Hey everyone, I just uploaded the first episode of a new short YouTube series I’m putting together called What Books?. The spirit of this series comes from a story my mentor Scott Kuntz used to tell. Back in the early 1980s, he showed his portfolio to a Marvel editor and was simply told: “Buy the books.” Scott asked, “What books?” That question became a philosophy for me, and this series is my attempt to answer it by tracing the art, film, and visual media books that actually shape an artist’s eye, thinking, and practice. For Episode 1, we are looking at Exploring the Film (1967) by William Kuhns and Robert Stanley. It’s arguably one of the very first textbooks designed to teach film literacy. Looking through this book has been incredible lately—there is something deeply grounding about returning to the pure, foundational mechanics of visual storytelling. When you are literally hands-on with physical 16mm film and troubleshooting mechanical projectors to get them running again, cracking open a guide like this feels like a direct transmission from the golden age of analog craft. I want to hear from you all in the comments below: What is one book that fundamentally changed how you look at your craft? Let me know, and if there are specific titles you think I should cover in the future, drop those in too. In a collection like this, there’s always another book worth opening.