christopher hart is a person to admire!!! his kit is very good and essential for every cartoonist.

I used this superb book at the company where I work to help devise a risky, previously unheard-of guarantee. The guarantee has helped our sales to growth extraordinary fast. However, it's impossible to even consider such a move without thinking through all the possibilities- some disastrous- inherent in triggering an extraordinary guarantee. The author covers every base extremely thoroughly. The best contributions a marketing department can make to a quality improvement program is to guarantee customer satisfaction beyond the ordinary. Christopher Hart shows how to do it, like nobody can do. Christopher, we thank you for your superb work. Edward F. Stegman, Marketing Director Cruise Club Holidays

Just brilliant novel, a portrait of the English countryside that is dark, tragic and unforgettable - and contemporary - about a teenage boy slowly being driven to the brink of madness and beyond by the pressures of a changing rural landscape and the indifference of nature - if you love Faulkner, Cormac McCarthy and especially Thomas Hardy you'll love this - England in the 1990s, but from a completely new perspective . . .

I think that this book is a lot like a teacher. My friend and I have drawn characters from this book and we've had sooo much fun. I recommend this book to anybody who loves to draw cartoons and to the people that think almost everything is cute.

I am not probably the most better drawer you`ve seen but this book surely improved my drawing technics. It is not matter if you are an artist or a total beginner this hints from the real guru will certainly be a big help. A+ and a five star recommendation from me.

I thought that I could not draw until I got this book and now I am the best drawer in my class!!

I read this book to my 4 year old and she loved it! She got a real kick out of the fact that none of the adults could see through Merwin's disguises when it was so obvious to her who he was. The humor is very silly and perfect for that age group.

Most of the time, when someone asks about "brand" they are really talking about marketing or advertising. In fact, most organizations believe that advertising and "brand" are the same things. Unfortunately, this couldn't be further from the truth because advertising is simply one of the many possible messages that a brand could send as opposed to the heart and soul of an organization which is its "brand." The Brand Mindset makes it easy for a small business owner or a corporate executive to understand and develop an effective strategy for their brand. In addition, the book has dozens of easy to understand diagrams and charts which bring the critical concepts to life.

This book clearly, concisely, and thoroughly explains why a genuine brand is a "way of life" understood and lived by everyone in an organization--not just a superficial marketing or advertising ploy. One must "think like a Brand", make a BrandPromise, communicate, live, and leverage the Brand. A strategic planning mindset is emphasized. Numerous detailed examples and graphics are provided to illustrate key concepts underlying the thought process involved in a BrandStrategy Doctrine. This book is a blueprint for understanding and applying the concept of branding to an organization. Each chapter ends with a one-page action guide. The final two chapters cover topics not found in any other book on branding: branding on the Internet, with evaluation criteria for one's website, and specific tools to aid brand developers in staying connected with customers and stakeholders. These tools include quizzes, questionnaires, and checklists. No stone is left unturned to stress the importance of the brand in achieving excellent customer service, as each employee represents the brand. For example, how to answer the phone and how to most effectively communicate nonverbally are discussed, in order to "live the BrandPromise". This goes well beyond what I would have expected from a book on this subject. If you wish to buy only one book on branding from what is available, buy this one. It is comprehensive yet easy and fun to read, and makes not just the planning, but the execution and continual evaluation of a BrandStrategy seem quite "doable". After reading The Brand MindSet, I believed that any company could follow in the footsteps of other successfully branded companies.

The Brand Mindset is a must read for any company trying to build a genuine brand. Duane Knapp clearly and concisely guides his readers through the process of developing a blue print for success that will take them well into the future. His knowledge and expertise are invaluable, and his book has become required reading for everyone in our company. An excellent tool for any business!

I wanted this book to be good. I really did. It had what I was looking for, info on the most important aspect of cartooning: the writing.But, unless you intend to create cliche, unoriginal cartoons, this book is not for you. Because that's all it does. It explains in detail the most common cartoon character stereotypes and how you should use them. it tells you what is normally done and tells you to do the same. cartooning is not about following paths that have already been followed. i enjoyed The Naked Cartoonist by Robert Mankoff, cartoon editor for the New Yorker. It explains the creative process in general.
Here's my advice: don't listen to advice from cartoonists who aren't even successful themselves. they clearly don't know what they're talking about.

Well this book has it all. How to draw and come up with characters, how to layout out for comic panals. What and What not to do writing strips and doing the comic layout, etc. I'de say you have it all here. I was just hoping it would give more on writing scripts, but I guess there realy is no help guid it's just skill.

