As comics and graphic novels gain reader
attention—thanks not only to the books themselves, but through blockbuster film
adaptations and popular TV series—more and more creative people find themselves
wondering how to go about making their own comics. Many of those people are
likely to think, “Hey, I’ll see what they’ve got down at the library!” The
problem, of course, is that most librarians don’t really know how to develop a
collection of this nature. So, in place of a typical review this week, I’m doing
something special and listing the books best suited, in my opinion, to any “how
to make comics” collection.
How-to books have a lengthy history in the comic book
medium; heck, I even wrote and illustrated one back in 2004!* Now, when it
comes to this subject matter, I am picky.
There are quite a few terrific books on this topic, but there are also tons of
bad ones: books produced by people whose
only credentials regarding comics seem to be the production of how-to
books. You won’t find any books like that on this list. What you will find are
books I believe—based on my experience both as a professional writer/cartoonist and a college educator on the subject
of comics creation—impart valuable lessons to the reader. The fact that a book's not on this list doesn’t automatically condemn it as being
worthless, but the works that do appear here have my unequivocal endorsement. In
fact, most appeared on the required reading list for the courses I’ve taught.
This list doesn't really have many "how-to-draw" books on it; you've probably already ordered a number of those, and this list is focused on comics in particular rather than basic drawing technqniques. That said, if Burne Hogarth's Dynamic Anatomy (ISBN 978-0823015528), Dynamic Figure Drawing (ISBN 978-0823015771), and Dynamic Light and Shade (ISBN 978-0823015818) aren't in your how-to-draw collection, your collection is lacking! Jack Hamm's Cartooning the Head and Figure (ISBN 978-0399508035) is also a giant of the art-form, and deserves a spot on your shelves.
This list doesn't really have many "how-to-draw" books on it; you've probably already ordered a number of those, and this list is focused on comics in particular rather than basic drawing technqniques. That said, if Burne Hogarth's Dynamic Anatomy (ISBN 978-0823015528), Dynamic Figure Drawing (ISBN 978-0823015771), and Dynamic Light and Shade (ISBN 978-0823015818) aren't in your how-to-draw collection, your collection is lacking! Jack Hamm's Cartooning the Head and Figure (ISBN 978-0399508035) is also a giant of the art-form, and deserves a spot on your shelves.
The instructional
works of Scott McCloud
In his books Understanding
Comics: The Invisible Art (ISBN 978-0060976255), Reinventing Comics: How Imagination and Technology Are Revolutionizing
an Art Form (ISBN 978-0060953508), and Making
Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels (ISBN 978-0060780944),
writer/cartoonist Scott McCloud has built a body of instruction on the subject
of comics that has established him as possibly the leading thinker on the
topic. McCloud’s work—which is presented in graphic novel format—is not
designed for children; he explores complex topics that are simply beyond most
readers under the age of 12. But in these three books, McCloud dissects the medium
with scientific precision and lays bare its innermost workings. Understanding Comics and Making Comics are must-haves; Reinventing Comics (a tragically
misunderstood book that wasn’t well received when initially published) is best
suited to readers who’ve already got some comics creation under their belts and
want to change how they think about comics.
The instructional
works of Will Eisner
The late Will Eisner was a true pioneer in American comics.
In addition to producing his groundbreaking comic strip “The Spirit,” Eisner
was one of the first US-based comics creators to explore the long-form graphic
novel format, and among the first to teach comics at the collegiate level. His
books Comics and Sequential Art (ISBN 978-0393331264) and Graphic Storytelling and Visual Narrative
(ISBN 978-0393331271) have their roots in the comics courses Eisner taught
beginning in the 1970s and, while not as methodological or as well-organized as
the works of McCloud or Abel and Madden (see below), are treasure troves of
comics instruction.
The instructional
works of Jessica Abel and Matt Madden
Drawing Words and
Writing Pictures (ISBN 978-1596431317) and Mastering Comics (ISBN 978-1596436176) present top-notch
instructional material in a format mirroring the week-to-week format of a
college course and drawing upon numerous stylistic examples from the full
breadth of the medium. Jessica Abel and Matt Madden truly understand how to
create comics and how to teach the subject. These books are among the best on
the subject, and are great resources for learning comics creation from the
ground up.
