My Life as a Cartoonist

From School Library Journal: Grade 4 Up-- Kurtzman, one of the founders of MAD magazine, tells the story of his life and his life-long desire to be a cartoonist. He tells about the different jobs that he found working for others and his own exploits into editing and publishing several comic book series and then several "humor" magazines, one of which was MAD . Throughout are illustrations of Kurtzman's work as well as samples of collaborations with other artists. Finally he takes readers step-by-step through the creative process of a "one page joke" from conceptualization to the final inking of the last frame. He includes descriptions of some of the tools of the trade as well as an overview of skills needed: story ideas, pacing, lettering, and figure drawing. This autobiography provides an honest picture of life working in the cartoon/comic business. While some of the reproductions are of poor quality, this book will be popular where readers have enjoyed such books as Syd Hoff's The Young Cartoonist: the ABC's of Cartooning (Stravon, 1983) or Lee J. Ames' Draw 50 Famous Cartoons (Doubleday, 1979). --Patricia Homer, Lowville Academy, N.Y.