The Education Of A Comics Artist [Paperback]

Michael Dooley (Editor), Steven Heller (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2005

This provocative anthology provides inspiration on how to teach, think, and talk about comics in the classroom and beyond.

Featuring essays by, and interviews with, more than sixty professionals, educators, and critics, the book provides an in-depth view of the art, business, and history of comics art. Readers will learn about a wide variety of genres, from editorial cartoons, political comics, and comic strips to graphic novels, superhero sagas, and alternative comics. Other featured topics include the role of comic art in related fields such as animation, design, and illustration; lesson plans by top teachers; and essays on how to thrive and grow as a creative comic artist. 60 B&W Illustrations

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Contributors include: Jessica Abel, Ho Che Anderson, Tony Auth, Bart Beaty, Monte Beauchamp, Colin Berry, Nicholas Blechman, Peter Blegvad, Steve Brodner, Paul Buhle, Kim Deitch, Will Eisner, Robert Fiore, Rick Geary, Bill Griffith, R.C. Harvey, David Heatley, Todd Hignite, Nicole Hollander, Dan James, Chip Kidd, Paul Krassner, Tim Kreider, Rich Kreiner, Joe Kubert, Peter Kuper, Heidi MacDonald, David Mack, Stan Mack, Matt Madden, Bob Mankoff, Barbara McClintock, Scott McCloud, Dave McKean, Rick Meyerowitz, Dan Nadel, Mark Newgarden, Dennis O'Neil, Gary Panter, Joel Priddy, Bill Randall, David Rees, Eric Reynolds, Leonard Rifas, Trina Robbins, Roger Sabin, David Sandlin, Ben Sargent, Marjane Satrapi, Arlen Schumer, Bill Sienkiewicz, Elwood Smith, Art Spiegelman, Tom Spurgeon, Mark Alan Stamaty,Ted Stearn, Jim Steranko, Barron Storey, James Sturm, Ward Sutton, Gunnar Swanson, Teal Triggs, Robert Williams, Chris Ware, and Craig Yoe.

From the Author

Only those who truly think outside the panel can transform such a now-mainstream method of mass communication into a truly exceptional art. The most superlative comics art is drawn from deep dark recesses, pushed to the surface by desires to express compelling ideas through words and images that would otherwise be suppressed if the form did not exist. This is, perhaps, why comics art is at least in the minds of the contributors here the most popular course in art school today, and probably tomorrow.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Allworth Press; 1 edition (May 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581154089
• ISBN-13: 978-1581154085
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,051,662 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Michael Dooley is the principal of MichaelDooley Design+Writing and graphic design history instructor at Art Center College of Design, Loyola Marymount University, and UCLA Extension. As a lecturer he has spoken at the UCLA Hammer Museum, the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, and the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts).

Michael is a "Print" magazine writer and contributing editor. His author page for Print's online edition is...
http://imprint.printmag.com/michael-dooley/
He also contributes to "Voice," AIGA's online journal...
http://www.aiga.org/voice

His feature articles, personality profiles, essays, and reviews on art and design appear in a number of books including "Graphic Design History;" "Sex Appeal: the Art of Allure in Graphic and Advertising Design;" "Design Humor: the Art of Graphic Wit," "Citizen Designer: Perspectives on Design Responsibility;" #1 and #5 of "Looking Closer: Critical Writings on Graphic Design;" and "Emigre No. 70: the Look Back Issue."

Michael's photography is included in "The Graphic Eye: Photographs by International Graphic Designers" and his design appears in "The Word It Book: Speak Up Presents a Gallery of Interpreted Words."

"The Education of a Comics Artist" and "Teaching Motion Design" are published by Allworth Press.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must-Have for Comics Writers and Readers, December 20, 2005

By 

E. Davies "Beth" (Denver, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Education Of A Comics Artist (Paperback)

This book is one of my two favorite books on comics. I'm content to check most books out of the library, to save space in my house, but this is one that I had to buy. I carry this book around with me, and I read it any old way I like. There are countless treasures between the covers, and you don't have to read it in linear style to find them. Like anyone else, I need to be inspired and motivated, and this book really does it for me. I'm years away from fully plumbing all the depths. Many sincere thanks to Michael Dooley for producing such a fine and significant book!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Have, February 3, 2007

By 

Haven Sage (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Education Of A Comics Artist (Paperback)

While there are many books out there that can show an aspiring comic artist how to write and draw comics The Education of a Comic Artist gives one the inspiration to keep going especially when you're a lone aspirant as myself. It's truly encouraging and humbly honest about the craft and I often turn to it when I find myself questioning whether or not my desire to create my own comics is worthwhile.

4.0 out of 5 stars for serious comic artists, June 23, 2011

By 

setlib (Nashville, TN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Education Of A Comics Artist (Paperback)

This book is arranged in the following sections:

Magazine cartoons -- Editorial cartoons -- Political cartoons -- Comic strips -- Kids' and teens' comics -- Action/adventure comics -- Alternative comics -- Graphic novels -- Miscellany -- Comics in art and illustration -- The business of comics -- The creation of comics -- Teaching comics -- Lesson plans.

Each section contains maybe 10 interviews or essays by different authors, averaging about 3-4 pages in length. If you're already a serious comics artist, this is a handy book to pick up and flip to almost any section to read an intriguing or inspiring piece about the industry.

Personally, I was looking for a comprehensive history/analysis of comics, so this wasn't too useful for me because each essay is really too short to contain a detailed, focused analysis. Also the subjects and writing style can vary widely between authors so there's not much continuity. I would recommend this as a gift to a comics artist, or something to read for personal pleasure. However I would not particularly recommend it for research, and I didn't find it very helpful in designing a curriculum to teach comics.