Chris Baker read Modern History at Oxford University, where he specialised in military history. He spent thirty-seven years as a civil servant in the UK Ministry of Defence, dealing with defence policy, programme and resource issues. Battleships have been a lifelong interest, and his study of them has come to fruition in this, his first book.

Dave Gibbons, a Will Eisner Hall of Fame nominee, is one of the most famous comic creators working today, with over 40 years experience, having worked for every major publisher in the US and UK. He is most famous for his collaborations with Alan Moore, including Watchmen, and was last year named Britain's first comics laureate.

Throughout this insightful course are real-life examples of Gibbons' art, revealing how he solved actual problems with practical solutions, and yielding unique behind-the-scenes insights into the creative process. All of the examples are scanned from original artwork, sketches, and preparatory designs, many of which have never been published before.

Learn the stages of layout and page planning via the initial designs of Give Me Liberty; discover Gibbons' handy tips for lettering using never-before-seen examples from The Originals; and find out the secrets of successful writing with sample scripts from The World's Finest and The Secret Service.