Caricature Books

There are many situations in nature where direction of handedness is favored over another. Biological structures are generally all oriented in the same direction, there is a parity violation in subatomic physics and humans are decidedly in favor of the left hand. Many arguments have been put forward to explain each of these preferences, yet nothing yet has proven convincing. The purpose of this book is to argue in favor of the left hander.
While most tools and utensils come in the right-handed form only, there are many areas where the left handed person seems to have an advantage. Baseball and tennis are two of them; many of the greatest stars were left handed. An amateur boxer that I once knew said he had an extremely difficult time when going up against left-handers. He would struggle against those of lesser talent, simply because they were left-handed.
Other areas are cited in this book, some of which are scientific and others which are given with tongue firmly planted in cheek. The serious parts make you wonder, the humorous parts make you smile. Given the overwhelming preference society has for the right-handed person, to remain left-handed in conflict with this preference must certainly mean that those that stay left are strongly drawn that way. I enjoyed this book; it presents the principles of handedness in ways that I had not thought of before.

Not what I expected at all. If you are looking for a serious study of the left-hander THIS ISN'T IT. This is a childrens book, however it is a very funny one. The book cracked me up, probably worth what I paid for it. Good to read to children asking about left handers. It even has childrens pictures.

My son is 10 and he LOVES this book!! He quotes it all the time and actually is now insistant that he is superior to all of us right handers.. I love that it makes him feel special!

As a lefty child, this book was my bible. I searched high and low for a copy last year after realizing as a grow-up that it was still a book I could enjoy. It does a great job of de-mystifying dominant-handedness while dispensing some interesting biological facts about it (how it's a recessive gene, for example.) It's filled with humorous drawings and fun factoids (did you know that Gerald Ford writes left-handed sitting down, and right-handed standing up?) that anyone -- not just a lefty -- will appreciate. As an added bonus, it succeeds in its goal to provide a good source of self-esteem for lefties who feel left-out.

If you're considering getting this book or Ken Muse's previous effort, The Secrets of Professional Cartooning, you'd be better served by purchasing Secrets instead of The Total Cartoonist. I did not see the sequel being much more than a rehash of his first book, and both books are rather dated in this day and age. Still, it does offer some tips and advice for someone interested in learning what goes into making a comic strip, and it is nice to know that even professional cartoonists have to deal with rejection.

I borrowed this book from my friend. We are both intrested in cartooning and becoming cartoonists someday. This book has really helped us. I really like this book,... I would recomend this book to anyone who is intrested in cartooning or drawing. It is a really great book and they did a good job writing it.

If you've ever read the comics page with a sigh, thinking, "I wish I could do that", or if you draw cartoons as a hobby and wish to turn it into a profitable career, this book is for you! Each page hand-written and hand-drawn by veteran cartoonist and animator Ken Muse, it is filled with a wealth of information and experience---including tips and ideas from other well-known cartoonists---that you won't find anywhere else. This, along with his first book, "Secrets of Professional Cartooning", is what you need to succeed in your daring quest to become a professional cartoonist. It's a book that is hard to find, but once you get your hands on it, you won't want to put it down!

The second of Ken Muse's pair of instruction books, "The Total Cartoonist" expands on the original by taking the beginning toonsmith through the process of creating a comic strip, from devising a likeable character and creating usable gags to the ins and outs of the submission process. Muse pulls no punches--he lets the reader know in no uncertain terms how difficult it is to get a comic strip submitted. To underscore his point, he drew up a series of proposed strips himself, sent them to the various syndicates, and printed the responses. All were rejected, naturally. Muse tries to use this as proof that editors are hardheaded, unimaginative, and inflexible (and indeed, some are). Yet judging from the quality of his samples, his attitude comes off as "sour grapes." The proposed strips, with titles like "Super Silly Willie," were overwhelmingly stiff and unfunny, in this reviewer's opinion. The reasons for the rejections were quite obvious, but Muse does not see this.

It is this sort of negative attitude that ultimately mars the book. Muse grouses about the lack of humor in today's strips (admittedly, he has a point) and the tendency of some cartoonists to use felt pens rather than good old fashioned India ink. Beginners should be advised not to take this tirade too seriously--felt pens have improved in quality considerably since this book was published, producing a line comparable to pen and ink or brush. Muse also could not have foreseen the increasing role of the computer in producing comics (some current strips, such as "9 Chickweed Lane", are produced entirely on the computer--with astonishing results.)

