Book Description

For six decades, Saul Steinberg's covers, cartoons, features, and illustrations were a defining presence at The New Yorker. As the magazine became a standard-bearer of taste and intelligence in American letters, Steinberg's drawings emerged as its visual epitome. This richly illustrated book, featuring Joel Smith's astute text and a captivating introduction by the artist's friend and colleague Ian Frazier, explores the remarkable range and unceasing evolution of a major American modernist-one whose art reached a grateful public not from museum walls but from the pages of the periodical he called "my refuge, patria, and safety net."

All Steinberg's New Yorker covers appear here in full color, along with over 130 examples of inside art, from black-line drawings to elaborate color portfolios. Also included are Steinberg's most beloved, intuitive, and brilliant inspirations, among them a New York populated with stoical cats, precocious children, puzzled couples, and a menagerie of vivid grotesques. A vibrant celebration of one of the most original and engaging artists of the 20th century, Steinberg at The New Yorker brings alive a genius, a magazine, and an era. AUTHOR BIO: Joel Smith has been the Fisher Curator at the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center at Vassar College since 1999. He is the author of Edward Steichen: The Early Years. Ian Frazier is a frequent contributor to The New Yorker. His previous books include the national bestseller Great Plains. ... Read more

Book Description

This volume is aimed at the advancement of manga and prepared by a group of assistants to popular manga artist Yu Kinutani. It begins with the use of drawing utensils and covers character faces, full bodies, arms, legs, hair and so on. The instructions are presented in easy-to-understand "blocks". A great way to begin a hobby or career in the field of Japanese manga. English Language. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Good general information.
Well, when I bought this book, I wasn't disappointed. It gives you very good information on figure-drawing, how to render expressions, proportioning for different types of characters (i.e. children, men, young women, older women, etc.). There are also sections on how to render character and plot which are useful if you're a beginner, although you would want to find additional material at a later date as they do not go into depth. There was also information that would be quite useful if you wanted to be a professional manga artist, covering tone, the types of brushes and pens you need, etc.

Some of the side drawings (NOT what is used to instruct) are ecchi (a little perverted), but not over the top. Also, the translation is lacking. Some people might find that this book is not in-depth enough for them--there are other books in this series that go more into depth on the desired subject.

Another book to try would be "How to Draw Anime & Game Characters, Vol. 1". It would be useful for anyone, because it shows commonly made mistakes and how to fix them.

However, do not expect that this book will automatically make you better (this goes for any "How to Draw" book)! There's something important required... it's called PRACTICE. It seems like too many people buy "How to Draw" books and immediately expect to be better. Umm... not if you don't draw until you never want to draw again, and then some. If you draw with technique and practice, you'll improve.

This is a good addition to any collection.

Fantastic! Except....
This book is a wonderful start-to-finish guide for drawing manga. (What this book is *not* is a step-by-step guide for drawing anime/manga characters -- for that, get the related Drawing Anime and Game Characters series.) It goes over the processes of professional mangakas getting published, usings pens and tones, planning a story, designing characters, drawing faces and bodies, creating a manga-type mood, drawing dynamic scenes, all with the aid of a mini-manga of "Mr. Mangaka" and all his assistants acting everything out for your personal enjoyment. I have never, ever encountered any book, online or in print, that covers so professionally such a wide range of topics. (Someone noted correctly that this book requires a little bit of talent and practice on your part -- after all, it's a "how to draw manga" book, not a "how to draw halfway decent" book, so supposedly you already have some interest in drawing and anime to even take a second look at this book.)

The rest of the How to Draw Manga series is specilization; this book was all-encompassing. If you get no others from this series, get this book, if you seriously want to draw pro manga right away.

However, this book has one weakness, and, unfortunately, it's huge: the translation. I happen to have access to the Japanese version and all I can say is... dang, the English version hurts. The diction is off on every page, the grammar has shadows of Japanese syntax, the fonts (Chicago and Arial, everything!) and the spacing are horrendous, and most rules of layout and white space management are thrown out the window -- making that aspect of the book look amateurish. They didn't even doctor the SFX correctly -- in some places they are whited out with no attempt to clone the background, leaving ugly white holes, and the English SFX they replace them with (if any) are bizarre and stilted, and usually in a stupid font like Chicago.... In other places the SFX are left completely untouched -- left in Japanese, so those who can't read katakana can scratch their heads in confusion. (As stated in the book, SFX contribute heavily to the mood. In this case, they fracture it .)

Conclusion: Would have been a 5 star if the translation was done better...even slightly so. However, the content is sooo good that it's still completely worth getting the book -- unless you know Japanese and can easily get the Japanese version, in which case, go for the original by all means.

(Warning: there is some mild H (perverted) content on less than half a dozen pages -- nothing much, PG+ or PG-13 tops, and nothing at all compared to the nudity and more offensive poses that can appear in the other books of this series.... In any case, just a heads up.)

A great addition to "How to Draw Maga: getting startted"
While "Getting Started" deals with the very basic aspects of How to Draw Manga, This book in the series seems to extend beyond the very basics and gets more in depth with the aspects of Drawing, character creation, and the elements of making a Manga comic.

Though as an afterthought, this book, "How to Draw manga: Compiling Characters" could probably replace "Getting Started", as it does cover just about the same topics, in fuller detail. So if you don't feel like spending the $20 some odd dollars on "Getting Started", this one can easily take its place. but it certainly doesn't hurt to get both

You need a little talent first
After searching for this book for SO long I finnaly found it. I was so excited that I could finnaly sharpen my techniques. But... It was kinda disapointing...
I mean they use terms like, "3 point perspective" and "vanishing point" without telling you what they are. I mean I know now, but it was confusing! And really, I just didn't like there models, they weren't my style. But the face section was great!
But sadly, when it comes to drawing, it's not a matter of learning how to do it. To make something look the way you want it to, you have to draw with your heart and mind, and work very hard at it. Unfortunately it's not something that's easy to teach.
All in all, the books give you some ideas. But really it depends on how much skill you have and what technique you like. ...

