This is a fun and accessible springboard for creating comics (and stories in general) in the form of a graphic novel. Highly recommended for young artists, probably best suited to pre- and early teens.

This book introduces you to the language of comics, including a series of prompts and challenges and encourages the reader to think about storytelling more generally. It covers the process of making a comic or zine from the genesis of an idea, through designing characters, hooking the reader, creating a world and ultimately pencilling, inking, colouring and publishing the finished article.

This book provides an en-ramp for diving deeper into the nuts and bolts of comics, with books for older readers such as Brian Michael Bendis' Words for Pictures and Scott McCloud's timeless Understanding Comics, but more importantly will fire up readers to go and create some art of their own.

I read a certain number of comics/ graphic novels every year, but I am not someone who follows several of them/ collects them. I also don’t think I’ll ever be making one but I was curious as to the content in this book. I must admit that I think if I was serious about the endeavour, I would have rated you’d book even higher.

If one has to imagine a technical guide to writing graphic novels split into different sections of what goes into making and putting comics out into the world, this would be it. The author introduces a group of friends who like the idea of making graphic novels and each has a skill set that they would bring to the table. Then the individual skills are further elaborated upon , making a complete novel in itself. I like the way things were played and the details were interesting to me, even though I don’t plan to do anything with it.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who has even a remote interest in making graphic novels/ comics.

I received an ARC thanks to Netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

Really interesting book that is extremely on trend at the moment. There are lots of students that love this genre and enjoyed reading this book.

Successfully combines artistic design with educating you without you even realising. This is definitely one that I will be ordering multiple copies of.

The cutest book on how to make a book, with added Alice Oseman!

Aimed at tweens and teens, this should be on any writer/illustrator’s bookshelf as the foundation on how to make an illustrated serialised book. Going through everything from first principles, it’s equally entertaining and informative. Give it to your children but use it to inspire yourself!

Four and half stars.

Great book and extremely useful. Pitched at older children and young people (but also a good starting point for adults!). It takes the reader through step by step how to make a graphic novel with lots of useful tips and ideas and practical information. After reading the proof I bought a hard copy for my daughter who is writing a graphic novel for her EPQ at 6th form - an ideal guide.

Mentioned on Mostly Book Talk podcast episode 17.

A factual graphic novel about creating a graphic novel, that works as a very decent look at creating any fiction book. It's all in the planning here, as we get to generate character, conflict, setting – and while a lot of the character comes through the look (the costumes, facials, etc) you could argue that only long past the halfway mark is this exclusively applicable to comix – with the specific script layout, speech bubble style and so on.

Being a graphic novel instructional does make it full of cheese, however – the characters involved – a none-more-woke gang of friends where being able-bodied, white and cis just kills off all chance of representation – tell each other just as much as they tell us about what to do. But when it gets away from them and gives us examples things are quite strong – there certainly are more graphic novel ideas involving bananas than you'd have initially thought, just to prove a point.

The whole is easy to engage with, light on terminology and narrative theory, and doesn't go fully into the dumper of the psychology of colour, or what to do with your webcomic when it's done. In other words, it's suited very nicely for a young secondary school audience, and with that in mind has few equals.

Great book and my stepson and myself spent time going through it. Very interesting and we both enjoyed it (and he actually spent time with me instead of his Xbox so that’s a win)

Graphic Novel Builder is a wonderfully informative non-fiction book for anyone who's ever wanted to create their own zine, comic, graphic novel, or webcomic. It includes step-by-step guides to writing, pencilling, inking, and creating a comic, as well as prompts to help you get started with ideas and to explore different methods.

Thanks to NetGalley and Collins for the ARC!

I was offered a copy for review. I found it difficult to access the digital version and ended up buying a paper copy which I feels works much better for the graphic format.
I actually had my son, who both loves graphic novels and has dabbled in creating them, go through it with me.

He found the format and separate subject areas both interesting and well thought out, in a way he hadn't considered before. The different characters speaking about their speciality areas were clear and humourous, engaging the reader with easy examples and ideas.

We now have the book in school (ages 11-14) and the children think it's wonderful. It has inspired quite a few to have a go.

A great book which has been perfect for my students! A lot of them prefer graphic novels over regular books and have had lots of fun using this book to help them create their own

I love this book - i would have devoured this as a teenager, i will devour it now. Really fun, accessible and inspirational way of presenting a lot of information and ideas, i can see this being used again and again in the library.

4 stars
🌕🌕🌕🌕

🎯 Target Audience
- People who want to craft and create their comics/graphic novels from start to end
- Comics/Graphic novels enthusiasts, who want to know how these are created

🧠 My thoughts
I was impressed with how much information was packed into this book. The artwork was awesome, and I learned a lot from it. The author led us through multiple steps to create a comic/graphic novel with detailed and practical information. I felt confident to create my own work now if I ever wanted to.

