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Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art (The Comic Books #1)

4.09 of 5 stars 4.09 · rating details · 26,413 ratings · 850 reviews

Praised throughout the cartoon industry by such luminaries as Art Spiegelman, Matt Groening, and Will Eisner, this innovative comic book provides a detailed look at the history, meaning, and art of comics and cartooning.

Paperback, 224 pages

Published April 27th 1994 by William Morrow Paperbacks (first published 1993)

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Jan 09, 2011 Mon rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novel-manga-and-the-like, art-and-architecture

Great book, but I'm too annoyed to give it four stars.

It's amateurish, but I believe if you're aware of how great a book is while you're reading it, it's not working at its best. You can go 'oh wow that's such a clever way to illustrate this idea, and the text is so effective', but it's a bit like reading an instruction manual, and nothing personal or particularly poignant. I guess the idea is to understand the basic structure and potential of comic art, but must it be so academic and dry? The book doesn't limit itself to the conventional art theory, but rather ventures into fundamental epistemological and phenomenological debates. It's informative and eye opening, but not particularly relevant, like every single other art theory textbook. Except this one has pictures (or should I say, integrated with pictures?)

Understanding Comics is a misleading title, perhaps How to and why you should appreciate comics would suit the purpose of the book better. Majority of people (in terms of an audience that is likely to pick up a comic-related theory book) has little trouble understanding the intention of the drawing and writing - we can feel the atmosphere, be moved by the characters and thrilled by the action. Appreciating the history, concept and techniques that help build it up are, however, often overlooked. Much like film and literature, comics require a lot of conceptual and aesthetic decision to make it effective and communicative, and McCloud tries hard to evaluate the general methods that are used to convey these expressions. It would work better if he utilise more specific works rather than general 'rules', and most of them only applicable to mainstream comics. The last chapter goes on about the importance of 'understanding', and how comics can serve as a great tool of communication. Frankly it is a bit arrogant to me. No matter what your medium - ink and paper, music, written words, motion picture, performance, construction, we as the audience give ourselves far less credit when apprehending these art forms. We are subjected to arbitrary education, test and criticism that are meant to 'guide' our 'understanding' of the creator's concept and execution - how to read them, how to properly experience them, how to get the most of it like the artist 'wants' us to. I feel as though McCloud is saying, 'I'm the creator, and you are the reader. Through these lines and colour, I'm telling you what is being expressed. Do you get it? DO YOU GET IT?'. Fuck this I don't have understand everything in order to appreciate it, have you never read Pynchon or seen anything David Lynch?

Comic art is merely another form of story telling, it is equally capable of being as representational or avant-garde as any other art form. 'Understanding comics is serious business' - why is it serious? why not just go out and say 'respecting comics is serious business'. McCloud also comments on how the merit of comics lies in its ability to convey 'individual voices' through mass production - really now? If you want personal expression, why not read a few blogs, talk to strangers in the park, speaker's corner, open mic, go to a concert, underground gig, restaurant, flickr, public toilet, open market, join whatever radical societies there are out there? It is almost ridiculous to have to remind people that comics are capable of being expressionistic, and please don't try to say your choice of material expresses something more profound, original than the others or with more efficiency. Why the fuck should it be efficient? Aren't you arguing that comics can be art too? Then why should it be readable, straightforward and commercial like everything else?

GAH I'm angry!

What McCloud is saying is that as an artist you have more control over the output. But at least for me, I don't care if you came up with the entire concept or worked in a team as long as the outcome is insightful and fun. And then he started talking about the human condition and how we can fix the world with reading more comics. YEAH. And then there are angels reading comics, statues of bullied comic readers, massive yin yang symbol! montage of great art works! The world map! Epic lightening! 'THE TRUTH WILL SHINE THROUGH'! (real quote)

That goes on for about 20 pages.

Dear comic art - Don't overestimate yourself, not because you're insignificant. Yes you have a long history indeed, and we 'understand' you're not just some flat tone sexist superhero adventure, and that you can be as postmodern as any other art school asshole graduate. Message received.

*Picture above: single panel from Moebius' 40 Days in the Desert I don't get it, but it's awesome. (less)

17 likes · like · see review

Sep 28, 2008 Miss Michael rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: comics fans, artists (of all varieties), future comics fans . . .

Recommended to Miss Michael by: Matt. And Matt.

