Comics and Sequential Art: Principles and Practices from the Legendary Cartoonist

"Comics & Sequential Art" is based on a course Will Eisner taught at New York's School of Visual Art although originally this work was written as a series of essays that appeared randomly in "The Spirit" magazine. Eisner provides a guide book to the "principles & practice of the world's most popular art form, and while it is of interest to those of us who read comic books it is clearly intended to be of use to aspiring comic book artists (and writers, albeit to a lesser degree). One way of measuring the book's success is to note that I have the 24th printing of a work that was first published in 1985 (and expanded in 1990 to include print and computer), but then the fact that the book was written by Eisner and uses dozens of examples of his own art work to evidence his points, as well as drawings down specifically for the book, is enough to tell you this is something special.There are eight lessons in Professor Eisner's syllabus: (1) Comics as a Form of Reading looks at the interplay of word and image in comic books that has created a cross-breeding of illustration and prose, including the idea of how text can be read as image, which shows the sense of detail Eisner brings to his subject. (2) Imagery begins with the idea of letters as images and develops a notion of how the "pictograph" functions in the modern comic strip as a calligraphic style variation. The key subject here is that of images without words. (3) "Timing" considers the phenomenon of duration and its experience as an integral dimension of sequential art, with Eisner drawing (literally) a distinction between "time" and "timing." This chapter looks at framing speech and framing time, with Eisner making his points in the textual part of the chapter and then providing a series of comic book pages evidencing different features he wants to emphasize. (4) The Frame is a major chapter that examines in detail the sequences segments called panels or frames, with Eisner emphasizing the idea that these frames do not correspond exactly to cinematic frames because they are part of the creative process and not the result of the technology. Eisner examines encapsulation, the panel as a medium of control, creating the panel, the panel as container, the "language" of the panel border, the frame as a narrative device, the frame as a structural support, the panel outline, the emotional function of the frame, the "splash" page, the page as a meta panel, the super-panel as a page, panel composition, the function of perspective, and realism and perspective. This chapter is not half the book, but it is close, and it basically tells you everything you ever wanted to know about a panel in a comic book. When you are taking into account the meaning of the border of the panel, then you know this is a comprehensive examination of the subject under discussion.The rest of the book deals with what you put in those panels: (5) Expressive Anatomy provides a micro-Dictionary of Gestures before covering

Will Eisner either invented or refined most of the techniques of storytelling that "modern" comics depend on.Before this book, one way to learn How To Write And Draw Comics was to read, if you could find it, the entire run of Eisner's incredible "Spirit", which, fifty years after it ended, is still one of the most incredible examples of sheer bravado virtuosity in the medium.Since this book's publication, the "read the 'Spirit'" method -- while still, probably, the most pleasurable way to study -- is no longer the best. Now the best way to really *learn* how and why comics work is to get this book,and to allow one of the true masters of the craft to share with you his sixty-plus years' worth of experience and innovation.Learn how and why comics resemble film - and why they don't. Learn pacing, narrative and page beakdowns.It's almost like having Eisner himself standing there, pointing out what to do and what not to do.And anyone who thinks that Eisner must be irrelevant to comics because his most famous work was so long ago need look no further than the splash page of the fourth issue of DC's "Harley Quinn" (March 2001)... nor past the ending of the same comic, which subtly pays tribute to the "Spirit" story about an ordinary man named Gerhard Schnobble -- the one that Eisner has called his own favourite of the strip's entire run.You want to do comics and you don't have access to professional training? Buy this book.You want to do comics and you "do* have access to professional training? Buy this book, anyway..

INDISPENSIBLE HOW-TO BOOK THAT REALLY STUDIES THE MEDIUM Reviewer: Zorikh Lequidre from Brooklyn, NY Before this book came out, most "how to draw comics" books were mostly concentrated on big, muscular heroes and action poses. There was very little emphasis on comics as a storytelling medium. Will Eisner has been drawing comics since God invented dirt and has explored almost every way a story can be told. One of his biggest contributions is using every element of the medium to tell the story. This book expounds heavilly on this.Written years before Scott McCloud's "Understanding Comics," Eisner expounds upon how comics are a visual, reading experience using both words and pictures. He instructs the reader in how words and pictures can be used together to tell a story. The author must lead the reader with visual clues to each sequential immage. Mood, emotion, even time can be expressed visually in a comic. Camera angles, panel borders, typefaces, all play a part in the effectiveness of a story.Eisner gives plenty of examples of his work to illustrate his ideas. Most significant are his "Hamlet," "Life on Another Planet," and several "Spirit" works. Looking at this really helps the reader see how creatively a story can be told.Also included in this book are examinations of the various types of work a comic illustrator can do, including storyboards and instruction manuals.This book, and its sequel "Graphic Storytelling," are must reading for anyone who wants to create comics, and good reading for anyone who wants to understand them better. Don't settle for mediocrity, read the best!

Eisner is an acknowledged genius in the field of Sequential Art. His graceful and knowledgeable approach to his craft make this text emminently readable, and you never forget for a moment that you're learning from a master. Filled with fantastic and dramatic pages of his own comic work, the book effectively imparts the technical understanding you need... with concrete examples that are FUN to read. I've been drawing seriously for over 15 years now, and found this book tremendously helpful. I think anyone would.