Stan Lee's How to Draw Comics: From the Legendary Creator of Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, Fantastic Four, X-Men, and Iron Man

by Neal Adams, with contributed art by Jack Kirby Stan Lee, Sr John Romita

In Stan Lee's How to Draw Comics, Stan Lee reveals his secrets  * Costumes * Penciling, Inking & Coloring * Lettering & Word Balloons * Digital Advances * Perspective & Foreshortening * What Makes Great Action * Page & Panel Layout * Covers * Creating a Portfolio * Getting WorkWhen it comes to comic books, one name says it Stan Lee. His characters are classics. His industry knowledge is vast. His creativity is boundless. And now, he’s sharing what he knows with you, Grasshopper!            His cohorts have always been—and still are—some of the best in the Jack Kirby, John Romita, Sr., Neal Adams, Gil Kane, Mike Deodato, Jr., Frank Cho, and Jonathan Lau, and many others, Stan includes their work here and discusses what exactly makes it so great.            He touches on all the important anatomy, foreshortening, perspective, action, penciling, inking, hand lettering vs. digital lettering, color, character and costume design, panel flow, materials and tools, computers, file formats, and software. He includes an overview of the history and development of the comic book industry, and there’s an extensive section on various types of covers—the super important element that makes the reader want to pick up that comic!            In a world where good battles evil at every turn and the hero fights valiantly to get the girl, no stone is left unturned! Here you’ll also find info on all the small details—that really aren’t so word balloons, thought balloons, whisper balloons, bursts, sound effect lettering, and splash pages!            And KA-BLAMMM! . . . once you’ve created your art, then what? Lest you think Stan would turn you out into the wilderness without a road map, fellow traveler, there’s also information on preparing and submitting your portfolio, on getting work, and on suggested reading and schools.           Stan Lee’s How to Draw Comics features a cover that reunites long time collaborator John Romita Sr. and original cover artist of How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way.  John Romita Sr. was most famous for his collaboration on The Amazing Spider-Man with Stan Lee!It’s time for a new approach . . . “a cornucopia of cutting-edge, techno-savvy instructions to lead you down the freshly laid yellow brick road of creativity.” It’s time for a book that takes you on the new journey of creating comic books for the 21st century and beyond! Excelsior!

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Comics, Reference, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Drawing

393 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 16, 2010

About the author

Neal Adams was an American comic book and commercial artist known for helping to create some of the definitive modern imagery of the DC Comics characters Superman, Batman, and Green Arrow; as the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates; and as a creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and recognition for Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.

Adams was inducted into the Eisner Award's Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 1998, and the Harvey Awards' Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1999.

Librarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

For me this book was a little bit confusing. On one side its written like somebody is talking to a 12 year old and wants him to inspire to be a great comic artist, on the other side the exemples are very intricate and of a very high standart. They scared me and the whole time I was thinking "how on earth I'm going to draw this". What this book does it gives a rough overview about different aspects in making a comic. It talks a little bit of everything but doesn't go into much detail. Good for people who already know how to draw and want to pick up a few tips or for people who would like a little bit of an insight how a comic is made. But not really a beginners guide with detailed drawing steps.

[Wolf Ostheeren]

This book is a lot of things, but it's not a beginner's course to draw comics. Yes, there are concise and rough lessons on every aspect of the craft (very superhero style centered, too) but they can't be more than little teasers, even if illustrated with great and well commented artwork to see what's explained for yourself. It's way to advanced for a beginner, but an advanced comic book artist should already know what's in it, I guess. I think I learned more from this book about reading and appreciating the art that comics can be, and how they come into existence, than I did about actually drawing them myself. Which is perfectly fine, as far as I'm concerned, but might not be what you expect from the title and cover.

[Chip'sBookBinge · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't pick up Stan Lee's How To Draw Comics for the purpose of learning how to draw, Letter or color. I'm already well versed in that part of Comic Book creation. You can check out myDeviant Art Gallery at http://chiprocks1.deviantart.com for some of my color samples if you're inclined to do so.

My main objective to giving this book a spin was just to update my knowledge and see if there were / are new things that currently being utilize by amateurs and professionals alike. After reading it, there isn't a whole lot that I would say is "new". This book is definitely aimed at the novice artist looking to break into the biz and touches up on everything that will be asked of you when creating your own fantasy worlds or working with preexisting characters for Marvel, DC, Image and any other publisher.

Everything from Penciling, Inking, Coloring and Lettering is addressed here. There is even a section devoted to how best to go about submitting and showing your portfolio to land that prize job that you are after. So, can any seasoned or professionals benefit from this book? Yes. It's a nice handy thing to have just for a refresher course should you get in a rut. Lot's of different examples to be found within the book from layout and cover designs, color samples as well as inking and penciling styles.

