Cartooning for the Beginner

November 15, 2000
These volumes cover the two broadest categories of cartooning, the "Disney" style and the action hero genre. Hart, a successful contributor to MAD magazine, the Blondie cartoon strip, film, and TV, deftly covers the world of cartoon animals, animation, and "edgy 'toons." This and Robin Hall's The Cartoonist's Workbook: Drawing, Writing Gags, Selling (LJ 11/15/97) are the best available for basic cartooning. Smith has been art director for top comic book publishers, including Marvel, DC Comics, and Acclaim, and has contributed to X-Men, Gen X, Green Lantern, and others. He begins with form and structure, moves to building basic figures, and then sets them in motion. Unlike similar books, his makes good use of posed human models as a basis for both average human figures and muscled superheroes. Five other cartoonists contributed to his "Inking with Experts" section. Recommended, along with Tom Alvarez's comprehensive How To Create Action, Fantasy and Adventure Comics (LJ 11/15/96).

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