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Summary: The Quintessential Book on an Underappreciated Art Form
Review: If you are interested in any aspect of comics at all, this is the first book you should have on your shelf. Scott McCloud guides you through the history and theory of comics art with wit and wisdom, all captured in an easily accessible comic. More than a simple funny book, this book will change your opinions on comics, whether you have never picked one up before, or you are a long-time comics professional. This book could be used as curriculum for a college course, despite (or maybe because of) the whimsical artwork. The art draws you in and makes the information easy to accept and understand (in fact, McCloud gives examples of why the comics artform makes it easy to read and identify with). McCloud takes this subject matter seriously, and after reading, you probably will too.
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Summary: An Enlightening Read
Review: Even as a lifelong reader of many types of comics (superheroes, Asterix, underground, manga, etc.) this book was a revelation. McCloud has a gife for explaining the why's and how's of sequential art in a way that kept my attention through the whole book. As a professional artist and multimedia developer, the concepts McCloud puts forth regarding human perception of two-dimensional sequential art have helped bring me to a new level and I have recommended this book to others in my field who have found it equally useful and fascinating.And if any of you comic readers know people who mercilessly rag on you for being a geek, this book just might shut them up.
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Summary: Not Just For Comic Fans
Review: Understanding Comics is about so much more than just understanding comics. It is an excellent work on Symbolism in many forms. I have been a fan of comics for years and I think this made me even more so. However, I wanted to know if a non-comic reader would get as much enjoyment out of this as I did. I got my father to read it by telling him about some of the fantastic things inside and left it lying on the table. The next day I found him reading it and he loved it too. We discussed it at great length and I think it left him with a lot more respect for Comics as Art. Everyone should read this book.
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Summary: More people should read this!
Review: Scott McCloud does a fantastic job explaining the history, potential, and inner workings of comics as a medium. I was especially impressed with his concise descriptions of visual theory and its particular applications to comics. Occasionally I felt that McCloud's treatment of a topic could have been more fleshed-out (the chapter on color, for example, or his concluding idea of comics as a particularly good form of communication) or that he made some unnecessary generalizations (his definition of art was a bit trite and even misleading). On the whole, though, McCloud's ideas are sophisticated and he is able to communicate them with surprising eloquence to both the art historian and the general public. In fact, though I am an art historian, I learned a good deal from this book. McCloud's decision to use the comic format to present his ideas is ingenious, and I doubt that prose alone would have been able to deliver his messages with such clarity. The one drawback to the format is that I fear it will only appeal to those who already value comics, and that as a result those who most need to hear what McCloud has to say never will!
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Summary: The best text book on comics around.
Review: This was required reading in the cartooning program at the School of Visual Arts and with good reason. Clear, informative and never dry, McCloud provides the best reference to understanding the principals of constructing comics without delving into drawing lessons, an area already sufficiently covered.
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Summary: A Great Introduction to Serious Comic Study
Review: Scott McCloud's "Understanding Comics," a creation that sits roughly between comic book and historical literary criticism, is an indispensable work for anyone interested in studying funnybooks seriously. Along with Will Eisner's seminal works on the subject (which I have not read all the way through), "Understanding Comics" uses the graphic-text art form to dissect one of the most rapidly growing trends in both art and literature. In an accessible, readable style, McCloud takes the reader through the history of comics, the definition of comics as a sequential art form involving symbols, and examines several major trends in modern comic-dom. While there's plenty here for both the casual reader and someone interested in more scholarly study. While it's more of an introduction than an in-depth exploration of comic study, McCloud provides enough resources for someone to continue study on his or her own, and enough seeds to begin sprouting ideas about the funnybooks. Occasionally, he misses the mark - his definition of art, for example, is a little broad - and "Understanding Comics" isn't nearly as well-cited as it could be, but these are easily overlooked flaws. Especially beneficial is his comparison of Japanese Manga comics with traditional American graphic storytelling, because the two are basically the same medium but evolved almost entirely independent of each other, until the last 15 years or so. I wouldn't recommend it for the Sailor Moon fans, but those that enjoy anime and Manga will find much useful information here, in particular the comparisons between the two comic forms (not so much in any actual study of Manga in and of itself). I highly recommend "Understanding Comics" to anyone who wants to - well - understand comics. Whether you are interested in the ways Alan Moore tells a story, or want to deconstruct the use of movement in Dave McKean's artwork, or you want to learn why Spiegelman chose certain symbols and styles in his work, "Understanding Comics" gives the reader an excellent springboard to further study. Final Grade: A-
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Summary: Perhaps ever so slightly overrated...
Review: I appreciate the innovation of writing a book about comics in comic-book style. It's a clever, winning idea. Perhaps it would have worked a bit better if McCloud himself were a better draftsman, or if there had been more (and better-quality) reproductions of other artists' work. The writing here is uneven. Some chapters, including "Blood in the gutter" and "Time Frames," are very effective and very specific, with strong insights into the nuts-and-bolts of comic techniques. Another chapter, "The Vocabulary of Comics" -- which uses a big triangle graph to encompass the whole of range of comics art -- is quite insightful but, at the same time, oversimplifies a bit, I fear. I'm not saying McCloud's assertions aren't necessarily true, but he might have put himself on surer ground with some of the language/symbol ideas by getting more heavily into semiotics theory, etc. And maybe here is where the light-hearted tone and comic-book style starts to undercut his intellectual accomplishment. I understand the book isn't meant to be a doctoral thesis, but still, it has high ambitions, and the structure of the book must be subordinated to the loftiness of its aspirations. Chapter 7, which attempts to relate all of artistic achievement into a unified whole, is one of the least satisfying, because it is frankly pretentious and rather gooey, non-specific, in its assertions. Don't get me wrong. There is a lot of good insight in "Understanding Comics," and I wouldn't debate that it's an essential read for anyone interested in the topic. But it also feels like sort of a primer, a survey. Each one of the chapters could itself be the subject of a whole book. In other words, "Understanding Comics" has impressive breadth but not as much depth as one might want.
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Summary: What is everybody talking about?
Review: I don't know what everyone is talking about, but this book was an absolutely dull nightmare of a read. I think I would rather read something written by Todd McFarlane than to read this garbage. I have been reading comics for over 20 years and this is one of the most hyped books I had not read, so I picked it up expecting a revelation and I could barely get through the inane drudgery that Scott McCloud puts you through. Sorry, I don't need an explanation of panels and motion. I think I learned that when I was 9 and read my first issue of The Avengers. What exactly is so fascinating about this book? Someone please tell me!
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Summary: Very Impressive
Review: Sure, I have taken Art 101 courses, but none of those held my interest as much as this author. I had never really taken comics seriously, but I certainly will give them more heed now. Some comics have been and always will be better served as liner for litter boxes, but some really are good. This book, done in comic format itself, is a wonderful example of that. Not thinking I would even finish the book, I found myself reading more and more of it with each sitting (I often read books five or ten minutes at a time). This was easy reading and educational -- a great combination for me. Give it a try!
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Summary: The Rosetta Stone of Cartooning
Review: Scott McCloud does for cartooning and story-telling what Webster and Stunk & White have done for the English language.
A clear and concise explanation of the impact of art history and oral tradition on this most pedestrian of art forms.
Elucidates the affect of this image driven medium and its association and influence on all 20th century art movements.
May help to explain your fascination with 'COMICS" to slow-witted friends.
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