That is not to say, however, that the beginner has nothing to learn from this book. As a cartooning instructor in the early nineties, I referred to this book frequently when teaching children and teens. However, those more advanced students seeking a more balanced, comprehensive look at the business are better served reading Mort Gerberg's "Cartooning--The Art and the Business."

Even business has its lighter side and it is captured in these cartoons. While they are very funny, there is a dark side of reality to many of them. For example, the woman in a bar who says to another patron, "We finally found the American dream by working for the Japanese in Mexico." Or the two suits walking down the street where one says, "Let's make sure that if there's a return to morality, we get a piece of the action." Finally, there is the especially biting, "Our factories are all out of the country. All we produce here are very rich executives."
In the long run, we are all dead, but at least we can have some chuckles along the way. Although sometimes the humor is dark, there are a lot of laughs in this book.

A picture is worth a thousand words. That's literally true with the cartoons in this book. It is a nice collection item for book lovers, nice to have it in the waiting room or drawing rooms.

This cartoon collection makes a good coffee-table book or gift. Organized by decade from the Fifties through the Nineties, the cartoons can be timeless or topical. Humor that brings back memories of changes in our society (women moving into the workplace, merger mania, stock market fluctuations) puts life in perspective and gives a chuckle every page.

Having recently read the New Yorker's books of business and money cartoons, I must admit that I was disappointed in this book. Although I read "Pepper . . . and Salt" (the Journal's daily cartoon feature on the op-ed pages since 1950) almost every week day in the Journal, the cartoons are simply a lot better on the same subject in the New Yorker.

First, almost anyone will find at least some of these cartoons to be overtly sexist. Even if we grant that public attitudes may have been different when these cartoons first came out, that doesn't make it a good idea to run these kinds of cartoons now. One that offended me was of a woman director asking why an acquisition couldn't be returned if it didn't work out. It certainly is all right to make fun of white males (it's good for the soul), but at a time when women are having trouble achieving equal opportunity in the workplace humor needs to be carefully considered. There are some pro-women cartoons, so don't let me give you the impression that the book is all one way.

The second reason I found these cartoons wanting is that the reproductions were not very crisp. They seemed almost blurred in the copy I read.

The third failing related to a lack of consistenly high quality wit. A few cartoons were first rate, and the others were not. The introductory essays were also not especially witty, just historical perspectives on the cartoons.

Here are a few of my favorites among the cartoons to give you a sense of what is good in the book:

1950's: (1) A man stands between the garage door and the car holding his golf clubs, next to the back fins of a large automobile. Speaking to a woman driver he says, "Whatever you do -- don't back up."

(2) Woman to man, "Mr. Clamwell has been expecting you. He left."

(3) Two men looking into a brokerage firm window, "I'm always happy when the market goes down. Then I feel pretty good about the stocks I didn't buy with the money I don't have."

1960s: (4) Man to another man while driving a car, "I'm getting to be a nervous wreck, waiting for something defective to show up."

(5) Boss to man at 5:15, "No hurry on this Wilberg -- take all weekend if necessary."

(6) TV announcer, "In New York today, two conglomerates gobbled each other up and disappeared without a trace."

(7) Woman coming into VP Sales office carrying her belongings to man packing his, "And to think all these years you've worried about some boy wonder taking over your job."

(8) Secretary to boss while she holds a steno pad, "I know you want me to correct your spelling and punctuation, but what about your misconceptions?"

1970s: (9) Waiter to two men, "And what will you gentlemen be writing off this evening?"

(10) Man to assistant, "Ms. Ryan, send me in a scapegoat."

1980s: (11) "Stanley, just in case the takeover bid succeeds --here is your poison pill."

(12) Children to elderly man, "Grandfather, tell us again what you sold short in 1929."

1990s: (13) TV announcer, "Family values rallied today, despite staunch Hollywood opposition."

(14) Dog in hedge to dog in business suit on side walk, "Could I interest you in a hedge fund?" (15) Woman to man, "Why must we always take the same two weeks as Alan Greenspan?"

Your taste probably differs from mine. With selective reading, you can still have a lot of good chuckles.

Use the humor here to locate your own misconception and disbelief stalls.