I can recommend this book as a Rent from the Library.

4 Stars out of 5.

You can find more of my Book, DVD, TV and Movie reviews at my Forum (Penny Can) at...

http://pennycan.createaforum.com

Feel free to stop by and contribute your 2 cents.

[Maik Krüger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do not replace Lee & Buscema's How to draw Comics the Marvel Way with this! It actually teaches you very little practical skills, it is more a collection of Stan's anecdotes (He can't draw himself) and essays from top level artists on various aspects of visually creating a book. Still, one can marvel at the humour and wit of The Man and the sheer gravity of the artists names that contributed. It's also - who'd have thought - extremely beautifully illustrated.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

tl;dr: Despite being a pretty standard 'how to draw' book, it's not one I would recommend for absolute beginners. Instead of going too in depth on any one topic or area, it covers a variety in quick and brief bursts. (Honestly it felt a little lost in terms of direction and audience.)

It's decent for what it is, but I'm less into this style of books nowadays, for myself personally. Perhaps fun for a kid starting out though, but be prepared to support them when they find their art skills aren't immediately amazing or how if only they could buy x tool, they'd be a professional already. Art is a never ending journey, encourage the progress, not results.

Not tl;dr:

My notes as I read.

I kind of wish it was emphasized that you can just start with a pencil and paper and grow your collection of tools from there. Part of my usual issue with 'how to draw' books is the overwhelming (for beginners) amount of tools and recommendations that make you feel like you can't start or get good until you have them all. Not to mention sometimes, as this book does a lot, they make these tools out to be REQUIRED, or else you CAN'T create art, which is just ridiculous. Most especially for a book like this, aimed at a younger audience, that's immediately discouraging right off the bat, which is the exact opposite of what you'd want.

The book's information (and attitude) is rather dated. Of course any book involving technology and computers will inevitably get behind, and it was written back in 2010 when Stan Lee was still alive. Though seeing Photoshop CS4 as the 'latest version' certainly gave me a giggle. And of course given the context, there is going to be misogyny. (Women can't be too muscular, heels show off their sleek nice legs and curves, all artworks have zero waist and all T&A, LOTS of comments on women's bodies, etc.) It's nothing overly offensive, just the usual. However one artwork as an example extreme close up includes a VERY obvious cum shot. In a book aimed at kids/teens, that feels rather inappropriate, and I imagine there were likely other examples of extreme close ups they could've used. Just saying.

Another nit-pick, albeit, a big nit-pick, I have with this book is the lack of clear explanations in the examples shown. Like when showing artworks with mistakes, there is a sentence or two at best telling you what the issue is, and just...expecting you, an inexperienced beginner artist, to be able to see them? I have well over a decade of experience under my belt, but for untrained eyes, there's no way they'd be able to see these errors without more direct help. A redline or circling of the issues would've done a LOT to help out budding artists.

And it's odd, as in the latter half of the book, there are notes (arrows) drawn directly on top of the artworks to emphasize a teaching point (eye flow). Along with side by side comparisons of incorrect and corrected versions of an artwork. I'm not sure why that wasn't everywhere in this book?

As someone who has experience also teaching beginner (and absolute beginner) artists, some tips and information shared in here are helpful, but others, like, "Give hair sufficient thickness and body. It shouldn't just lie there like a soaking-wet cat," is meaningless to the point of confusing for that audience. I would definitely not give this book to an absolute beginner, unless it's for inspiration and not drawing education. There is some insight into the history of comics and how the industry works, but for art instruction, I would aim this more at upper beginner to lower intermediate. Though given the mish-mash of information in this book, I'm not sure there is a singular target audience (with some very beginner step-by-step instructions, and other more intermediate details of information, the book is all over the place).

That's not to say the book is all bad. There are still some great bits in here, like showing appreciation towards ALL kinds of artists, even the ones you might not think about (like inkers or letterers). Encouraging practice and embracing your skills as you grow. Using your imagination and being silly. Etc. Along with portfolio best practices and tips for submitting. The back of the book also includes additional recommended reading and resource information, like schools, art suppliers, etc.

I gave this 3/5 stars more so for a general audience score. I can see this being a fun book for teens who are comics or Marvel fans. But for any adults wanting to get into comics or art, there are so many other better resources out there.

Such as: Andrew Loomis is a famous name most artists are familiar with, though his education materials are rather limited in terms of body types/stereotypes, in which case, the Morpho book series more than makes up for it. Mark Crilley is another great artist, and while I've not read his books, they are praised by my peers and his YouTube tutorial videos are excellently geared towards new or young artists covering all sorts of topics for artists, and comic artists, of all kinds. Alphonso Dunn is a master inker and also amazing teacher. Miyuli is another fantastic artist with materials aimed more at experienced beginners or intermediate artists. "Perspective Made Easy" is a highly beloved book in the industry. Browse around and don't ever stop at just one resource!

