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Zot!: The Complete Black-and-White Collection: 1987-1991 (Zot! complete b&w; issues 11-36)
Long before manga took the American comics market by storm, Scott McCloud (Understanding Comics, Making Comics) combined the best ideas from manga, alternative comics, and superheroes into Zot!--a frenetic and innovative exploration of comics' potential that helped set the stage for McCloud's later groundbreaking theoretical work.
Zachary T. Paleozogt lives in "the far-flun...more
Zachary T. Paleozogt lives in "the far-flun...more
Paperback, 575 pages
Published
July 22nd 2008
by It Books
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The modern Superman comes in for quite a bit of criticism for being a bit of a metrosexual wimp, but the Superman of the 1950s was as much a product of his time, with his gratingly patriarchal attitude.
Zot, on the other hand, is like a Superman out of time, free of the need to appear in twenty comic books a month or to maintain a status quo. He's happy, comfortable with his powers, accepting of the things he can't change, determined to change the things he can. He has no hang-ups, but is underst...more
Zot, on the other hand, is like a Superman out of time, free of the need to appear in twenty comic books a month or to maintain a status quo. He's happy, comfortable with his powers, accepting of the things he can't change, determined to change the things he can. He has no hang-ups, but is underst...more
Before
Understanding Comics
, writer/artist Scott McCloud created the adventures of Zachary T. Paleozogr (aka Zot), a teenager from an alternate Utopian Earth in the "far-flung future of 1965." Zot discovers a portal to our consensus 1980s reality and explores our not-so-perfect existence. He befriends the teen Jenny Weaver and their adventures in both universes serve as the centerpiece for these delightful stories. Initially, the tales primarily revolve around Zot, who is a super-hero in his na...more
Fun, fun, fun. What really interests me about this collection is twofold: it's a lot of fun to look at from a more adult perspective, and it's very interesting to see how the collection fits into the "young adult fiction" mold. The book is accompanied by copious notes from the author, showing that he truly is his own worst critic. The stories themselves are fun and sometimes heart-wrenching. Everyone loves the final "Planet Earth" stories of the series, and I'm no exception-- it's amazing how we...more
You may only be familiar with Scott McCloud's work for his critically acclaimed, Understanding Comics, and if that's all you know him for you're really missing out. Zot is a fantastic comic series and one that I wish I had read sooner.
Zot is a teenage superhero from an alternate Earth, where laser guns and transformation guns are everyday, and the world has evolved to a more idealistic place. Zot comes to our world where he meets Jenny, an everyday teenage girl who just wants to escape from our...more
Zot is a teenage superhero from an alternate Earth, where laser guns and transformation guns are everyday, and the world has evolved to a more idealistic place. Zot comes to our world where he meets Jenny, an everyday teenage girl who just wants to escape from our...more
1 like · like · see review
This is a pretty intense collection to stuff into one volume.
Originally, this was a series of individual comics, written and drawn by Scott McCloud from 1987 to 1991, which is how I read them years ago when staying with a married couple who were both comic collectors. (I'd been collecting comics for years, but was starting to drop out of it; and then They Pulled Me Back In.)
Although the series is named after a teenage superhero ("Zot", aka Zachary T. Paleozogt), who's from a beautiful, idyllic a...more
Originally, this was a series of individual comics, written and drawn by Scott McCloud from 1987 to 1991, which is how I read them years ago when staying with a married couple who were both comic collectors. (I'd been collecting comics for years, but was starting to drop out of it; and then They Pulled Me Back In.)
Although the series is named after a teenage superhero ("Zot", aka Zachary T. Paleozogt), who's from a beautiful, idyllic a...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This book was unexpectedly loaned to me by a friend who works in the same shopping center that I do. I've read Understanding Comics and its sequels, and was only sort of vaguely aware that Scott McCloud had done an actual comic series before writing them.