Shelves: gnlsd, comic-books-graphic-novels

I really appreciate that this book exists. It's nice that something was created to help people understand the language of comics, what they are, what they can be, what makes them special, and so forth.

That said, there are parts which are a little convoluted (Chapter 2, I'm looking at you), and there are parts that are a little dated by now (such as the chapter on color, which I think has come a long way since the early '90s, particularly due to the use of computers). But there are so many parts...more

12 likes · like · see review

Aug 25, 2007 Inggita rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: comic lovers

Shelves: art-design-photography

amazing homage to an art form as old as the carved stories on borobudur temples and the papyrus scrolls of pharaoh - the unassuming geeky guide dissects the media format (worthy of mcluhan) and history of comic and walks us through its tiniest elements to be able to fully appreciate it as an art form - down to the technical and philosophical levels - not just comic but also how human mind works to allow the storytelling to happen through sequencing, line, and meaning... all the things we take fo...more

7 likes · like · see review

Oct 06, 2008 Christy rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fans of comics and graphic novels

Recommended to Christy by: Matthew V and the GNL

Shelves: graphic-novels-comics, gnl

I love the idea of this conversation more than I love the application--at least in this book. While I find the concepts themselves fascinating, I found the book tedious. The overall art and style employed by McCloud just wasn't compelling to me. I really struggled to finish this book.

But as I said, the conversation is a good one, and the concepts explored--particularly the role of the reader and the required brain work involved in reading comics--were interesting. I'm glad this book is out ther...more

4 likes · like · see review

Mar 20, 2009 Imogen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Well, I also think this book was brilliant, just like everybody else. I was like, 'how could he possible have two hundred and fourteen pages of things to say about comics?' but then I'd heard it was brilliant for so long from so many people that I gave it a shot. And it is just theory! It's like reading Roland Barthes or somebody, but in comics, which makes it easier/more fun, which I think is in keeping with Mr. McCloud's idea that comics are the best thing in the whole universe. I mean, some o...more

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May 03, 2010 oriana rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-2010, books-with-pix

Holy shit! I'm starting a graphic novel book club!! This is our inaugural book and I'm so excited!!!

We had our first meeting today, and in addition to saying terribly intelligent things about comics and eating mini-cupcakes and laughing at my dogs, we also picked a name for our (accidentally all-female) group: Jugs & Capes. I know you're very jealous.

Anyway, I was extremely impressed by this book. I can tell that Scott McCloud thinks that he is terrifically important and probably a genius, b...more Holy shit! I'm starting a graphic novel book club!! This is our inaugural book and I'm so excited!!!

We had our first meeting today, and in addition to saying terribly intelligent things about comics and eating mini-cupcakes and laughing at my dogs, we also picked a name for our (accidentally all-female) group: Jugs & Capes. I know you're very jealous.

Anyway, I was extremely impressed by this book. I can tell that Scott McCloud thinks that he is terrifically important and probably a genius, but, as often happens to me, I was willing to believe that at least he was smart enough to have earned the right to talk about all of this. So while there were a few points when I found him a bit condescending, a bit cloyingly didactic, on the whole I learned a lot about comics and how to think about them, and that was great.

I though I was going to write about some of the things I learned, but it's late and I'm tired, and honestly one of the things he does best is really use the illustrations and the text in the best symbiotic way, enhancing and augmenting one another throughout, and so it seems like it would be reductive and dismissive for me to try to summarize his points with words alone. So read the book! And then you'll get it for yourself.

(Oh but except for one thing, which is so cool I just have to share it. He talks a lot about how the reader is complicit in the telling of a comic story, because so much happens between the panels -- in the gutter, where the reader has to invent what is going on to connect one image to another. He uses as an example a panel with an axe-wielding man chasing another guy and shouting, "Now you're going to die!" Then the next panel is the outside of a building, with only an "Aieeee!!" screaming out. Anyway [see my point, how much extra describing I have to do just to get to what he does with like two pictures?:], he then says: "To kill a character between panels is to condemn him to a thousand deaths." See? Because each reader will make his/her own decision about when and how the axe falls, how much blood comes out, how many strikes are needed, the specific choreography of the death. Amazing!)(less)

6 likes · like · see review

Dec 05, 2008 Tara rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: comics

this book was intriguing, but also annoying. a comic book about comics! what a great idea! i wanted it to be better than it was.

ultimately, i'm glad i read it, but only to the extent it identified a bunch of interesting topics/themes that i'm now inclined to think about on my own as i read more comics (and reflect on the ones i've already read)--i.e. issues of time, motion, panel sequence, reader perception, artistic style etc. but on the whole i was not thrilled with mccloud's own exposition an...more

3 likes · like · see review

Mar 17, 2008 Shark rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: everyone -- not just comic book fans

FASCINATING book!

