5 Cartooning Books You Should Read Right Now

When I was starting out as a cartoonist I checked out pretty much every book about cartooning in the state of Illinois. (Thank you, Interlibrary Loan!) Like any subject, some books were good, some not so good. But a few were so good that I went out and bought them so I’d always have them close at hand.

For those of you not familiar with these 5 classic cartooning books, you’re in for a treat. Admittedly, some are a bit dated, so the information on markets and technology isn’t going to help, but the depth of practical cartooning knowledge they have to share never goes out of style. And if you wanted to buy them all for yourself, you could get a pretty amazing cartooning education for around $47.00 (and most of that is shipping).

So let’s get to it:

The Cartoonist’s Muse by Mischa Richter & Harald Bakken

The Cartoonist's Muse Mischa Richter and Harald Bakken

This is probably my favorite cartooning book about writing gags and I return to it every couple of years. Chapters include Simple Association: Incongruity, Visual Cliches as Idea Sources, and Developing and Polishing Cartoons. It’s aimed mostly at writing gag cartoons instead of strips, but any cartoonist will benefit from its deep analysis of how to generate gags, and how gags work. Do not miss reading this book.

At the time of this writing you can purchase The Cartoonist’s Muse at Amazon for less than $5.00

The Arbor House Book of Cartooning by Mort Gerberg

The Arbor House Book of Cartooning by Mort Gerberg

Gerberg’s book is an embarrassment of cartooning riches. Materials, theory, basic drawing, writing, and layout are all explained deftly and deeply with plenty of concrete examples for clarification. Chapters include What Is a Cartoon?, So How Do You Get Your Ideas, and Putting It All Together: The Whole Picture.

The later material on other genres and markets is probably no longer as useful, but the first half of the book is pure cartooning gold.

At the time of this writing you can purchase The Arbor House Book of Cartooning at Amazon for less than $5.00

Cartoonist’s and Gag Writer’s Handbook by Jack Markow

Cartoonist's and Gag Writer's Handbook by Jack Markow

Much like Gerberg above, the last bits on markets and careers is dated, but the front half of the book is as useful and inspiring today as it was when it was published in 1967. Markow clearly explains different types of gags and, more importantly, how they’re built. Chapters include The Reverse, Ready-Made Captions, and Has It Been Done?

At the time of this writing you can purchase the Cartoonist’s and Gag Writer’s Handbook starting at around $25.00. (Note, there are more recent editions than the one I’ve linked to, but I don’t own those specific editions.)

Jumping Up and Down on the Roof, Throwing Bags of Water on People by Mark Jacobs

Jumping Up and Down on the Roof, Throwing Bags of Water on People by Mark Jacobs

With a series of interviews of successful cartoonists (Gross, Handelsman, Kilban, Rodrigues, Savage, & Wilson), Mark Jacobs shares not so much how to be a cartoonist, but what it’s really like. Each artist talks candidly about the art, the business, and life in general. My pal Mike Lynch suggested it to me years ago and was so enthusiastic about it I purchased it online while we talked about it. I’m glad I did, it’s a gem.

At the time of this writing you can purchase Jumping Up and Down on the Roof, Throwing Bags of Water on People at Amazon for less then $7.00.

The Art of Cartooning by Syd Hoff

The Art of Cartooning by Syd Hoff

While some of the drawing tips up front may seem simplistic, ignore it at your own peril. (Plus you have to see how he draws a gangster using only the letters in Chicago!) Hoff expertly demonstrates great expression, figure, composition, and line & shading. And the writing chapter is great too! 

At the time of this writing you can purchase The Art of Cartooning at Amazon for less than $5.00.

If that’s not enough for you, some additional titles I don’t own anymore but remember fondly include:

Any cartooning books I’m missing?

Man of Steel Sticker Cards (1978)

Man of Steel opens this week, so to help get you in the mood, here’s some super sticker cards from 1978! (I’ve just posted the Superman ones here, you can see all 30 over at Flickr.) Enjoy:

Superman Sticker
Man of Steel Sticker
Clark Kent Sticker
Lois Lane Sticker
Leaving Krypton Sticker
Jimmy Olsen Sticker
Jor-el & Lara Sticker
The Kents Sticker
Lois Lane Sticker
Supergirl Sticker
Superman & Lex Luthor Sticker
Superman Locomotive Sticker
Perry White Sticker
Krypto Sticker
Lew Luthor Sticker

Can’t get enough Man of Steel? Then check these out:

Volo

Normally I post a new blog on Mondays, but yesterday was my birthday and I took the day off. 

The family and I went up and visited the Volo Auto Museum where they have loads and loads of fun and famous car to look at. Here’s a small sampling of what we saw starting with cartoon and comic related cars:

Batmobile
Batcycle
Batmobile
Ghost Rider Bike
Dick Tracy
Speed Racer
Hudson Hornet
Flintstones
Bugs Bunny
Herbie
TMNT

Then there was a bunch of just plain odd cars as well:

James Dean
Elton John
Cat in the Hat
We're on a mission from God
Marilyn Monroe
Soul Train

Hope you enjoyed those, and sorry for the late post.