Books by Mark Crilley

Grab a pencil and learn all the secrets needed to bring your manga story to life!

An aspiring young creator learns the fundamentals of visual storytelling from three comic book mentors in this charming illustrated tale—a graphic novel that teaches you how to turn your stories into comics!Acclaimed illustrator and graphic novelist Mark Crilley returns with a new approach to learning the essential elements of making comics. His easy-to-follow instruction about comic book art, design, and storytelling provides aspiring creators a one-of-a-kind how-to experience. In The Comic Book Lesson, you’ll meet Emily—an enthusiastic young comics fan who has a story she needs to tell. On her quest to turn that story into a comic book, Emily meets three helpful mentors who share their knowledge. Trudy, a high school student who works at the local comics shop, teaches Emily how to create expressive characters and how art can convey action and suspense. Madeline, a self-published manga artist, teaches Emily how to use panel composition and layout to tell a story visually and how to develop a comic from script to sketch to finished pages. Sophie, a professional graphic novelist, guides Emily through fine-tuning the details of dialogue, sequence, and pacing to lead readers through the story. Page by page, you’ll discover more about the events that drive Emily to create her comic book as her mentors teach her (and you!) about the fundamentals of visual narrative and comic book art. Each lesson builds on the previous one, guiding you through the steps of planning and creating your comic, with accompanying exercises you can try for yourself. Are you ready to start your comic book lesson today?

When fourth grader Akiko finds a spacecraft hovering outside her window one night, she begins the adventure of a lifetime. She is whisked off to the planet Smoo to lead a team searching for the King of Smoo’s kidnapped son. Akiko the head of a rescue mission? She’s afraid to be on the school’s safety patrol! So begins the adventures of Akiko, wherein she meets her team — Spuckler Boach, Gax, Poog, and Mr. Beeba — and sets off on a journey across Smoo to find a prince and become a leader.

THIS ONE SUMMER meets THE EDGE OF SEVENTEEN in this poignant coming-of-age YA graphic novel about two childhood friends at a crossroads in their lives and in their art from the author of Mastering Manga.

Expert manga artist Mark Crilley guides you to another level with this powered-up drawing book