I was a dubious of How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way, it probably comes off a bit snobby and elitist to admit this, but I thought, “That can’t be a real drawing book,” without considering the fact that Marvel is built on knowing how to tell a story visually. But since the book is so often recommended by so many industry professionals, I decided to ignore my snobbery and give it a go. I’m glad I did.
What’s great about this book is that it breaks down what can be some complex lessons into simple, easy to understand language. For instance, you can find entire volumes or take a whole class just on perspective alone, but Marvel Way sums in up in a handful of pages, which was great for me because that was one topic that has always intimidated me.
One thing that kinda sorta just a little bit bugs me is the constant refrain of “this is the way a hero must be drawn” type stuff, I understand archetypes, but the book presents a very limited way if seeing a hero. Then again, the title of the book does tell you right off that you’re going to be shown the “Marvel Way” of doing things, so it’s not like they’re professing that this is only way of designing characters, just their way…and this book was originally published several decades ago so, like anything, it’s bound to be a product of it’s time.
Also, I don’t like boxing the figure. But that’s not Marvel’s fault. It’s a concept I’ve disliked before and a concept I’ll have to revisit in at least one of the books on my reading list before I swear it off completely.
This was a great book for me to kick-start my self-directed drawing program. It covers a lot of basic concepts that more than just comic artists would find useful. While I’m still going to supplement what I’ve learned in this book with other books that delve more deeply into specific concepts, drawing my way through this book has really helped me better understand constructing a drawing and build confidence as an timid artist.
