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Batman: Dark Knight Returns (Batman)

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Cartooning
by: Frank Miller

May 16, 1997
Only Watchmen can be considered to be on the same level as Batman: The Dark Night Returns. However where Watchmen had an absolute myriad of characters bursting out of the seams, Batman: The Dark Night Returns is better able to create characters the reader can emphasise with.

The reader is introduced to an ageing Bruce Wayne who has come out of retirement to continue is vengeful fight against crime. This dark, disturbed and sad character is pitted against those he considered allies, new enemies that are stronger than him and an all too familiar nemesis. The story is wonderfully written, well paced with a few twists and turns that keep the story interesting and a surprise shock ending with a man in tights. The artwork is brilliant, ... Read More:

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The Animator's Survival Kit: A Working Manual of Methods, Principles and Formulas for Computer, Stop-motion, Games and Classical Animators (Applied Arts)

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Cartooning
by: Richard Williams

November 05, 2001
This is the one, the daddy, the absolute MUST-HAVE for anybody with an interest in animation, character design, or concept art. Richard Williams is a genius and he shares his observations on the difficult life of a trainee artist as well as giving the benefit of his huge amounts of talent and experience.

This book is full of easy to follow hints and tips covering character posing and animation of all sorts. There's no hiding from the fact that even if you use computers to create 3D animation you still need a solid grounding in the fundamentals of motion, weight and timing and this is what Williams helps to explain. Everything is accompanied with detailed illustrations and sketches to help you work through to basic character setups through ... Read More:

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Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Cartooning
by: Scott McCloud

May 06, 1994
This is an important book that everyone should read. I would give it twenty stars if I could.

I've long been interested in both art and comic books (I have collected them for over 50 years). While the library shelves are full of wonderful books that explain what traditional artists are trying to do and why they succeed, I've often found the books to be pretty boring. In recent years, such books have gotten bogged down into abstruse language that is much less appealing than the art which is the subject.

But in those years, I've never seen anything that was very helpful in discussing the rules of comic art, except some books about pop art when that was popular that examined how the pop art was different from comic art. Naturally, I ... Read More:

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The Marvel Vault: A Museum-in-a-book with Rare Collectibles from the World of Marvel

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Cartooning
by: Roy Thomas, Peter Sanderson

September 06, 2007
this collection or memory is amazing it has incredible art and so much information that it is so worth keeping forever

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The Perry Bible Fellowship: Trial of Colonel Sweeto and Other Stories

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Cartooning
by: Nicholas Gurewitch

October 15, 2007
I bought this book thinking I might get a book full of things that might not be on the website. Instead of paid for a book full of comics which are available online. Theres a few new things, but not enough to warrant buying it.

Save yourself a few pennies and just go on the website.

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Cosmic Motors: Ships, Cars and Pilots of Another Galaxy

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Cartooning
from: Design Studio Press

February 01, 2008
I bought this book thinking I might get a book full of things that might not be on the website. Instead of paid for a book full of comics which are available online. Theres a few new things, but not enough to warrant buying it.

Save yourself a few pennies and just go on the website.

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The DC Vault: A Museum-in-a-Book with Rare Collectibles from the World of DC Comics

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Cartooning
by: Martin Pasko

November 15, 2008
I bought this book thinking I might get a book full of things that might not be on the website. Instead of paid for a book full of comics which are available online. Theres a few new things, but not enough to warrant buying it.

Save yourself a few pennies and just go on the website.

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The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Cartooning
by: Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston, Johnson

March 21, 1997
The important thing that Illusion of Life teaches would-be animators is that the technology was evolving all the time during these 'golden' days at Disney. The artists and animators were always looking at new and exciting methods to adopt in order to best tell the story.
This book is not just about drawing animation frames it's also about how the team worked and gelled in order to prepare itself for the task of crafting an animated movie.
As new technology became available the artists adopted it with often stunning effects.
There is a beauty to the rough sketches produced by the likes of Milt Kahl. In this manga obsessed world that we live in it's a joy to see an artist paying so much attention to the detail that brings a character or object to life.
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Palestine

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Cartooning
by: Joe Sacco

January 02, 2003
The book brings out the best of the cartoon medium. There are books on Palestine especially the grave humanitarian crisis there. However none catch the gravity of the situation as graphically as this book. I fully recommend this book to anyone. Its a must read. When a book is written about Palestine it is often branded as 'pro-Palestinian' and is dismissed. This book withstand any such criticism and demonstrates that even through the grey area of the conflict, there is a right and wrong side.

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Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Cartooning
by: Scott McCloud

November 02, 2006

I've always found it fascinating to imagine how a comic book author/illustrator creates the stories and images that appeal so much. Having been a non-fiction book author for many years, I have a firm understanding of the writing process. I sometimes pick out a few illustrations to put into a book.

But building a story around the illustrations, that seems like a trip to the planet Neptune to me. I was very pleased to find that Scott McCloud is very good at explaining (and illustrating) the creative and production processes he uses. I was delighted when I realized that he had also described how an individual could make a few comics to share with friends.

With computer art getting to be easier to do, I can see that there's even hope for those of us ... Read More: