Very useful read / / 2010-06-20

I found this book both helpful and fascinating as it shows the secrets to making comics stand out. I am considering being a comic book writer/artist (although the video game field is first priority for me), so this book can prove useful. Of course, I feel this book can be useful in other ways...

LOVE THIS BOOK! / / 2010-06-07

I love this book.The illustrations are great and the information and instructions are valuable.It's fun to read and look at the cartoons.

This book is ESSENTIAL reading for anyone who wants to make comics / / 2010-03-03

I'll keep it short and sweet...With Making Comics, Scott McCloud gives a quick overview of the large points of his seminal 'Understanding Comics' and then proceeds to teach the reader the language of comics. If you're here looking for a book to teach you the craft of making a comic, do it. Commit. This is your book.

Incredible Book and Great Fun! / / 2010-02-09

If you are an aspiring comic book creator/writer/artist, this book is for you, it gives you the broad technical overview of comic book making that is just not available in most art books nowadays, including the DC Comics books on comic book writing (to be fair the DC comics series does have all the material it's just spread out over several different books and not nearly as well organized nor as concisely communicated). Making Comic Books is a fun read and is a worthy companion to its predecessor, Understanding Comics. Buy this book, and if you haven't bought Understanding Comics, buy that too, and read them in order (not that you have to, but you'll just enjoy it more that way).

a must if you wanna create comics/manga / / 2010-01-07

this teaches you everything you need to know, from paneling, to creating believeable characters, to perspictive, and covers everything pretty much...

Not as great as people reviewed / / 2007-03-01

I had this book for a class a little while ago and I have to agree with my professor that this book skips over a lot of important stuff in the "history of Comic Art". There is not nearly enough info about main stream publishers (Marvel and DC) and yet there are pages upon pages of independent works from the 70's. Don't get me wrong it's valuable information, BUT it's not balanced. It's like this book was written in the early 80's and written based on personal experiences and comic book tastes rather than hard research.

5/5 / / 2002-03-31

An art form that is often dismissed as mere entertainment gets its due in this huge, entertaining and enlightening book. Comics, Comix & Graphic Novels is undoubtedly the most comprehensive study of the graphic qualities and cultural impact of comic art, tracing the history of the genre from early woodcuts to modern times. In addition to documenting the origins of established comics such as Tintin and Batman, the contributions and influence of recent artists, including Katsuhiro Otomo of Akira fame and Art Spiegelman (Maus) are also discussed in depth. In addition to the treasure trove of illustrations in the book, Sabin's text deftly balances the history of comic art as entertainment with the placement of these comics in a cultural context. However, despite his scholarly tone the book never comes across as high-handed or pretentious. Beautifully produced and consummately authoritative, this book is a must-read for anyone interested in popular culture.

Essential reading / / 2000-12-07

This is a wonderful book. It's beautifully written, with quality reproductions. If you are looking for one book to sum up this genre, then this must surely be it. Little known (and completely useless) fact . . . This book 'stars' in the film Notting Hill! It is clearly visible in a scene with Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant towards the end of the film. The book shop where the two leading characters meet is meant to be a travel book shop, so goodness knows how this particular title made it on to the shelves!

Awesome / / 2000-10-02

Truly one of the greatest "reference" books on the subject of the history of comix. I checked it out from a library to use as a reference for a term paper, and liked it so much that I bought it. The text is rich, and the pictures and illustrations are amazing. A magnificent and beautifully-put-together book.

Best Informative Read I've Read / / 2010-08-23

I bought this book on a recommendation from a friend, and let me tell you...I am not disappointed AT all.

It's very insightful into the process of how a graphic novel is made. I don't like to look at this book as a 'how to book' because they give you more than one way to do almost everything they go over in this book. (Writing a script, picking an artist or drawing it yourself, inking, coloring, text bubbles, etc.)

There are a few things I wish they would go more in depth on, such as ways to write a script and the speech bubbles, but that's a small thing that is DEFINITELY over weighed by all the good things about this book.