I'd heard excellent things about this book ever since I got into comics way back in 1993, but never decided to sit down and read it until a few months ago. It took me a week to go through it (reading a bit every night before bed), but it's honestly a pretty quick read. Most people could probably get through it in a couple of hours.

What I found in the pages of this book is an excellent explanation of what happens to us as we read comics, how our mind interprets information and th...more

4 likes · like · see review

Jun 22, 2007 Ryan rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: disaffected college students

it's one of the best examples i've found of someone writing so specifically about a topic that the observations and implications become absolutely universal.

think about it: hamlet is completely consumed in his little world, and the stakes are all about what will happen to denmark and only denmark. and centuries later, we still perform the play and read it and think that that is us up there struggling with our problems, just with a different name.

this is what mccloud achieves here: he is so fixat...more

5 likes · like · see review

Nov 28, 2009 Joseph rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction, comicgraphicnovel

Perhaps the best explanation of how a particular artistic medium works that I've ever seen. McCloud wrote this at a time when the artistic merit of comics/graphic novels was still in doubt in some corners, so clearly that animates a lot of the discussion. He really demolishes any doubt about their legitimacy, and in the process created quite a comic himself. Understanding Comics is one phenomenal piece of analysis and it's far more than just a treatise on one medium. His meditations on comic for...more

3 likes · like · see review

Jul 12, 2008 Russ rated it 5 of 5 stars

I have used this with my English 4 classes and will be using it next year with my Intro to the Graphic Novel course. This is a wonderful study in how the comic form of writing works. I think the graphic novel is going to become a more and more important form of literature. Just look at the movie scene lately and check out how many derived from graphic novels, and that is not just the superhero movies from Marvel and DC Comics.

McCloud deeply and thoughtfully explores how sequential art works on o...more

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Jul 18, 2007 Jennifer rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: graphic novel fans

Shelves: graphic-novels

Even if you're not interested in comics and graphic novels, McCloud's book might get you interested. Rather brilliantly, McCloud uses the medium of comics itself for a philosophical meditation on the nature and possibilities of comics. He does reflect a little bit on the prehistoric and pre-modern origins of comics, but this is not a history lesson. Rather, he explores the specific nature of comics as sequential art and the potential of the form to explore new modes of expression. It's really su...more

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Jul 24, 2007 Kirsten rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: comic book beginners - know what you are getting into and how friggin cool it is!

Shelves: comics

A really good anatomy book for a medium that is (arguably) young, but has roots in so many other forms of art and literature. It's kind of a talking-head book, discussing an almost philosophical definition of comics (sequential art and writing), what that Means, and why COMIC BOOKS ARE A VALID FORM OF LITERATURE. Due to the pictures and basic explanations with a lot of examples, the talking-head's argument is not just easy to follow, it's even fun - it feels like an engaging PBS documentary. And...more

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Mar 06, 2009 Jil rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: people interested in visual storytelling

Recommended to Jil by: Momo, Gregory Moss

Shelves: school, graphic-novel

I never had any intention of taking the graphic-novel class here at Brown, but I had every intention of taking my roommate's textbooks for class and reading them on my own time. I hadn't gotten around to it yet when my playwriting professor assigned a big, photocopied chunk of this to us for reading - "Though it's about comics," he said, "there's a lot to be learned here for playwrights, too."

I decided just to read the whole book, since my friend Momo had also read it and recommended it enthusia...more

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Feb 17, 2009 Matt rated it 5 of 5 stars

What a fantastic introduction to the art of comics. Scott McCloud's work sets a new benchmark in comic art appreciation. The highly esteemed reputation this book enjoys is richly deserved. The tools he describes like the art pyramid and panel-to-panel types are a great place to start for comics critique and analysis. His explanation of the "invisible art" between panels, what he calls closure, is the clearest I've seen. I'd like to have seen more about how closure is different from say what Jacq...more

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Feb 17, 2009 Morgan rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: everyone

Recommended to Morgan by: Ron Regé, Jr.

