Totally Awesome: The Greatest Cartoons of the Eighties Hardcover – November 28, 2017

I don't typically write reviews. I find them either incredibly effusive, which I always find suspect since it's probably a publisher/manufacturer plant or they're too disparaging. Lots of extremes. I'll make an exception here as I just received my copy of this book and already love it. Have I read it in its entirety? No. I've looked through the book, read a few chapters, and otherwise passed some time reliving some of my favorite cartoons from the eighties. This book covers the major cartoons from the eighties: Smurfs, Spider-Man, He-Man and She-Ra, Inspector Gadget, GI Joe, Transformers, Jem, Thundercats, and TMNT. Also included here Andrew discusses Muppet Babies, the Real Ghostbusters, Garfield, Mighty Mouse, along with some Gummy Bears and DuckTales. I was hoping there would be a larger selection, but while Andrew Farago doesn't cover a large number of cartoons, he covers each in depth. What I especially loved about each chapter was that he included copies of original art and hand drawings, presumably from the creators.This is a neat book. I found it to be well worth the money spent, and I look forward to reading more.

Amazing book!!!Full of tons of information not everyone knew, beautiful images, & extra goodies included INSIDE the book. Got it for a great price here on Amazon. If you are a fan of the 80's, or considering this as a gift for anyone who loves nostalgia or retro Pop Culture, this is the book for you!

I am a child of the 80s and was really looking for a book that would take me back to my childhood. This is the best one I've found, to date. Not only do you get great photos to look back on, but you get an inside story of the cartoon and how it came to be. I was a little disappointed that there weren't more cartoons featured, but overall, this is something that I can pick up and read over and over again.

This book was exactly what I was looking for as a gift. It arrived quickly and was in excellent condition. I would buy from this seller again

I was born in 1978, so it goes without saying that my childhood was greatly shaped by the cartoons of the 80's. I can still remember rushing home from school to catch Transformers, setting the alarm to the crack of dawn on Saturday to catch Muppet Babies and Garfield, and squealing "Oooo-oooo" along to the Ducktales theme song. Man, so many great memories. So, naturally, this book is right up my alley.The sixteen-or-so shows covered are handled very well, with tons of insight on their creation, including interviews with voice actors, animators, producers, etc. Most of the content is pretty enlightening and occasionally surprising. (So THAT'S why the show was called The REAL Ghostbusters.) I also loved all of the imagery, which covers not only your typical screen shots but also cell setups, rough drawing, character charts and more. I also like how Insight Editions frequently included little attached papers reprinting press releases or character model sheets.Like other reviewers have mentioned, one of the biggest knocks against this book is that your definition of "the greatest cartoons of the 80s" is likely going to be different than mine, the author's, or anybody else. Personally, I wouldn't call Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends one of the decade's best, and would have used that chapter for another show. And while shows like Alvin and the Chipmunks, Care Bears, Snorks and My Little Pony might not have stood the test of time like the real classics, they were in fact hugely popular and in some cases ran for years. At any rate, I do feel that the omission of Voltron and Robotech is unfortunate, as both are still adored by legions of fans and considered as highly influential.Another small nitpick I have with the book is that it can at times get a bit bogged down with the production and technical aspects of the shows, which can make for a slightly dry read. I also wouldn't mind more pages devoted to recaps or highlights of key episodes, or character "bios" and such. While I'm sure there are other books that cover this stuff out there, it would have been cool to have a few pages devoted to a lineup of the most popular Autobots/Decipticons or the most memorable ghouls from The Real Ghostbusters.All griping aside, so long as you know exactly which shows are covered in this book I believe you'll get a real kick out of it and be proud to have it in your library. Now somebody please, please, PLEASE write "Totally Bangin': The Phat-est Cartoons of the 90s".

The book is a flash to the past. It was fun looking back at the cartoons i grew up watching. Inside is a look at the many cartoons from the 80's. Info on each cartoon. Lot of fun!

This book is great. It has an in-depth look at popular cartoons from the 80's. While some may argue over what cartoons were the best, Andrew Farago does a good job narrowing it down. I agree with his picks and am looking forward to finish reading this awesome book. Full of pictures and comes with some extras i was not expecting.

This is quite a gem! So much fun to read and reminisce on old school toons I grew up with, which are hard to come by these days. And, till I find a better book that covers the same material, this one is a very sweet one!