Going to Comic-Con this year? You might just meet a few of the people who have contributed to this book. Can’t miss, actually, there are 60 of the top artists, critics, and educators in the comics genre who have written the essays that make up this book, and there aren’t all that many comic artists out there.

Well, yes, there are. Comics are being written and drawn by thousands of young people all over the world, and some of them will wind up making a living at it. That’s a point that is made by more than one writer here, telling how they got their start. They drew. And drew, and drew and drew. They made copies and gave them to their friends, they created a fan base, they got better at it and a few got actually published. They got criticized, sneered at and threatened, but they kept on. People who get the comics bug don’t stop.

The Education of a Comics Artist by Michael Dooley and Steven Heller isn’t a how-to book. This book covers the history of the genre, personal narratives, tips on how to survive commercially and a lot of graphic design advice. All of it is readable, most of it entertainingly so, and many chapters you will go back and read time and time again. This is like sitting in on a symposium of some of the great comics minds and, for once, getting something out of it you will remember.

We All Want to Draw Comics
Everybody has their favorite comic, and, admit it, we all wanted to draw them ourselves. We no longer have to pretend that the idea is déclassé. Comics have been the inspiration for movies and TV series, both live action and animated. As Steven Heller says in his introduction, “The Most Popular Course in Art School,” “Such is the superiority of the field that while misfits are still drawn to art-school comics classes, they are no longer perceived as pitiful outcasts.”

There are many comics art genres and Heller speaks of the, “comics language(s),” which are used not only in editorial cartoons, but in children’s books, propaganda posters, book jackets and CD covers, to name only a few. Heller states that the idea of the book is to plant seeds of knowledge, to open artists to a large range of possibilities. “This book is aimed at those — young and old — who believe that comics is a calling — those who truly think outside the panel —.”

Comics Cover a Wide Field
Historically, comic art as we know it dates back to the 18th century, and was dubbed “the cartoon” by Punch in 1831. It has thrived in many forms, from The New Yorker’s wit to Mad magazine’s ribald humor to The Realist’s subversive inspiration. Michael Dooley says in his introduction (yes, there are two of them and don’t skip them), “At least as far back as cartoonist turned animator Winsor McCay, comics creators have explored and enriched a wide variety of related disciplines, including concept art and storyboards for films and more recently, design for motion graphics.” So for those of you who don’t get syndicated, there are other jobs.

Highlights and Quotes
This book has so much good advice in it that to try to summarize it would be ridiculous. Here are some highlights and a few quotes, but there is much more, so read the book. The first section titled, “Magazine Cartoons” starts with Bob Mankoff telling how The New Yorker selects its cartoons. It then takes a nostalgic look at New York’s newspaper and magazine cartoonist scene by R.C. Harvey, with some historical tidbits including how the artists sold the single panels by making the rounds of offices in person. He talks about the discipline that is required and how much paperwork is required to be a successful freelancer.

Paul Krassner, publisher of The Realist quotes Malcolm Muggeridge as saying, “Laughter, in fact, is the most effective of all subversive conspiracies, and it operates on our side.” He also makes a reference to censorship, as when one of his cartoons was rejected because the publisher’s mother objected to it. Read this chapter to find out about the poster that Disney didn’t sue over.

The next section is called “Editorial Cartoons,” where Ben Sargent says, “The editorial cartoon — rides straight to the reader’s subconscious — “ and “editorial cartoons are journalism and are — bound by the ethical expectations of the profession.” He later says the craft is for people with “… passionate convictions, a naturally satiric take on life, an analytical turn of mind, and a creative imagination. And, oh yeah… it helps if you can draw.” Tony Auth does a Q & A session on how he does his job and what makes him an effective political cartoonist and Steve Brodner talks about the changing fashions in graphic design.

The Origin of the Political Cartoon
In “Political Comics,” Paul Buble traces the origins of political cartoons all the way back to Hieronymus Bosch, progressing to The WWI’s Mr. Block and on up to WW3 Illustrated and beyond and comments on attempts at suppression. Speaking of WW3 Illustrated, its originator Peter Kuper talks about how that magazine came about, it’s distribution, and how Mad magazine inspired him. He says, “Creating social commentary is one thing, getting it to an audience is a whole other story.” David Rees talks about how the Internet is his distribution venue and has one of the best quotes in the book: “I want to surround my criticisms with facts so people don’t think I’m just being an asshole.”