Others say...

"This is the BEST book on drawing manga"
This book is great, step by step guide to drawing your own manga. not copying someone else's style.

"An intriguing perspective"
Though not exactly what one might call a "Draw by the numbers" book, "Draw Manga" offers a very interesting perspective on the concept of drawing in your own personal "manga" style. The author points out from the very beginning that there really isn't one unified "manga" style of cartooning, and delves into the history of Japanese caricature, explaining its very roots and drawing connections to the modern art form.

The book doesn't exactly tell you how to draw, it actually puts more emphasis on learning to draw from life, in order to build the reader's ability to visualize a subject. From here, the book describes the human anatomy, and its many different details. At this point, the reader is expected to practice drawing on their own, and learn at their own pace. Another major topic explained in this book is that of actual production, that is, how to piece together and sell one's work in book form.

"Draw Manga" isn't exactly an all-encompassing "how to draw" book, and to actually learn drawing, sketching, and coloring techniques that may be used to develop one's own style, it may be helpful to consider several different books or tutorials spanning different authors and art styles. That aside, "Draw Manga" is certainly a good place to start learning the ropes, especially since it helps remove a few common myths about drawing that may obstruct one's learning process, giving an aspiring artist a very fresh start.

"A starting point for newbies !"
Not so much emphasize on drawing, rather a book that takes you from the start ( what is manga ) to the end ( stitching it together and distribute it). It is a real thought-out book and I really enjoy reading it.

Zon

"The perfect complement for the "How to draw manga" series"
Let's face it: you won't learn how to draw with this book. But if you already have started drawing, and specially if you already have the HTDM series, this book will help you face manga in a way I've never seen before. The HTDM series is focused on specific subjects for each volume, which are translations from the original japanese versions (which means that some things are not explained, since they're common knowledge for japanese people), with lots of (dispair quality) drawings. You won't find that here. What you WILL find is a series of advices that will help you develop your own style of manga. I was dissapointed whe I opened the book for the first time. The first drawings I saw were not nearly as good as the ones you're used to on other books. But when I started reading it... It has a detailed method to create your first manga from the beginning: honing your skills. And it will guide you to the completion of your work (research, preparation, composition, coloring/toning, printing, etc.).

Summing up, a good complement for your collection (don't expect it to be THE one on it).

"For Thoughtful Manga-ka in Training"
What this book is not: a trace-this how-2 for drawing Princess VaVoom of Planet Whoopee.

Lewis' "Draw Manga" promises to show the reader "how to draw figures, create believable characters and develop stories." And the book delivers.

Back to Princess VaVoom for a moment: addressing the interests of hormone-addled male teenagers, the author does devote four paragraphs on page 57 to cheesecake.

Not everyone will find the brief history of ukiyo-e and Hokusai-san's best seller, "Hokusai Manga" as interesting as I did: but I found it useful in setting up a sort of mental cargo pallet to hold the book's other thoughts.

That pallet got pretty full after reading this book. Lewis covers obvious topics, like drawing eyes and hands, discusses workspace design, the importance of research (and how to avoid it), props real and imaginary, how to shamelessly swipe plots and characters, and how to create your own unique style of art, characters, and plots.

The edition of the book I bought had a howler in it. On page 101, four balloons march across the top of the page, illustrating two good, and two not-so-good choices for digital lettering. Problem is, all four balloons contain the same sans-serif font.

However, in the same section Lewis gives a pretty good introduction to leading, size, kerning, and other aspects of making lettering legible.

That's the only glitch I can recall finding in this book's 120-odd pages, which is pretty good for something as content-rich as this.

Someone could learn to create a manga with engaging characters and good plots without reading this book, but that person would be missing a fine resource.