This wasn't really my thing, but I think it was largely a product of the time it came out of. There was a 'very special episode' quality to some of the more serious stories (a fact that McCloud acknowledges in his commentary), and the less serio...more
This wasn't really my thing, but I think it was largely a product of the time it came out of. There was a 'very special episode' quality to some of the more serious stories (a fact that McCloud acknowledges in his commentary), and the less serio...more
Apr 19, 2009
Alan
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Stranded time travelers and those who feel that way...
I suspect this isn't the most frequent word people use for Scott McCloud's work, but I keep coming back to thinking of Zot! as... charming. I was absolutely and undeniably charmed by the wistful, worldly Jenny and her friends on our Earth, and by her cheerful, clueless superhero boyfriend Zot (Zachary T. Paleozogt) and his Earth.
McCloud's clean black-and-white drawings, openly influenced by manga style (before that sort of thing became ubiquitous), seamlessly evoke the shining towers and soaring...more
McCloud's clean black-and-white drawings, openly influenced by manga style (before that sort of thing became ubiquitous), seamlessly evoke the shining towers and soaring...more
I'm of the majority of Scott McCloud's fans who know his name because of his non-fiction works that explore the craft of comic-creating rather than from his prior fictional work. What better way to even out that deficiency than by reading this hardcover compendium of his entire SF series Zot! This collects the entire black and white run of Zot! and includes extensive commentary from McCloud.
When I began the book, I thought I was in for a light and mildly cheesy superhero series, but over the cou...more
When I began the book, I thought I was in for a light and mildly cheesy superhero series, but over the cou...more
I read most of these individual issues when they were first published by Eclipse and it's a testament to Scott McCloud's storytelling skills that I can still remember many of them quite clearly 25 years later, though I'll confess that I remember the "real world" issues better than the "Earth Z" ones, though they're all quite good overall.
Zot! began as a lighthearted superhero romp in the mode of early Captain Marvel (with elements of Japanese comics thrown in) and even as the series progressed,...more
Zot! began as a lighthearted superhero romp in the mode of early Captain Marvel (with elements of Japanese comics thrown in) and even as the series progressed,...more
Having read Scott McCloud's later treaties on comics and their form & function I snatched up this collection of his earlier superhero comics when I saw it on the shelf at the library.
The book is divided up into two parts: Heroes & Villians, and The Earth Stories. For me, Part Two was far superior to Part One.
As Mr. McCloud would say: "comics are a medium not a genre"; and I think in Part One he was still figuring that out. As these are "The Black and White Collection" we're missing out...more
The book is divided up into two parts: Heroes & Villians, and The Earth Stories. For me, Part Two was far superior to Part One.
As Mr. McCloud would say: "comics are a medium not a genre"; and I think in Part One he was still figuring that out. As these are "The Black and White Collection" we're missing out...more
When this was offered to me, it was explained as, "the comic that gave Scott McCloud the right to author Understanding Comics." And while Zot was oh-kay, it clearly was written before McCloud has fully developed his own understanding of comics (as he himself discusses at length throughout the collection).
If you like superhero comics, all-ages comics, nerd humor, or the sort of 1990s privilege-filled earnest "awareness" of things like Youth Sex, Class Differences, Race Relations and Gay People,...more
If you like superhero comics, all-ages comics, nerd humor, or the sort of 1990s privilege-filled earnest "awareness" of things like Youth Sex, Class Differences, Race Relations and Gay People,...more
Zot! is an interesting experiment with the superhero genre that revels in the contrast between his world and our own. But Zot! is also your typical tale of teenagers growing up, falling in love, and figuring out their own moral compasses. I must agree with McCloud that his Earth stories resonate more with me than the ones set in Zot's world but the snappy banter and well-drawn fight scenes have their place too. Eventually though you begin to think of Zot more as an idealistic person than as an a...more
It's like reading stories you wrote in high school, slightly uncomfortable, juvenilia for sure, but every so often shot through with moments of beauty that show you knew more than you thought you did, even though you thought you knew everything and really knew nothing at all.