Great Book
Excellent book, shows how to draw using blocks and lines.
Mostly very easy to understand, with cute little characters showing you what to do ^_^
Also showed some Japanese words and there meanings.
This book had 2 or 3 wrong translations but was overall a really good book ^^ ... Read more

Amazon.com

A comic book about comic books. McCloud, in an incredibly accessible style, explains the details of how comics work: how they're composed, read and understood. More than just a book about comics, this gets to the heart of how we deal with visual languages in general. "The potential of comics is limitless and exciting!" writes McCloud. This should be required reading for every school teacher. Pulitzer Prize-winner Art Spiegelman says, "The most intelligent comics I've seen in a long time." ... Read more

Reviews (68)

Perhaps ever so slightly overrated...
I appreciate the innovation of writing a book about comics in comic-book style. It's a clever, winning idea. Perhaps it would have worked a bit better if McCloud himself were a better draftsman, or if there had been more (and better-quality) reproductions of other artists' work.

The writing here is uneven. Some chapters, including "Blood in the gutter" and "Time Frames," are very effective and very specific, with strong insights into the nuts-and-bolts of comic techniques. Another chapter, "The Vocabulary of Comics" -- which uses a big triangle graph to encompass the whole of range of comics art -- is quite insightful but, at the same time, oversimplifies a bit, I fear. I'm not saying McCloud's assertions aren't necessarily true, but he might have put himself on surer ground with some of the language/symbol ideas by getting more heavily into semiotics theory, etc. And maybe here is where the light-hearted tone and comic-book style starts to undercut his intellectual accomplishment. I understand the book isn't meant to be a doctoral thesis, but still, it has high ambitions, and the structure of the book must be subordinated to the loftiness of its aspirations. Chapter 7, which attempts to relate all of artistic achievement into a unified whole, is one of the least satisfying, because it is frankly pretentious and rather gooey, non-specific, in its assertions.

Don't get me wrong. There is a lot of good insight in "Understanding Comics," and I wouldn't debate that it's an essential read for anyone interested in the topic. But it also feels like sort of a primer, a survey. Each one of the chapters could itself be the subject of a whole book. In other words, "Understanding Comics" has impressive breadth but not as much depth as one might want.

More people should read this!
Scott McCloud does a fantastic job explaining the history, potential, and inner workings of comics as a medium. I was especially impressed with his concise descriptions of visual theory and its particular applications to comics. Occasionally I felt that McCloud's treatment of a topic could have been more fleshed-out (the chapter on color, for example, or his concluding idea of comics as a particularly good form of communication) or that he made some unnecessary generalizations (his definition of art was a bit trite and even misleading). On the whole, though, McCloud's ideas are sophisticated and he is able to communicate them with surprising eloquence to both the art historian and the general public. In fact, though I am an art historian, I learned a good deal from this book.

McCloud's decision to use the comic format to present his ideas is ingenious, and I doubt that prose alone would have been able to deliver his messages with such clarity. The one drawback to the format is that I fear it will only appeal to those who already value comics, and that as a result those who most need to hear what McCloud has to say never will!

The Comic as both Art and Science
Disregard the Sanchez Review. If it is not fiction, Mr. Sanchez has no interest in it. This is a most interesting book that adds to the legitimacy of the comic book as literature and an art/science. A plus to collectors and readers.

The best text book on comics around.
This was required reading in the cartooning program at the School of Visual Arts and with good reason. Clear, informative and never dry, McCloud provides the best reference to understanding the principals of constructing comics without delving into drawing lessons, an area already sufficiently covered.

An Enlightening Read
Even as a lifelong reader of many types of comics (superheroes, Asterix, underground, manga, etc.) this book was a revelation. McCloud has a gife for explaining the why's and how's of sequential art in a way that kept my attention through the whole book. As a professional artist and multimedia developer, the concepts McCloud puts forth regarding human perception of two-dimensional sequential art have helped bring me to a new level and I have recommended this book to others in my field who have found it equally useful and fascinating.

And if any of you comic readers know people who mercilessly rag on you for being a geek, this book just might shut them up. ... Read more

Amazon.com

"A is for Amy who fell down the stairs. B is for Basil assaulted by bears. C is for Clara who wasted away. D is for Desmond thrown out of a sleigh..." The rhyming couplets of this grim abecedarian are familiar, of course, to devotees of macabre humor, but the darkly crosshatched drawings are (as Poe put it) "the soul of the plot." Several years went by during which The Gashlycrumb Tinies: Or, After the Outing was not available in a small hardcover edition like this one, which is the true format for Edward Gorey's specialty, the adult picture book. (For those who wish to share the gloom there's a 10-copy assortment with The Curious Sofa.) ... Read more

Reviews (66)

"N is for Neville who died of ennui"
But you will not die of ennui if you open this book. It illustrates the misfortunes of 26 children with names A-Z to a ghoulishly humorous rhyme. The cover image of the umbrella wielding symbol of death and his doomed "tinies" is one of the most famous artwork out there; especially in the gothic world. Inside are drawings of the children before or after their sudden deaths. My favorite is "H is for Hector done in by a thug" with a drawing of an innocent schoolboy and two arms holding a long piece of cloth in the background. No doubt this scene was inspired by the barbaric cult that practiced ritual strangulation known as the "Thuggies." The most gruesome drawing is "K is for Kate who was struck with an axe" the rest are more witty than grisly. Like the title, this book is tiny in size as well but big on macabre humor!

DARK FUN
Edward Gorey's illustrations, those spindly, dark and often macabre etchings of pen and ink, are instantly evocative - they place you in a dark, vampire-ish Victorian-era place, where behind every curtain lurks another pair of hands with a scarf, ready to choke you. This truly inspired, and hilarious, collection of drawings and their accompanying poem, detail the ghastly deaths of 26 children, one by one, through the alphabet. Whether you are a fan of Gorey's large paperback compilations, or of his spectacular set designs (Dracula), or not, this book is strictly for those with a twisted sense of humor. And if yours is, you will love it. Since I first read this 20 years ago, friends still quote it - "A is for Amy who fell down the stairs...."