The DC Comics Guide
to…
This series—produced by one of the American comic book
industry’s “Big Two” publishers—is created by comics professionals and compartmentalizes
the comics craft into its various component disciplines. (Most mainstream professionals
do only one job on a comic; it’s only the “auteurs” of the indie comics scene
who do everything on their own.) These books offer plenty of instruction, but
like most good books on the subject, are best suited for teens and adults.
The DC Comics Guide to
Creating Comics: Inside the Art of Visual Storytelling by Carl Potts (ISBN 978-0385344722)
The DC Comics Guide to
Writing Comics by Dennis O’Neill (ISBN 978-0823010271)
The DC Comics Guide to
Pencilling Comics by Klaus Janson (ISBN 978-0823010288)
The DC Comics Guide to
Inking Comics by Klaus Janson (ISBN 978-0823010295)
The DC Comics Guide to
Coloring and Lettering Comics by Mark Chiarello and Todd Klein (ISBN 978-0823010301)
The DC Comics Guide to
Digitally Drawing Comics by Freddie E. Williams II (ISBN 978-0823099238)
The instructional
works of Stan Lee
Stan Lee’s How to Draw
Comics (ISBN 978-0823000838) by Stan Lee, et al: Though Stan Lee co-created
some of the most important American comics properties, he’s a writer, not an
artist. That said, this book (which I don’t think Stan wrote, either; his name
on this volume is branding, I believe, rather than actual attribution) collects
many valuable lessons on basic drawing, composition, and layout/storytelling
for comics. Well worth the money regardless of its curious title.
How to Draw Comics the
Marvel Way (ISBN 978-0671530778) by Stan Lee and John Buscema: A landmark
work—the first on the subject of drawing for superhero comics—this one remains
a classic despite being rather dated and not terribly in-depth. Its simple
lessons (designed in the 1970s by legendary artist John Buscema with flavor
text added by Lee) are easily grasped and remain worth learning. A classic for
a reason.
“But Mike…where’s the
manga?”
If you can find them, there’s an excellent series of books
produced by Hikaru Hayashi teaching various manga aesthetics. They’re the only
English-language books on the subject I feel comfortable recommending, but
sadly, they’re out of print right now. But allow me to put my on art teacher
hat (unworn for far too long) and pontificate for a moment
The manga style of drawing is just that: a style. While there are dozens upon
dozens of books on drawing manga—many of them churned out by those people I
mentioned who have no published credentials in the field, but produce how-to
books with gleeful abandon—most of them concern themselves with only the
aesthetics of manga. They teach you how to draw reflections in those giant eyes;
how to draw manga hair; how to draw schoolgirl uniforms. These are lessons
would-be mangaka (manga creators)
will want to learn, obviously, but the fact is, these books are largely
interchangeable, because the aesthetic is all they convey.
Comics are not a single aesthetic, nor are comics as a medium defined by
their aesthetics.
To properly create comics, one must learn the art of visual
narrative and the creation of living, breathing characters, then combine that
with some technical know-how, which is the stuff the other books mentioned in
this post do. As long as new creators begin learning from the fundamentals—how to
tell a story in panel-to-panel form—the rest is just style, and that can (and
will) emerge later, and can be learned from any number of sources. An artist,
even a young one, who understands how comics work will be much better positioned to develop as an artist, having
learned those precious storytelling skills first. She can learn to emulate the
aesthetic by simply reading the comics she likes to look at.
There you have it…an instant “how to draw comics” collection! May it serve you—and the budding writers and artists in your library—well! I’d also like to remind you that I created a pamphlet teaching some basic cartooning skills that I’ve made available from right here (just right-click and “Save As…”). You can print these out and keep them near your how-to collection, and send them home with interested readers!
*Make Your Own Comics: The Small Press Primer by Mike Hall, ISBN 978-0974139814. Don't bother tracking it down: it’s long out-of-print, emphasized self-publishing over the nuts and bolts of making comics, and, frankly, it's totally outdated now. I don’t recommend adding this museum piece to your collection, even if you can find the thing. Some year I intend to produce an all-new edition.