As an artform, comics are not as invisible as they had been when McCloud's book first saw publication. The last decade has seen the legitimization of "the graphic novel" as credible literature in the American mainstream, something that Europeans and Japanese readers have known for far longer. Stateside, comics have long borne the stigma of the dross superhero-in-tights fare that kept the art in a literary Dark Age for half of the 20th century. The renaissance that began in the underground of the...more

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Feb 03, 2013 R. rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

En bande dessinée, lorsque le dessinateur et le scénariste ont bien fait leur travail, paradoxalement ça ne se voit pas. Dans ce cas, on ne remarque pas une admirable transition ou des dimensions de cases particulièrement appropriées. Ce que le lecteur ressent reste au niveau de l'expérience de lecture, il va parler d'un rythme, d'une impression de fluidité. Bref on apprécie le résultat, l'effet produit et non les ficelles qui ont permis cette prouesse. C'est à cet endroit précis que réside l'ar...more En bande dessinée, lorsque le dessinateur et le scénariste ont bien fait leur travail, paradoxalement ça ne se voit pas. Dans ce cas, on ne remarque pas une admirable transition ou des dimensions de cases particulièrement appropriées. Ce que le lecteur ressent reste au niveau de l'expérience de lecture, il va parler d'un rythme, d'une impression de fluidité. Bref on apprécie le résultat, l'effet produit et non les ficelles qui ont permis cette prouesse. C'est à cet endroit précis que réside l'art invisible et c'est tout le propos de Scott McCloud de nous montrer combien cet art, ce fameux 9ème art, est magique. Pour cela, il part de très loin en remontant le temps à la recherche des premières traces d'art séquentiel mais aussi et surtout à la source des processus complexes (cognitifs) mis en oeuvre par notre cerveau pour que la magie opère. Il insiste sur l'importance des blancs entre les cases — qui les avait remarqué —, ils permettent au lecteur d'imaginer ce qui s'est passé entre les deux cases, de faire lui-même la transition, de laisser libre cours à son imagination. Ce que je dis là est extrêmement réducteur par rapport à la justesse, à la pertinence et à la richesse de ce livre.

Malgré la justesse de son propos, je crois que c'est sur la forme, que ce livre est le plus bluffant. Il est difficile de parler de la BD avec des mots — je m'en rends compte concrètement —, quoi de plus simple et de plus naturel qu'employer ce support pour en parler. Alors tout devient clair immédiatement. Le résultat est étonnant, les messages passent clairement, naturellement, sans effort. Un tel livre prouve, s'il en était encore besoin, que la bande dessinée peu s'élever loin au dessus de son statut d'art mineur — dans le meilleur des cas, quand elle n'est pas considérée comme une distraction réservée aux enfants ou au adultes immatures. La complexité, la richesse et les possibilités qu'offre la bande dessinée sont immenses et démontrent qu'elle est encore sous-exploitée — je ne parle pas du côté commercial qui a perçu son intérêt depuis bien longtemps.

Ce livre plusieurs fois récompensé, en plus d'être passionnant et agréable à lire, est un ouvrage de référence que tout amateur de BD se doit d'avoir lu. Scott McCloud est un grand théoricien de la bande dessinée, il poursuit le travail initié par Will Eisner. Pourtant, tel un grand orateur et sans faire une seule concession à l'exactitude ou à exhaustivité, il délivre son message clairement et pleinement.

Scott McCloud a publié, en utilisant le même procédé, deux autres ouvrages qui traitent de sujets connexes: l'élaboration d'une bande dessinée dans Faire de la bande dessinée et une vision du futur de la bande dessinée évoluant vers d'autres milieux et tirant partie des nouvelles technologies dans Réinventer la bande dessinée. http://www.aubonroman.com/2013/02/lar...(less)

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Feb 02, 2013 Samantha rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult-comics, adult-nonfiction

A book that breaks comics down into vocabulary, gutters, time, line, color etc and covers a great deal of history on the subject. This book is a great resource and one that I'm sure I will reread, even if just to revisit specific chapters/ideas. Working in the library, there are only a few books I feel I need to own and this book would fall into that category.

It informs, entertains, inspires, explains, and reinforces some things that readers didn't probably know they knew. I highly recommend thi...more

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Sep 27, 2012 Brian rated it 5 of 5 stars

I never thought I'd read a book that was this in-depth about the meaning and philosophy behind comics. From examining its historical roots (like Bayeux Tapestry) to what aren't comics (Family Circus isn't as it shows no sequential action in its single panel cartoons), to the pyramid of ideas, the use of color...it's mind blowing really.

Comics as an art form has longed needed its own history and practical book, and this is the best. Even the loftiest of concepts are laid out succinctly and clearl...more

1 like · like · see review

Sep 14, 2012 Eric rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: art, comics, psychology, writing

This one's a classic, of course. There were many eye opening moments to me in here. The part about the cartoon face being a representation of how we see ourselves really blew my mind, especially that when we see two dots and a line that, not only can we make a face out of it, we have to. And how the more simplistic the representation, the more universal it is to the reader. I also like how he illustrated how our minds fill in the space between panels to create our own continuity.

With comic art b...more

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Aug 10, 2012 Newengland rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: finished-in-2012, nonfiction

What I love about this book is how reverently its author, comic writer Scott McCloud, treats the subject. Comics? An underappreciated genre that's looked down upon as pedestrian in every way -- something for the masses only? Not when an author explains the genre as if he were a professor and comics were the erudite topic of his course.

You learn the nitty (and, as required by law, the gritty) about comics, panels, word balloons, gutters (the space between panels), time, motion, icons, symbols, h...more

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May 22, 2012 Karolina rated it 4 of 5 stars

Let me clear something up: the audience for this book is EVERYBODY --- the average person. The audience of this book is not just the professionals or aspiring artists. This speaks to someone who may know absolutely nothing about comics, or even hates comics for being 'low art' and presumably about (what can be seen as) childish, ridiculously colourful super hero GI Joes. This book is for someone who might see comics as just 'doodling' and 'fantasizing'. If this book was more for professionals an...more Let me clear something up: the audience for this book is EVERYBODY --- the average person. The audience of this book is not just the professionals or aspiring artists. This speaks to someone who may know absolutely nothing about comics, or even hates comics for being 'low art' and presumably about (what can be seen as) childish, ridiculously colourful super hero GI Joes. This book is for someone who might see comics as just 'doodling' and 'fantasizing'. If this book was more for professionals and the aspiring, it would be a lot more technical and throw names around that the average person may have never heard off because they haven't dove into the subculture yet.

This book tries to say: hey, comics is an evolving medium and very useful for communicating and storytelling; we should all appreciate comics more. Let me show you just how complex a comic book is, how many layers it has.

This books keeps the information simple and concise. It keeps your attention because of that, and because of the format. It would be far harder to understand if it was just words - the illustrations help.

The tone of the book is like a friend inviting you to show you something new and exciting. It's unpretentious, which also makes it an easy read and a person is more likely will take in the information. This might also explain the ridiculous orgasmic ending...

I'm not a fan of the ending - it's too much. It's too rapturous for a book that isn't building any momentum and is fairly instructional. There's other parts of the book which are tedious to me because they are too easy, but I think it's just because I already know how to use things like line and colour as an illustrator. I would've liked it if it had gone into more detail on how to compose a layout for each page, and how the layout affects how two pages with a spine read. Also, the scripting of story, the design of the characters. I think for such a generalized book for a broad audience, it is taking for granted the understanding of the process for a creative project.

One thing about this book is that it will need to be continuously updated to keep a good rating and stay relevant... It's already out of date!

Things I did enjoy and appreciate:
- The humorous illustrations. The story-like format. How well laid out and illustrated the book is.
- The deeper explanations behind our perception of faces - really cool! (though maybe it would've been more cool to have some cited sources?)
- Mapping out the different ways to create pacing, time, and movement.
- The books looks at the different styles developed around the world.
- I like Scott's simple view on art theory...largely because art history as taught in art school is painfully diluted and pretentious. That is MY own educated opinion.(less)

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Apr 20, 2012 Carla rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: bd

Li por recomendação insistente do meu filho Rodrigo. Tinha ele 14 anos e andava mergulhado no "Manga". Eu, demasiado ocupada com trabalho e sem vontade de "bonecada" resisti até não ter desculpa.
Este livro está agora na m/mesinha de cabeceira (o chão do meu lado da cama)e quando sinto vontade de ganhar rapidamente perpscpetiva de vida para o meu quotidiano, dou-lhe uma olhadela. Preenche-me imediatamente.
Como hoje, quanto o li de manhã e voltei à noção inteira do que é um "intervalo" ou uma "f...more

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Aug 04, 2011 Lars-Christian Elvenes rated it 3 of 5 stars

Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud is a very different type of books compared to most books I read, and it was very interesting.

