How to Draw Comic Book Heroes and Villains

by Christopher Hart

Today comic book heroes and villains are more popular than ever, appearing not only in print but in video games and movies as well. Now fans can learn how to create their own heroes and villains from such successful comic book artists as Gray Morrow of Superman, Frank McLaughlin of Batman, and Frank Springer of Spiderman and Conan the Barbarian. A superhero-mascot appears throughout the book guiding the reader with his humorous observations. Among the many subjects covered are heroic anatomy; monsters, mutants, and mythical creatures; action scenes, fights and combat; as well as designing special powers for heroes. Each section ends with a page entitled “Common Mistakes,” where the pitfalls and problems that beginning artists are most likely to encounter are demonstrated.

With its fun-to-follow format and variety of illustration styles, How to Draw Comic Book Heroes and Villains will encourage the cartoonist lurking in everyone.

Genres: Art, Drawing, Nonfiction, Comics

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

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

I started drawing character designs and storyboards for a small animation studio in while in High School. Cartooning and animation was a magical experience to me. I try to bring that experience, as well as art tips, to my readers. Their enthusiasm also motivates me.

Early in my career, my cartoon work got noticed by Watson-Guptill, a premier publisher of art books. They asked me to do a book for them on drawing cartoons. It sold 200,000 copies, which is a healthy number. So we kept going. I discovered that I enjoyed the art of creating books, which has its own special requirements. I also worked as an author for Random House, Quarto and Soho Publishing. In total, I have had 8 million books sold, and have been translated into 20 languages.

My book, "The Master Guide to Drawing Anime: How to Draw Original Characters from Simple Templates" has sold over half a million copies to date and is still very actively in print. An earlier book of mine, "Manga Mania: How to Draw Japanese Comics:" reached the number one art book in the country, according to Bookscan.

I've also been a cover story on the industry trade magazine, "Publisher's Weekly." And if you've read this far into my Bio, then I'm more impressed with you than you are with me!

Thank you so very much for letting me offer some inspiration to you in your art adventures.

Christopher Hart

Reviews

[William · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are a lot of pros and cons to this book, but it skips over some useful and important details. "Men's noses and ears" is followed by "Women's eyes and lips." There's no real consistency in style or reason in layout. There are definitely some helpful tips, but I wouldn't recommend following this particular book to learn techniques or styles.

[J.G. Keely · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book may provide some vague ideas for a young artist, but is mostly the same uninspired drivel that likely drove Hart from comic creation to selling how-to's to twelve-year-olds. His moldy wit is not quite as pronounced here, which may be this book's saving grace.

My Suggested Readings in Comics