Master comic scribe Dennis O'Neil, whose work as a writer and editor with DC (Batman) and Marvel (Daredevil) is legendary, has written a 'how-to' book for aspiring comic book writers. Using examples from his own career as well as samples from the works of other top comic writers including Neil Gaiman, Archie Goodwin, Mark Waid, Peter David, Scott McCloud, Chuck Dixon, and Mark Evanier, O'Neil examines some of the many different approaches to writing four-color adventures. Although it is concerned with writing comics, this volume does not stint on the visual side, with great examples of comic art from George Perez, Jack Kirby, Will Eisner, Neal Adams, Walter Simonson, Steve Rude, John Byrne, and Alex Ross.
This book is the first in a series of books on the various aspects of creating comics to be co-published by DC Comics and Watson-Guptil. A second volume on drawing comics by Klaus Janson will be published in the fall. In Watson-Guptil DC has found an excellent partner for this endeavor. Watson-Guptil specializes in 'how-to' books covering virtually every aspect of the arts. Comic retailers, who have long realized that 'how-to' books are among the very best sellers in their stores, are familiar with Watson-Guptil's excellent manuals, especially the classic series by Burne Hogarth (Dynamic Figure Drawing, Dynamic Light & Shade, and Dynamic Anatomy). A section of 'how-to' books is a 'must-have' for almost every well-run comic shop, and this new series of books from DC and Watson-Guptil will only help to strengthen and draw attention to the 'how-to' section in your store. The first volume in this series, The DC Comics Guide to Writing Comics should be in stores by June 1, 2001. The 128-page trade paperback will retail for $19.95.