Drop-Dead Humor from A to Z
Edward Gorey's dark subversion of children's alphabet books is a tiny book guaranteed to bring a sinister smile to the face of every one with a twisted sense of humor. Opening with "A is for Amy who fell down the stairs" and running all the way to "Z is for Zilla who drank too much gin," the simple but inspired rhymes combine with Gorey's pseudo-Victorian Gothic crosshatch illustrations to wickedly funny effect.

Although his disaster-specific illustrations (such as "R is Rhoda consumed by a fire") are macabrely witty, Gorey is really at his best when he leaves the most to your imagination. Consequently, it is really his illustrations of impending doom ("P is for Prue trampled flat in a brawl") or the shocking aftermath of an unknown circumstance ("K is for Kate who was struck with an ax") that are most likely to inspire a mischievous grin.

Although you might not want to give this to your anxiety-prone niece or your traumatized stepson as a Christmas stocking stuffer unless you wish to make them worry about your intent, older children will likely find it every bit as comical as adults--but adults are the real audience here, much more likely to catch the drop-dead humor involved. Wickedly amusing and sinisterly charming in every way.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Cute and Creepy
This is for anyone with that sense of humor that most people just don't seem to get. A genuis dark twist on teaching the ABC's... very delightful.
~CS112_tih2

A cool little book
I'm so surprised to find this book here! I actually have this one! My cousin bought it for me, knowing my morbid sense of humor. It's pretty funny if you have my kind of humor. ... Read more

Book Description

In celebration of its 65th anniversary, the House of Ideas proudly presents a timeless testament to another true Marvel visionary! Best known as the first artist to bring Spider-Man to life in the pages of Amazing Fantasy, Steve Ditko illustrated Amazing Spider-Man for four years - helping create characters such as Doctor Octopus, the Lizard, the Vulture, and dozens more of Spider-Man's classic villains. In contrast to the grounded realism of Spider-Man, Ditko also drew the adventures of Doctor Strange, a master of the mystic arts who defended Earth's citizens from bizarre otherworldly threats. Now, this deluxe keepsake edition collects his greatest moments.Stories from Tales To Astonish #26, 42; Strange Tales #94, 97, 110, 115, 126-127; 146; Amazing Adult Fantasy #7, 10, 12-13; Amazing Spider-Man #1, 31-33, Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1; Hulk #6, 249; Tales Of Suspence #48, Daredevil #162; MSHS, Speedball #1. ... Read more

Book Description

The team behind the blockbuster animated hit Ice Age --Twentieth Century Fox, Blue Sky Studios, and Academy Award®-winning director Chris Wedge -- joined forces with acclaimed children's author William Joyce to create another visually magnificent, animated classic in Robots. Conceptualized by this stellar creative team and voiced by stars such as Ewan McGregor, Halle Berry, Mel Brooks, Stanley Tucci, Greg Kinnear, and Amanda Bynes, Robots is a magical contribution to the art of animation. Here to celebrate the film is The Art of Robots, offering a sneak peek at the early visual developmental stages of the film. Featuring the spectacular concept art created by the team at Blue Sky Studios and by producer and production designer William Joyce, this innovative and imaginative book is an exclusive backstage pass to the hidden animation artistry behind Robots. ... Read more

Book Description

For 50 years, Playboy magazine has showcased the world's best and brightest cartoonists. Their spectacular stable of artists includes luminaries such as Buck Brown, Jack Cole, Eldon Dedini, Jules Feiffer, Shel Silverstein, Doug Sneyd, Gahan Wilson, and hundreds of others. Hip subversives and sly revolutionaries all, Playboy's artists have continually proffered a sophisticated brand of humor sorely missing in other men’s magazines. Now, Playboy celebrates its golden anniversary with this glorious collection of the finest and funniest cartoons. Handpicked by Hugh M. Hefner himself, the pages are filled with the distillation of the entire cartoon archive, offering insightful commentary on topics from the sexual revolution to relationships, money, and politics. More than 450 cartoons feature sweet young things, terrible tarts, winsome wives, suitors, and studs -- a riotous chronicle of five decades of Playboy cartoons. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Fifty years of fun.
It's nice to see a book of coffee-table proportions just devoted to cartoons, well why not? Previous Playboy books have covered the history of the magazine, the delightful Playmates and now the cartoons. The 450 plus illustrations are the work of 107 cartoonists and if you are a regular reader of the magazine you'll see your favorites. Gahan Wilson has the most (thirty-two) followed by regulars like Eldon Dedini, John Demsey, Alden Erikson, Kiraz, Roy Raymonde, Doug Sneyd (he of the flamboyant signature, which I was never able to decipher until now) Erich Sokol and between these, dozens of great artists who have maybe one or two works each. The humor might not be the wonderful ironic style of the New Yorker but it is amazing how many fresh takes can be created with the bachelor lifestyle.

This is a handsomely produced book, printed on thick glossy paper which, nicely, allows you to really appreciate just how good some of these artists are. My favorite, Jack Davis, unfortunately only has four shown, Richard Taylor has a super picture on page ten, an art gallery where he has created several Picasso type paintings, Doug Sneyd, Phil Interlandi and Dedini are all brilliant draughtsmen and Shel Silverstein can create so much with so little line and color.

However I was a bit disappointed with this book, as another reviewer has commented, there is no indication of when the cartoons appeared and I wish the publishers had gone the extra mile and perhaps devoted some space throughout the pages for a photo and biography of the regulars, some of these guys have been with Playboy for years. Someone though, at least, did have the foresight to compile an Artists index and a useful Order of appearance list, both of which are in the back pages.

Clearly a wonderful book for the bedside table if your date didn't turn up, try laughing yourself to sleep.

Not enough Yeagle !!!!
I enjoyed seeing the work of some of my favorite cartoon
artist...together in one book. Some I had forgotten about.
It cetainly must have been difficult to narrow down the
selection with so many great cartoons over the years.
However, I was disappointed not to see more of one of my
very favorites.....Dean Yeagle. There is one cartoon of his
in the book...and it is also on the cover...the showgirls
and earrings cartoon.
Mr.Yeagle does excellent work....just check out his website..
www.bellefree.com.....His Mandy pinup girl is adorable!
I would love to see an all Dean Yeagle book published !!!!!!

nice book, but...
First of all this book is printed on excellent paper & is well done except for one thing. there is no way to tell what year the cartoons are from. They should have had chapters. 1950`s 1960`s ect so you know what era they are from ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Chris Hart Does It Again!
Without a doubt, Christopher Hart is one of the most prolific and talented cartoonist around. Having worked with companies such as Disney, his cartoon style is entertaining and stylic as well. It's got personality and it will make you want to engross yourself in the book. If you've not read any book by Chris Hart, this is one of his best. However, it is a wonderful book with lots of helpful ideas on becoming a cartoonist yourself.

