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Rating: 
Summary: Excellent
Review: Excellent book. Mr. Hart really explores the topic in a great level of detail. The techniques he teaches are easy to understand and very clever. This is one of Mr. Hart's best books ever.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't judge a book by its cover: NOT for anime fans
Review: First of all, this book centers around a style of art, not teaching art itself. All its shortcomings revolve around the fact that it doesn't adequately teach this style of art.Christopher Hart's entire artistic background is in American cartooning and comics. Now, that's not to saw that an artist of Western background can't perfectly render Japanese-style art (some can and have books on it, Katy Coope for example has a pretty good kids' book), but the sad fact is that Christopher Hart simply can't, and he teaches people, essentially, "how not to" draw in anime style. So, if you like anime, and you want to learn to draw anime-style art, then you will be disappointed if you use a book like this as reference, and people make comments like "Western/Americanized" when they see your art. For a great example of failed attempts at anime, watch the show "Totally Spies" currently airing on Cartoon Network. It was produced by a French studio and has all the common flaws of "Western" anime. Also, like in this book, the villains look goofy or cute. Sadly, neither Hart nor the creators of "Totally Spies" know how to design anime villains. If you like mediocre "anime" like "Totally Spies," then this is right up your alley.
Rating:
Summary: $20 down the drain
Review: I flipped through this book at a bookstore and was not very satisfied with the contents. First of all, MUCH of this book was in color. Not only is that not necessary, but it causes the guide to be unneccesarilly expensive for its size. The fact that many of the chunky images have been colored (and clearly not done so by hand, either!) seems to imply that it is meant more for children. (Obviously, young readers would lose interest if the book had been printed completely in black and white.) As most people should have noticed, many of the other manga-drawing series have been primarily in black and white, with a few exceptions. Furthermore, many of the examples (such as the rich man, his girlfriend and the bodyguard) were extremely one-sided and conventional. And there were many parts where I had the impression that a female "manga" villain had to be bursting with sex appeal or something of the sort. I strongly believe that most if not all manga villains are not completely evil. An excellent example would be 'Magic Knight Rayearth' by CLAMP. Every single person fights for their own wishes and ideas, and those with opposing ideas become your enemies. Absolutely none of the characters were truly evil-even Zagato, the main antagonist, had reasons for what he did that almost anyone would easily understand. A vilain is not someone (or something) who simply exists to make your life miserable or kidnap a princess. In fact, there probably shouldn't even be a book devoted entirely to how to draw villains. I would recommend that someone who has trouble creating manga villains should read a few varied volumes of manga, and come up with their own ideas on what an antagonist should be like. And finally, to conclude this review, I must add the comment that the "manga" is not quite manga at all. Everything is basically just Western cartoons with anime/manga faces.
Rating:
Summary: ...And Yet Another Mediocre Drawing Book for Americans..
Review: I flipped through this book at a bookstore and was not very satisfied with the contents. First of all, MUCH of this book was in color. Not only is that not necessary, but it causes the guide to be unneccesarilly expensive for its size. The fact that many of the chunky images have been colored (and clearly not done so by hand, either!) seems to imply that it is meant more for children. (Obviously, young readers would lose interest if the book had been printed completely in black and white.) As most people should have noticed, many of the other manga-drawing series have been primarily in black and white, with a few exceptions. Furthermore, many of the examples (such as the rich man, his girlfriend and the bodyguard) were extremely one-sided and conventional. And there were many parts where I had the impression that a female "manga" villain had to be bursting with sex appeal or something of the sort. I strongly believe that most if not all manga villains are not completely evil. An excellent example would be 'Magic Knight Rayearth' by CLAMP. Every single person fights for their own wishes and ideas, and those with opposing ideas become your enemies. Absolutely none of the characters were truly evil-even Zagato, the main antagonist, had reasons for what he did that almost anyone would easily understand. A vilain is not someone (or something) who simply exists to make your life miserable or kidnap a princess. In fact, there probably shouldn't even be a book devoted entirely to how to draw villains. I would recommend that someone who has trouble creating manga villains should read a few varied volumes of manga, and come up with their own ideas on what an antagonist should be like. And finally, to conclude this review, I must add the comment that the "manga" is not quite manga at all. Everything is basically just Western cartoons with anime/manga faces.
