The Illustrated Comic Art Workshop

Volumes 1&2 (1982, 1984)

By Dick Giordano, Frank McLaughlin & various (Garko Systems/Skymarc Publications)
No ISBNs

These two books came out in the 1980s and as far as I know have never been reissued or updated, which is a shame as they are without doubt the absolute best handbooks for the serious fledgling comic artist. I’m reviewing them here in the vain hope that someone somewhere will get these terrific technique-bibles back into the hands of the keen, dedicated and hopeful…

It’s always comforting for a “how-to” book to be produced by someone you’ve actually heard of, and better yet if said producers are acknowledged as proficient in their craft. The two volumes produced by Giordano and McLaughlin as an offshoot of their foray into teaching drawing skills as The Comic Art Workshop is probably one the very best distance learning packages ever compiled (the only thing to rival them is the correspondence course of the Joe Kubert School – assuming they still do that) , and even after more than twenty years the insights into the disciplines of the commercial cartoonist are still as valid and vital as during those high-sales, high-volume days.

The first book begins with the set-up of a working area, with both artists’ own studios used as examples, and is followed by an extensive section on the use and care of drawing tools, including reference files and even photomechanical shading sheets – Letratone to you or me. Even in these computerized days there’s still a place for sticky paper and a really sharp knife… The section on the use of Polaroids may be slightly outdated, but if you own one, they’re still a damn sight more practical in many situations than a digital camera or phone.

Next comes a comprehensive chapter on the fundamentals of actual drawing – and yes, ask anyone, it still applies – THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR PROLONGED AND REGULAR LIFE DRAWING – with a great emphasis and many tips on that thorny perennial, Perspective. This might be a little technical for some but it’s good stuff, well thought out and well presented. If you’re serious about the job you need to be able to do it properly. The latter part of the book is given over to Drawing the Human Figure both realistically and in a super-heroic manner with especial consideration given to heads and hands, authored by John Romita Senior.

Volume Two starts with Stan (Juliet Jones, Kelly Green) Drake outlining his methods of dealing with design layout and emotion in realistic strips and then cartoonist Mel (Boomer) Casson deals with pencilling humorous comic strips, using not just his own work but examples from Hagar the Horrible, Beetle Bailey and others. John Byrne writes extensively on storytelling, with particular emphasis on panel placement, establishing shots, use of angles and the staging of the panel and the page, all of which seems pretty obvious until you go into print having got it wrong!

Frank McClaughlin contributes a brief chapter on adapting real people into cartoons or caricatures and Dick Giordano returns to the subject of storytelling, dealing with layout and graphic narration, credible designs, movement, showing how to lead the reader’s eye (‘directing traffic’), designing characters and even providing some useful design exercises for the fledgling creator. Storyboard artist Mel Greifinger closes the lesson with a dissertation on narrative and context, and a short run-down on markers and materials which has greater relevance to cartoonists today when everybody has access to computers and scanners.

Although probably hard to find and long overdue for updating and re-release these books are an absolute godsend for people just past the absolute beginner stage, when they’re still full of bad habits and misconceptions, but determined to try for a career in comics.

©1982 Garko Systems. ©1984 Skymarc Publications. All Rights Reserved.
All Characters used for illustrative purposes © their respective copyright holders.