Lila and Ecco's Do-It-Yourself Comics Club [Hardcover]

Willow Dawson (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2010 | Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

Twelve-year-olds Lila and Ecco are obsessed with comics. Every summer, they dress up as their favorite characters to attend the local comic book convention. This year, after they stumble into a workshop of comics creators, Lila and Ecco come to an exciting realization -- they can make their very own comic books! Join Lila and Ecco as they embark on their exciting and rewarding do-it-yourself adventure. Along the way, readers will see how comics can be used to share stories with their friends and say what they want to say. They'll also learn how to harness ideas and inspiration; create believable characters and stories; illustrate motion, suspense and time passing; tips and step-by-step instructions on inking, coloring, lettering, cover art and design, binding comics and much, much more.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Is it a story of two friends creating a comic, or a step-by-step guide to making comics? Why, it’s both, actually. And what’s most surprising is not that the guide is so comprehensive and easy to follow but that the framing story not only couches the lessons in comfortable language but is also diverting in its own right. When Lila and her Ecuadorian pal Ecco chase Lila’s little sister into a panel discussion at the Comic Con they’re attending, they’re inspired to try their own hands at a collaboration. Dawson’s savvy, sassy black-and-white art gives the static idea of instructions some pep, and the information is quite complete, from brainstorming your story to sharing your final product, including the practical steps of lettering, cover design, binding, and copying. A clear-cut summary listing each step would have been helpful, but as it stands, this is excellent reading for would-be comics artists who have graduated from Adventures in Cartooning (2009) and aren’t yet up to Understanding Comics (1993). Grades 4-7. --Jesse Karp

About the Author

Willow Dawson is an illustrator and writer working out of Toronto, Ontario. Her recent work includes No Girls Allowed: Tales of Daring Women Dressed as Men for Love, Freedom and Adventure and Lila and Ecco?s Do-It-Yourself Comics Club.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 112 pages
• Publisher: Kids Can Press (September 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1554534380
• ISBN-13: 978-1554534388
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 7.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,586,308 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Like Scott McCloud's guide for the younger set, November 30, 2010

By 

Lisa Barker - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lila and Ecco's Do-It-Yourself Comics Club (Paperback)

Interesting concept! This book is great at showing and telling-very realistic. Lila and Ecco's Do-It-Yourself Comics Club reminds me of Scott McCloud's books on the subject. Young comic lovers, writers and artists will really get a lot out of this guide to creating your own comic - could be a powerful tool in the hands of a teacher or homeschooling mom. - Biblio Reads Children's Book Review

3.0 out of 5 stars How To Make Your Own Comics, November 23, 2010

By 

Nicola Manning (Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lila and Ecco's Do-It-Yourself Comics Club (Paperback)

Reason for Reading: This is a Cybils '10 nominee and required reading for me as a graphic novels panelist.

This book is mostly a non-fiction guide on how to make your own comic book thinly guised within the framework of a fictional story. Lila and Ecco go to a Comic Con but they have to keep Lila's little sister with them. She runs off and they chase her into a room where a panel is discussing comics/graphic novels and how they are made. At the end of the presentation little how-to booklets are distributed. Once home, Lila and Ecco one day sit down and read the booklet cover to cover as they follow the instructions to make their own comics.

The information is very detailed and easy to follow. If the reader is already a comfortable artist the information contained here will have them drawing their own comics in no time. The story format makes the book easy to read and entertaining but on the other hand will make finding specific information later hard to find. Whether the book will actually work as a how-to I'm not thoroughly convinced. I know myself I would prefer a non-fiction book with an index so I could look up topics again without having to search through the whole book. With that said, the book will certainly inspire budding graphic artists to stop dreaming and get to work on actually making their drawings and sketches into real, professional looking comics. The back of the book gives a list of suggested further reading. One other thing I personally couldn't get past was that I just did not like the artwork in this book. While the instruction panels were clear, the story panels were crowded, the drawing style was unimpressive veering towards sloppy and I just did not care for the faces at all finding them rather ugly and off-putting.