It covers everything from how to place the features to costumes to animals. It would definitely be a useful starting (and ending) ground for anyone interested in this art.

Excellent find!
This book is great! There are a ton of helpful tips and techniques that range from how to draw facial expressions and body types to how to draw ice cubes and water... and even how to convey wind or rain. The author, Christopher Hart, even explains why cartoon characters have only three fingers.

This book is very clear, very informative and very funny! I highly recommend this book!

Great Stuff Here!
Christopher Hart has brought many hours of both fun drawing and thoughtful learning in my atristic journey. Not only does he explain everything you need to know for beginners, but some fresh stuff for the experienced artist as well. I'm sure anyone of all ages will enjoy learning form this and all of his great books.

Good book
I have had this book for a few years now and I love it. Hart gives lots of examples of a character in different situations. He also shows how to lay out your comic and gives advice on colors and such. This book /would/ have gotten the full 5 stars, but I felt that the section on animals could have either been expanded to include a basic rundown on construction for beginners, or left out entirely. The section is mainly about the relative height of animals to others and, above that, an intermediate construction of the animal itself, plus a brief written guideline. I should be getting Hart's book on cartooning animals today, so hopefully that will be more of a help to me in the animal area. All in all, this book is great for those who are just starting out or need a refresher.

really fun book
This book will help you transit from doodling to drawing cartoons. It is great for distracting your collegues during long meetings, delighting younger children who should be concentrating on other things, and annoying your spouse who is trying to pay attention.
Get it. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (28)

The ultimate guide on HOW to animate
Any animator looking for a book to help them improve their craft knows that most books on animation usually fall short in so many ways, it's easy to think it's impossible to write a comprehensive and accurate book on the subject (don't even get me started about the abysmal state of computer character animation books). Williams is the penultimate animator's animator and he tells it like it is. Williams systematically demystifies virtually every aspect of animation from simple walk cycles, to breaking joints to dialogue and acting. Along the way, he corrects or eliminates information that is inaccurate or practices that distract (lose the headphones and the rad tunes when you work and watch your quality and quantity improve). Williams also is a great storyteller and writer. His accounts with Milt Kahl, Art Babbit and Ken Harris are gems, giving real insight into the personalities of these ingenious men. Since so much of the book is gleaned from his tutaluge under the now-gone "greats" of animation, any price for this tome is a steal. His gift to the world is this book.

If you want learn to REALLY animate characters with life and believability, get this book.

A Legendary Animator Tells it Like It Is
Richard Williams is a man who is largely responsible for the revival of the art of animation in the early 1970s. Williams had Disney animator Art Babbitt and Warner great Ken Harris working in his studio in London and training a new generation of animators in the techniques of good character animation, which was not taught at the time in any school or considered an art form.

Williams' long awaited book on animation technique is the logical successor to Preston Blair's CARTOON ANIMATION and it successfully updates some of the weaknesses of that book, particularly in handling dialogue animation. He covers a lot of the same ground that Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston did in their now out-of-print THE ILLUSION OF LIFE.

There is some history, but that's available in other books. What is unique about this book is that Williams writes how surprised he, an Academy Award winning animator with a successful professional studio, was to learn that he needed to learn just about everything over again from Harris and Babbitt. Fortunately for us he is now sharing these priceless lessons with the public.

The most important thing that an aspiring animator will get from this book is: that animation IS an art form, and good animation has nothing to do with whether it is done on computer or on paper. Williams exhorts his readers to 'draw whenever possible' and even though there is a computer modelled figure on the cover of the book, there is not a single piece of computer generated imagery in it. The book is about the bare bones, about creating life in art. Animation is the twentieth century's contribution to world art and deserves to be taken very seriously.

Buy this book.

Excellent!
I have been looking for a book like this for over a decade.
The detail is excellent.
The "fun to read" and "easy to understand style" of this book, is the cherry with whipped cream on top!
You will love this book and reach for it again and again and again.
Richard Willams book is a powerhouse of visual information.

Phenomenal
Of all the animation books I have read, this is by far the best. I found it more useful and detailed than Preston Blaire's book. This is essential.

Incredible
I've only read through about 50 pages of this book so far, but... omigod what an awesome book! Definitely should be on the shelf of anyone serious about character animation, whether you are doing 3D digital animation or traditional hand-drawn animation. Williams goes into incredible detail on motion, 'tweening, timing, and also has some great anecdotes from working with some of the legendary animators from Disney and Warner Brothers. ... Read more

Reviews (49)

A fitting tribute
This book is certainly an appropriate tribute to the greatest comic strip of all time. It gives us a good dose of the best from each decade. My favorite aspect is the great margin notes by Charles Schulz, wherein he gives us fascinating background comments on the evolution of Peanuts and on ideas behind specific strips. My only regret, and the reason I gave the book 4 stars instead of 5, is that most of the Sunday samples of Peanuts are not in color here. They would have been in color originally, and I like seeing them that way. But this is certainly a terrific book to own, and I highly recommend it.

Peanuts deserves better, we deserve better
This is a delightful book. The photos and information of Charles Schulz (allow me an aside:: I think that Charlie "BROWN" is a smokescreen: the main character of this strip is Charlie SCHULZ), his background, and his studio are wonderful for a lifelong fan (I'm a year younger than Linus). The commentary and selection are superb, and it's even fun to shake your head over some of the 'fan' mail he got.

Allow me a sour note: the editing is sloppy. Strip #5 on page 15 appears again on page 16. The lower four strips on page 149 are out of order: they should go #6, #3, #5, #4. Good grief! Confused order on page 168 threatens to ruin the story line. #5 on page 168 belongs on page 170. Line 4 on page 171 appears again on page 236 (not that I minded seeing it again, but it means one less strip for us to enjoy.)

