awesome book/graphic non-fiction (how do i describe this genre anyhow?)
although i'm a recent convert to the graphic format, as well as a huge fan, i didn't truly appreciate the amount of thought and work that goes into panelled sequential art :)

where to start?
how about the japanese style being so different from the western form - it's isolation allowed them to form entirely new ways of visual expression. and not just what they put of the paper - how they tell a story. the transition between panel to panel can be expressed as 6 types and the relative proportions in japan are very different from american and european comics.
even the space between panels - where we, as the audience fill in with closure - or the length of panels have meaning. heck, the actual panel itself, or the lack there of, is an artistic and story telling device.

the chapters towards the end decribed the 6 step process to arriving at the 'surface' - the thing we see (and judge) at the end, and this was the most informative for the wannabes.

i highly reccommend this book to any kid who thinks he'll make comics when he grows up - you'll get a better appreciation of what's in front of you, and you'll be inspired to start tackling the steps now.