Amazing Adventures of the Escapist (Michael Chabon ... (ISBN 1593071655)

$18 of Disappointment:
For those people who are expecting a comics masterpiece from the author who brought you The Amazing Adventures of Kavlier & Clay, save your time and money. This collection of stories is short on pretty much everything that could have made it worthwhile!!! Couched in terms of "lost adventures" this book features a number of fantastic artists doing questionable work. The whole book is full of ego as Chabon waxes nostalgic about a character who did not exist. If this was limited to the text between the stories, that would probably be ok, but the ego spills over and all of the stories are told with a big nudge and obnoxious wink. Additionally, this book is very short, very small, and worth nowhere near the cover price.

Live the story through the comics:
After reading Michael Chabon's "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay," I was disheartened to realize that comic described in the book might never be actualized, and that the descriptions and accounts of the comics in general were fantasized. However, when I learned that Dark Horse Comics was planning on releasing "The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist, Volume 1" I jumped at the opportunity to 'live' like the kids in the novel. Darkhorse has combined the first two of "The Escapist" quarterly comics in paper-back form, along with a good deal of comic book historical fiction similar to that found in Chabon's "Kavalier and Clay." The drawings are fantastic, showing different artists renditions of the Escapist and Luna Moth, and the story lines are great too. A wonderful addition to the world of Kavalier and Clay, and a great read for the train or for some downtime.

Wheels within wheels . . .:
A few years ago, Chabon wrote a well-received novel, _The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay,_ about two comic book impresarios in the 1930s, `40s, and `50s. Their greatest creation was the Escapist. It's only fitting that the fictional character of a fictional author in a fictional comic book come to life in a real book. A dozen or so writers and artists come together to present a series of stories from the Escapist's career, rendered in the styles of four or five decades, and Chabon and Malachi Cohen surround them with relevant history and literary/artistic criticism. One of the main supporting characters, Luna Moth, also gets a couple of stories. The best thing in this volume, though, is "The Lady or the Tiger," supposedly published in 1976 -- and which Glen Gold's introduction makes clear was the literary peak of the (fictional) series. Finally, the classic comic book "advertising" on the back cover is a hoot, especially the bit on bar codes!

good value:
I found this product to be a great value for the money. I shopped and compared at various sites.

I love Michael Chabon:
I love this writer and his books and being able to see his characters in action was a real treat.