Total Sell Out [Paperback]

Brian Michael Bendis (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: Image Comics (March 24, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1582402876
• ISBN-13: 978-1582402871
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #305,094 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Brian Michael Bendis is an award winning comics creator and one of the most successful writers working in mainstream comics. For the last eleven years, Brian's books have consistently sat on the top of the nationwide comic and graphic novel sales charts.
Brian is currently helming a renaissance for Marvel's popular AVENGERS franchise by writing every issue of the NEW AVENGERS plus debuting the hit books MIGHTY AVENGERS and DARK AVENGERS along with the wildly successful 'event' projects HOUSE OF M, SECRET WAR, SECRET INVASION, and SIEGE.
This summer will see the blockbuster new line-ups for AVENGERS and NEW AVENGERS.
Other recent projects include the groundbreaking SPIDER-WOMAN MOTION COMIC, that debuted number one on iTunes TV sales chart and the New York Times best selling HALO graphic novel.
Brian is one of the premiere architects of Marvel comic's Ultimate line of comics. A line of comics specifically created for the new generation of comics reader. He has written every issue of ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN since it's best selling launch in 1999, and has also written ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR, X-MEN, MARVEL TEAM UP, ORIGIN, SIX and the ENEMY trilogy.
He is creator of the JINX line of crime comics published by image comics. This line has spawned the graphic novels GOLDFISH, FIRE, JINX, TORSO (w/ Marc Andreyko) and TOTAL SELL OUT.
Brian's other projects include the Eisner award winning "POWERS" (w/Mike Oeming) from Marvel's creator owned imprint ICON, and the Hollywood tell all "FORTUNE AND GLORY'. Entertainment Weekly gave both projects an "A." SONY and FX networks are currently developing POWERS for series with Brian as exec producer.
Brian is currently adapting his spy graphic novel FIRE for Universal Pictures as a starring vehicle for Zac Efron.
Brian is a member of Marvel studios creative committee, which consults on their numerous ongoing film projects. He has consulted on IRON-MAN and IRON MAN 2 and is currently consulting on THE FIRST AVENGERS: CAPTAIN AMERICA, THOR and THE AVENGERS
Brian has won five prestigious EISNER awards, including 'Best Writer of the year' two years in a row. He has also won over two dozen Wizard comic awards. Brian is the recipient of the Cleveland Press 'Excellence in Journalism' Award and was named "Best Writer of the Year." by Wizard Magazine and Comic Buyer's Guide for three consecutive years.
He lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife Alisa, his gorgeous daughters Olivia and Sabrina and his dogs Lucky, Max and Buster.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bendis does it again, July 31, 2003

By 

J. Eisma (Dallas, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Total Sell Out (Paperback)

Total Sell Out is basically just a collection of short strips/stories that Bendis has done over the years. Some are crime fiction (naturally) and others are just hysterical.

When I read "My Blue Heaven," I just about fell out of my chair, and the Shtick section is definitely worth a laugh.

By far, the gem of the book, and the funniest, is the story about Kabukiman. I won't spoil it--but it's so indicative of the state of comic book conventions.

"Better Living Through Chemistry" and "The Kiss Off" are superb pieces of crime fiction that feature Bendis on art. I wish this guy would pick his pencil back up!

All in all, a very entertaining read. At the very least, it's a great book for bathroom reading, if you're into that kind of thing.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A must for Bendis fans., June 30, 2003

By 

M. J. Mongelli (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Total Sell Out (Paperback)

For people who started reading comics with Marvel's big boom in 2000, the name Brian Michael Bendis concocts images of a pretty damned good superhero writer. While it is true that he has written some killer Ultimate Spider-Man and Daredevil stuff, these fans have him figured out all wrong. Ultimate Spider-Man and Daredevil aren't his -- he's just contributing to them.

This book, however -- Total Sell Out -- is the essence of Bendis. THIS is his stuff. This is where he started out; this is what he's really like. He's cartoonish, fun loving and humorous. He has an imagination that's filled with so many thoughts that he can't commit them to one style. Not to detract from his Marvel stuff, which does contain classic Bendis traits, but this is who Brian Michael Bendis really is. He's the guy who'll see the insecurities of the world and make fun of them, and he's not afraid to make fun of himself, either. Collected here is the innocence of his character. To long-time Bendis fans, this stuff is like discovering gold. It's a great artist's first achievements and it's fun to read. It's something to build upon.

Collected in this book is a series of various pieces of work that Brian made in his early career. The comedy-meter ranges from chuckling to laughing out loudly. Anyone who ever wanted to learn more about Bendis and his roots, this is the place. Anyone who dares call himself a Bendis fan can't be one without having read the stuff in this book, whether is was originally seen in the comics format or in this paperback collection. So put your money where your mouth is and buy this.

Included are Fortune & Glory-type strips, collaborations with other artists like Warren Ellis, original and personal art, parodies, anecdotes, essays and tons of other fanboy glory. Enjoy it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars So-So, January 23, 2010

By 

Frequent Contributor (Reno, NV) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Total Sell Out (Paperback)

Hmm. If you're a Brian Michael Bendis fan, already, like myself, then this book will be interesting to you. He's a funny writer, self-deprecating and clever, and his plain, cartoony illustrations work well in telling his fairly comic-strippy story. If you don't know or care about Bendis, then there's not much for you here. A cautionary Hollywood movie-deal story, sure, but those are a dime-a-dozen.

The other thing is, it has been a while since I read this, and I can remember very little about it. It's a sort of "popcorn" graphic novel, in that it went into my brain and then right out again. It's not bad, but certainly not a story that you'll be thinking about for years to come, like some of Bendis' other work (Jinx, for instance...).

I did like it. I just don't know that I could recommend it to anyone who wouldn't already know about it.