Customer Reviews

How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This was a fun tape for me, because I grew up reading these guy's comic books, and I bought the book version of How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way years ago. I mainly got the video so I could hear artist Buscema's voice (which is great; he sounds like a character from the Sopranos scolding you for not drawing right). But all they do is read the book word for word from a teleprompter while John pretends to draw over some photocopied enlargements from it's pages! He's literally making these theatrical "drawing" motions without touching the pencil to the paper, while writer Stan Lee pontificates in his endearingly overblown and gratingly nasal Brooklynese. It's great. The original book was just Buscema's comic book drawing course, to which Stan wrote some psuedo-hip "Marvel" patter as a way of marketing it to a wider audience, and this is undoudtedly another scheme to cash in a little more, which must have taken the old partners part of a whole day to do. In fairness, they do some things in video that are pretty good, like superimpose the rough drawing over the finished one to illustrate how it develops. These two are real American characters, and if you liked the book, and you read comics in the '60s, you'll probably get a kick out of this.

There is NOTHING in this DVD that wasn't in the book. In fact, Stan and John basically read the book to you as they show you the pictures from the book. I was hoping to actually SEE the artists do the drawings, but there is maybe 60 seconds total of footage of actual drawing. The rest of the video is just John Buscema tracing over all the images that are already in the book. If you really want to learn to draw comics, this isn't for you. If you just want a basic overview of the process, this dvd might not be TOO disappointing. But if you already own the book, DEFINITELY don't waste your money. It would be cheaper just to have your mom read the book to you.

This dvd first caught my eye with high expectations and a low price. The price turned out to be too much. Stan Lee and John Buscema are two of the greatest comic book creators that have ever lived, but this dvd just isn't good enough to meet their standards. It offers much in the way of comic book jargon, but displays each business element very poorly. The main focus of this "visual" video is verbal instruction. There is a very limited amount of important hands-on drawing, barely even enough to teach a learning artist anything. I think that HOW TO DRAW COMICS THE MARVEL WAY could have been done a lot better and should offer a great deal more. Unless you are an avid comic book fan, I do not recommend purchasing this dvd. And, even if you are, I would give it some serious thought.

Way too much exposition and not enough, how you say, "Bob Ross"-style step by step instruction, but hey, that's what art school is for, right, Binky?

Anyhoo, John and Stan do an excellent job explaining the basics of figure drawing and composition choices for comic panels. Inspirational, and rather like hanging at a family gathering with the oldsters. That's my opinion/memory implant. Very 80's in video quality and the music; oy! the soundtrack! I was waiting for someone to get a pie in the face!!!

Watch out for what you 'think' you are buying and what you actually get. There is very little instruction on how to draw a picture from beginning to end that doesn't appear dated. All the artwork is done on a very simple format, the instructions show brief transitions. The main thing they stress is practice, practice, practice and of course, plug Marvel or "that's the Marvel way to draw."

I've found some anime tutorials online which were more helpful. I was hoping to see how they sketch out a full sketch from beginning to end, however they transition from stick figure, to cylinder, to roughed image, to clothed position, then inked. There are a few spots where they show how to draw a face from the beginning to end starting with a 4box method. That wasn't bad, but the face and material just seemed very dated. If you wanted to draw a comic that looked like it was printed in 1988 then this would be a great reference.

A few good tips on how to use a brush over a pen for inking. That was interesting. Over-all I was disappointed with the DVD and felt 1hr play time didn't really commit to my $.

You too can learn to draw THE MARVEL WAY .Stan Lee (comic emperor and creator of Spider Man, X-Men, Fantastic Four, Incredible Hulk etc etc) is an extremely condescending and fairly annoying host who insists on explaining how Zeus and the Gods blessed him and Marvel comic book Artists with the unique ability to draw better than anyone else in the universe.

So pull up a chair and learn some of the secrets. That's what this DVD is about. If you already know how to draw, but want to learn how to make your drawings more action packed and powerful, this 58 minute DVD tutorial will tell you. It is based on one of the best How To Draw books on the market: How To Draw the Marvel Way and features Stan Lee and artist John Buscema. It was produced in 1988, but it's info-mercial style is very familiar.

