Booklist Review

*Starred Review* In no way a misnomer, Mastering Comics is far more than a follow-up to the team's Drawing Words & Writing Pictures (2008). Besides editing the Best American Comics series and producing graphic novels themselves (Abel created the much-ballyhooed La Perdida, 2006), the couple teaches at New York's School of Visual Arts. Here they've brought the vast scope of their curriculum to bear on what is essentially a full course on all aspects of making comics from spark of idea to bookstore shelf. Filled with clear, engaging, and exact instructions; examples from well- and lesser-known comics; and loads of exercises meant to help both the prospective writer and potential artist flourish, the book leaves literally no area of the process unexamined. Beyond this comprehensive treatment, attention is given to modern platforms (e.g., webcomics) as well as to plumbing the understanding and practice of handcrafting things that are now generally done digitally, such as coloring and lettering. Not for casual readers to dip into, but behind only Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics (1993) for prospective creators, working practitioners, and those interested in story and cartooning theory, this belongs in every library that is pursuing a serious and expansive graphic-novel collection.--Karp, Jesse Copyright 2010 Booklist