This graphic novel makes the book guilty pleasures so much more enjoyable because you can now put faces completely to the charaters though some like always do not look how you pictured them at all. Amazing all around though, the artistry is something i wish i could even compare to. Love it to death!

The artwork is beautiful, but I was expecting to get some insight into a younger Anita. Nothing new here. Buy it for the art if you are interested in that sort of thing, but not the story.

Minor quibble. Not a fan of graphic novel style books. Still, it is nice to have a new Anita Blake story to fill in the history of this story line.

A comic book rendition of an earlier Anita Blake than currently found in the series. The inker/artist's view may not match what a reader of the series pictures the characters as appearing, as Anita's skin is not as white as her Aryan father. Priced in comparison with graphic novels, but pricey for the amount of story in comparison to one of the novels. I won't be trying the graphic/comic versions of the novels, just the ones that "fill out" the series.

Well, being a Laurell fan, I had to give this a try, even though I don't read graphic novels, or whatever this is called. But, I had to read a new Anita story! This one is excellent, since it takes place in the past, before Anita became sooooooooo annoying. The artwork is good, not as gory as I thought it would be. I'll keep this one on my shelf.

I was disappointed as I did not realize this was more of a comic book than an actual book. It would have helped it the details were more specific as to what kind of book this is. Over all I enjoy this auther's books and will continue to buy them.

As a fan of the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series, I bought this book because it promised to show the first meeting of Anita and Jean-Claude. I'm happy to say that it did as promised - showed the introduction of the two characters. In addition, we get a little more insight into how Anita's relationship developed with Edward and how she got one of her scars. I'm thrilled with the graphic novelization of Anita Blake and I'll continue to buy more.

this book is just a little something to tell you exactly how the first meeting with Jean-Claude, Edward and even Zebowski meet Anita. Its a fun COMIC! i love the art its self. yes the story is so short because it IS a comic...but dont overlook the fact that alot of detail was used to create a visual experiance for you. Anita looks hot, as does her fellow bookmates. even if you dont enjoy comics- at least appreicate the art that has been given to you to enjoy. you can b--tch that its nothing special but then you're "reading" too much into it. Its something fun to try-- who knows...you may find yourself looking at other comics. there are quite a few leading women in the comic world and Anita fits in perfectly. some of these other leading ladies have yet to make it to a noval level. im hoping a few do make it.

Okay this was a great entertaining bit about Anita's past, that is all. It is a comic book, so if you don't like comics, don't buy it. It doesn't add anything really new, just gives you a comic idea of how it all kind of began, like it was explained in the first Anita book. So if you know the story, don't care for comics, then don't buy it.
It was good, me and my friends like comics and we enjoyed this new addition to our collection; also we love the book series so we double loved this. Read it if you love Hamilton and want to read a comic book version of what was mentioned in the first book. Don't expect a completely new outlook on Anita's life.

This is a great story that gives us (finally) the story of Edward and Anita's previous kills where he used the flamethrower!!
SWEET!

I didn't realize this book was going to be a comic book. I love all the Anita books and was very excited when I saw this one. But, when I pulled it out of the box it was a comic book. I have no idea why Laurell would do that it just seems bizarre. Her reader group for Anita books are not teenage boys and women like me really aren't excited by comic books.
I still haven't even read it yet. I suppose I will ,but, it was a big disappointment.

The book came in excellent condition and it was very quick and speedy in delivery. I was very happy with my encounter with this vendor and I would definitely purchsae from them again!

I'm a big fan of Laurell K Hamilton, but didn't realize this was a "graphic novel". Having read the books (all of them), this wasn't at all interesting. I also wish they'd get that hair out of their faces!

I love the Anita Blake series and was seriously disappointed when I found out this was a comic book.

As someone that has read all of the Anita Blake books since '97 it was great to see some of the characters, whom at this point I almost consider friends, in full color and not just my own imagination. But as a reader of graphic novels I was thrilled to see that it was done by Marvel comics.
The story line did a great job at filling in the back-story that was hinted at in the first books. In light of the more recent books, it was refreshing to read a story line where Anita isn't having 'relations' with every man in the room. But just Anita being tough and finding her way out of crazy situations.
The fantastic part was the character bios in the back. It's been almost 11 years since I read Guilty Pleasures so there were characters I had forgotten about. It was like visiting old high school friends. I would love to see some of the first books recreated in the graphic novel format. Thank you Laurell for giving us the chance to go back and revisit the stories in a new way.