A great overview of the process! / / 2010-07-18

A good book presenting a general overview of several aspects of putting a graphic novel or comic together. Good for the beginner, but there are also insights to be gleaned by someone above that level. Several artists were profiled and had some quotes and I wish there was more from them. The layout of the book left plenty of room for more text, so why not include more from other authors/artists?
It's a solid look at the total process. I found some of the comments about sequencing, angles, panels etc. especially helpful.
Common sense is not so common - as a former gallery owner I experienced this with people trying to present their work, and some advice Andy Schmidt gives to the would-be artist/writer is sure to help make those on his side of the table's lives easier!

Graphic Grandsons / / 2010-05-20

I have two grandsons with tremendous artistic talent. Both want to be cartoonists, and this book provides them with excellent advice. It challenges them and introduces them to methods they will need if their careers develop as planned.

Outstanding / / 2009-11-12

Andy's book is fun to read - but its most fun when he's dispensing advice about the craft and not the commerce. Although there is a killer tip on negotiating price that's about a para long and worth the price of the book alone :)

VERY good book / / 2009-07-07

This book is a welcome additiona to the other fine books on making comic art. I liked the artists bio and the sections on panel use/ pacing to make your story come alive.
Though NOT very technical the section on COLORING had alot of insights into using color wisely & effectively lends to the imapct of the story.

Reading (what?) comics / / 2008-10-05

Having read other books on comics, like "How to Read Superhero Comics and Why," I wanted to like Wolk's book more than those I've read before it. What I found most compelling about Wolk's book was his introduction where he talks about what makes comics different from other works of art is their unique deployment of metaphor. Yes, it's in that Straw Man argument (god, that is annoying, as other reviewers here suggest). What I found disappointing is that Wolk doesn't really deliver on giving us a coherent argument about that. Instead of giving us Comics, he gives us comics.

That being said, Wolk chooses some good, some bad, some interesting comics to talk about. I found his later chapters on individual authors interesting. Particularly on Starlin's Warlock, Ditko's Spider-Man and Mr. A, Sim's Cerebus, and finally Morrison's Invisibles.

You should look at the table of contents and see if Wolk writes about any comics (or creators) you have read and then pick up this book if there are enough of them. Note that Wolk will often spoil the endings of books so be careful.

Why I see Wolk failing to deliver on his promise to talk about metaphors in comics is that he spends way too much time telling us what the text in those comics mean (can't we figure a lot of this out for ourselves? -- exception: his take on Morrison's Invisibles is passionate and fairly coherent). I was hoping he'd be able to present a consistent view on the language of the comics medium (the art), and instead I got a lot of more of regurgitation of storylines (I already knew).

A pleasant discovery / / 2008-09-18

I picked this book up on a whim from the new book section of our local library. Expecting it to be a dry and boring treatise on the "comics medium", I was pleasantly surprised to find a rather interesting book that brought new perspective to a medium I've been enjoying for over 4 decades. The first section of the book discussing the history and theory of comics was enjoyable, though somewhat familiar (to anyone who has read other comics 'meta-literature'). The second section of the book (a series of reviews of creators of interest) was notable for the fresh perspective it brought to familiar material. It was also a good introduction to creators that I did not know or had ignored in the past. This was in no small measure due to the skill of the author in homing in on the essential aspects of the creators that made them unique and noteworthy. This was a much better and informative approach for me than the biographical resumes with pictures and plot synopses I've encountered in other works of the same sort. I found myself going back and rereading comics on my bookshelf based on comments made by Wolk to catch things I missed the first time through. I can recommend this book both for readers familiar with comics as well as those who are not but want to learn more. I would also note that this book is clearly written by an adult for adults, so might not be appropriate for younger readers.

Aren't comics supposed to be enjoyable? / / 2008-05-05

This is a great book if you are interested in Douglas Wolk. If you want to spend hours and hours reading what he thinks, being told what - in HIS opinion - is right and what is wrong, this is a great book.

If however you are genuinely interested in an enjoyable book about something that should be enjoyable, then avoid this book.

The first 30 or 40 pages are a struggle, filled with sentences containing "... comics I like ...", "I'd also ...", "... I'm talking about ...", " I find ...", "I mean ...." and "I think ..." making it one of the most egotistical pieces of writing I have ever come across.

Doug may think he knows a lot about comics, but he knows little about writing. I lost count of the number of times he started writing about something or someone, and then stops and tells the reader there is more in a later chapter.

