Dave Gibbons and Tim Pilcher Talk About How Comics Work At Orbital

Learn how to make comics from one of the most prolific comics artists working today. How Comics Work is a masterclass taught by Britain’s first Comics Laureate, Dave Gibbons. Packed full of rare and unpublished material from Gibbons’ archive it reveals insider tips on how comics such as 2000 AD and Watchmen were made.

Written in collaboration with award-winning writer and editor Tim Pilcher, the book is ordered sequentially and takes the reader through each stage of the comic’s creation process starting with scriptwriting, moving through character and superhero design, lettering and colouring and finally on to covers and logo design. Each chapter ends with a spotlight on Gibbons’ artistic and creative heroes such as Wally Wood and Chip Kidd. Replete with real-life examples of Gibbons’ original art, this insightful course provides a unique, behind-the-scenes perspective on the creative process.

Dipping into Gibbons’ extensive archive, scans of original artwork, sketches and rarely seen workings illustrate Gibbons’ creative process. Learn about character design from the preparatory sketches of Star-Lord and Dan Dare; understand the stages of layout and page planning via the initial designs of Give Me Liberty; discover Gibbons’ handy tips for lettering using extracts from The Originals; and find out the secrets of successful writing with sample scripts from Superman vs. Batman: The World’s Finest and The Green Lantern Corps.