Drawing Cutting Edge Fusion: American Comics with a Manga Influence Paperback – October 1, 2005

I Just received this book and I amazed at some of the insights. I have bought several of his previous books and pretty much knew what to expect. On many of the pages there are little one off comments (personal notes on drawing) that really point out things that should be obvious but when you see them you're like *poof* mind blown.I'd also recommend his drawing cutting edge anatomy.

I took a chance on this book for the cover since it doesn't give you a preview. There's good information here, I just am not that big a fan of anime. That being said I loved the cover and I thought the art inside would lean more to the side of traditional American comics rather than anime.

Chris Hart's books are hit or miss, but this is one of his better ones. If you're interested in drawing "Fusion Style" comics, a style pioneered by Rob Liefeld than this book is for you. Like most Hart books, this book is filled by illustrations from various artists with Hart providing an occasional illustration. While I like his books, I find Hart's style is poor. Thankfully, illustrations drawn by the author are kept to a minimum.The Good: Some good fusion style faces. From all angles this time. Thanks! More turnarounds including 'generic ones.' ExcellentThe bad: Why oh why did hart have to draw the muscle charts? This illustration is very poor, and one of the worst in the book. Also, whoever drew the female figure on page 29, did not draw it in fusion style. Pages 22-33 were really bad, and just did not do the book justice. Since these were key proportion illos I was disappointed.Overall, if drawing "Fusion" is your bag, you can't go wrong with adding this to your collection.

I own quite a few of Christopher Hart's drawing books and this is the one I have been hoping he would produce. If you have ever wanted to draw like Joe (Mad) Madureira of Battle Chasers fame, the man who is the original fusion genius, this is the book that will provide the instruction necessary to fuse the incredible art of Japanese Manga with the dynamic Marvel look of in your face action in the same way Joe did when he created the dark and sexy Monika.Drawing the art work in comic books takes a special talent since a person must know what people look like, and then take that picture and distort it till it jumps off the page and into the readers imagination; an excellent example of this is Khary Randolph's "WOW!" on page 84. If you haven't purchased a Christopher Hart book, then you may not be aware that he includes the work of quite a few artists in his pages thereby exposing us to different styles and the methods of respective artists who might draw in a way that appeals to quite a number of learning styles. In addition to Christopher Hart's work in this book you will learn from incredible artists such as: Roger Cruz (superhero perfection); Diogo Saito (leaning toward the Manga); Steven Segovia (this guy is amazing, he is the embodiment of fusion); and several more. In addition Christopher Hart has had Steven Segovia break down the drawing process into several steps: starting with the mannequin stick form in front, ¾, side, and rear view, Steve progresses to fleshing out the anatomy. Then adds the clothes and features. This is done with two very different males and one Monika style female. Throughout the process Steve explains why he is drawing certain lines and how they help in keeping the artwork true to the character that is being created.If you have visited digitalwebbing.com the hub for people working in the comic book industry, the one thing you may have noticed is that there are an incredible number of people who have ideas and stories, all they need is an artist. The story is everything and yet without someone who can draw like Roger Cruz... I am hoping that in studying and learning from Christopher Hart's books my drawings both in speed and quality will improve to the point that I am proud of the pages I create; I am getting there... And then I am going to [...] to get my work published.

In my opinion, any instructional book should show you how to complete a process from steps 1, 2, 3, 4, and then 5 (depending on how long the process is, of course). However, this book (like most of the Hart books I own) teaches, or rather shows, steps 1, 3, and then 5 with little explination in between. Most "lessons" follow this simple process: A very bare beginning, a nearly complete picture with little explination as to why things were added or changed, and finally a completed masterpiece.The book's strong point(s) would have to be the fact that when structured lessons aren't being taught, the completed pictures work very well for points of reference. Everything from casual clothes to futuristic armor is shown, and can be built upon to create other designs. The book also covers points concerning comic page layouts and panels. These too are surprisingly well done; teaching character focus and different panel designs.There are other area's covered, but I won't give away the entire thing here. It's probably better if you have a base for drawing, and not try to learn by starting with this book. On the other hand, if you're looking to expand on what you already know, or are looking for a reference book, this one may be worth a look.

I like it. If you cant draw already this book really isnt going to help u any. If you lookin for some tips on sharpening up your skills or gettin into this style of comics, its cool. Has alot of good reference material. 1st book Ive ever bought by this author n wasnt dissapointed. I dig it.

The book itself is great for having an idea for figure drawing and not going too deep into academical anatomy or figure drawing, for drawing comic style or manga style is excellent

I love this book, love the style and the breakdown. Its very detailed and really shows you how to develop your skills in this area

It's is knowledgeable, book was in okay condition.

基本的にこの本では完全なアメコミの描き方ではなく、日本マンガの特徴を取り入れた描き方が紹介されています。もちろん後半あたりには、アメコミの描き方もいくつか載っています。前ページカラーというわけではないですが、イラストが豊富なので、英語がわからなくてもなんとなくわかるかと思います。（もちろん英語も理解しながら読んだほうが良いんでしょうけど。）イラストは古臭い感じではないと思いますし、参考資料としてもとても良いと思います。