There appeared to be redemption at around page 40, but it was short-lived and the book fell back into the "soapbox" style of the beginning.

I didn't finish the book. Maybe I should have stuck with it, but I tried flicking forward a few pages at a time to see if the writing style improves, but was consistently disappointed.

poorly written / / 2008-04-10

I don't know where to begin. This book is a mess. The writing is awash with redundancy, questionable grammar, and an annoying love of parenthesis. Too often he touches upon ideas in earlier chapters only to say that he will clear up any questions in later chapters, rather than clearly expressing his thoughts. An earlier review states that an editor should have cleaned the book up a little. I agree 100%. There are better books out there. Search them out.

Needed an editor to really polish it / / 2008-02-28

There's a lot to recommend this book. No matter how versed you are in comics (I'm not), you're sure to find something new here about an amazingly complex medium.

But it's got some annoying flaws. Particularly in the first third of the book, it can be seriously geeky when it should be introductory and welcoming. You may find yourself stumbling on what seems like fan jargon or expert knowledge. I didn't(and still don't) understand the stylistic differences between Jack Kirby's early and late work. But that's the kind of thing Wolk more or less assumes at times.

At best, the book has some wonderful visual analyses of comic panels and styles. That's good, because most of the arguments require you to trust the visual descriptions. For a book about comics there aren't nearly enough illustrations, and none in color. How about a companion website where readers could look at more than a few low-quality black and white reproductions?

But Wolk's writing style gets annoying at this length. The book's trying to be academic and authoritative, but do it with a casual writing style. It doesn't work. Wolk often writes like a smart blogger; in other words, like someone who *really* needs an editor with a sharp red pencil. For example, he'll use annoying terms like "wave at" or "poke at" to mean "show" and "examine." He has a short "interview" between himself and Mr. Straw Man which feels like a clumsy way of avoiding constructing actual prose. Or he'll discover a new ten-dollar word (like "somatic") and use it two or three times in as many pages. He uses cliched writing (calling someone "a god-awful hack") constantly.

Worst, nearly every page has at least two or three parenthetical phrases, which makes following arguments clunky. An editor would have deleted these as either truly side comments, or else rewritten them to be part of the argument.

You might not be bothered by these things, though I was. They get in the way of reading and following what's actually a pretty subtle and worked-out argument.

Perfect intro to a complex man / / 2007-10-11

I grew up in the days when "great black leader" meant Dr. Martin King, Jr. I read X's autobiography, but found the man hard to like or understand. This small but fact-packed graphic novel is a great help to understand the forces that shaped Malcolm, and the changes he underwent.

The novel lays the context for the story with swift, deft strokes that show the experience of blacks in America's history, from slavery to Jim Crow. The story shifts to tell of X's parents, and covers his childhood, young adulthood as a petty criminal, eventual jailing and conversion to Islam, his hajj and his assassination.

There's a lot to learn about X in this book, much of which was (with attribution) taken from his autobiography. Without saying it in so many words, the books reports inconsistencies in stories he told about himself and the recollections of others. His mother claims not to recall the story of facing down racists while pregnant with X.. The book is also honest about his criminality (as was X himself) and his association with the Boston and Harlem drug and club scenes, including experiences with conking his hair and his dalliances with white women. X's jailing gives the book an opportunity to explain X's attraction to the Nation of Islam, and explains NOI's distinction (due to its myth of white devilry) from other branches of Islam. Malcolm comes across as an intense man of great persuasiveness and integrity, whose incredulity at the sins of NOI's leader, Elijah Mohammed, are laid as the cause of his murder.

This is a quite honest book that lays out the facts and lets the reader decide what to make of them. Was X an effective leader? What is his legacy? What if he had chosen not to challenge the NOI's cult of its leader? The sense of "what might have been" hangs heavily over the book.

The book is drawn in stark black and white, fitting for a man who experienced the world that way and for the basic racial clash of his time. The book's timeline slows down dramatically toward the end, which covers the lead-up to X's violent death. The sense of impending doom, paranoia and creeping dread are expertly conveyed.

It's hard to pin which age group would be most appropriate for the book. There is no graphic sexuality, though marital infidelity and prostitution are discussed. Drug use is discussed, but not glorified. Definitely a book for high-schoolers, with some mature middle-schoolers thrown in.

