The Art of Comic Book Drawing: More than 100 drawing and illustration techniques for rendering comic book characters and storyboards

author: Maury Aaseng
name: Wayne
average rating: 4.19
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2021/05/19
date added: 2021/05/19
shelves: non-fiction
review:
'The Art of Comic Book Drawing' by Maury Aasent, Bob Berry, Jim Campbell, Dana Muise, & Joe Oesterle is and art instruction book with a superhero theme and lots of character ideas.

The book starts with looks at tools and materials, digital illustration, and drawing basics. Then building out body parts like heads, bodies, feet and hands, along with how bodies look in motion. There are are 10 hero and villain breakdowns to get practice in for creating your own characters and the book finishes up with things like story segment and speech bubbles.

There are quite a few art books out there and some better ones on creating a finished comic project, but for the casual artist who wants to dabble, this isn't a bad step at all. The basics are here and lay a decent foundation.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Quarto Publishing Group – Walter Foster, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.


via Wayne's bookshelf: read https://ift.tt/3v4x3X6

Stargazer

author: Anthony Cleveland
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.52
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2021/05/19
date added: 2021/05/19
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'Stargazer' by Anthony Cleveland, Antonio Fuso and Stefano Simeone is a graphic novel about a bad event, UFOs and the odd way that truth can be.

When Shae and her friends were kids, they were accidentally exposed to drugs and Shae's brother Kenny had a fall and a strange encounter brought on by a bad trip. Except there weren't really drugs and Kenny really did have a strange encounter. Now it's years later and Kenny has disappeared and these childhood friends have a secret buried in them that needs to be discovered.

This was a quick enough read and the story is pretty good. The art and colors are pretty great.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Diamond Book Distributors and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.


via Wayne's bookshelf: read https://ift.tt/3oyb3Bn

Mae Vol. 1

author: Gene Ha
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.15
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2021/05/18
date added: 2021/05/18
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'Mae Vol. 1' with story and art by Gene Ha is a graphic novel about a missing sister and what happens when she shows up again.

Mae's older sisten has been missing for a long time. One day, Mae's sister Abbie shows up with a story about hunting monsters that seem outlandish. Then the monsters show up and Mae and Abbie are on the run and Abbie's stories don't seem so crazy as they end up in the weird world that Abbie was in.

It's a pretty goofy romp with a cast of oddball characters. Abbie is a fun character, but I'm not sure why the book is called Mae. The art is also fun with all the various creatures.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Oni Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.


via Wayne's bookshelf: read https://ift.tt/3tXGTsw

Race Cars

author: Jenny Devenny
name: Wayne
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2021/05/17
date added: 2021/05/17
shelves: childrens
review:
'Race Cars: A children's book about white privilege' by Jenny Devenny takes a difficult topic and presents it for young readers.

Black car and white car like to race. They don't care who wins, but the cars that run the big race do. When black car wins, they add rules to make the race harder for black car to win. White car and black car are confused but both want to keep racing. But the rules get tougher for black car. Is this fair?

It's a simplistic approach to a very complex issue, but does it in a way that children can understand. I applaud the approach. There are discussion questions at the end to continue conversations.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Quarto Publishing Group - Frances Lincoln Children's Books, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.


via Wayne's bookshelf: read https://ift.tt/3tWhJue

1970s Childhood

author: Liza Hollinghurst
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.67
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2021/05/17
date added: 2021/05/17
shelves: non-fiction
review:
'1970s Childhood' by Liza Hollighurst is a non-fiction look at growing up in the 1970s in Britain.

With chapters like Family Life, School, Books and Magazines and others, this book is a look back, sometimes with nostalgia, sometimes not, at growing up in the UK in the 1970s. Tight money meant families had to make do with hand me down toys and clothing. Treats were less available, and maybe appreciated more because of it. The book has quite a few pictures of children and entertainers of the era.

I also grew up in the 1970s. While the brands and pop icons might have been different, it was interesting to see how other children experienced some of the events of the 1970s. This is a pretty quick read, and I enjoyed it.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Shire Publications, Osprey Publishing, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.


via Wayne's bookshelf: read https://ift.tt/3bBteAT

The Curie Society

author: Janet Harvey
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2021/05/17
date added: 2021/05/17
shelves: graphic-novels, young-adult
review:
'The Curie Society' by Janet Harvey with art by Sonia Liao is a great graphic novel promoting adventures in science and S.T.E.M.

A group of young women start attending a prestigious university. They are very different in their interests and talents, but they learn to work together when they get recruited to the mysterious Curie Society. They are sent on missions and get to use cool gadgets.

I loved this approach to S.T.E.M.: an adventure story filled with real and nearly real science. The characters are fun and smart and feel pretty real. The science is left sprinkled around like breadcrumbs for the curious mind to follow. I really liked the art too. I look forward to more entries in this series.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Mad Cave Studios, Diamond Book Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.


via Wayne's bookshelf: read https://ift.tt/2S0MIrV

Villainous

author: Stonie Williams
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.20
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2021/05/17
date added: 2021/05/17
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'Villainous' by Stonie Williams with art by Jef Sadzinski is a graphic novel about a young woman who wants to join a group of superheroes.

Tilly, a lizard-girl, wants to use her powers to fight evil, so she joins the Coalition of Heroes. She gets assigned to be the sidekick of the big super, but finds out a big secret: maybe the good guys aren't so good after all. Now she has to decide to cover up what she knows or to become the thing she hates.

The idea seems hardly original in the era of hero deconstruction. I would have liked something different than the type. The art is pretty good, and Tilly is a pretty interesting character. I'd like to see more of her.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Mad Cave Studios, Diamond Book Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.


via Wayne's bookshelf: read https://ift.tt/3oqY18X