Stan Lee's How to Draw Comics: From the Legendary Creator of Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, Fantastic Four, X-Men, and Iron Man

Wow! Wow. I have an addiction to collecting 'How to Draw' books, and I have quite a few. I also have 'How to Draw Comics The Marvel Way' Stan Lee's 1978 how-to-draw book. The latter book however is NOT A REVISION on 'How to Draw The Marvel Way'. This is an entirely NEW book with modern comic book techniques and insider tips from a man with decades of experience. This book highly impressed me! I read 50 pages the first day after receiving it in the mail. It's that good!! I found myself smiling as I read each page. It really impressed me how much effort Stan put into this book. He's really trying to help upcoming artists and it shows! I would definitely recommend this book to all artist new and old. It is a great addition to my collection. I thoroughly am enjoying reading this book. I am on page 93 and loving it.

Whether you are an aspiring comic artist/writer or comic geek, this book is worth adding to your collection. The quality of the book is great, and the picture does not do the limited edition justice... The gold accents have a foil finish which makes the book look extra hi-quality. Each limited edition book is numbered and autographed by Stan the Man Lee, so I am sure these won't be around for very long... Content wise, this collection speaks to every specialization in the comic profession: authoring, inking, storyboarding, the works. I have seen a lot of "one size fits all" books before, but this one does a great job of keeping you entertained while learning from one of the most influential comic icons of our time. Definitely recommend!

If you're even questioning purchasing, allow me to ease your hesitation, this book is soo amazing with soo much drawing information, to learn from such a creative being. My bf who Carrys a sketchbook everywhere we go, literally cried when he got this for Christmas. With that said this is one of the best books out their for the true of heart to learn how to draw some of the coolest damn Marvel anything your heart desires.

I was so happy when this came in the mail sooner then expected. Its in great condition. I mistook this book though for Tehran Stan Lee book that was at my art college and accidentally bought the wrong one. It has great tips on how to make comics and storytelling at least a little bit which includes panels and perspective( WHICH I'M SUPER GLAD BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT I WANTED) Although it doesn't go into great detail with the perspective.Also this book is best for later part of intermediate or skilled level of artists. It's definitely not for beginnings.

This is a really good topic covering book that will help any aspiring comic book artist. I myself draw for fun, and want to make a comic, so my friend in I bought this book and it has helped a ton. I have the earlier version of the book, and this serves as a well needed update. You gotta love Stan lee, and once again he proves why Marvel is so successful. Get this if you want to learn more about comics in general, but get a technical book If you need more "How to draw" tips and fundamentals.

This book is simply wonderful. From start to finish, it is jam-packed with knowledge, written and illustrated by some of the best in the business, you simply can't go wrong! Pick it up, read it cover to cover, whether your a beginner, or someone with a solid history in art, you'll enjoy the book. The writing is tip-top, and the explanations are thorough, and thought-provoking! The book shows examples of what to do, but also what not to do. It really covers all the bases! Great Job, and Well Done!