You may think I've got too much time on my hands, to go through a comic collection so carefully, but come on! This *is* Peanuts, after all! What could matter more?

Wonderful compilation for the casual Peanuts reader
When first printed in 1999, this book offered the best retrospective on Schulz' Peanuts. It's still a wonderful book, which I own. If you're a casual fan of the strip, and don't mind if you haven't read all the panels, then you'll love this compilation. It serves as a perfect introduction to Schulz' comic.

If you're a rabid, hardcore Peanuts fan like me, however, you might consider purchasing the complete Peanuts collection, which is available through Fantagraphics. (The first edition, printed in May, 2004, contains the first two years of Peanuts from 1950-1952. Several more volumes will volume over the next decade.) I've reviewed the first volume of that set, and plan on purchasing the others.

The "Golden Celebration" should still be in every "Peanuts" collector's library and is the best edited compilation I've seen on Peanuts.

A Great Sampling of 50 years worth of Cartoon Genius
If you are a Peanuts fanatic, you already have this book. If you like the strip, and would like to have a comprehensive overview of the entire series, this book is perfect. It contains comic strips from 1950 to 1999, in chronological order. Of course, this is just a sampling, another company is releasing all the strips in order starting in April.
The book also contains a short biography of Schulz, a section on the TV shows and movies, & peanuts collectibles. If you have the 25th or 40th anniversary books, you've seen much of this information. Out of all the anniversary books, THIS one contains the most strips. ALSO, it contains brief commentary by Schulz in a sidebar for special strips (first appearance of a character, first football gag, etc.)
Highly recommended for vigorous or casual fans.

Good . . . but not great
Any "Peanuts" book is (for me, anyway) great, especially since there are a lot of strips I still haven't read, and this collection seemed good to begin with - but I don't think this is the best book on the market. It's like a greatest hits double-CD with new liner notes, remastered, and missing all the lesser hits and major album tracks which are your favorites.(And it's a little pricey - where I am, it's almost AU$100!)

The drawbacks are, as others have noted, the editing is somewhat shoddy, some story arcs aren't completed, other really good story arcs aren't in here at all, a lot of the strips are in available books already (or at least those Fawcett paperbacks usually in libraries), and a lot of the commentary by Schulz is drawn from the 1985 book "You Don't Look 35, Charlie Brown!" (I wish that was in print.) - only the notes pertaining to 1990s strips are new. And the discussions of the TV specials, the musical, the movies are rather short - 2 pages for the 1999 version of the musical, and 2 for the movies _and_ the TV specials, when we're dealing with "It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown" and "Snoopy Come Home"!(Or rather, should be; neither are mentioned. Another out-of-print book, "Happy Birthday, Charlie Brown" [1979] goes into greater depth on a lot of TV specials, and the movies, and the making of "Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown" [unreleased at that time], but is of course a little out of date [but still great].) Just a list of all the TV shows would have been nice - it's hard to keep track of all the "lesser" ones made in the mid-late 1980s/early 1990s - but evidently, that's too much to ask.

Still, all the strips _are_ wonderful to read.

It just, as a whole, doesn't quite reach the heights of 5-stardom - or, more appropriately, it isn't gold; perhaps bronze. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (7)

Superb
It is incumbent upon the reader of this book to have read Dante's DIVINE COMEDY at least once. If there is no familiarity with that masterpiece before-hand, little will be gained by browsing thru these wonderful pages.

For those who are intimate with Dante, this present book is a can't miss. As an illustrated guide thru hell, purgatory and heaven, the plates will recall to the mind of the reader the sundry circles, punishments, torments and rewards depicted in the poem.

For all who love the COMEDY, this is your chance to allow Dore to help you visualize your journey thru the cosmic afterlife with the likes of our friends, Dante the Pilgrim and Virgil the poet. As an added bonus, there are tercets depicting the scenes drawn by Dore on every page.

After getting this edition, I'm now interested in getting his illustrations of Milton's PARADISE LOST as well. For those who browse thru these pages, I would HIGHLY recommend listening to Loreena McKennitt's song DANTE's PRAYER while you do so. It is off of her album THE BOOK OF SECRETS (ASIN: B000002NHN), also available @ Amazon.com.

Gustave Dore's superb engravings for Dante's classic work
I have a horrible confession to make: I much prefer to look at Gustave Dore's fantastic and grotesque scenes depicting Dante's "Divine Comedy" with just appropriate lines from the Longfellow translation then have to deal with all those tercets. Even worse, I think these 135 illustrations from the 1861 edition comprise Dore's best body of work, even better than his famous Bible illustrations completed five years later, mainly because I think Dore's style is better suited to the depths of Hell and the realms of Purgatory, rather than the stories of the Bible. Clearly Dore found his kindred soul mate in Dante and even though he did classic engravings to illustrate everything from "Don Quixote" to "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner," this is his monumental achievement. Many admirers like the plates depicting the souls writhing in the fiery torments of Hell, but my favorite has to do with the lower level of hell where Dante and Virgil encounter the souls frozen in ice (Canto XXXII). This Dover edition is relatively inexpensive, which means the paper quality is geared towards economy rather than reproduction, but I think that it a satisfactory tradeoff, all things considered.

wow!
Excellent artwork that comes to life very well. I really felt Dante in Dore's works.

Great illustrations!
If you are interested in Dore's work or Dante's Divine Comedy, get this! A great supplement to the book.

The Truth
And they talk about heaven on earth.

This is The Inferno Baby. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

It's NOT Tracing!!!
Simply put, this is the best book on inking I've read. Don't waste your money on other books, buy Jansen's and Miller's and learn everything you need to know.

The book doesn't stop with instruction on techniques, tools, and materials, but gives you some great tips such as why you should keep your ink bottle in an ashtray!

Anyone who has ever laboured under the misapprehension that comic book inking is just 'going over a proper artists drawing with a pen' is finally shown the error of their ways as Jansen and Miller demonstrate what a fine art inking is when practiced correctly. Moreover, this is a DC guide to inking, not a guide to inking DC characters. Once you've read this and got some practice in, you'll be able to ink everything from cartoons to the most cutting-edge comic book characters.