Christopher Hart's name appears on a number of beginner's how-to books, but he's not just a beginner's author, as this book demonstrates. This is one of the better, and more advanced, cartooning books out there. While it does go over yer usual "stick-man" first steps briefly, most of it is devoted to addressing stuff like panel layout, strip breakdowns, consistency of character design, timing in humor writing, marketing your work, etc. In every case, Hart speaks from experience: apparently he has written stand-up and TV comedy professionally, as well as doing animation, comic books, strips, and piloting the space shuttle. [I'm just guessing at that last one, but don't be surprised... ]

Anyhoo, if you've advanced in your cartoons to the point where you're considering getting into the pool of publication, this book is a good resource for polishing and fine-tuning what you can do.

The novella, All About Mary, gives you just that, everything about Mary. Mary Jane Jenkins is a woman that lived hard for what she needed to survive. A single mother of two young children, Mary used men just as they used her.

When the novella opens, we are introduced to the gruesome death of Mary and the arrest of her fiance'Perry Rogers. Perry is the prime suspect and to the police department, it's an open and shut case. However, private investigator Mick Hart does not see it that way and goes about tracking down Mary's killer at the request of Perry's mother. Hart comes across a list of suspects each of whom had a personal interest in Mary. Their interest ranged from lust, to like, to love.

Lawrence Christopher gives us a tale that is short but very complete. We understand Mary and her plight because we are privy to her childhood and her adulthood pre-Perry. I thoroughly enjoyed the comparison of butter to Mary's body; the chapter titles of some nursery school rhymes and song titles with references to "Mary".

This is very good murder-mystery that will make you shake your head just as you would have shaken some sense into Mary.

The young, seductive woman, Mary Jane Jenkins had a way with men. Her
thick, yet attractive body was like a drug that many of the men she was
involved with, just couldn't get enough of. A victim of physical and
sexual abuse since childhood, Mary Jane had a lot of painful skeletons
in the closet known as her life. Instead of dealing with her emotional baggage,
Mary Jane chose to lock it away. She used her mistreated and
sexually exploited body as a tool to get what she needed to support
herself and her two young children, Sapphire and Gerald. Tragically,
Mary Jane's painful past and turbulent lifestyle resulted in her
untimely murder.

As far as Detective Benjamin McIntosh of the Odelot Police Department
is concerned, Mary Jane's murder is an open and shut case. Perry
Rogers, Mary Jane's boyfriend, was being held in custody for the murder
and there was plenty of evidence to implicate him. Perry's mother,
desperately searching for a way to vindicate her son, hires Private
Investigator Mick Hart to look into the case. And thus, the story
unfolds.

Lawrence Christopher takes us on a painful journey through Mary's life,
with Mick Hart as the tour guide. We learn about Mary's difficult life
and about several of the other men that were a part of it. Mick has to
weed through a growing list of suspects with the hopes of finding out
the truth behind Mary's murder. Did Perry really kill Mary or was
someone else responsible? This question will have you turning page
after page in this novella.

Christopher has done an excellent job creating a mystery that once you
start, you won't want to put down. In spite of the fact that Mary was
killed before the story begins, you will finish this book feeling like
you know her personally. This story is both seductive and filled with
intrigue from beginning to end. Although this story is relatively
short, the plot is thoroughly developed with lots of twists and turns
leading up to an even more surprising ending. I truly enjoyed this
suspenseful yet spiritually uplifting book. As an added bonus, there
is a short story called "Dog 'Em: A Mick Hart Mystery that is equally
as pleasant to read. I give this book a RAW rating of 5.

Reviewed by Stacey Seay

This is a fantastic new work.

The murder mystery is woven through alternate points of view: Perry, the accused, is rambling towards a confession that just doesn't seem to make sense. Mick, the detective, is searching for the truth. Mary, the deceased, looms larger than life in the background - a woman whose reality transcends her death, and even the pages of the book.

It blends several universal themes:
- The pain of unrequited love
- The trouble of addiction
- The power of divine love
- The struggle in urban society

The story will ring a chord with anyone struggling to make their way in society, anyone on the wrong side of a 1 way relationship, and anyone struggling with the gap between a conviction and reality that don't mesh.

The novel displays outstanding depth in a mere 100some pages. You will read it in one sitting, and immediately crave the next from masterful new author Lawrence Christopher.