"Malcolm X" admires its subject without flattering or praising him beyond what his own admirers said about him -- or by whitewashing the less savory elements of his life. X was many things, but in the end, a man, like King, whose religion afforded him a vision of a world in which the presence of racial hatred did not have to be taken for granted.

Okay / / 2010-08-15

This book is helpful for composing scenes and writing a graphic novel, but has almost no helpful information on coloring, drawing, inking, or anything related to the illustration. The author describes styles and methods of coloring, but really doesn't help you at all if you are trying to illustrate your comic. You'll need a different book if you are troubleshooting your drawings or need help to draw.

However, it's very useful for pacing, dialogue, exposition, and layout.

How It's Done / / 2009-06-02

What does it really take to create a good graphic novel? "Writing and Illustrating the Graphic Novel," by comic guru Mike Chinn, seems to have the answer. Using his own expertise and various comic books as examples, Chinn describes how to approach different genres, how to conduct research for your idea, how to put the idea in a script, how to use drawings and panels, and how to get your work published. While there are certain rules to follow (like drawing 5-7 panels on each page), Chinn understands that every writer/artist needs a little leeway. Just don't expect him to hold your hand through the whole thing. At least there's something for Amazon reviewers who get so wound up over what a graphic novel should be.

This book is unrated, but contains no offensive content.

Good Solid book / / 2006-09-15

This book in not bad. It has a solid well written structure to it. The chapters are sequentialy based. But; you can dive into ANY chapter at a moments notice and glean LOTS of information.

American readers might get lost with British language & grammar but that is minor.

The ONLY drawback is the section on computer graphics. Its obvious this book was written about 4 years ago so the technology HAS changed.

Can't wait to read his NEW book on making comics digitally!!!

Best of the bunch / / 2006-01-30

After reading several books on the subject, I honestly feel that this is the best when it comes to get a good feel for the industry and the genre. It is not too wordy, as some on the topic, but it is not too skimpy either. I really feel I learned something from this book.

Complete, Comprehensive with a Fantastic Design!! / / 2004-10-05

A complete guide. A ride through the Graphic Novel concept and everything you need to know to meet face to face with every detail, including reading recommendation for every genre.

A must have for any creator or fan, and one of the few written recently specially devoted to the Graphic Novel

Inventive and informative! / / 2010-09-05

I collect books about making comics, and this one was a great surprise. It is very different from its predecessors (Eisner's and McCloud's) in the sense that 1. it really feels like a course, with plenty of exercises and 2. the deepness of the technical information is just amazing. They go so far as to tell you how many mm you can use for gutters, and which brands and sizes of nibs and brushes certain artists use. Extremely through, a manual to keep at hand at all times!

Draw Me Something I Don't Know About Comic Books / / 2010-02-15

It's similar to other how-to books but surpasses them with chapters on tools AND HOW TO USE THE TOOLS. Unless you happen to know an old-time cartoonist or renaissance cartoonist, there is no resource for learning how to use a brush and nib or how to buy them. Until now. I've always been curious how to properly use a dip pen for drawing cartoons. I have recommended this book to other artists and my students.

Almost like attending a real life course / / 2010-02-03

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R10L2OLXGT8D38 Drawing Words and Writing Pictures is more of a course that a book on drawing comics. The authors Jessica Abel and Matt Madden, both comic artists and teachers, have designed the book to follow a 15-week semester. It's easy to follow and each lesson builds on the previous.

The course is comprehensive and covers everything from paneling, storytelling, transitions, lettering, inking, character development, etc. Basically every form of education you need to create your own comic.

Each lesson has plenty of illustrated examples from the authors and other artists like Craig Thompson, Osamu Tezuka, Paul Pope, etc. You're exposed to many styles, genre and ways of creating comics. The instructions are so clear it's almost like hand holding, but of course you still have to do all the hard work. And the lessons end with homework so you can actually practice what was taught -- practical.

This is a really helpful guide on drawing comics. Highly recommended to aspiring comic artists. Well worth the price.

This is as close as it can get to attending a real comics drawing class.

