The folks at Charlton Neo recently (in the last few years) published a most cherished reprint of Charlton ephemera, The Comic Book Guide for the Artist - Writer - Letterer from 1973. Put together by Nick Cuti under the gentle editorial hand of the late great George Wildman, this fun little book featured a very informative how-to lesson for aspiring fans who wanted to enter the comic book business. (And admit, we all did.) It was a freebie for any fan who subscribed.
It was an interesting time for such a guide, with new talents sprouting up all over at both the "Big Two" and elsewhere as the original veterans of the comic book format were either retiring by choice or being forced out to make way for newer talent which was at once more in touch with new audiences and cheaper. The little book is nifty and I recommend a copy to any Joe Staton or Tom Sutton fan. Sutton does the cover of what appears to be a self-portrait of an artist hard at work. Staton's work is featured throughout, especially his stuff on E-Man as exemplars of what is being discussed. Also on hand are bits of art by Steve Ditko, Wayne Howard, Sanho Kim and Cuti himself. Here is a look at the book in all its Bronze Age glory. Enjoy!
See you next time.
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I got mine when I sent Charlton some art samples, well before I ever saw the book advertised. I'm pretty sure it was the first I'd ever heard of an Ames lettering guide, which is a really wonderful tool.
ReplyDeleteCharlton was the place we all thought we had a chance, and that was closer to the truth than we knew. A place to grow and learn in real time doing comics.
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Got mine by subscribing to E-Man,
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Never had a subscription to E-Man, but did snap every copy I ever saw.
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I had two. The first one I received when I subscribed to Ghostly Tales. I lost it a couple of years later so I sent a letter to Charlton and asked if they had any extra copies. I received another one, along with a letter from George Widman saying there were no more left so don't have my friends asking for any more. Message taken. I eventually lost that one too years later, but not before I used it as a teaching tool for a cartooning class I taught.
ReplyDeleteIt's a simple, direct, absolutely no bs approach to learning about how to do comics. Highly recommended.