Rating: 
Summary: Definitive and Fun - A Must Read
Review: This book is both an instant classic and very enjoyable. I am was not a reader of comics until I read this book. It convinced me of comics' status as art. It is an insightful and intelligent investigation into the comic art form. Read closely, it reveals itself to be a true work of intellectual rigor. But you can also skim through it and smile page after page at its humor and visual work. Like a good comic, it works on many levels.
Rating: 
Summary: unenlightening
Review: this book is an attempt to deconstruct comics. To over analyze them to such a degree as to make you lose sight of what you are really looking at. Scott McCloud spends pages and pages over pointless items like the definition of a comic, and other useless ideas. The Triangle he creates for art seems right out of Dead Poets Society. The guy obviously wants to do comics badly but isn't talented enough to actually do them. As the old adage goes, Those who can, do and those who can't, teach.
Rating:
Summary: no words good enough to describe it
Review: My brother was interested in comics. My brother loves to draw comics. My brother made me promise to read this book. I am now interested in comics. I now love to write comics. This book changed my life and gave me a new hobby. Too bad every subject in life couldn't be put in Scott McCloud's perspective. WOW!!!
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Summary: Excellent for creating a website!! Yes, a website.
Review: Although Scott McCloud admittedly didn't create the book for web developers, it is a MUST READ for any serious (and not so serious) person creating a website. "What happens between the frames" in a comic strip is very similar to what happens between clicking from one page to the next online. What is the user thinking? What is going through their mind? What are they expecting to see while the next page downloads? Are you delivering on that promise? Are you meeting (and beating) their expectations? Plus, this book gives you a great understanding of character development and story development (both horribly missing online). I cannot recommend this book enough - plus, it is easy to read as it is entirely in comic format.
Rating:
Summary: Indispensable
Review: A very unusual book from McCloud, the writer/artist of the comic Zot! In fact, I'm amazed that McCloud doesn't have a more extensive bibliography, given the wealth of information and insight presented in this volume. Succinctly, this book explains how comics work. Not how they are made, per se, but why the sequential images of a comic are an art form different from books or TV. And McCloud accomplishes this using the very medium he is examining.I'm a comics fan that stopped buying them because they were putting me in the poor house. McCloud here explained to me how I was initially sucked in by the medium and why I kept reading some of the "worst" examples even while my artistic tastes were changing in other media. While I doubt that I could recreate the same Glen Cox who once wrote letters to comics, I can now reconcile myself with the Glen who still enjoys Howard the Duck and Cerebus (not to mention Zot!). My friend Phil Yeh has been on a literacy campaign for over five years now, and he gives the following reason for why he dedicated himself to it. He said that he saw the literacy figures for America, and the downward trend, and realized that he was losing more and more of his audience. He felt that the American disdain for comics was missing the point--children who read comics are still reading. Although McCloud makes a strong case for the comic being different from prose, I don't think that he would disagree. And, if the interplay between words and pictures keeps a child reading, what is wrong with that?
Rating:
Summary: Nobody takes comic books more seriously than Scott McCloud
Review: I like to take things apart and figure out how they work, except instead of doing internal combustion engines or pocket watches I like to play with books, movies and television shows. In "Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art," Scott McCloud not only takes apart comic books, he puts them back together again. Certainly comics are a neglected art form. Put Superman, Batman, Spawn and Spider-Man on the big screen and there will be some cursory comments about the actual all-in-color-for-a-dime, and names like Stan Lee and Frank Miller will get kicked around, but nobody really talks about how comics work (the exception that proves the rule would be the Hughes brothers talking about adapting the "From Hell" graphic novels). Part of the problem is conceptual vocabulary: we can explain in excruciating detail how the shower scene in "Psycho" works in terms of shot composition, montage, scoring, etc. That sort of conceptual vocabulary really does not exist and McCloud takes it upon himself to pretty much create it from scratch. That, of course, is an impressive achievement, especially since he deals with functions as well as forms. To that we add McCloud's knowledge of art history, which allows him to go back in time and find the origins of comics in pre-Columbian picture manuscripts, Egyptian hieroglyphics and the Bayeux Tapestry. Topping all of this off is McCloud's grand and rather obvious conceit, that his book about the art of comic books is done AS a comic book. This might seem an obvious approach, but that does not take away from the fact that the result is a perfect marriage of substance and form. This volume is divided into nine chapters: (1) Setting the Record Straight, which develops a proper dictionary-style definition of "comics"; (2) The Vocabulary of Comics, detailing the iconic nature of comic art; (3) Blood in the Gutter, establishing the different types of transitions between frames of comic art, which are the building blocks of how comics work; (4) Time Frames, covers the ways in which comics manipulate time, including depictions of speed and motion; (5) Living in Line, explores how emotions and other things are made visible in comics; (6) Show and Tell, looks at the interchangeability of words and pictures in various combinations; (7) The Six Steps, details the path comic book creators take in moving from idea/purpose to form to idiom to structure to craft to surface (but not necessarily in that order); (8) A Word About Color, reminds us that even though this particular book is primarily in black & white, color has its uses in comic books; and (9) Putting It All Together, finds McCloud getting philosophical about the peculiar place of comic books in the universe. "Understanding Comics" works for both those who are reading pretty much every comic book done by anyone on the face of the planet and those who have never heard of Wil Eisner and Art Spigelman, let alone recognize their artwork. Which ever end of the spectrum you gravitate towards McCloud incorporates brief examples of some of the artwork of the greatest comic book artists, such as Kirby, Herge, Schultz, etc., as well as work by more conventional artists, including Rembrandt, Hokusai, and Van Gogh. "Understanding Comics" is a superb look at the form and functions of the most underexplored art form in popular culture. I am using Spider-Man comic books in my Popular Culture class this year and will be using some of McCloud's key points to help the cherubs in their appreciation of what they are reading. If you have devoted hundreds of hours of your life to reading comic books, then you can take a couple of hours to go through this book and have a better understanding and appreciation of why you take funny books so seriously.
