Reading Comics by Douglas Wolk

This is a collection of essays, some about comics in general, some about specific comic artists, from Steve Ditko to Los Bros Hernandez to Alan Moore to Chris Ware and so on. I bought a copy for my brother for Christmas last year and he pooh-poohed the gift, saying something like, "I bet I could have written this book," as he obviously already knew everything in its contents. Oh well, too bad for him. I know I learned a little bit, and it was great to read about the artists I was already familiar with as well. And it doesn't hurt that it has a great cover too.

I also love the back--the thought bubble, the different typeface for each author and series.