[Ravi Dethiya]

xvx

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

My daughter is a huge Marvel fan as well as an artist. She LOVED this book!

[Salina Rubio Karcz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Outdated. Somewhat helpful in a general way.

[Daniel Farrelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good and interesting. Information varies from really basic to pretty in depth. There are some sections (like how to draw a person's head) that are so basic that I don't know why they were even included. But most of its pretty good, and there's a lot of specific advice on tools, programs, things like that. I mean, it's a little outdated when discussing software, but on the whole it's super interesting. Worth a read through.

[Ty Beringer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this more than I did. It was fun and a bit silly, which is what I wanted. The actual meat of the book is a touch lacking, in my opinion. It's certainly outdated, which isn't necessarily a fair criticism, but this is now more of a fun thing to have on the shelf than something I'll revisit. Some beautiful art inside, and I'd recommend it to anyone who can find it on sale.

[Brian Jackett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book up on a whim at the library. I may have been expecting more about how to "draw" comics, but appreciated the inclusion of all aspects of comic book making including inking, coloring, lettering, covers, and more. Really great to hear from the artists themselves in their thinking process with actual artwork.

[Russ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably not the best book to learn techniques for drawing comic book characters, though it has some of that, just not enough. It is a very interesting book about the specifics of the art and technical aspects of producing comic books, with some interesting history of how it used to be done thrown in.

[Debra Hahn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book for anyone who wants to draw comics. From raw design all the
Way to inking and coloring the comic. Stan Lee really knows the art of comic
designing and art work of fabulous comic characters. This book is for you if you
Want to understand the art of comic making.
Debra H.

[Anton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Книжка-то отличная, но комиксы рисовать я так и не научился.

[Ren Basel · Rating 1 out of 5]

There were parts of this book I found useful, and parts that really frustrated me.

The good:

This book really breaks down the full process of how comics are made, and explains each section in detail. It showcases the way the medium is a collaborative effort by a lot of talented people, and explains the different distinct jobs in traditional comics. It discusses multiple art techniques, the history of comics, and how to incorporate both traditional art and digital art in a comic. It's written in clear, accessible language, and has some good overall advice.

The bad:

In the section about perspective, there is a slur for people with dwarfism used to refer to a character who looks "too short" and out of proportion. That really sucked to encounter.

The section about anatomy and proportion was absolute garbage, just like many other drawing guides on the market. Men and women are not two different species, and the way this book tells you to draw women is flagrantly sexist. Women are constantly treated as though they're only supposed to be soft, curvy, sensual, petite, and sexy. I'm not surprised to see that here, considering how sexist the history of Marvel comics is, but it was still a downside to the book. Any book that makes me look at infamous misogynist Frank Cho's drawings as "good examples" is already flawed, in my opinion. He's only a good artist if you ignore the way he thinks women are blowup dolls for his own personal amusement.

Overall:

Mixed bag. There was some useful information, but it had enough downsides that I wouldn't recommend it to anyone without caveats.

[Parka · Rating 4 out of 5]

(More pictures at parkablogs.com)

Stan Lee's How to Draw Comics is a starter guide to drawing comics aimed at beginners.

It introduces the world of comics and what you need to create them. It covers the basic topics like drawing, storytelling, finding work, etc. There are lots of useful comic creation tips discussed, complimented by examples from popular artists like Jack Kirby, Neal Adams, Frank Cho and the likes.

This isn't a technical book so there aren't any how-to or step-by-step tutorials. When you finish the book, you'll know what it takes to create comics but you'll have to get other comic drawing books to learn the technical skills. Most of the chapters introduced in this book are actually subjects that already have whole books devoted to them.

This book is recommended to beginners who have absolutely no prior knowledge on creating comics. That said, if you're past that stage, you should skip this and get books devoted to specific subjects.

[Stef Garvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good information on comics, drawing and the industry--especially for fans of Marvel comics. I'm not a Marvel or DC fan. I appreciate their role, but they are not my style. Lee came across as being over dramatic like a side show barker. Still I respect his career and influence--for better or worse--on the industry.

[BCPL Youth Services Librarian]

Click to see book in BCPL's online catalog

[Fawaz Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book with plenty of tips to help the novice to understand the overall process of creating comic books...

[Chino Fernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's basically a good telling by Stan Lee on how he wants comics drawn.

[nidah05 (SleepDreamWrite) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes I would draw, so I would look at some books like this. Love the cover. The art styles throughout were good. A fun book.