By Dave Gibbons and Tim Pilcher

Rotovision Books, out September 21

A beautiful, full-colour text/art book that not only showcases the peerless comic book creations by Dave Gibbons, but also explains every aspect of the creative process.

One of the signs of entering fandom, or maybe just maturity, is when your favourite thing just isn’t enough. It’s no longer enough to watch your favourite show or read your favourite comic – you develop a desire to understand more about the creative process, recognising that things don’t just appear, they have to be created. Such was my first behind-the-scenes thirst quenched when I read The Making of Doctor Who in the late 70s. But finding out how comics were made was a trickier proposition. There were plenty of books on how to sketch a number of ovals and turn them into Superman or Spider-Man, and I really wish Dave Gibbons’ book had been around, back in the day.

Dave is of course known the world over for his work on everything from Doctor Who Weekly, 2000AD, Green Lantern, Watchmen… the list goes on and on. The reason he’s still here and is the perfect person to write this guide to creating comics is that he understands and fully embraces every aspect of production. This isn’t a grand master who just does the hands and face and passes on to his apprentices to complete the job; Dave has constructed comics from the ground up, and I would wager that if he hasn’t included it in this comprehensive tome then it’s not worth knowing.

A 194-page, full-colour, over-sized book, it’s split into seven sections: Scriptwriting, Visual Groundwork, Sequential Storytelling, Lettering, Colouring, Design, Exercises.

While I never kidded myself that I knew a lot about the medium, the range of multiple grid layouts is quite an eye-opener and I guess really never made the distinction between the different work carried out by a penciller and inker. There are far more balloon variations I’d given credit for, and just wait until you learn about the Ames Lettering Guide tool! Working with Tim Pilcher, Dave shines a light on his craft with annotated asides and insights, backed-up with published examples of the points being made.

Verdict: Whether looking at sketching, lettering or writing, Dave Gibbons one-stop, one-step guide to comic production gives you the insight and professional tips that only a master of the craft would know. Course books have never been such fun. Even if you’ve no intention in creating a comic, buy it for the wonderfully-reproduced images and remind yourself why you fell in love with comics in the first place. 10/10

Nick Joy

Click here to order How Comics Work from Amazon.co.uk