World Famous Comics: Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
By: Scott Mccloud Publisher: Harper Paperbacks Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Harper Paperbacks Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 224 Publication Date: April 27, 1994 Release Date: April 27, 1994
Amazon.com: A comic book about comic books. McCloud, in an incredibly accessible style, explains the details of how comics work: how they're composed, read and understood. More than just a book about comics, this gets to the heart of how we deal with visual languages in general. "The potential of comics is limitless and exciting!" writes McCloud. This should be required reading for every school teacher. Pulitzer Prize-winner Art Spiegelman says, "The most intelligent comics I've seen in a long time."
Product Description: 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.
Erudite, But Not Interesting Understanding Comics is a very, very deep dive into the history, meaning and creative processes involved in creating comics. The author, Scott McCloud, has clearly studied his topic. You will not walk away from reading this book without a deeper appreciation for the medium.
Yet, I found I lost interest pretty quickly in what the book was teaching. There are four reasons for this. First, I was thrown by the fact that the book, itself, is a comic. I can count on, well, one finger how many comics I've read that attempt to convey scholarly information. While Mr. McCloud's illustrations are very well drawn, the medium itself caused me to expect a lighter approach to the subject matter. Second, the author occasionally goes beyond teaching to preaching. Third, many of the book's concepts are confusingly conveyed. For example, Mr. McCloud uses a pyramid to show the range of different comic authors' styles. Unfortunately, this explanatory vehicle is hard to follow to start with, let alone when it's abbreviated and repeated quite often in subsequent pages. Fourth, Mr. McCloud goes on too long with some of his arguments. I often felt the urge to skim or skip past particularly long discourses where little new information was being added to earlier information provided.
If you're looking for a deep, scholarly analysis of comics, this book is for you. If you're looking for an easy to read, interesting new perspective on comics, you will probably not enjoy this book.
okay good stuff, though i felt 'making comics' was better all around. easier read, and more pertinent information... though this is a nice companion book.
Yes, it really is that good This book is an excellent, entertaining, and easy read for anyone interested in art, not just comics. It analyzes the visual society of comics and other art in nearly every aspect imaginable in a splendidly playful fashion, that will surprise even the skeptics. No wonder it features in French comic recommendation lists and catalogues.
If you browsed to this page and you don't have this book, you should probably buy it. In my (and others') experience, the book will subsequently travel through your circle of friends because its appeal is universal, making it hard to put down.
A must-read for the cartoonist I read this and it made me a better cartoonist McCloud really makes you THINK about art and the philosophy of cartooning. And of course, his illustrations serve to really make this an enjoyable book to learn from. You owe it to yourself to check out this work.
Absolutely a must read I happened across this book in the library, and was _that_ close to putting it back on the shelf. I was looking for art books to teach sketch drawing. I went back to the shelf for a second look, then couldn't put it down.
The comic book method of combining words and pictures to convey a message was amazingly effective in this book. It's a book about how to understand comic books, and it is itself a comic book. What opened my eyes was just how powerful a medium it is.
The medium hasn't even remotely been explored completely. It's wide open. This book is itself an amazing poster child for the art itself. McCloud's artwork is beautiful, and absolutely effective in every line. His range of capabilities is astounding. It's a pleasure experiencing this book. When my kids get older, I want them to read it and I hope they'll get excited about drawing.
Anyway if you're interested in creating comic books of your own, or are interested in learning about comic books themselves, this book is a must read. It is certainly McCloud's best work. The drawings are clearly drawn by hand with pen and paper. McCloud's later work is clearly done on computer, and something precious is lost in the translation. I'm sure the computer saves a great deal of time, but the end result is...just not the same. This book spoke to me in a very profound way. Get a copy for yourself.
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