Superhero feats and exhilarating fights are the climax of a comic book; here readers will learn to draw this fun and vital part of comic art. Techniques for drawing every dynamic action are explained from running, swinging and flying through to fist fights, group rumbles, and battles.

When I was first approached to do a ‘how-to’ book my immediate thought was ‘no way! Who am I to tell people how to draw comics?’. But then it sort of stuck in my head. After all, I did have some issues with the way some other how-to books had been put together in the past. I’d read a couple and I found them very vague, especially when it came to the figure work. I hated the stick-man that suddenly jumped to a fully rendered figure in three steps. Where’s the ‘how-to’ in that? If I was going to do a book then it would be nuts and bolts. Basics. Nothing too flash, nothing overly rendered or detailed. Something clear and not daunting to the reader. I wanted a book where it looked like it was possible to see how you got from A to Z. Not that I was going to do a book, I mean, what did I know about comics? That’s when the initial reaction started to change from being a reason to not do the book to a reason to do it. Maybe, just maybe, as I’m so new to this myself, I could pass on some of the stuff I’d recently learned. Maybe I could help other new artists out there because I was just discovering ways to do this myself. Maybe this was the perfect time to do a how-to book? I most definitely am still learning but what if we sort of learned together? I started to love that idea, it stopped it from being this ‘step back and let me show you how it’s done’ mentality to a ‘I’m not sure if this is the right way but it’s a way and it’s how I’ve approached it’. I don’t teach anatomy or form in this book, not really. Just the stepping stones. You’ll need to look more into that yourself. Study anatomy. Study people. Study movement, mannerisms and body language. Study the way clothes hang. Never stop studying them. Even when you’ve become the greatest artist in the world! I think an artist is sorta like a shark – if you stop moving forward you die. The best artists out there are never satisfied with their work and want to do better each time. Yes, it makes for a slightly embarrassed life but it’s also what keeps you fresh and relevant. Also, find a style and develop it. You’ll naturally move towards a certain approach and while it’s good to let your influences guide you to some degree it’s your own personality in the work that will make it sing. Finally, why action? Why focus on that? Well, it’s surprisingly not much talked about by a lot of other books out there, yet it’s the fundamental key to most mainstream comics. In fact mainstream comics are defined by Action. Sure, we want the day-to-day soap opera of our latest heroes life, but what makes that hero different from those in other media is that he sometimes has to smash a costumed villain through a wall, or rescue a space shuttle, or fight an eight-armed menace. So, here we go, time for some ACTION...