Publishers Marvel Comics and Simon & Schuster have announced a forthcoming book for anyone who’s ever wanted to make a comic but didn’t know where to start. How To Create Comics The Marvel Way is written by industry veteran Mark Waid, and will “provide an insider’s look at the unique methods that have made Marvel storytelling an integral part of modern pop culture.” The book features cover art by Waid’s Impulse and Champions collaborator Humberto Ramos and colorist Edgar Delgado, featuring noted comics artist Steve “Captain America” Rogers drawing Spider-Man’s latest adventure as his fellow heroes look on.

Here’s how Marvel and Simon & Schuster describe How To Create Comics The Marvel Way:

With over 30 years in the comics industry as a writer, editor, publisher, journalist and retailer, no one is more qualified to deconstruct the magic of Marvel storytelling than Mark Waid. Drawing from his own experiences of working with dozens of artists and crafting some of the most beloved Marvel stories of all time, Waid takes readers inside every stage of the collaborative process. Throughout the book, Waid not only explains the technical details of comics creation, but also highlights the unique approach that has made Marvel the favorite publisher of comics readers for over six decades. The result is a graphic fiction masterclass that can be enjoyed by aspiring comics creators and new Marvel readers alike.

The title of the new book is naturally a play on Stan Lee and John Buscema‘s seminal How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way, a book that was released back in 1984 and that remains in print to this day. It’s also not to be confused with How To Read Comics The Marvel Way, a four-issue miniseries by Christopher Hastings and Scott Koblish that was announced back in the 2020 before times and that has yet to find its way back onto Marvel’s publishing schedule.

Though he’s primarily known as a writer, Waid has also worked as an editor and publisher in the comics industry, so he should approach How To Create Comics The Marvel Way from an interesting perspective. In a statement announcing the book, Waid described what he had in mind as he put the book together:

“Putting a book like this together is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me, and it’s thrilling. My goal was to write the kind of how-to I wish I’d had when I first started out. No matter what discipline is calling to you — writing, art, coloring, lettering, or all of the above — you’ll come away from How to Create Comics the Marvel Way with the tools and guidance you’ll need to bring your favorite heroes and villains to life on the page.”

The new how-to book is the latest interesting Marvel project from Waid. In 2019 Waid wrote The History of the Marvel Universe, a six-issue miniseries with artists Javier Rodríguez and Álvaro López, in which Waid integrated 80 years of Marvel continuity to create as close to a definitive timeline for the Marvel U as possible.

Look for How To Create Comics The Marvel Way to arrive in stores on July 5th, 2022.

2 COMMENTS

  1. Sounds great! Can’t wait to get it. Although I had to scratch my head when you said How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way was released in ’84, since I had it as a kid in the ’70s. I think the original release date was 1978.

Comments are closed.