This is an interesting subject, and I can remember drawing cartoons for fun as a child. Maybe if I had had a book like this I might not have given it up, for as long as you have some drawing talent (and you are reading a review of an art book) there is a style to suit most tastes. Use any of a large variety of traditional and modern art materials, or use a computer and a graphics package. Learn how to show the sort of exaggerated poses and expressions that give cartoons their "shorthand" style, cartoon conventions and stereotypes (nothing too politically incorrect here), anthropomorphism, and all the "tricks of the trade." There are various different types of cartoons, and these are all briefly but succinctly explored in another chapter: comic strips, wordless witticisms (think of Hoffnung for example), political, manga, and caricatures name some of them. As cartoons and selling your work are invariable partners (unlike being an amateur artist), there is also a highly useful chapter on going professional, asking most of the right questions, and giving some sensible and realistic answers. Top this off with a file of expressions (western style, not manga) and a useful glossary, and this is a useful primer for the budding cartoonist. There are areas that could use more coverage (manga again), but each style of cartoon is a separate subject in its own right, and it would be unfair to expect one book to do it all. As it is, I found myself sketching some cartoons myself, and so I think will most people when faced with this useful book.

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