blue-green silk, or was this Telis, where lost hopes paced the streets, begging strangers to take them in?" So I like parallel sentence structure . . . The story line is also very interesting; the manticore is a terrific villian, and I think we all like Death of the Endless. I do, however, have two complaints. The first: it's kind of short. Second, and this is more of a real complaint, when Tamlin first shows up, Tim recognizes him and launches into this dialogue that is kind of confusing, because Tamlin wasn't in the first miniseries paperback, by Neil Gaiman, and Bindings contains issues 1-4 of the series itself. The incident Tim refers to is in the story Long Walks In Dancing Shoes, which is in the Books of Faerie paperback (which story also explains Marya and Daniel fairly well, for those who have read Summonings), but Bindings does not try to explain this. Sigh. It is,however, excellent on the whole.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A worthy effort,
By
This review is from: Books of Magic, The: Bindings - Book 01 (DC Comics Vertigo) (Paperback)
The original Books of Magic, written by Neil Gaiman was great reading. John Ney Rieber Takes over writing chores for the regular series and manages to put together a decent arc in "Bindings" which takes place in Books of Magic 1-4.There are a few subplots in the story, but the main driving force is Tim Hunter's battle with the Manticore. The Manticore is a changeling beast that captures children, "educates" them and eventually eats them. This is vintage Vertigo horror stuff, and is creepy enough to make you think that Gaiman might have ghostwritten it. Tim's search to find the identity of his real father is also dealt with, although not to my satisfaction. Also something about the destruction of the lands of Fairie is thrown in, but it seems like an afterthought and isn't developed very well. Death also makes a housecall, but is she there on business? Read the book and find out. Overall, it's a very good story, the artwork is serviceable, but at times sketchy. This is another hallmark of early Vertigo work, and it does seem to add to the atmosphere of the book. The covers by Vess, on the other hand, are great. Too bad Vertigo reprints them 1/2 their regular size in this edition, you lose a lot of the detail.
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