For the DVD Buscema plays straight man to Stan Lee's incessant bragging and bad pun spouting ways. He is the demonstrator and artist and obviously a very talented guy. Lee seems like a whole lot of hot air but injects all kinds of energy into the program.
We're in a huge room with Stan and John. John sits and draws, Stan can't sit still and is often on his feet over explaining how The Marvel Way does this and blah, blah, blah. There's lots of very helpful close-ups of John drawing, and some very good explanations of various aspects of perspective, composition and design and other aspects of comic book/graphic novel illustrating.

There's very little about color or coloring however.

I suppose if you stop the DVD and practice the various secrets, tips and techniques you are shown for hours and hours, you might become a much better artist from watching the tape. If you for some reason believe you can watch the DVD once or twice and suddenly become a superb comic book illustrator well you're dreaming. If you enjoy learning a few 'secrets' of the trade, this DVD has several of those.

It's informative, it's entertaining, it's educational, it's annoying. What more do you want?

IMAGE AND SOUND

The program looks as if it was transferred from a video master that had a few flaws in it. These flaws are minor. It's a very simple low budget production and has the look and sound of a cheap info-mercial. Images are a little bit fuzzy, colors are a bit washed out, the entire image looks flat and over-lit.
The graphics aren't always completely stable, but they are clear and easy to see.

The audio on occasion is slightly distorted and hollow, but it's easy to hear. It's in Dolby Mono.

Extra Features:

This is a bare bones DVD. The 14 Chapter stops are a big help.. there could have been more.

Although Stan Lee tries much too hard to be energetic, charming and funny, this DVD is useful to anyone who wants to learn how to make their drawings more dynamic and exciting. There are some useful and interesting drawing techniques discussed and shown in the DVD. To draw like these folks do.. you'll need to do a lot of practice, practice and more practice. Watching this DVD once or twice will not transform you into an artist.

Christopher J. Jarmick, is the author of The Glass Cocoon with Serena F. Holder a critically acclaimed, steamy suspense thriller.

Drawing Comics is one of the hardest art forms and I should know since I have done several myself. This video helped me when I was learning and I still like to review it every couple of months. It's really a must have! END

I remember first seeing this in VHS form MANY years ago, and I enjoyed it. More as a cheerleading device than an article of information. Even when I first saw it, I realized from comic books I was reading at the time, that many of the things being said about comics in general, and Marvel specifically, were simply not true anymore. The "Marvel Way" being viewed and discussed is the way of 1970. The way of John Buscema and Jack Kirby.
There is nothing wrong with this "way", it's just not what's being asked for and wanted from artists in comics today. These are rules, and successful comics today often succeed by 'breaking' these rules. To hear Stan Lee impose what almost sounds like a mandate on drawing lips and eyelashes is almost laughable. The women being illustrated and discussed are women from 1970, which were often already basically women from 1950. And although it's refreshing to see comic book females being drawn and discussed without showing or mentioning the now commonplace trait of over-sized breasts and 8-inch waists, it's still more of a valuable record of an era in comic books than an instructional device.
HOWEVER... the illustrated use of perspective, impact, angles, technique and storytelling are still just as accurate and important today as they were then. And except for the obvious omission of computer use in comics today, also offers excellent advice on the methods and many of the tools used to construct a professional comic book. It also emphasizes the need for dedication and practice to become better skilled in this art form.
It's on this level that I found it most valuable - as a cheerleader. Any beginning artist with an ounce of talent, looking to break into the business of creating comic books will find it hard not to be motivated and encouraged by the energy and enthusiasm in this DVD. Even now, I find myself swept up in Stan's very sincere desire for me, and other artists to succeed.
There's no fancy film work here, shot on video, no real menu or extras, and the music is annoying. But it's crisp, clear and colorful. I'm very glad it's out on DVD, as pausing is much better for viewing the vast art displayed throughout.
I would recommend this for any person starting out or interested in the details of comic book art.

I have the version from 1988, and with the little time that Stan Lee and John Buscema, they did a yeoman's job detailing the basics in artistry while going into the details of actual Marvel comic book drawing. A must for any budding comic book artist!

A good way to see how things are done, but I wish they had went into a detailed step-by-step instruction of the drawings. But I would recommend this for anyone who wants to get into drawing comic books. You still have to learn perspective and anatomy and things like that in more detail. There are a lot of great books out there for that. But this is a good DVD to have in your drawing collection.