Rating: 
Summary: Mainly American Style Art though...
Review: I had mixed reviews about this book, but I had to admit the reason why I bought this book was because of the title. Afterall, no one has drawn a book totally dedicated to villians.
First of all, the book starts off by introducing you to drawing villian’s eyes, which is rather helpful since eyes are one of the important aspects when drawing villains. There’re also the “Good” vs “Bad” expressions and some explanations to go along. Then, there’re various types of baddies, from fighter chicks to medieval villains, and not to forget villains such as monsters, demons and aliens.
Unfortunately, there are mostly one or two examples for most villains, which can be rather limiting if you’re trying to draw the same type of villain in a different way. However, I think this is where your imagination will come in. Some of the arts also strike me as rather kiddy (or perhaps, it's meant to be more for children), although some of the full-page color artworks are very nice.
In addition, I’ve also noticed that most of the examples have a certain “American” (instead of Japanese”) style to it. For the serious mangaka-wannabe though, you are better off getting more “technical” and “Japanese-Style” books such as the “How to Draw Manga” Series, but overall, this book will make a nice reference or resource book for people interested drawing American cartoon.
Rating:
Summary: $20 down the drain
Review: I have read this book and I returned it to the store minutes after buying it. Not only is the artwork ugly and non- manga style but it tells you nothing about how to draw the pictures. How can they call this manga when it is clear mr. hart has never read a manga in his life. warning: stay FAR away from this book
Rating:
Summary: We Americans are simple minded creatures.....
Review: Look, if your looking for 'real' manga, DON'T LOOK AT CHRISTOPHER HARTS BOOKS!!!!!- He, like many of us here in America, is an American- Manga, (as in, Japanese Comics) Is from JAPAN!- American pop-culture is extremely different from the Japanese Variety. I am an American Teenager, and have been reading /watching un-translated, 100% Japanese stuff for quite a while now- and frankly, most of the stuff thats really popular in Japan is considered 'icky' and 'wierd' over here (in the US) . What i'm trying to say is, Although Many Americans love Traditional, more Japanese-ish stuff, most of our population is far too simple minded to 'get' any of it. So, all Psuedo (NON-JAPANESE)Manga-Ka's take the liberty of adding a bit of a western tinge to the material they produce, so that it apeals more to the American Audience. So, if your looking for 'real' manga, I would recomend either buying some or looking for instruction books by Natively Japanese artists. However, I have been an Avid fan of Christopher Hart's work (western and Manga alike) since i was a small child. His books were probably the reason i am where i am with my drawing abillitys today, since they were my first real introduction. I know, i haven't said anything about the book above, but i really just wanted to mae sure that no-one gets false ideas about the nature of this artist's work.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best "How to Draw" books yet
Review: Once again Christopher Hart presents the subject matter in such a way that an amateur artist like myself can sink his teeth into. The author discusses various villian types and characterists that make a villian, villainous - all in a humorous style that is a joy to read. The drawings are incredible - from the pencil to the full color versions. This book is a must have!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: Outstanding! Hart not only illustrates the technique required to create but takes you into the soul of the character as well; allowing you to interpret the temperament of the creature and spirit of the scene. The many different characters described with the evil powers attached to the wicked weapons topped by the background descriptions provide all the tools needed for a great storyboard. I highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys feeling the characters they create.
Rating:
Summary: Your doubts and search ends here
Review: Outstanding! Hart not only illustrates the technique required to create but takes you into the soul of the character as well; allowing you to interpret the temperament of the creature and spirit of the scene. The many different characters described with the evil powers attached to the wicked weapons topped by the background descriptions provide all the tools needed for a great storyboard. I highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys feeling the characters they create.
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