Understanding Comics is written as a Comic, for the most part in black and white, with the exception one section. Even though the book is getting a few years old, it has a lot to offer.

Scott McCloud takes the reader through several perspectives of comics, from the history of comics, the use of symbols, the different types of drawing (American comics vs. Japanese man...more

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Apr 23, 2011 Osvaldo rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: comics-related

This is an indispensable and fundamentally exhaustive exploration of the comics medium presented in the medium itself. While it presents some fairly complex ideas of "how comics work" McCloud uses the medium itself to good effect to demonstrate his meaning.

I, do however, have to take issue with his strangely vociferous insistence that one panel cartoons are not comics - while I loathe the Family Circus as much as the next thinking person, I think McCloud is too hung up on the literal need for se...more

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Apr 05, 2011 Terry rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: education, graphic-art, non-fiction

A professor who actually uses graphic novels in her class --gasp!! innovation!?!?--recommended this book to me. I enjoyed it quite thoroughly, although my one tiny quibble is that it is almost twenty years old and thus clearly does not address twenty years' worth of graphic art and novels and their popularity around the world. Time for a new edition! Separate from that, this is a very serious work of literary theory, really. Well, a blend of literary theory and visual art theory. I could see thi...more

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Jan 11, 2011 Wordwizard rated it 4 of 5 stars

A very enjoyable, entertaining, and interesting examination of form and function in comics. I need to re-read SANDMAN now to fully appreciate how creative it is with form, composition, shading, style, speech bubbles--even the way motion lines are used is a very conscious choice.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who is interested in comics, whether they're just beginning to be intrigued by them or already a fan.

**Note: I'm using the word "comics" as McCloud does, to mean "juxtaposed pictoral and...more

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Jul 17, 2010 Janice Williams rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: art

This was an outstanding book. For anyone who appreciates cartoons or comics. It really sheds light on how we perceive stories told in sequence through line, expression, color--why we related more to some styles than others, how our brains interpret iconic images...along with some art history... There is so much info in this book that after reading a library copy, I am purchasing a copy for my home library. I know I will refer to it again when illustrating childrens books.

I also, in a completely...more

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Mar 03, 2010 Federiken Masters rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Todo el mundo.

Recommended to Federiken by: Pablo Sacher

Me dijeron que Scott McCloud es muy buen teórico de la historieta, pero bastante malo como historietista. A mí me cuesta creerlo porque este ensayo sobre comic es uno de los comics más entretenidos, didácticos y mejor armados y pensados que he leído, aunque también se encarga de bolacear (o de sobreinterpretar demasiado) a veces. Después tengo que subir la edición en tapa dura que me prestó el gran Pablo Sacher. Y ahora que lo conseguí de Astiberri, a ver si me lo releo en algún momento.

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Feb 16, 2010 Julie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction-general

This was one of the books recommended by Dan Pink (A Whole New Mind). I suppose it might be a cheat, considering that it's written, appropriately enough, in comic book format. But that's also the point. McCloud argues convincingly that comics don't need to be juvenile or amateurish. Just because that's the way most people think of them does not mean that's all they are. This is old news to anyone who's read Neil Gaiman's Sandman series or Art Spiegelman's Maus, but it's still the prevailing view...more

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Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
genre X: June Discussion: Understanding Comics + choose your own!	4	15	Jun 18, 2013 01:36pm
Graphic Novel Rea...: Optional Book Club Discussion: Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art by Scott McCloud - June 2013 (may contain spoilers)	3	15	Jun 02, 2013 07:39pm
USP (Comics): Coincidence	5	3	May 15, 2013 06:04pm
Required reading for cartoonists and art historians	5	91	Dec 17, 2012 10:13am

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About Scott McCloud

Scott McCloud (born Scott McLeod) is an American cartoonist and theorist on comics as a distinct literary and artistic medium.

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Books by Scott McCloud

Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels

Reinventing Comics: How Imagination and Technology Are Revolutionizing an Art Form

Zot!: The Complete Black-and-White Collection: 1987-1991

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Quotes from Understanding Comics: ...

“Art, as I see it, is any human activity which doesn’t grow out of either of our species’ two basic instincts: survival and reproduction.” — 5 people liked it

“By stripping down an image to its essential "meaning", an artist can amplify that meaning in a way that realistic art can't.” — 1 person liked it

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Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art (The Comic Books #1)

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