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Reviews
Adventures in Cartooning: Christmas Special! by Andrew Arnold, Alexis Frederick-Frost, James Sturm
turrean's review against another edition
5.0
Funny and deceptively simple, the book appears to be a primer on making comics while actually telling a clever story about a knight's search for a dragon with which to do battle. Or possibly, it appears to be an adventure story which gives advice on drawing cartoons. You decide.
dawnoftheread's review against another edition
3.0
Fun way to help kids grasp concepts of cartooning.
divadiane's review against another edition
4.0
My son loves comics. He's only 5 but I think they remind him of cartoons. This was very cute and funny. Also fun to read aloud, which I had to because he doesn't read enough yet to read it himself. But I think it will help him read other graphic novels and comics with more appreciation.
akmargie's review against another edition
4.0
A fun way to explain cartooning and comics to a younger audience but also a fun story too. Lots of appeal for the drawing crowd too.
calistareads's review against another edition
3.0
The whole point of this is that you don't have to be a great artist to make a comic. It is a great learning tool and tells an amusing little story to teach the basics of comics. While a person can certainly tell a story, I do expect good visual with graphic novels. I hated the art in this thing. I want more.
This would be great for anyone interesting in comic writing. It would be a great resource.
This would be great for anyone interesting in comic writing. It would be a great resource.
noelle_tofigh's review against another edition
3.0
Such a cool book. Funny and informative. Read it after Elika recommended it to me and I can see why she loves it. It takes a complicated art form and simplifies it for kids in an imaginative way. Can't wait to try to make my own comic this afternoon!
pussreboots's review against another edition
5.0
Adventures in Cartooning: How to Turn Your Doodles into Comics by James Sturm was short listed for the middle grades graphic novels category for the 2009-2010 Cybils. There were a lot of excellent books on that short list and I think in a different year this book could have won.
The book uses the medium to teach the methods behind the medium. The focus is on the method of building a good story, not on drawing in a certain style. In fact the illustrations are done with stick figures and doodles very much like Order of the Stick or similar web comics (in terms of style, not content).
The book though isn't strictly a how-to. It's also a graphic novel in that the stick figure knight has a quest and a story apart from the lesson plan. Best of all, there's an excellent twist at the end of book.
The book uses the medium to teach the methods behind the medium. The focus is on the method of building a good story, not on drawing in a certain style. In fact the illustrations are done with stick figures and doodles very much like Order of the Stick or similar web comics (in terms of style, not content).
The book though isn't strictly a how-to. It's also a graphic novel in that the stick figure knight has a quest and a story apart from the lesson plan. Best of all, there's an excellent twist at the end of book.
pussreboots's review
3.0
Adventures in Cartooning: Christmas Special by James Sturm is the follow up to Adventures in Cartooning: How to Turn Your Doodles into Comics. This time, the knight (princess) is called into duty to help Santa save Christmas in a time when children are more interested in apps, videos and other electronic forms of entertainment.
The book opens with Santa up in arms over the closure of his workshop. The elves have given up woodworking for app development. They're making flash games at the North Pole. The knight has a solution — self publishing! Cough cough. No really — a self published comic book.
Just as the previous book was about a knight on a mission with a trusty horse and an instructional manual on how to draw a comic book with the basic doodling skills any kid has, this one has some further advice about drawing comics, along with (perhaps unintentional) advice on self publishing.
The two big messages here, I think, are homemade presents still rock and printed books still have their place. But the message seems to get garbled — especially as an eGalley. Santa laments all these electronic doodads getting in the way but the review copy is in electronic form, DRMed and with an expiration date. Ironic, no?
And then there's the whole Christmas thing. With Santa in the mix, we learn that the dragon in the previous book is Jewish (from the menorah). Reluctantly though, the dragon plays along. Now I'm all for homemade gifts, comic books and self publishing, but presented as a Christmas story — then all the focus goes from the best features of the book (creativity in so many forms) to being yet another story about saving Christmas.
Read via NetGalley
The book opens with Santa up in arms over the closure of his workshop. The elves have given up woodworking for app development. They're making flash games at the North Pole. The knight has a solution — self publishing! Cough cough. No really — a self published comic book.
Just as the previous book was about a knight on a mission with a trusty horse and an instructional manual on how to draw a comic book with the basic doodling skills any kid has, this one has some further advice about drawing comics, along with (perhaps unintentional) advice on self publishing.
The two big messages here, I think, are homemade presents still rock and printed books still have their place. But the message seems to get garbled — especially as an eGalley. Santa laments all these electronic doodads getting in the way but the review copy is in electronic form, DRMed and with an expiration date. Ironic, no?
And then there's the whole Christmas thing. With Santa in the mix, we learn that the dragon in the previous book is Jewish (from the menorah). Reluctantly though, the dragon plays along. Now I'm all for homemade gifts, comic books and self publishing, but presented as a Christmas story — then all the focus goes from the best features of the book (creativity in so many forms) to being yet another story about saving Christmas.
Read via NetGalley
elizabethseebee's review against another edition
5.0
I've been wanting to draw my own comics for a while... I remember having my own in middle school, but I want to seriously create one... This book is intended for children, but broke it down very simply...
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