Deserving of ongoing mention is a fine collection packed with humorous political commentary and controversial digs at everything from political events and individuals to science and social issues. Large-size black and white comics poke fun at all kinds of scenarios, making for a fine addition to any public library holding - and promising lasting interest and relevance.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

I'm a big fan of Ralls--he's just honest and brave and tactless in a way that's all but illegal nowadays. That said, this collection is almost totally ruined for me by Rall's explanatory notes at the bottom of the comics. These cartoons typically contain four drawings and like 80 words--do we REALLY need to see that boiled down? In all but the rarest cases the cartoons should speak for themselves. Too bad Rall didn't think more of his audience because those of us left after the Tilman and terror widow cartoons probably don't need to know that, as Rall informs us in commentary beneath one cartoon, he likes to find parallels between the personal and political.

While his style isn't for everyone, Ted Rall's work serves a purpose all its own. At a time when the definition of politically correct has become saying nothing even more than saying the 'right' thing, Rall stands up for a time gone by--a time when cartoons said anything and everything they wanted. As space and tolerance quickly disintegrate, Rall stands alone in the wind...not chasing the money, not caving in to pressure. Again, his style can seem off target at times--enough that you shake your head as often as you laugh--but his contribution to the industry is what helps keep the flame on the satire candle from blowing out entirely.

And again, he misses big sometimes, for something happening in Sudan is offbeat enough let alone when a cartoon gets printed 6 days later and the 2% that were following the story has dropped to .75.

But Rall's biggest contribution, at least in this book, is his breakdown of the industry itself, of the A+B=C simplicity that most editorial readers have come to expect. When he jokes about the "terror whores", for example (individuals who he felt rode on the coattails of their family members' deaths for their personal and/or financial gain) people got outraged at what they believed was insensitivity, for they quickly think he's accusing EVERYONE who lost someone of such a thing. This is Rall at his finest, for he opens the doors of discussion about topics that hardly anyone else will even touch. At least he offers us that.

And Rall knows something very important: freedom of speech isn't something the government is going to storm in and snatch away from us like a scene in a movie. Instead, times just change, until one day we realize we've quietly and subtly taken it from ourselves. It's already happened on the nightly news, as carefully-written text stays a fair distance from the edge. This vanilla style will only get worse as the amount of money to be made (or lost) increases over time. Political cartoons are as much an art form as painting or music, and Rall's doing everything he can to keep this medium from moving too close to the center.

We can only hope Rall maintains his edge, if only so that the quick-witted style of critique that was once a standard in American cartooning can stay alive a little longer.

This is a cute little book that's good for a chuckle or two. Not what I expected since it was a cartoon book with one sentence per page.Not something I would have bought in a bookstore.

A short, but informative "must read" for all bikers! Perfect after a long day ride when you are sitting on the back patio having a cold one and reminiscing about your good times on your ride.

I found this a short but great read. I think it takes a true biker to understand most of the mantra. Some of the things in here I laughed so hard at people thought I had lost my mind. (Don't read at work). I am more than happy with the book and I have read it a few times now. I hope you enjoy it too. I am searching for more books from the authors.

This book will not help you design applications around XML, nor show you how to use the SDK/IDE's for Java, C++/C#, etc. Nor will it explain how to write drivers for new devices, it is an excellent survey and introduction to the core concepts of information technologies.

The text includes some humor, and some history. But it clearly explains the basics of information theory, and logical operations. While computing hardware and software has become more complex and subtle, the data algorithms and logical operations performed have not changed since 1950. What has changed is the speed and degree of parallelism that is used to increase hardware and software performance (speed and power).

The cartoon format makes the book appear much less instructive than it actually is. But the illustraions clarify the text, as if to remind readers that a picture is worth many words. Unlike most hardcover texts, this one is likely to be read by bright or curious kids (the ones who go ot to excel in life). So, it's actually a much better book for teaching than most of the others offered by publishers (because students pick it up to read on their own).

Try this test: ask someone about computing, calculation theory, and logical operations before AND after they read this book. You might be surprised at how much they learn -- it even works on those adults and old people who never seem to be able to learn anything.

"The Cartoon Guide to the Computer" by Larry Gonick is another of his informative cartoons about different subjects. This book was originally titled "The Cartoon Guide to Computer Science", and was published in 1983. So much has happened in the world of computers since 1983, that this book has become very dated. This book still works as a history of Computers, but the parts of the book which focus more on the current state of computers is no longer relevant, nor was it when the book was published again in 1991 by HarperPerennial.