(More pictures are available on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.)

love it / / 2009-06-24

Thank you Matt and Jessica for this amazing resource. I usually work with much younger kids (10/11year olds) but there's still loads of ideas to use with them. I need to make myself go through and do the course myself.
brilliant, thank you!
Jim Medway

Great step-by-step info / / 2009-05-01

I had checked this book out from the library, then decided to purchase it. Although this book is designed more for comic/graphic books,I'm doing storyboarding for a screenplay, and the step-by-step instructions are fantastic. It's helped get me back into the drawing "zone". Which is much needed since I've been procrastinating. It's an enjoyable read, and the homework assignments help with much needed drawing practice. Plus, it makes me do research. I would recommend this book as an asset for anyone that is serious about drawing, and adding to their personal library.

Customer Review is not available for this book

If you've read Vol. 1, you've read Vol. 2 / / 2009-02-19

I bought volume one. Then, I bought volume two and experienced such a nagging sense of deja vu that I was forced to give away my copy.

There are a few 'printed-elsewhere' gems in here by the usual suspects (Clowes, Crumb, Ware, Sacco, Burns...), but you've got to put up with a bunch of visual noise to get to them.

A Little Harsh For The Holidays / / 2008-12-16

Ummm. Maybe not this year. Life is depressing enough as it is. Ivan Brunettis' collection leans towards darkness, examining lesser known artists who seem to be leading lives filled with depression. The willingness to go into territory that usually is avoided in the world of comics is admirable, but makes the reading of this book mostly unpleasant.

Some Good and Some Not So Good / / 2008-12-01

This is the second year in a row that Ivan Brunetti's `Anthology of Graphic Fiction, Cartoons & True Stories' has taken on `The Best American Comics'. Last year I gave the winning prize to Brunetti, although he does have a distinct advantage in that he doesn't limit himself to just a single year. So for 2008 which one is better? This year I'm declaring it a tie not because they were both so spectacular but because neither distinguished itself enough to win me over.

The whole cast of Alternative artists appear including R. Crumb, Harvey Pekar, Chris Ware, Seth, Kaz, Kevin Huizenga and dozens and dozens more. My litmus test for success in these anthologies is whether or not I discover a new artist intriguing enough that I purchase something else by them. The artist that most caught my eye this time was R. Sikoryak who did some brilliant parodies of 1950's Action Comic covers with an unpleasant character named `The Stranger' in place of Superman. I can't really do it justice trying to describe it. You have to see it to understand. Unfortunately it's only two pages long and I couldn't find any books devoted solely to Mr. Sikoryak who seems to only do compilations and covers for magazines like the New Yorker.

The comics in this collection run the entire gamut from the rough stick figures of Elinore Norflus and weird primitive drawing of Paper Rad (that look like they were done by a five year old) to the high school level art of Gary Painter, John Pocellino and Carlos Golus. On the other end of the spectrum is the frighteningly precise graphic design art of Chris Ware and the clean, profession lines of Jamie Hernandez. Anders Nilson gets the award for the most bizarre comics but in this case it's not really a compliment. Brian Chippendale gets the award for the most profane comic which is essentially raw porn and again this award is more dubious than distinguished. Seth's staid, dignified entry is the polar opposite and Chester Brown's comic is simply a straight out, but well done, explanation of schizophrenia.

I've enjoyed Jim Woodring in the past and this years entry is one of my favorites in what I assume is a story based on dreams he's had given the incredible surrealness of it. Joe Matt has a fascinating entry that skirts the edge of too much personal information. I'm not usually a fan of Jeffrey Brown but this one wasn't bad; maybe because he drew a lot of pictures of his busty girlfriend naked.

What really bothered me about this edition, and this is not a trivial complaint, is that a high percentage of comics will give the reader serious eye strain. I suspect that many of them were shrunken from their original size and they are literally painful to view. I actually skipped over entire sections because I could barely see them and my vision is quite good. I remember reading Quimby the Mouse by Chris Ware when it was presented in its original enormous size and it was difficult to read so imagine his works shrunk. And Ware is not the worst by a long shot. Chris Ware at least draws in clean bold colors but most of the artists in this collection work in black and white and when reduced in size the pages just look like a solid block of lines and tiny text. I really hope this is corrected for 2009 because it has reached the point of unacceptable.

