The Total Cartoonist

Rating:
Summary: Helpful and Fun Book
Review: I borrowed this book from my friend. We are both intrested in cartooning and becoming cartoonists someday. This book has really helped us. I really like this book,... I would recomend this book to anyone who is intrested in cartooning or drawing. It is a really great book and they did a good job writing it.

Rating:
Summary: Become A Total Cartoonist
Review: If you've ever read the comics page with a sigh, thinking, "I wish I could do that", or if you draw cartoons as a hobby and wish to turn it into a profitable career, this book is for you! Each page hand-written and hand-drawn by veteran cartoonist and animator Ken Muse, it is filled with a wealth of information and experience---including tips and ideas from other well-known cartoonists---that you won't find anywhere else. This, along with his first book, "Secrets of Professional Cartooning", is what you need to succeed in your daring quest to become a professional cartoonist. It's a book that is hard to find, but once you get your hands on it, you won't want to put it down!

Rating:
Summary: Become A Total Cartoonist
Review: If you've ever read the comics page with a sigh, thinking, "I wish I could do that", or if you draw cartoons as a hobby and wish to turn it into a profitable career, this book is for you! Each page hand-written and hand-drawn by veteran cartoonist and animator Ken Muse, it is filled with a wealth of information and experience---including tips and ideas from other well-known cartoonists---that you won't find anywhere else. This, along with his first book, "Secrets of Professional Cartooning", is what you need to succeed in your daring quest to become a professional cartoonist. It's a book that is hard to find, but once you get your hands on it, you won't want to put it down!

Rating:
Summary: Flawed, but good for the novice 'toonist
Review: The second of Ken Muse's pair of instruction books, "The Total Cartoonist" expands on the original by taking the beginning toonsmith through the process of creating a comic strip, from devising a likeable character and creating usable gags to the ins and outs of the submission process. Muse pulls no punches--he lets the reader know in no uncertain terms how difficult it is to get a comic strip submitted. To underscore his point, he drew up a series of proposed strips himself, sent them to the various syndicates, and printed the responses. All were rejected, naturally. Muse tries to use this as proof that editors are hardheaded, unimaginative, and inflexible (and indeed, some are). Yet judging from the quality of his samples, his attitude comes off as "sour grapes." The proposed strips, with titles like "Super Silly Willie," were overwhelmingly stiff and unfunny, in this reviewer's opinion. The reasons for the rejections were quite obvious, but Muse does not see this.

It is this sort of negative attitude that ultimately mars the book. Muse grouses about the lack of humor in today's strips (admittedly, he has a point) and the tendency of some cartoonists to use felt pens rather than good old fashioned India ink. Beginners should be advised not to take this tirade too seriously--felt pens have improved in quality considerably since this book was published, producing a line comparable to pen and ink or brush. Muse also could not have foreseen the increasing role of the computer in producing comics (some current strips, such as "9 Chickweed Lane", are produced entirely on the computer--with astonishing results.)

That is not to say, however, that the beginner has nothing to learn from this book. As a cartooning instructor in the early nineties, I referred to this book frequently when teaching children and teens. However, those more advanced students seeking a more balanced, comprehensive look at the business are better served reading Mort Gerberg's "Cartooning--The Art and the Business."