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Summary: For all creative professionals
Review: Understanding Comics is a must have reference book for every creative professional. The ideas presented in this book transcend sequential art and can be applied to every creative process. As Scott Adams point out, the pursuit of advanced skills, often overshadows the core of art which is: "what do I want to say?" I recommend this book to budding music composers to help them understand that a composition should be idea driven and the tools should support the idea. Too often I find the tools driving the composition which results in a bunch of interesting sounds strung together. Wallowing in novel sensation may be pleasant for a short amount of time, but music created in this fashion will not stand the test of time because it is emotionally void. Even if you have zero interests in comics, artists of all professions need to read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Nothing but praise
Review: Thanks Scott for this terrific work I've read many times now. Not only great text and illustrations, but IMHO a great statement & philosophy about creation and art.
Rating:
Summary: Comics as an Art Form.
Review: Scott McCloud has been called the Marshall McLuhlan of comic books, which comes as no surprise since McCloud seeks to do for comics what "The Father of Modern Media" did for television. Strictly an exploration of the language of "sequential art" (a term coined by legendary writer/artist Will Eisner, McCloud's direct predecessor in the study of comics as an art form) rather than a history of the medium or how-to guide, "Understanding Comics" deconstructs the iconographic imagery of comic art and how, when married with the written word and arranged methodically on the page, creates a unique mode of expression rivaling any other art form in terms of its potential for effectively communicating narrative, emotions and ideas. Social perception of the comics medium has been always been marred by the fact that most of us rarely encounter the medium outside of perusing the "funnies" or leafing through the pages of "X-Men" and "Archie" while waiting in line at the supermarket. In the eyes of the public, comics are little more than lowbrow cultural artifacts designed as disposable entertainment for kids and those who don't like to read anything that isn't accompanied by pictures. But one only has to turn to works like Art Spiegelman's "Maus" or Joe Sacco's "Palestine" to realize the literary, artistic and even journalistic possibilities that exist within the confluence of words and images that defines "sequential art". "Understanding Comics" is not, however, about passing judgment on the merits of any particular style or genre. Rather, McCloud contends that the format is merely a canvas offering the artist unlimited freedom to express his or her distinct vision. Everything from the use of style, composition, shading, juxtaposition, color, panel arrangement and the ever-critical notion that what is omitted from the page is every bit as important as what is included (hence the book's subtitle, "The Invisible Art") is brought together to characterize an exhilarating art form that deserves further study, exploration and, most of all, appreciation. Early on in the book it becomes apparent that McCloud exhibits a true passion for the subject, and wants his readers to share that love and enthusiasm with him. It's hard to resist the friendly, conversational tone McCloud employs to persuade us to join him in his inner circle of insight and understanding about a medium few ever think to explore. It is only appropriate that "Understanding Comics" is itself presented as a long-form comic book that effectively demonstrates what it preaches. Some of the techniques McCloud uses to (literally) illustrate his points are simply brilliant. He opens the second chapter of the book, "The Vocabulary of Comics", with a real zinger: a cerebral sucker punch of sorts that completely unravels our perceived relationship with the printed page. To grasp the slippery correlation between the written word and the iconographic image, to understand the many ways that time can be represented by space on the page, to recognize the relationship between the real and the representational... these are the moments of pure joy that the reader can look forward to experiencing throughout the course of the book. In "Understanding Comics", McCloud has created the perfect primer on the subject of "Comics as an Art Form". It's an accessible, intelligent and entertaining work that will provide a wealth of insight to regular readers of comics as well as convince the uninitiated to take a closer look at this fascinating medium.
Rating:
Summary: Need a little guidance?
Review: I am not a comic book illustrator in particular, I'm a printmaker and an illustrator. I got into sequential art in an informal sense, but since reading this book, I have a much better understanding of how to use the sequence to my advantage. My awareness of the symbolism used in comics, and the techniques used to create understanding between reader and artist have increased immensely. The book is not the answer to all your questions, it provides inspiration to continue creating art (not just comics), and a thoughtful plan on how to do so.
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