Great text, great illustrations, what's stopping you?

Buy it now!

The most complete inking instructional
The most well-rounded instructional on comic book inking (out of...2?) that I've seen. As a professional artist I can easily recommend this to those interested in learning the tricks of the trade. Not the end-all however. Practice often, study your favorite titles and illustrators, go to a museum every now and then, and take an art class or two. This could be your text book, along with DC's Guide to Penciling.

How to guide from the artist who inked The Dark Knight
This book takes you through some of the best problems inkers have. Klaus Janson shows you how to have a light source, use forced perspective to show drama and lots of technical tricks of the trade I never thought of. This takes his first book about comic book penciling to next level. It shows how comic pros like Neal Adams handle a problem vs. another with a different approach to the same drawing. I have read this from cover to cover and enjoy reading how Klaus faces the empty page with creative solutions to drawing problems.

I have admired his work since the 1970's to the present. While his blotchy and cartoony inking style is a far cry from his detailed work in the seventies, I still enjoy work. ... Read more

Book Description

If you are anime/manga collector or fan, you have had a burning desire to learn how to draw the popular characters by yourself.However, you may be worried that you cannot draw as well as people in art clubs or in cartoon clubs because drawing is difficult - don't worry, many people feel the same way.This series was written to help those who are interested in drawing, but are worried about the challenges involved with it.If you change the way you look at an object - even just a little, you can succeed. ... Read more

Reviews (35)

Just as the title says.
Yeah, as the title says this is a book with just the basics.

It's not a step by step "how to draw" book as you would first think, it's rather a book on "test and learn", for example it shows a variety of characters and tells things like "separated eyes express lonelines, the small mouth expresses a delicate nature", so this book will only teach you how to design plain characters and it's wonderful for beginners like me; In no way must be considered a complete "How to Draw Anime" lesson, but its perfect for start cooking, even if you don't even know how to hold your pencil (that was my case some months ago when I bought it).

If you're a complete beginner buy this book, I gave it 5 stars because it helped me a lot, but keep this mind: drawing characters is one thing, to give life to them is something else... for that buy the Volume 2, or do some research.

Not exactly the basics...
This is an excellent book and all, it has improved my drawing a ton! There are plenty of examples to draw by (showing different kinds of characters including the cool looking comedian, the quiet hero, and the flirty school girl)
I'd say that the one problem would be the fact that it details how to put a pencil against a piece of paper and gives a bunch of warm-ups, but then immediatly goes to the examples. This book is mostly for those who draw flawed drawings and want to find tips (located in the back) or people who want to learn a little more on how anime works.
THIS IS NOT FOR ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS! I REPEAT NOT FOR ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS!

While good, this is not for complete beginners.
To begin, this is a good book. On first glance, it has a lot of detail and reference. It has excellent models, and wonderful in-depth descriptions.
It has a few big shortcomings, tho. Seeing as the title is "Basics for Beginners and Beyond" I thought that this would be the perfect book for me, seeing as I couldn't draw at all. After I got the book and started reading it, I realized that this is not the first book I should have bought. While this book does give great reference, it does not give step by step instructions. For those of you who are like me and cannot draw at all, you're going to want something a little more simplistic and instructive. This should be the *second* book you buy. (Three stars because this is NOT for complete beginners, as the title belies.

Fot total and complete beginners, I'd recommend that you buy How to Draw Manga by Katy Coope, ISBN 0439317452. It's extremely cheap, short and to the point. While it has it's own flaws, it was just what I needed and recommend for those of you who are just starting out. NEXT I'd recommend this book. Once you've gotten the simple skills from Katy Coope, then Tadashi Ozawa will show you a where to go with it.

Great book for beginners
This is the first in a the "How to Draw Anime & Game Characters" series of books, so obviously this one starts with the basics beginning with shapes and lines. With that done, it progressively moves on to how you adapt those techniques into making your characters body, parts of the body, and face. They show how to draw many different body sizes, eye shapes, hairstyles, hands, feet, and so on from different angles. They also have some areas that put a beginner, intermediate, and professional artists work side by side and examine the problem areas. A nice feature to help you prevent common (and not so common) mistakes. Overall, it's a great buy to those who want to draw anime.

this is a great book
I have just bought this book about a week ago and it improved my
drawing alot.I gave it a 4 star because it took me a while to under stand the book.I've been looking for a good how to draw book and this book is great.It is good for beginners and has alot of details.I will recomend this book to anyone that wants to draw anime. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A great book for animation fans and art lovers
The focus of this book was certainly ART, as it provides stunning pictures of Mideval Paris from historical archive that Disney artists meticulously researched before finalizing the background scenery. We also get a glimpse of the profiling of the psychology of each character, and their interaction that drives the story. However, at this price, I wish that they had CD-ROM version that catered to the sophisticated fans of animation art who are very interested in all of the gory technical details.

A must for Disney worshippers
Like Rebello's previous "Art of" books (Lion King and Pocahontas), this one is a joy to look at, but it's missing one thing. I wish it had more about the characters' voices. Often the actor or actress who voices a character influences the visual development of that character. The animator may model the character after the actor, or he or she may take one particular gesture from the actor and incorporate it into the character (like Belle - she kept brushing that lock of hair away from her face because her voice, Paige O'Hara, did the same thing). So including some information about the voices behind the characters would provide even more insight for those of us clamoring to know about how an animated film is made. But even with this one flaw, the book is gorgeous, especially the production stills of the interior of Notre Dame. And the concept art is great - sometimes it's wildly different from what actually shows up on screen, so you get a look at the evolution process. Oh - don't skip the index. The illustrations of how animators let off steam are hysterical! My favorite - "Quasi and Harriet". So, if you're a fan of Disney animation, get this! ... Read more