1 like · like · see review
McCloud literally wrote the book on comics, Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art so I was naturally curious about his earlier work in the genre. What's interesting is how McCloud developed his themes, shifting from the cartoony superhero vs. villain stories to an examination of universal social themes among the teenage cast (escape fantasies, peer pressure and alienation, idealism vs. realism, etc.)
Yet even in those earlier, more "traditional" comic stories, you can see McCloud playing with t...more
Yet even in those earlier, more "traditional" comic stories, you can see McCloud playing with t...more
I enjoyed Zot. It had some problems, but I really liked it. The conflicting ideologies of strict science and loose imagination where interesting, without be contrived or becoming bit science versus magic/religion/etc plot. I also really loved the focus on the mundane - I've always dug looking at normal people doing normal things in a epic setting, because it helps me relate to the characters. Sure, I wanted to know what Zot was up to, but I could relate to Jenny's yearning to be in the perfect a...more
Zot was a random selection out of my usual reading pattern. I found it in my library while checking the returned books stack and found it interesting since its different from a normal Super hero comic. It tells about Zot who is a super boy from an alternate earth which is set in 1965 and Jenny who is from our earth in the 80's. They meet each other when Zot finds a portal through which he could travel to earth and back. There are a lot of villains and adventures involved and the characters were...more
Zot! was something I bought because of the fame of the writer juxtaposed with a 40% off coupon at Borders. This book is worth the MSRP of $25, though.
It gets a little like a stereotypical hero comic every once in a while, but it manages to tell wonderful stories about life, love, happiness, innocence, and what being a hero really means.
I laughed, cried, and cursed the author for being a bastard. You'll know exactly where at if you've read it for that last one.
If you like science fiction in the...more
It gets a little like a stereotypical hero comic every once in a while, but it manages to tell wonderful stories about life, love, happiness, innocence, and what being a hero really means.
I laughed, cried, and cursed the author for being a bastard. You'll know exactly where at if you've read it for that last one.
If you like science fiction in the...more
The disappointing collection of a late 1980's+ black and white comic. It has been called retro-sci-fi. Zot comes from an alternate earth where he is a superhero and interacts with a human girl on our earth. The dialogue is bad, the stories not very compelling, but the art is okay.
Truth, i did not read all of this, so maybe it gets better, but I just didn't like it. Plus, the first ten issues aren't included here, so you are plopped right into an already existing storyline without the backgroun...more
Truth, i did not read all of this, so maybe it gets better, but I just didn't like it. Plus, the first ten issues aren't included here, so you are plopped right into an already existing storyline without the backgroun...more
I finally finished this! This was a gift from my beloved man friend, and I know these comics meant an awful lot to him as a child/teen. It didn't really grab me at first, but the characters and worlds really grew on me. When the story changed from Heroes/Villians to The Earth Stories, I really got sucked in. I finished the Earth Stories while holed up in my room in S. Korea in a night. Incredible.
The premise is that a normal earth girl named Jenny has this friend/crush/boyfriend named Zot, who i...more
The premise is that a normal earth girl named Jenny has this friend/crush/boyfriend named Zot, who i...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally.)
Long before Scott McCloud became the guru of comics deconstruction with his wildly popular trilogy of nonfiction titles on the subject (1993's Understanding Comics, 2000's Reinventing Comics and 2006's Making Comics), he was the author of the late-'80s underground hit Zot!, an important transitional title...more
Long before Scott McCloud became the guru of comics deconstruction with his wildly popular trilogy of nonfiction titles on the subject (1993's Understanding Comics, 2000's Reinventing Comics and 2006's Making Comics), he was the author of the late-'80s underground hit Zot!, an important transitional title...more
I was ready to give this book a bad review, reviling Scott McCloud for ever doing anything but smart analyses of the comics medium like in Understanding Comics. Then, I got to the last third of this graphic novel. The first two thirds of Zot consist of McCloud finding himself as a writer and unfortunately that means many of the stories are nonsensical villains of the week combined with overwrought humor. Zot himself is pretty boring and the characters around him are meaningless.