I really have to wonder how much input Stan Lee had on this book. Anyone who has spent anytime reading the swingin' soliloquies of Stan the man knows that his writing has a certain beat to it, and I don't really see it here. I get the feeling like he just lent his name to a project with new artwork to make it more relevant to today's comic book reader. The thing is the original book stood the test of time for over thirty years for a reason; it was just that good. Clear and concise in presentation, just the way a comic book that is well executed would be. Some of the information here seems muddled and very, very shallow. It feels like an unnecessary update that does nothing to improve on the original. I find it kind of interesting that there are only two images by Stan's original partner, John Buscema in this book. One is the Silver Surfer cover from the first issue from 1968 on page 94. The other is the cover from the book's predecessor, "How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way." Funny thing is that that image is credited to John Romita Sr.! (See the bottom of page eight). Looking at the cover, this is not the kind of image I want to remember when I think of John Romita Sr. Let me preface my statements by saying that John Romita Sr. is a huge influence on my artwork. The man is a gifted and talented storyteller and designer. He has an amazing line quality to his inking as well. Looking at this cover, I wonder what went wrong. The Hulk's right arm looks hard pressed to be attached to the rest of his body. Iron man looks like he has the body of a small, skinny twelve year old boy. Spiderman is the only character who looks correct to me. Wolverine should not be roughly the same size as the Thing (in the comic books he is stated as being 5 foot 3 inches tall). Most importantly, WHY DOES THE THING HAVE FIVE FINGERS AND TOES?!?!?! I think I deserve a no-prize for noticing that gaffe. These characters seem unrelated to each other. Stan Lee has said that the cover is one of the most important features of a book, and this one just does not work. When you get into the heart of the book, some of the imagery is just terrible. Forgive me, but when you look at images of how the human head is supposed to look and then compare those images to John Buscema's from the original book, you understand why John Buscema was called the Michelangelo of comics. The artwork for that entire chapter up until the last couple of pages (about using real life for reference) is amateurish at best. Consider something; John Buscema once talked about the economy of line and doing things only once. To him, to draw a line one time correctly was efficient and thus he could do more work faster and make more money. Looking back on the work he did in comics and in that book and then comparing it to the work in this book has given me a greater appreciation for his skill as a master draftsman. When he drew a line, he drew it once, he drew it right, and 99% of the time is was exactly what was needed. I don't know how many people who worked on this book could do that. BTW: What is the heck is with the sketch on the very first page? I'll leave that up to your imagination... It would have been nice if they were consistent in providing credit for the artwork. Some of the artwork is very skilled and I wondered who did it, but not every image indicates who was responsible (page 56 comes to mind). Some are noted, some are not. Stan Lee was a writer, then an editor and then the editor in chief of Marvel comics. To not notice things like characters incorrectly drawn on the cover or credit given to the wrong artist is very uncharacteristic of him. Sure, errors occurred from time to time, but not usually on the cover! On pages 156 - 157, Stan talks about inking and how the page might be changed from how it was originally drawn. I cannot remember where I read it, but this particular page of sequential art (from Spiderman #123) has been discussed before. It may have been at the Comic Book Resources website, or maybe in Comic Book Artist magazine but the analysis was almost the same verbatim. Google the names Vince Colletta and Frank Giacoia, talented inkers for Marvel predominantly in the 60's and 70's to read some hilarious stories about things they erased or left out to speed up inking the work. When you get to the end of the book under suggested reading, websites, schools and supplies I noticed another error. Under the category of Perspective Grids and Economical Large Format Printers is a website called Art and Comics Store. I went to this website looking for perspective grids. It is actually a website for some of the younger artists who worked on this book to sell their artwork. It is similar in nature to the Comic Book Pros website. Needless to say, I found no perspective grids there. Kind of interesting that Stan avoids mentioning the DC Comics guides on writing, drawing, inking, coloring and digital production as suggested readings. Those books are (IMHO) worthy successors to the original How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way. Even though he included some artwork from DC comics and mentions there website, once a company man, always a company man I guess. This book has inspired me in one particular way. It has inspired me to go back and read the original and look at it with fresh eyes and appreciation. This book is not a bad read. I just feel that it is poorly executed. Sadly, this could be a reflection of the general state of comic books today. How much of what you see on the stands today is going to be worth anything in thirty years? I just don't see myself re-reading things published today like the stuff from the 60's thru the early 90's with the same fondness or preserving them as valuable commodities. Just my opinions. What do you think?

Wow Stan Lee put together an amazing book

I am a bit disapointed because I expected a book with some hints how to draw or at least some references for starters... There are some step-by-step sketches, but just very few pages. Some chapters just consist of comic book covers without any comments what could be learned by the composition etc. Many of the pictures aren't useful for taking it as a reference because they consist of so many details, that the overview gets lost if you are not an experienced drawer yet... Though there are also some hints about perspectives, shapes etc., which gives you a good overview about how many things have to be considered when drawing a comic. Conclusion: It is a really interesting book for all Marvel fans, but I really wouldn't call it a "How-To-Draw" book! ******************* Ich bin etwas enttäuscht von dem Buch, weil ich eigentlich hilfreiche Tipps erwartet hätte oder mindestens ein paar Vorlagen zum Abzeichnen. Aber einige Kapitel bestehen nur aus Comicbuch-Seiten oder Covern, ohne dass daraus hervorgeht, was man daraus lernen könnte. Als Vorlagen zum Abzeichnen sind sie viel zu komplex und kompliziert, zumindest für den Anfang. Trotzdem wird ein guter Überblick darüber gegeben, was alles beim Zeichnen eines Comics beachtet werden muss (von der Perpsektive zu den Sprechblasen etc.) Fazit: Für Marvel Fans ein interessantes Werk, aber definitiv kein "how-to-draw"-Buch!

Good for Artist

Looks ok, graphics are nice

Great for young people wanting to learn how to draw .

Excellent book on comics for all ages.