The areas that are well done include the history of the subject and related subjects, the overview of how computers work, the sections on logic and binary numbers. The parts that are poor are those on the PC, and BASIC programming, which suffer from being out of date and no longer relevant. There are several subjects that are missing too, such as networking and the Internet. If you are seeking a light-hearted trip down memory lane in the field of computers, then this might be a good choice, otherwise you may want to look elsewhere. In 1983, this probably would have been a four star book, but today I can only give it two.

Covers from logic (gate) design up through floating point and (Shannon) communication theory with flair for humor && information. Best used as a light read OR semester course introducing computing for ages 4 & up.

This book really is the best thing a Caricature artist like myself can have in his libary. Crammed with tons of drawings by both Mr. Staake and dozens of other artists, there's definitly no shortage of examples in this brillantly illustrated book. However, this is not your traditonal "step-by-step, this is how to draw" kind of book. Rather than directly teaching you how to draw caricatures, Bob Staake explains in great detail all the important aspects of caricature, such as how to incorporate the subject's personality into the drawing and what are the best reference materials to use while drawing. Truly a must have for ANY artist.

This book had a lot of examples but I feel it didn't teach how to draw them that much. It showed many funny caricatures but it didn't really give me any thing to work with.

I had heard this was the "definitive" book on Caricature, and a truer statement couldn't be made! My goodness, this book is absolutely incredible. The caricature samples are diverse and inspiring, the presentation well designed, but Bob Staake's text is just marvelous. Doesn't matter if you're an artist, cartoonist, caricaturist or just a casual reader, this book will have you hooked from the first page. Can't possibly over-recommend it -- truly the most complete book on the art form of caricature.

Most likely anyone who's been around the rooms on a regular basis for more than a few months has heard most of what is in here...And that which they haven't heard is otherwise predictable. Unfortunately, most "recovery humor" is best suited to the feeble and middle brow humor of 60's and 70's Readers Digest, and this book is no exception. It's just plain corny and it's really not very funny. Addiction and recovery can be so dark and edgy; it would be nice to see some of that reflected in the literature and humor.

A lot of funny items within the book.It is a really great way of carrying the AA message.

I just read this book and find it not only funny but thought provoking. It made me think of some of the things that were going through my head early in my recovery. As a recovering addict/alcoholic I find it refreshing that someone besides myself can find humor in some of the past (and sometimes present) behaviors. I would highly recommend this book to other people in recovery.

This book is one of a kind. It contains previously published Clinton cartoons from all over the world. It is a story that needed to be told about the most corrupt President in the history of the U.S., William Jefferson Clinton. More negative books and facts are being written every day.

It is a book that is definitely not for Clinton-lovers ...

This is the only book I know that features cartoonists from the U.S., Canada, Sweeden and India. Many are syndicated and one is a Pulitizer Prize winner.

It is a virtual history of Clinton's scandal-ridden presidency that also includes Al Gore, Hillary, Monica Lewinsky, Paula Jones, and Ken Starr.

There are multiple Quotations from several prominent Democrats, a past President, Mikhail Gorbachev and many best selling authors.

The Introduction thoroughly explains the word 'Thief' in the Title.

Anyone that has followed the presidency of William Jefferson Clinton will be able to remember the event portrayed in the cartoons by their creator.

Most Liberals and Clinton apologists will not welcome a book of this nature that exposes their president's immoral conduct while in office.

It's a shame that the book doesn't focus more on issues that shaped the world instead of what was going on in the private life of a man. Battling homelessness? Welfare reform? The lowest unemployment level in years? No mention. This book is the worst kind of anthology of tripe.

I decided to read this volume because I enjoyed Russell's adaptation of The Magic Flute, and while that one was a little better, some of the stories in this one were very, very good. I liked Parsifal. It had all the elements of a great fantasy story. The other adaptations were very good, too. In all, I'd say it's very good and very unique.

This graphic novel is a wonderful way to tell the stories of operas. Operas have complex plots, bigger than life characters and lots of action. P. Craig Russell captures all of these in his graphic novels.

Opera is a grand tradition of musical story-telling. The repertoire includes many stories adapted from myth or mythic in themsleves.

Opera is also, I'm afraid, an acquired taste, and one that I have not acquired. That's part of the reason I'm so happy to see these adaptations in a form I can appreciate. Another part of the reason is that I just like Russell's art, no matter what story it tells.

Opera purists may object, but hey - it gets people like me interested in the stories, and that's a start. I have to admit, though, a little more background information would have made these extracts a bit easier to understand.

Classic stories and good visual rendering, a good combination. Enjoy!

//wiredweird