Book Description

Desktop computer artists will find a wealth of information in this heavily illustrated book. It instructs in the principles, practice, and techniques of successful animation. The author covers all forms of animation, starting with the basics of making sketches in flip books, and concluding with the latest developments in computer-generated imagery. He demonstrates with practical examples that utilize key areas of modern animation—cell art, stop-action with clay or plastic models, and 3D computer-generated and web-based animations. This volume’s six chapters cover the following topics: The art of story telling and storyboarding . . . How to create stop-action animation . . . Simple cell animation, the technique for simple movie cartoon sequences . . . Full cell animation, as used by Disney, Warner Brothers, and similar studios . . . Web animation for showcasing your skill over the Internet . . . and Computer modeling and animation, including 3D modeling. The book’s concluding sections discuss modern hardware and software, with emphasis on affordable beginners’ equipment. Also provided is an overview of the animation industry and its applications to movies, TV, and computer games. More than 250 instructive illustrations enhance this fascinating how-to volume. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

If You Are New to Animation, Get This Book!
Chris has created an invaluable resource for anyone interested in creating animation. I have recently created 2 animated shorts and am well into my third. My first effort was created using Toon Boom Studio's 2D software and for the second, I used Macromedia Flash. I then embarked upon an old-fashioned hand drawn animation with plans to scan the art, assemble it and then edit it. How to do it? My How to Draw animation books barely touched upon the tools needed and none of them covered modern technology, especially the all important modern tool, the computer.

Lady Luck was smiling the day I discovered Chris Patmore's "The Complete Animation Course". The book is NOT a how to draw animated figures kind of book. However, it is a valuable resource filled with ways to produce an animation. The book is handsomely designed and easy to navigate. If you want to know how to find software to create "Pencil Tests" of your drawings to see how you animated action is unfolding, Chris lists several inexpensive programs (and some very expensive ones, too!) and tells the reader which ones are for Macintosh and which ones are for PC. You want to know about setting up a Rostrum Camera? It's in there. How about simple cutout animation or stop-motion animation (also know as claymation and stop-action)--it's also covered. Chris offers many options for the fledgling animator to choose from.

He gives inside animator tips on equipment and procedures. I found myself regularly referring to his book as I moved through the various stages of drawing, shooting pencil tests and scanning the final art.

I'm a long time illustrator but I'm new to animation. The Complete Animation Course has helped me immensely.

5 Stars & HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Perfect Introduction to the Craft
I don't think one can review this book as anything less than a 5 out of 5. It's very well thought out, beautifully illustrated and I only wish it were available earlier when I still taught introductory college level animation. This will not teach you 'how' to animate -- to learn to animate you have to simply start doing it -- but it will give you a very good idea of what animation is about. If you're looking for a 'how-to' book, Richard Williams' Animator's Survival Kit and Disney's Illusion of Life are the standards.

Great High Level Fly By
The title of this book is some what misleading as to its scope. It looks like a Preston Blair or Richard Williams calibre teaching book based on the title. It presents itself as a "complete" course on animation technique. It isn't. This is a very good "high level" fly by. It is a survey of some of everything in current animation from classical to computer. A lot of breath and very little depth. It's Intro to Modern Animation 101. If you are just starting out and you want to get a useful 20,000 feet off of the ground introduction to what's available out there then this is a great overview book. Easy on the eyes and easy to read. But, if you are trying to actually become a successful animator and you want specific technical instruction this is not that kind of book. If you are a complete novice and have little or no idea about modern animation and don't know where to begin, then I recommend this book as a great starting reference. ... Read more

Book Description

"I understand the design, but I can't figure out the actually how to portray my character in the costume." Many have likely experienced this dilemma when trying to develop a character's costume and reached for a book on fashion as a reference. In this volume, manga characters appear as models, and the book illustrates aspects that serve as fashion points showing the characters in various poses and angles. This volume boasts more than 4,000 images. With this as reference, the reader should be able to design an original costume with ease by combining the collars, sleeves, cuffs, and other dress details provided. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Good stuff
I thought this book was very helpful even though most of the clothes were for women. This is a must have if you are interested in drawing anime and manga!

Good for girls cloths
This book is good, the only thing missing is the male fashons. All of the cloths are women's, even though some could be altered to be men's cloths. There is a small section about drawing men in women's cloths, but that's it.

If You're Serious About Drawing Manga, Get This Already!
Just about every "how-to" book on drawing manga (and also "mainstream" comics) advises aspiring artists to gather reference material from "real-life" in order to draw realistic buildings, animals, trees, and so on. But when it comes to researching costumes and fashions for designing characters, the artists is confronted not only with the potentially confusing details of a particular item of clothing, but also the countless changes in fashion that have developed over history. And just how do you correctly draw that leg-of-mutton sleeve for your heroine's wedding dress?

I can't recommend this first volume of the "Costume Encylopedia" (Everyday Clothing) highly enough. There are more than a dozen different styles each of sleeves, skirts, coats, footwear, and other items of clothing, that are catalogued, diagrammed, and described for easy reference.

Don't know the difference between a tiered skirt and a sarong (you can raise your hand if you don't)? They're both in the book. The book is prefaced with several drawings of costumes created from the various styles featured in the encyclopedia. And for those of you interested in how clothes are constructed, the back of the book explains how basic articles of clothing are pattered and assembled.

This is not only perfect for creating costumes for your manga characters, but also for interpreting outfits featured in fashion magazines, history books, and on film and TV (be sure to observe what folks are wearing on the street,too). Students in fashion design courses also use guides similar to this one, but those texts are easily 2 to 3 times more expensive than the Encyclopedia (If you can afford it, I highly recommend "Fashion Sketchbook" by Bina Abling).

I would've liked to have seen more instruction on how to properly draw the clothing items upon a human figure, but much of this information can be obtained from other art instruction books, including other volumes in the "How to..." series.

I recommend this book for everyone, including non-manga comic artists, and I look forward to the two upcoming volumes (Yes!) in the Costume Encyclopedia.

This is a great book -- the pages are packed.
I hoped to see a good number of illustrations and styles, but I am actually overwhelmed by the sheer number of variations and illustrations in this book. This is a fantastic resource. I definitely recommend it. The only drawback is that the illustrations are generally done in the over-simplified style of this series, but what the illustrations lack in tones and shading is more than compensated for by volume and diversity.

