Comics, Anyone?

Just yesterday I was unpacking boxes of books into our new house and thought, hmmm, I wonder if one can have too many Usborne books?

Don't worry, I decided quickly that was a NO!  Thank goodness, because we were just blessed with a new one for review and it is a keeper- Write and Draw Your Own Comics.

Comics!  What more could make a 6th grader a happy camper?

This colorful, spiral bound, hard back book is 96 pages packed with fun!  It consists of 24 sections to teach a child step by step how to create comics and then provides the space to do so.  At the end you will find 4 pages with over 130 stickers to help enhance their art.

The book is really broken down into three parts.  The first part teaches you the "hows" of making comics.  Subjects include-

• How to use this book
• Comics: the basics
• Making up characters
• Drawing characters
• Action drawings
• Speech bubbles
• Sound effects
• Once upon a blank
• Plotting
• Rough planning
• Pencils and ink

Each of those sections provide detailed instructions and examples and then space for your child to practice what they have learned.

The second part then provides ideas and places for your child to create their own comics and even has an appendix for them to list each of their comic titles for easy reference.  Themes include-

• Mix and match comic
• Good day, bad day
• Superheroes vs robots
• Dinos in danger
• Pirates and treasure
• Tiny adventure
• Secret agents
• Fantasy quest
• How to be a cat
• Time travel

Each theme has a page or two to get your child started.  These pages provide places to brainstorm,  gives them ideas to possibly use, and sometimes teaches a new skill to help them with that theme.  For example, the robots theme shows your child how to draw a simple robot.

The next 3-4 pages have comic box spaces for your child to use their imagination and complete the comic.  Around the perimeter of each page are cute drawings to further spark the imagination.

The last short part talks about how to create a cover for your comics and ends with a "few last tips."

How we used it and what we thought-
Basically, I just turned it over to my 11 year old, Colby, and let him have at it!  He was so excited to get started as he LOVES comics.  The only hitch we ran into was that he wanted to race through or even skip the "how to" pages and get right to creating.  Being the type A personality that I am I convinced him that learning a few tips from the pros first was probably a good idea.  Needless to say, he completed that first section in just three days.

After that I left him alone and just let him create at his own pace.  A few comics he has done in a short amount of time, while others he has worked on for several days.

I love that this is not only a reference book with instructions, but also a keepsake book that you can create in and then have a beautiful book with your comics and an index to find them.  I also love that after your child is taught some basics they are able to create on their own, but not left ALONE.  There are plenty of ideas and cute drawings to help get them started if they are stuck.  Let's face it, sometimes staring at a completely blank canvas can be frustrating for kids and adults alike!

Write and Draw Your Own Comics makes for such a fun activity and I think would be a great gift to give.  For homeschoolers it would be a great addition to your art credits, and for those who have kids that love to draw, well, they will be in 7th heaven no doubt!

Are you one of those who like me own many Usborne books?  It's ok, you can't have enough and you will need to add this one to your collection.  Trust me-Write and Draw Your Own Comics is a blast!

Blessings!