The 2008 collection starts off strong with a great entry by Kaz but the middle of the book is filled with clunkers and forgettable pieces. Personally I thought the efforts by Norflus, Panter, Nilson and someone named C.F. should have remained in whatever high school or elementary school notebook they were created in. In the end the 2008 collection was an ok effort so I'll give it a generous 4 stars. If nothing else this book is so packed with stuff that even a hundred of so pages of sub par material still leaves 300 pages of good stuff.

You just can't go wrong when you grab a comics anthology... / / 2008-10-30

...For your entertainment dollar, comics anthologies are very much the way to go, and especially when you're new to the genre, or searching for new authors or artists. Brunetti (the man responsible for this collection, and its predecessor, An Anthology of Graphic Fiction, Cartoons, and True Stories (Anthology of Graphic Fiction, Cartoons, & True Stories)) is an accomplished cartoonist in his own right and has put together quite the stable of iconic authors/artists/titles here. (See the editorial review above for a pretty representative listing of these...)

However, whether this is a pro or a con is very much dependent on your point of view. Although I enjoyed re-visiting some old friends and their favorites, I might have been happier had I seen just a few more pieces that I didn't already recognize. Not that I'll be kicking this hefty tome out of my collection anytime soon. I'm just sayin'...

Lastly, I have to point out: Sometimes you CAN judge a book by its cover, and this is one of those times. I am absolutely smitten with the cleverness of the cloud/thought bubble and lampshade/speech bubble in the main cover pic! A great indicator of the good things to come once you get between these covers. At 400 pages- -and almost three pounds- -this book is well worth the pittance you'll remit!

Great adaption / / 2010-04-29

This is a great book for understanding communication issues in organizations, and how they can lead to disastrous results. A great read for any business student, made much more interesting through the graphic novel format. This has inspired a number of business relevant graphic novel works such as Atlas Black: Managing to Succeed

In the houses of shadow. / / 2009-11-19

AS ALL of the books in all of the histories of the world weigh in the minds of human, this awful 'graphic novel' will hold as example of the indoctrinative process in operation. Perception management at comic level .
That the 911 commission report has been found fabricated and inept is now understood by academic studies of the 911 event. It has been found so, and called so by members of the commission itself.
A comic book made to shadow the ridiculous commission report is itself, by definition, ridiculous. No matter who finances it, writes it, draws it or sanctions it.
As a graphic work, it is moribund. traced in memory only by a thread of outrage toward its insidious political design. A true collectors piece.

Interesting and Creative Take on Famous Material / / 2009-11-16

This is an interesting take in an already published and very famous material. The 9/11 report sumarizes the findings of the Presidential Comission on the awful events of September 11th and in this book, those findings are shown in a comic-form. Ernie Colon is at his best illustrating the book, which is both informative and entertaining. In the downside, no at all data is suitable for this exercise, specially the epilogue and the comission's conclusions.
I'm no 9/11 specialist so I don't know if any of all the conspiracy theories that had been posted here are true or not, but if anything, the report clearly shows a lack of integrated communication in the responte to 9/11 events.
Overall, and interesting read and an original way to present it.

I Read This Every Sept. 11 / / 2009-11-07

It's hard to describe how I feel about this graphic novel except it's very special to me. It's on a shelf in my office at work and I re-read it every Sept. 11. While there's a lot of after-the-fact analysis covered by the report, the graphic novel also does a superior job of capturing the emotion that 9/11 evoked in much of the nation the day of the attack.

I would recommend The 9/11 Report for anyone who wants a concise, easy-to-understand way to remember what happened on Sept. 11 and how to best prevent such a massive failure in federal response. The 9/11 Report is a very serious book done in a contemporary style - but the art in no way diminishes the message contained here.

Revolting / / 2009-09-15

Colon is a fine comics artist, has been for years. But you open the book and, sure enough, the name of the game is Blame it on the Arabs/Muslims. The writer of this adaptation is of the very community who should not be involved in the 9/11 investigation. Sorry, they don't get "to document the event" any longer, as their dancing van boys did. I'm not endorsing Charlie Sheen but most of his questions for Obama are appropriate. The families of the victims DO want the investigation to be reopened, and did you also know that 6 of the 10 original commission members now express huge doubts about the whole endeavor?