There's still no substitute for a good from-life reference, but this book makes it easy to pull from a whole universe of styles. Great stuff. ... Read more

Amazon.com

As the New York Times writes of Edward Gorey, "His satires (often of tawdry Victorian mysteries) are not mere commentaries on the manners and mores of a distant age; they are inventive narratives about evil adults, mischievous children, illicit lovers and improbable beasts." Or, in the case of The Curious Sofa, improbable furniture. As Gorey tells us on the cover, this is "a pornographic work" (pornographic horror, in fact) with a picture on every page. And yet there's nary a nipple (nor a drop of blood) in sight. (For those who want some extras to pass around there's a 10-copy assortment with The GashlycrumbTinies.) ... Read more

Reviews (16)

Delightfully Wicked
The first Gorey book I've ever bought, and it's left me panting for more.

Subtitled "a pornographic work," The Curious Sofa it is indeed, but for what it leaves out. Readers won't find sex or violence on these pages, merely the titillation of the unseen.

Umm... mouth watering!

The best dirty book I've ever read
The Curious Sofa is the best dirty book I've ever looked at or read. It is the tale of a sexual adventure gone wildly out of control. Ogdred Weary's prose reads rather like an erotic, almost-picaresque retelling of Gosford Park. It's astonishing, just how proper a fetishistic, sadomasochistic kink session can be when populated by upper-class folk (and a Old English Sheepdog).

The book is made even better by the artwork of Edward Gorey, which has more in common with the direction of Alfred Hitchcock than the in-your-face pictorials of Larry Flynt. But if you're a fan of Gorey, you know that already.

Gerald did a terrible thing to Elsie with a saucepan....
Though definitely not for everyone, this is probably the creepiest little thing I've read in a LONG time, this being accomplished entirely by subtle insinuation and suggestion than anything concrete.

Pornographic work? Not exactly, if you are expecting the sort of thing all those spam e-mails promise. This is surrealism, enigmatic and dreamlike... the graphic imagery is limited to bizarrely posed and leering maybe-unclothed/maybe-not cartoon figures tastefully obscured behind monstrously large ornamental urns, twisted naked tree limbs, and imposing bamboo screens, with such captions as "That evening in the library Scylla, one of the guests who had certain anatomical peculiarities, demonstrated the 'Lithuanian Typewriter', assisted by Ronald and Rupert, two remarkably well-set-up young men from the village." Over and again through the "story" my reaction was "What the heck is THAT supposed to mean???" while taken together they imply something hideously and repugnantly barbaric and freakishly obscene, with the only possible conclusions (when they can be made at all) not matching the reactions of the characters, until the shocking conclusion where at last the characters react appropriately to an eerie situation that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever... making the entire experience that much more disconcerting.

This is the beauty of Edward Gory's surrealism. Though, as I said earlier, it is not for everyone- the horror is too enigmatic and the humor a bit too strange for the taste of most people I know... as one negative review said: "Make sure you want to buy this sort of book... it is not what I was expecting." (What was she expecting? She never said... the statement would make a lovely caption for a Gory cartoon, though, unrelated to the panels directly preceding and following it: [A woman in a fur coat and a pair of sinister tennis shoes marking a calendar, while a strange and ambiguous animal watches:] "I would fancy a cup of tea, but only on alternating Tuesdays."/ [The ambiguous animal stands in a bookstore, frowning doubtfully as a distraught young woman points fearfully at a nondescript and dusty book on the bottom shelf of an antique bookcase, telling the woman in tennis shoes:] "Make sure you want to buy this sort of book... it is not what I was expecting."/ [The distraught-looking woman asks the woman in sneakers while looking out the shop window:] "Is it my imagination, or has that building moved since last I saw it?" [The doubtful animal replies:] "NO.")

And I think I should also mention that Gory's little cartoons are probably not a good idea for children. Although, I believe that at 9, 10, or 11 I would have been fascinated by the intricately detailed and strange little creepy drawings and their bizarre captions and though any vaguely "adult" elements would have gone way over my head, the cartoons would nonetheless have sparked my imagination... seeing them again as an adult would have been that much more chilling.

And, in closing, yes, this book is tiny, and very short. I'd suggest first of all trying out "Amphigory"- a collection of Gory's weird cartoons which includes "The Curious Sofa: A Pornographic Work by Ogdred Weary", and if you especially like that story to get the little book, or to buy it as a gift for friends with a twisted sense of humor. In fact I would recommend that anyone suspecting they might have a taste for surrealism, dream-like and brutal satire of stiff and stuffy Edwardian and Victorian mannerisms art and customs, subtle gothic horror and twisted humor get hold of as many of the Amphigory books as they can.

Anyone up for a game of Thumbfumble?
Hardly pornographic at all, this small and simple book is filled with insinuations of events that could quite possibly be indecent or tawdry, but remain veiled, allowing the reader to reach their own conclusions.

While The Curious Sofa is amusing in its naive and capricious way, it is not a "bust out laughing" piece of entertainment, and made me smile but not laugh. I'm not entirely sure that is worth the $9.00 price. It would be more recommendable if it was half the price and marketed more as a novelty or gift item.

When looking at purchasing this item, take note of the small size of the book and the number of pages. The book is little enough to be a stocking stuffer at Christmas time, and the page count says 64, but it is actually only 32, because the printing is one-sided, so there is only one picture per page turn, opposite pages are all blank.

The drawings, while indeed whimsical, were not particularly special, and the only one who could possibly label anything in this book "pornographic" would be Mother Goose. We never do get to see this Curious Sofa either, and I found that to be the difference between feeling titillated with the unseen, and feeling cheated out of something that could have been special.

Overall, it would be a nice gift item if the price were lower, but at $9.00 for 32 pages with no real conclusion to the tale, leave it on the shelf.

Um. Well, it's different.
That's about all I can say. I was expecting a bit more than this. it's very small and very thin and implies more than it says. It's sort of mocking. The sofa isn't curious in the sense that it want s to know things, it's curious in the sense that there's something different about it.

Definitely rated whatever you would rate your own mind, since most of the dirty stuff IS all in the implications and has little to do with the words or images. Little kids would read it and just not get it, but adults might see it a bit different.

Not for kids. ... Read more