The Insider's Guide to Creating Comics and Graphic Novels

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.

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.

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.

Andy Schmidt's new book about creating comics and graphic novels is an insightful and rewarding read, so full of tips and clips from legends of the comics industry that it gives off a sense of being let in on the big, timeless secrets that separate the pros from the wannabes. It's no coincidence or simple marketing hyperbole that Schmidt aims to make his book an "insider's guide". He should know what marvels lay on the other side of the magic curtain. A true comic industry insider, Schmidt has made a name for himself as an editor, first at Marvel on such titles as The Fantastic Four, The Avengers and Annihilation, and most recently as senior editor at IDW Publishing. But he's also a writer, having worked for folks like Marvel Comics and BOOM! Studios. Oh, and he founded Comics Experience, a company dedicated to teaching the crafts of comic book writing and illustration. Andy Schmidt is the closest thing the comics industry has to a triple-threat. So it's fair to say he's qualified to be called an "expert". One can just hear the desperate chants of future Andy Schmidtites: "I want to be as big as god...or at least as cool as Paul Pope! Here's my wallet, Andy. Take it. Take it!" Because idol worship is the folly of many a disgruntled fanboy, take heed: Don't read this book to learn how to draw or format a comic book script. For those fundamental issues, look to Writing for Comics with Peter David, Working Methods by John Lowe, or classics like Will Eisner's Comics & Sequential Art and Dynamic Figure Drawing by Burne Hogarth. But if you want to understand how all the pieces must come together, then this book has more than its share of sobering, real-world advice: Like when the legendary John Byrne laments that most would-be artists want him to reveal the secret to comic book greatness: "When I tell them the real story, their eyes glaze over. Because, unfortunately, there is only one way to do it. Something Jack Kirby understood, Ditko understood, both Buscemas, Romita, any of the guys who came in with a professional attitude understand. It's simply nose-to-the-grindstone. Work. Discipline. The hard part!"; Or when inker extraordinaire, Klaus Janson, points out what newbie inkers today don't seem to want to hear: "The best inkers have always been the artists who can draw [emphasis ours]: Tom Palmer, Wally Wood, Dick Giordano, Kevin Knowlan, Murphy Anderson, Joe Sinnott, Sal Buscema, etc."; Or when artist Gene Ha challenges would-be pencillers to "Bring something [...] new to comics. The world doesn't need another [...] Frank Miller or Mike Mignola. [...] Show me stuff I've never seen before." You can just imagine the deafening chirp of crickets in a comicon breakout session full of imitators. The advice from pros comes fast and furious in this de facto comic book creator's bible, as snippets of in-your-face commentary are firmly planted on nearly every page. Yet, the heart of Andy Schmidt's book comes from his own voice as an editor, write

This book is very well written and entertaining. It deserves a word of praise cause the author has a deep insight and shares it without being academical. I would suggest it specially for writers, or artist beginners who have not yet faced the problems of sequential art. I would not suggest it for experienced artist as it lacks a bit of depth. All in all one of the best titles for comic book fans or authors Cheers