Customer Reviews
Great Possiblitites 
2008-09-02
If you have been drawing comics for a while, this is a great tutorial, to take your work to the next level. Light and shadow work in the noir style, how to create a storyboard and most important how understand what you are doing and to objectivise your results. Its not a book to teach drawing but its concept in a specific style. The Noir comic Novel.
Brilliant and engaging 2008-07-08
This book is a great instructional. The prose is clear and the author elegantly "illustrates" the points with perfectly chosen imagery. But it is also just a great book in a straightforward visual sense. By that I mean, it works as a coffee table book. And the story at the end is an added bonus for anyone who loves comics.
Valuable insight from a distinctive creative voice 2008-03-04
I'm a comics writer, not an artist, so I almost started this review by saying that I bought the book just to look at the pictures. And who could blame me? Shawn Martinbrough is one of the most original and distinctive stylists in modern mainstream comics. In a sea of imitators and variations on a house style, his artwork is instantly recognizable. His run on DETECTIVE COMICS with writer Greg Rucka (who writes the introduction to this book) is a landmark to me, in that it was one of the things that brought me back to reading comics after a long absence.
But Martinbrough's strengths lie far beyond his style - he has a true mastery of the *craft* of sequential storytelling, which is what makes this book such a valuable read, for aspiring artists and students of the medium in general. Reading about his process has given me much food for thought in how to evaluate and critique the work of other artists, as well as in how to better compose my scripts for artists to create the maximum impact in the collaboration. In short, HOW TO DRAW NOIR COMICS is a fine read for anyone interested in creating comics, whether one's work is done at the drawing board or at the keyboard.
Oh, and you get to look at the cool pictures, too.
Lessons from a REAL ARTIST 
2008-01-14
This book is not just another how-to book written by another comic book guy.
Martinbrough is clearly an illustrator who knows his craft well, takes pride in it, and has used a vast library of tools, ideas, and creative resources to create a book that is a must-have for any artist aspiring to make their work more dramatic.
His insight into the creative process and the relationship between artist and writer makes this book a must-have for any comic book (or even screenplay) writer, to give them a sense of what to provide an artist with in a script.
This book reinforced for me the need for shadows in storytelling.
HOW TO DRAW NOIR COMICS is a cut above the rest of its peers, and is for SERIOUS ARTISTS, not pencilers looking to imitate Jim Lee.
A Kick Start to Noir Comics 2008-01-07
I was expecting a little more from the book, judging from the fact that the author is a legend (read other reviews)in the comics industry. But the content is still pretty educational and informative. I enjoyed looking at the large print as well as the artwork which is printed on nice good quality paper. Even though the information may seem too comprehensive for more professional artists, they may benefit from looking at how the artwork is done, and in fact, I enjoyed looking at how the author has provided us with different treatment to the same artwork. To me this is precious, and show that the author is versatile in his technique and creative in his use of tools and materials.
Learning to Learn 2007-12-28
How to Draw Noir Comics: The Art and Technique of Visual Storytelling is an instructional book based on the cinematic, high contrast noir style of acclaimed comic book and graphic novel illustrator, Shawn Martinbrough.
Martinbrough’s work has been published by DC Comics, Vertigo and Marvel Comics, illustrating stories ranging from Batman to the X-Men. This is his first book, released through Watson-Guptill Publications and The Nielsen Company.
In How to Draw Noir Comics, Martinbrough shows how the expert use of the color black is critical for drawing noir comics. He demonstrates how to set a mood, design characters and locations, stage action and enhance drama, and discusses important topics like page layout, panel design, and cover design.
How to Draw Noir Comics includes The Truce, an original graphic novel written and illustrated by Martinbrough which incorporates the many lessons addressed throughout the book, and has an introduction by critically-acclaimed novelist Greg Rucka, author of the graphic novel Whiteout, currently in production as a major motion picture.
2007-12-24
Let's face it: there are a lot of how to books out there, many quite bad, many just middle of the road or simply not helpful. And it doesn't help that other books have had the term Noir in it.
But not like this. Shawn's book has the experience of an artist who understands the medium and explains it clearly. It builds realistic expectations for the aspiring artist, not the beginning one. It reads concisely and expresses the techniques in logical progression.
High contrast in this medium is tricky to do properly: if one doesn't apply light and dark properly or understand the many ways they're used, the result can confuse storytelling. Shawn's book guides the process with candor and doesn't appear to assume too much or too little from the reader.
A solid how-to noir book from an artist that understands the medium. What a refreshingly novel idea. Well done.
Wonderfull showcase for noir comics 2007-12-18
Martinbrough demonstrates how to achieve that bold black and white style in a an easy to read package. The book inspires one to pick up a brush and a bottle of ink and create your own atmospheric worlds. This is a great book for anyone who wants to learn how to apply light and shade for the most dramatic effects. A must have reference book for the novice comic artist and the professional.
Great guide on illustrative style 2007-12-02
Shawn Martinbrough pinpoints the classic elements of the visual noir comic book in his beautifully illustrated and eye-catching how-to. Fans of the author's previous work will be treated to pages of selected pieces that demonstrate the noir mood while showcasing his own well-honed style. There are hundreds of books available on how to draw, but few of them will give the insight into developing an effective style the way this one will.
One of the book's greatest assets is that it was clearly written by an artist, for artists. There is a greatly valuable, brief chapter on supplies and materials that outlines what's available and what's useful or not. The writing throughout is perfectly succinct and gets the point across section by section without giving any unnecessary verbage about the history of noir comics, name dropping, etc. In fact, Martinbrough takes the idiom "a picture is worth a thousand words" to a new level with his included art; oddly enough the most helpful parts of each chapter are often the captions underneath the illustrations.
The best of these are his comparison pieces, where you can observe his techniques in action. Side by side, you can see what truly makes a character or scene look "noir" in nature, how adding deep shadows creates dramatic effect, or what ink techniques are best to use for different textures. This is the real worth of the book, which any aspiring comic artist will find greatly beneficial -- even if he or she isn't a noir artist by nature.
introductory how-to on drawing noir comics by an expert 2007-11-29
Martinbrough shows how to get various kinds of dramatic effects in the noir style using the simple tools of ink and pencils, pens, and brushes. Additional work of this foremost artist/illustrator can be seen at the website www.verge.tv. But his work is already familiar to many in DC Comics and Marvel Comics and also the films Batman, X-Men, and others. Starting with how to visual a script (or any text) to create noir illustrations for it, Martinbrough moves on to the fundamental of page layout and then the techniques of graphically portraying action and developing a series of illustrations generating drama. Panel design, backgrounds, and rhythm are among the specific topics covered with corresponding illustrations. While cautioning the illustrator should never forget text that is going to be inserted into many noir illustrations, in a series of three simple illustrations Martinbrough demonstrates choices that can be made in panel design or organization affecting the effects or prominence of elements of the noir illustration. In discussing "Designing the Covers," he notes, "Remember, the more detailed your cover, the harder it becomes to convey a clear message of what the story is about."
The reader benefits not only from Martinbrough's exceptional talent putting him at the top of his profession, but also from his experience in the field of comics and films working on projects involving various persons (e. g., writer, director) and thus various considerations. The expert instruction is capped off by a 16-page graphic novel titled "The Truce" combining all the considerations and techniques Martinbrough has covered in the earlier sections.