Does it give a whole lot of new information on Anita Blake? No. Is it entertaining? Yes. Come on folks, it's not like we read Anita Blake for the intellectual stimulation. It's a thoroughly entertaining vampire fantasy and this graphic novel represents that fairly. I think the illustrations where fitting and interesting. I loved having a little back story on Anita and Jean Claudes first meeting and I enjoyed it. Was I blown away? No. But I wasn't really expecting to be. I got what I expected...an entertaining story with great illustrations.

This is an extremely poor offering from the Anita Blake series both in terms of narrative and design. 'The First Death' is a prequel to Hamilton's Vampire Hunter series, finally bringing to light one of the murder cases mentioned in several of her later novels, as well as introducing us to a younger Anita and an earlier encounter with RPIT, Dolph, Storr and of course, the first meeting with Jean Claude.

The execution of this introduction is very disappointing; overall there is no information we have not already gleaned from subsequent novels, and more to the point, the character design is sketchy, relying on introductory quips and staple lines which are also lifted from the later books. There is no sense of newness here; the closest we approach to it is a five second scene with the Jean Claude, who as always has some innate sex appeal, but even so is disappointing in his first meeting with Anita. The two both fail to act either as attracted or repulsed as they should.

The paint-by-numbers illustration of an already told narrative aside, the comic book itself is poorly done; artist Brett Booth, who illustrated the first Anita Blake: Guilty Pleasures volume is passed over for another artist who, though imitating his design sketches, fails to achieve either that sense of sex appeal and grotesque which Booth created in the earlier volume. Muscles and sharp angles are rejected in favour of a softer look for all the characters, which in an extremely charitable reading we could say perhaps reflects Anita's state of innocence, more reasonably just makes what should be sexy curves look like a badly-drawn big arse. There is no finnesse in the illustrations and the entire novel fails to produce striking images that can stick with the reader.

If that isn't enough to put you off, I am disheartened by the fact that the cover artwork for this prequel IS done by Brett Booth; extremely misleading for the reader who purchases the text online. Booth is also credited on Amazon, so it is near impossible to predict that his artwork does not take centre stage.

Finally, and worst of all, this hardcover is a poor investment as HALF of the book is taken over by an entirely redundant 'Guide to Guilty Pleasures'. That's right: half of this hardcover is filled with pages and pages of redundant explicating material and character sketches which are completely useless and superfluous for anyone who has read either the first comic volume or the actual Guilty Pleasures novel. I doubt any of us need the confirmation provided in boring biographies of the main characters in a New York Times Bestselling series. They are a waste of pages.

This hardcover version of the comic is definitely not worth its cost. If you want to read the prequel, try getting the single releases.

This is an extremely poor offering from the Anita Blake series both in terms of narrative and design. 'The First Death' is a prequel to Hamilton's Vampire Hunter series, finally bringing to light one of the murder cases mentioned in several of her later novels, as well as introducing us to a younger Anita and an earlier encounter with RPIT, Dolph, Storr and of course, the first meeting with Jean Claude.

The execution of this introduction is very disappointing; overall there is no information we have not already gleaned from subsequent novels, and more to the point, the character design is sketchy, relying on introductory quips and staple lines which are also lifted from the later books. There is no sense of newness here; the closest we approach to it is a five second scene with the Jean Claude, who as always has some innate sex appeal, but even so is disappointing in his first meeting with Anita. The two both fail to act either as attracted or repulsed as they should.

The paint-by-numbers illustration of an already told narrative aside, the comic book itself is poorly done; artist Brett Booth, who illustrated the first Anita Blake: Guilty Pleasures volume is passed over for another artist who, though imitating his design sketches, fails to achieve either that sense of sex appeal and grotesque which Booth created in the earlier volume. Muscles and sharp angles are rejected in favour of a softer look for all the characters, which in an extremely charitable reading we could say perhaps reflects Anita's state of innocence, more reasonably just makes what should be sexy curves look like a badly-drawn big arse. There is no finnesse in the illustrations and the entire novel fails to produce striking images that can stick with the reader.