Then, two thirds...more
Then, two thirds...more
Dec 04, 2008
Randy
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Folks interested in comic book making, and the roots of the American manga movement
As much as I love Scott McCloud, this definitely not his strongest work.
Having that out of the way, I absolutely loved this book. There were some niggling issues I had with the pacing in the earlier issues (snoooooore) which contributed to the damned thing being too inconsistent to really belong under one cover, but hey it was fun. I love how intensely organized his characters are and how perfectly it conveys real problems associated with new technology that we are still sorting through. He has...more
Having that out of the way, I absolutely loved this book. There were some niggling issues I had with the pacing in the earlier issues (snoooooore) which contributed to the damned thing being too inconsistent to really belong under one cover, but hey it was fun. I love how intensely organized his characters are and how perfectly it conveys real problems associated with new technology that we are still sorting through. He has...more
I remember when it first came out and I used to hang around in my local comic book store (thanks to my sister, Hi Tooba!). I hadn't really gotten into any manga at that point so the art looked a little childish. But, I missed it. This is terrific. Some of the stories are a little soft but the art and the mastermind behind it is terrific. McCloud holds tight to the villain/virtuous superhero meme and turns it inside out. Zot is brave and optimistic and at first, a little boring. As the volumes pr...more
I read the color Zot! collection a ways back, and I remember it being fun but inconsequential. This tome starts out in the same vein, but begins to weave in more of the quotidian drama from Jenny’s life, culminating in a full switch to our world when Zot gets stranded here, and the entire series switches to a full-on high school sitcom, eerily reminiscent of the great “Freaks & Geeks” (seriously: moody, stifled heroine? coterie of dorks? d & d? sudden and unexpected trip to the hospital?...more
It was a brave idea for Scott McCloud--later to be known as author of the indispensible Understanding Comics. In the mid-80s he launched Zot! as a manga-influenced, unapologetically-upbeat superhero comic book that was somehow both retro and forward-looking. And McCloud’s clean line-art and inventive page layouts are still eye grabbing.
However, as appealing as the basic concept and many of the storylines are, the series suffers from several narrative issues. Some of the scifi/superhero stories...more
However, as appealing as the basic concept and many of the storylines are, the series suffers from several narrative issues. Some of the scifi/superhero stories...more
I didn't really expect to like this, even though I had enjoyed his Understanding Comics. The art was a bit too cute for my liking at first glance, and so were the story lines. However, he really pulled off the innocence of youth without having the comics seem puerile or just sappy (Blankets, for example was a bit much for my taste).
I even enjoyed his comments on his own work. I skipped them when I was first reading, but went back and read them all after I tried one of them.
I even enjoyed his comments on his own work. I skipped them when I was first reading, but went back and read them all after I tried one of them.
Wow. What a fantastic story and characters! Scott McCloud is a spectacular storyteller, and he has such a wonderful story to tell with Zot. He is further a seriously talented graphic novelist, using page layouts and designs cohesively with the narrative to add to its impact. The story is timeless yet completely unique, full of excitement and intrigue and darkness, and ultimately comes to bear a deceptively powerful message about the world(s) and the people in it(them?).
The first issues in this collection are very average but it gets more interesting as it goes along. I can see the germ of some of the ideas that Scott would later write about in Understanding Comics - particularly the issues about Art Dekko. The later issues are thoroughly enjoyable and engaging. As I was reading this, I was thinging I'd give it 2 stars. Then as it progressed I was thinking 3. And now I'm finally here at the end giving it 4 because the ideas are worth it. The issue titled Autumn...more
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Scott McCloud (born Scott McLeod) is an American cartoonist and theorist on comics as a distinct literary and artistic medium.
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Aug 19, 2008 07:53pm