Adventures in Cartooning: How to Turn Your Doodles Into Comics

by James Sturm, Andrew Arnold, Alexis Frederick-Frost, James Sturm (Illustrator)

Overview

In this action-packed cartooning adventure, kids will have as much fun making comics as reading them!

Once upon a time . . . a princess tried to make a comic. And with the help of a magical cartooning elf, she learned how – well enough to draw her way out of an encounter with a dangerous dragon, near-death by drowning, and into her very own adventure! Like the princess, young readers will discover that they already have the drawing and writing skills it takes to make a comic – they just need a little know-how. And Adventures in Cartooning supplies just that.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781596433694
Publisher:	First Second
Publication date:	03/31/2009
Series:	Adventures in Cartooning , #1
Pages:	112
Product dimensions:	9.90(w) x 7.40(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	6 - 10 Years

About the Author

James Sturm is a cartoonist and educator. His graphic novels include The Golem's Mighty Swing, Market Day, and Off Season. He most recently worked on Health and Wealth, A Graphic Guide To The US Healthcare System. He is currently working on a graphic novel adaptation of Watership Down with Joe Sutphin. James is also the cofounder of the Center For Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, Vermont. He lives and works nearby on a former goat farm.

Andrew Arnold is an author-illustrator and co-creator of the award-winning Adventures in Cartooning series from First Second Books. He writes and draws from his home in Brooklyn, New York, in the company of his wife and their son. What's the Matter, Marlo? is his debut picture book.

Alexis Frederick-Frost is co-author and illustrator of the critically acclaimed Adventures in Cartooning series of graphic novels and picture books. A combination how-to book and exciting adventure story, Adventures in Cartooning: how to turn your doodles into comics, was one of Booklist’s Top Ten Graphic Novel of 2010 and has encouraged hundreds of young artists to create their own comics. He also wrote and illustrated the monthly comic Kit and Clay for The Phoenix Magazine in the United Kingdom and has contributed to a variety of publications online and in print. A graduate from the inaugural class of the Center for Cartoon Studies, Alexis lives with his wife in Maryland.

James Sturm is a cartoonist and educator. His graphic novels include The Golem's Mighty Swing, Market Day, and Off Season. He most recently worked on Health and Wealth, A Graphic Guide To The US Healthcare System. He is currently working on a graphic novel adaptation of Watership Down with Joe Sutphin. James is also the cofounder of the Center For Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, Vermont. He lives and works nearby on a former goat farm.

Editorial Reviews

"As an examination of the medium, [Adventures in Cartooning is] a supremely worthy spiritual legacy to Scott McCloud's seminal Understanding Comics (1993). As a straight-up graphic adventure, it may be the best of the year.” —Booklist, starred review

“Each tutorial panel contains clever and inventive touches that illustrate the capabilities of the format... This is a volume for kids who love comics, who enjoy an adventure filled with action and humor, are natural-born artists, or who aspire to become comic-book creators. A surefire hit.” —School Library Journal, starred review

“Though seemingly simplistic, this multilayered composition is an excellent teaching tool to whet the appetites of aspiring young doodlers and even offers a pleasant twist in an otherwise apparently straightforward plot. ... Entertaining and surprisingly edifying.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Even seasoned comics readers may more fully appreciate the work of their favorite creators after reading this book.” —Shelf Awareness

From the Publisher

Created by the Center for Cartoon Studies' director and two of his former students, this how-to-make-comics book for young readers takes a couple of unusual tacks. For one thing, it skips the usual rudiments of how to draw in favor of explaining the formal characteristics of comics: panels, balloons, lettering and so on. For another, it doubles as a story-about a knight on a quest for a bubblegum-chewing dragon, and the magic elf who teaches the knight all about the joy of cartooning. It's a cute premise, and the art's simple, bold brushstrokes and flat colors are zippy and fun. Sturm and company even sneak in a few comics in-jokes (when several characters fall into water, the elf exclaims "I guess this would be called a SPLASH panel!"). Unfortunately, the plot and the tutorial material repeatedly stumble over each other: the goofy twists in the story occasionally have a bit of instruction shoehorned in, but more often don't serve any educational purpose-or simply seem like the result of stream-of-consciousness jam cartooning. And kids looking for cartooning guidance may be frustrated to find that the book takes its readers' ability to draw expressively for granted. (Apr.)

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Publishers Weekly

Gr 2-6

The young princess, thought to be ensconced in a tower, is missing. A "BRAVE and EAGER knight" and his less-than-fearless horse Edward learn that she has been abducted by a dragon and remains captive on Dragon Island. Assisted by the Magic Cartooning Elf, the knight goes in search of her. In this story within a story, the princess learns how to create her own cartoon. Basic principles of creating comics are taught by context, inference, and direct instruction. The humor, action, adventure, and charming characters hold readers' attention and draw them into a fantasy world of a candy-consuming dragon and knights who have been turned into vegetables. Readers learn about the uses of panels, the importance of words, and placement of thought balloons. Each tutorial panel contains clever and inventive touches that illustrate the capabilities of the format. The progression of the pink gum bubble on the first four pages is a classic. At the conclusion of this delightful tale, cartooning basics such as panels, gutters, tiers, word balloons, depiction of emotion, and movement are explained in an organized and straightforward fashion. This is a volume for kids who love comics, who enjoy an adventure filled with action and humor, are natural-born artists, or who aspire to become comic-book creators. A surefire hit.-Barbara M. Moon, Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY

School Library Journal

An insightful and enjoyable way for kids to learn about cartooning, presented in a vibrant graphic format. In fairy-tale fashion, the Magic Cartooning Elf helps a young princess with writer's block produce her first comic. A story-within-a-story emerges, and the princess creates a deceptively silly tale of a knight, a dragon, a whale and a horse that loves candy. Along the way, the Elf drops informative hints to the reader about the structure of the story, introducing basic elements of cartooning and rudimentary techniques. Though seemingly simplistic, this multilayered composition is an excellent teaching tool to whet the appetites of aspiring young doodlers and even offers a pleasant twist in an otherwise apparently straightforward plot. Against the abundance of vanilla graphic nonfiction for kids on the market, this is unexpectedly lively. Simple cartooning basics offered after the story are quite appealing; even the most reluctant artist may be inspired to pick up a pencil and give it a shot. Entertaining and surprisingly edifying. (Graphic nonfiction. 9-12)

Kirkus Reviews