The Art of Making Comic Books

School Library Journal

Gr 4 Up-Zoom! Pow! Welcome to the world of comics! This book has great appeal to kids who want to know about their production or are budding comic creators. Pellowski begins with a brief historical overview, followed by an explanation of jobs in large companies, and then focuses on the ``how'' of comic-book production. Specifics include the visual and written development of character, plot, and setting; book format, panels, and layouts; the writing process, including story line, boxed captions, and dialogue balloons; and the art of drawing, such as practice, equipment, layout, etc. Surprisingly, the bibliography does not include Scott McCloud's renowned Understanding Comics (Kitchen Sink, 1993), the perfect companion to this book. The clear and informal writing, combined with Bender's numerous visuals, underscores Pellowski's encouragement to readers to use their imagination, the key to successful comics. This is a terrific book for aspiring artists and writers, reluctant readers, and the just plain curious.-Gale W. Sherman, Pocatello Public Library, ID