If that isn't enough to put you off, I am disheartened by the fact that the cover artwork for this prequel IS done by Brett Booth; extremely misleading for the reader who purchases the text online. Booth is also credited on Amazon, so it is near impossible to predict that his artwork does not take centre stage.

Finally, and worst of all, this hardcover is a poor investment as HALF of the book is taken over by an entirely redundant 'Guide to Guilty Pleasures'. That's right: half of this hardcover is filled with pages and pages of redundant explicating material and character sketches which are completely useless and superfluous for anyone who has read either the first comic volume or the actual Guilty Pleasures novel. I doubt any of us need the confirmation provided in boring biographies of the main characters in a New York Times Bestselling series. They are a waste of pages.

This hardcover version of the comic is definitely not worth its cost. If you want to read the prequel, try getting the single releases.

Ugh, I like to read novels, not comic books. I love Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series and was so excited to see a new installment. Alas, it was nothing to be excited about. This is a comic book, pure and simple, NOT a novel. Why Amazon does not have this listed as such is a wonder to me and I am sure the rest of the folks who bought this in the hopes of a great new Blake novel.

Tat's the last penny I spend on Laurell K Hamilton......truly, truly awful. ANd I liked Devil Dinosaur!

Much ado has been made about "The First Death," a graphic novel two-parter chronicling the early work of Laurell K. Hamilton's alter ego, Anita Blake.

Well, it turns out to be much ado about... very little. This prequel is a leaden exercise full of dull police work, vampire-slaying banter, and an empty introduction to a foppish vampire and a rather unmenacing assassin. And it's all rendered in halfhearted, sometimes comically silly artwork and dialogue. Hamilton should quit while she's ahead.

It opens with Anita being called out on a murder scene -- children are being slaughtered by a vampire, and for some reason they need her there even though she fails to tell them anything. The only suspect is a vampire who happens to be nearby, so Sergeant Storr and Anita go to the vampire's place of work, and encounter the flirtatious Jean-Claude, who immediately takes a shine to Anita.

But then another child is killed, and Anita finds that she may be dealing with a gang of vampires. Anita and her partner Manny infiltrate the vampires' base of operations, but find only a recently deceased corpse -- and when Anita returns to her office, she finds the assassin Edward, known absurdly as "Death," sitting in her chair.

Despite her hatred of Edward, Anita finds that she may need his help, since she's not getting any closer to finding the serial-killing vampires. And when she discovers a lead to the case, Anit and Manny head straight into a devastating trap, from which only "Death" himself may be able to rescue them...

A taut, thrilling mystery... "First Death" ain't. Laurell K. Hamilton just sort of halfheartedly slaps together a glacial, pointless plot with minimal detective work. In fact, she doesn't even bother to craft a NEW mystery -- she just embellishes a storyline that was summarized back in her first novel. Whoa, I wonder how this will turn out.

Even worse, Hamilton fritters most of the storyline away -- it's a disjointed string of crime scenes, zombie raisings, inept vampire-hunting, and really bad banter ("Blow a hole in them big enough, it slows them down pretty good"). Our intrepid heroine spends most of the plot sitting in a car, an office, or a strip club, and occasionally tackling a grieving mother to the ground (to show her concern, of course).

By the time we arrive at the climax, it feels like Hamilton realized that she's running out of space, and tried to cram the rest of the plot into the remaining pages. Torture, beatings and murder are glossed over in just a few pages, so it can finish on time.

And all this is just so Anita can meet Jean-Claude and Edward. Jean-Claude has nothing to do with the plot at all, so he just provides ruffled shirts and high-school flirtations -- he's as sexy and dangerous as a bowl of pudding. Edward is far better -- his easygoing-killer attitude seems even more likable besides Anita's humorless tough-grrlness. He tends to get the best lines, not to mention the great scene where he toasts a house.