However, since the book was very informative, some parts were too packed with words that it made me feel overwhelmed. For me, it felt a bit redundant to create different characters as well in the book. I understood the author's intention but since the characters didn't have so much space to show their personalities, it would still be fine if that part was left out in my opinions.

Thanks NetGalley, Collins Reference publisher, and the authors for a great advance copy of the book in exchange for my honest review!

What a lovely entertaining read this book was. It is full of practical advice and tons of tips on how to produce a first rate graphic booklet. I adored the silly characters with their superb decriptions and apt ,but funny, names. It helped the progress as each chapter began a new project creating different plots. This was an easy read and would suit the younger generation especially. I did feel that some basic drwing eperience would have helped me in the work I tried, but above all this is a fun book.

My 13 year old son is very interested in graphic novels and anime just now. I asked him to read this book as thought it would be helpful to him in developing his own graphic novels.
He really liked the style and layout of the book. There were lots of engaging and colourful graphics. He thought there was a lot of good information in the book to give ideas on how to get started, howler ti develop characters and storyline ideas. However, he thought it was probably aimed at slightly younger children than teenagers..
Overall a great book to help people get started in writing their own graphic novels.

This book blew me away. I picked it up as graphic novels are something that are exploding across teens reading lists and something my thirteen yr old sister adores whilst traditional books she finds challenging. What a book. From crafting the story element, to discussing use of color, styles of character and how to even format the page this book covers everything in a super accessible format that is inviting and warm to all ages. This is not just a children's book. This is a children's book stressing how vital it is to us all to widen our horizons and consider the other methods of storytelling. There’s a reason so many tweens and teens and even those in 5-8 are loving the cartoonised tales of Bunny vs monkey, Heartstopper and more- this book celebrates the many ways you can use art to tell a story. This is my go to rec for christmas this year!

A Non-fiction book that blows all others out of the water! Super accessible and easily engaging GNB is an incredible guide to Graphic Novels and how diverse, creative and entertaining they can be. This takes a kid (or adult who will also gain a lot from this!) from step one of an idea all the way through character creation, location, script making, formatting and beyond! Truly a book that shows kids can do anything. By creating it with a distinctive voice shown through a superb cast of characters going on their own journey, Edward Ross makes each page wonderfully useful but also interesting. I thought this book was a wonder to behold and cannot wait to see what gems this inspires.

This is a really good guide for budding artists and story tellers. I shared this with my daughters and they will most liekyl use the tips to create their own mini novels.

Thanks to net galley and the published for an ARC copy.

Created for graphic novels, i think this has loads of tips useful for any kindof storytelling. It's a really fun and engaging read with loads of practical, helpful advice on creating a plot, building worlds and developing characters. It is very easy and quick to read so perfect for kids to capture their attention and so many good hints and tips for character design and settings that work across all formats.

This book is cleverly put together... it's presented as a graphic story with a set of characters talking you through the stages of creating your own story. It starts heavy on the characters and gradually gets more stuck into the nitty gritty. The advice is sound, from filling the well of creativity to character and plot creation to layout, text style and bleed areas. As a writer, the writing and story building advice was familiar and sensible, and I personally loved getting the same level of insight into how the art style affects things. It is really, really thorough; a great workbook covering every possible aspect of creating a graphic novel. If you worked through the whole book chapter by chapter you'd have a project to be proud of at the end. I started this book thinking it would be a nice gift for my daughters - we're a huge fan of graphic novels in our house and my daughters are always drawing - but by the end I felt like I might have to borrow it myself.

A fun and helpful guide to storytelling, covering plot creation, world building, and character development, all laid out in a clever comic book format that makes it really interesting. It's a quick and easy to read, perfect for younger audiences and the practical tips it offers for character design, setting details, and visual storytelling could also apply beyond just graphic novels and comics which is awesome

A bible for graphic novel writers yes, but I would say it is also perhaps relevant to anyone who wants to write a story. I have been taking short courses in writing novels, including graphic novels and this book has already got me thinking of how I can improve my work; it is great to have a working book with visual stimulators.
The book covers all aspects of writing a great story, great characters and world-building to comic layout and drawing style to publishing and target audiences, to inspiring you to keep making more.
Each subject isnt in huge detail but it does give you all the key points you do need to consider and any more information could potentially overwhelm younger audiences. The illustrations are great fun and I like how the artist has used a bunch of multicultural characters as a team working together, as it makes it easier to learn, more inclusive and fun.
And I would say it isnt just for children or teens, this is an ALL age people pleaser. I will definitely go out and purchase this book for myself and for children and adults I know would appreciate it.