Anita herself is a joke -- she seems more like a stunted, sulky Hot Topic teenager with too much makeup. Hamilton tries to portray her as a tough and powerful woman, but since Anita is repeatedly rescued by the Big Male Cop and Big Male Assassin, it's hard to see her that way. In fact, the most deadly thing she does in the whole story is stake a vampire who is unconscious and bound. Oooh, scary. I can see why the vampires as so frightened of her.

"The First Death" is a waste of time and paper -- a halfhearted crime story wrapped around an equally halfhearted pair of introductions. Definitely not worth a read.

First, I'll say it's my fault - I didn't read the tiny description tucked below the scroll line when I bought it. I saw a new Anita Blake and dove for it.

It just arrived, and it turns out it's essentially a comic book. I'm not even opening the shrink-wrap - it's going back. While I'm a fan of Laurell K. Hamilton, I'm not a fan of comics. It's disappointing to see this.

I would have thought Amazon might have put (comic book) or something similar, rather than (hardcover), after the title to make it clear what this book is. Yes, it's hardcover, but that doesn't negate what's between those covers.

Much ado has been made about "The First Death," a graphic novel two-parter chronicling the early work of Laurell K. Hamilton's alter ego, Anita Blake.

Well, it turns out to be much ado about... very little. This prequel is a leaden exercise full of dull police work, vampire-slaying banter, and an empty introduction to a foppish vampire and a rather unmenacing assassin. All is rendered in halfhearted, sometimes comically silly artwork -- Hamilton should quit while she's ahead.

It opens with Anita being called out on a murder scene -- children are being slaughtered by a vampire, and for some reason they need her there even though she fails to tell them anything. The only suspect is a vampire who happens to be nearby, so Sergeant Storr and Anita go to the vampire's place of work, and encounter the flirtatious Jean-Claude, who immediately takes a shine to Anita.

But then another child is killed, and Anita finds that she may be dealing with a gang of vampires. Anita and her partner Manny infiltrate the vampires' base of operations, but find only a recently deceased corpse -- and when Anita returns to her office, she finds the assassin Edward, known absurdly as "Death," sitting in her chair.

Despite her hatred of Edward, Anita finds that she may need his help, since she's not getting any closer to finding the serial-killing vampires. And when she discovers a lead to the case, Anit and Manny head straight into a devastating trap, from which only "Death" himself may be able to rescue them...

A taut, thrilling mystery... "First Death" ain't. Laurell K. Hamilton just sort of halfheartedly slaps together a glacial, pointless plot with minimal detective work. In fact, she doesn't even bother to craft a NEW mystery -- she just embellishes a storyline that was summarized back in her first novel. Whoa, I wonder how this will turn out.

Even worse, Hamilton fritters most of the storyline away -- it's a disjointed string of crime scenes, zombie raisings, inept vampire-hunting, and really bad banter ("Blow a hole in them big enough, it slows them down pretty good"). Our intrepid heroine spends most of the plot sitting in a car, an office, or a strip club, and occasionally tackling a grieving mother to the ground (to show her concern, of course).

By the time we arrive at the climax, it feels like Hamilton realized that she's running out of space, and tried to cram the rest of the plot into the remaining pages. Torture, beatings and murder are glossed over in just a few pages, so it can finish on time.

And all this is just so Anita can meet Jean-Claude and Edward. Jean-Claude has nothing to do with the plot at all, so he just provides ruffled shirts and high-school flirtations -- he's as sexy and dangerous as a bowl of pudding. Edward is far better -- his easygoing-killer attitude seems even more likable besides Anita's humorless tough-grrlness. He tends to get the best lines, not to mention the great scene where he toasts a house.

Anita herself is a joke -- she seems more like a stunted, sulky Hot Topic teenager with too much makeup. Hamilton tries to portray her as a tough and powerful woman, but since Anita is repeatedly rescued by the Big Male Cop and Big Male Assassin, it's hard to see her that way. In fact, the most deadly thing she does in the whole story is stake a vampire who is unconscious and bound. Oooh, scary. I can see why the vampires as so frightened of her.

"The First Death" is a waste of time and paper -- a halfhearted crime story wrapped around an equally halfhearted pair of introductions. Definitely not worth a read.