Rating: 
Summary: Typical college crowd ideological faire
Review: McClouds first book was a wonderful little study of the form and function of comics. I was hoping he would continue the lesson, but instead he seems to moan and complain about the economics and politics of the CONTENT of some comic books. He, like many a whiny, disillusioned liberal before him, paints a picture of evil corporations bogging down the "pureness" of unfettered art. And no hippy rant would be complete without the standard straight white male bashing; for, as everyone knows, we are the root cause of everyones problems. McCloud conveys clearly that he wants to stay at home and create masterpeices untainted by monetary, social, or racial boundaries and very poorly any real means of attaining these ends, all while very conveintly avoiding the subject of comic art. My suggestion is to file this one under "ivory tower political bilge" and focus more on his first work (providing you were looking for a comic book in the first place).
Rating: 
Summary: OK but marred by political correctness
Review: On the whole, _Reinventing Comics_ is not as good as his previous book, _Understand Comics_. The device of using comics to convey his ideas isn't nearly so effective as it was before. One place where it is quite effective is in making points about the economics of comics distribution, a theme he spends a lot of time on.There is one major flaw I have to warn you about. The first half of the chapter _Big World, The Battle For Diversity_ is politically correct junk. (The second half is non-political, about diversity of genre, eg sci-fi, superheros, westerns etc) On the whole, Scott McCloud obviously knows a great deal about comics, but for this section, he appears to forget facts that are obvious to even the very casual reader of comics. For instance, anyone who's even glimpsed comics in passing, even just in the checkout line at the supermarket, has seen female heroines such as Wonder Woman created expressly to feminize comics, to lure female readers with a female image. Yet McCloud simply ignores this relentless feminization of comics and won't acknowledge that it undercuts his arguments. Rebutting this half-chapter point-by-point is beyond the scope of this review, so suffice it to say, it is dishonest stuff and really lowers the quality of the book. The book is otherwise OK. I don't entirely regret buying it, but I wish I'd been warned about the political correctness.
Rating: 
Summary: continuing the exploration
Review: reinventing comics brings us a great bounty of information dealing with the business side of the industry (which is just as important to the survival of the industry as the info. about the creative process of comics that was presented in understanding comics) , and gives a look ahead to what technology could mean for the future of comics, if it is applied correctly.... this artform will soon get the recognition it deserves....
Rating:
Summary: All Show No Substance
Review: Scott Mccloud is a corporate cosmetician for Time Warner Inc, Microsoft, and The Wall Street Journal. No wonder this patsy's scribbles resemble Dilbert more then anything else.
Rating: 
Summary: The Next Difficult Steps
Review: Scott McCloud is one of the most knowledgable persone that you'll run across concerning the science and effects of the comics medium. This book is quite a bit more difficult to understand than the previous book Understanding Comics but it is interesting to read his views on economics, the future of comics, and the effects of computers (not necessarily better comics). I'll have to agree with McCloud that the major companies seldom have a clue about how to write about different ethnic groups (Marvel and DC's Asian characters have been atrocious). The use of computers in comics has made possible a wider variety of colors and special effects but it has not produced a more readable comic. The bottom line still is a good story and I think McCloud overrates the impact of the internet in comics' future. Understanding Comics should be read first before attempting this volume and Will Eisner's Comics and Sequential Art is most highly reommendeded.
Rating:
Summary: Understanding the present of comics
Review: Thankfully this book is neither a 'How-To' in digital comics, nor a book praising the wonders of clunky web comics (which I feared when I first heard about it), for Scott McCloud the future of comics is much more about diversity, and a more direct connection between the reader and the author. If you read "Understanding Comics" (if not, you should), you already experienced Scott McCloud's love of sequential art firsthand in his very accessible analysis of the form. Having acknowledged the incredible potential the medium has to offer, "Reinventing Comics" brings us to terms with why we're not quite there yet. This book is not so much about comics themselves, as about comic books today in America (brief mentions are made to European and Japanese comics, but mostly to make clear what the book is not talking about). McCloud uses his concept of the 'twelve revolutions' to visit the shaping moments of American comic book history, and the current state of the industry. The book abounds with examples of comics that push the medium farther, facing many of the challenges posed (like ethnical diversity, feminine presence, and diverse genres and subject matters), most of which will be familiar to readers of current alternative comic books (Maus, Ghost World, Bone, Love and Rockets, Joe Sacco's works, etc.) The exposition is very clear and enjoyable, even for non comic book readers, which might as well be touched by the passion for the medium shown in every page. A vision is shared by McCloud with the reader, through this book, for a future of exciting possibilities. The future, indeed, is the theme of the second part of the book, in which the eventual marriage of digital technology and comic books is discussed. A somewhat lengthy (for my taste, I admit) explanation of the internet and other current technologies is given, along with very conservative calculations of what the future might look like. McCloud's case is very solid, as he doesn't try to predict, but rather to open a window, for everyone to see some of the many possibilities available. A final analysis of the form is made, as questions are raised about what sequential art is when free from the "tyranny" of the page.
Rating:
Summary: Definitely NOT "Understanding Comics"
Review: The idea behind this book was "computers, internet, and comics." Sounds great, but there was a bit too much explaining the history of computers and internet. It was necessary for those people who don't know, and I reccomend it for those who want to learn about computers / internet in general. However, as a seasoned computer tech of sorts, reading most of this book was like "eating 10 pounds of potato salad" as McCloud himself described his book at one time. Another problem is that the book is somewhat outdated. Comics on the web are proliferating successfully, and broadband and VERY fast computers are quite affordable now. It has good moments, though his first book "Understanding Comics" is much, much better. That is a landmark title for comics.
Rating:
Summary: Definitely NOT "Understanding Comics"
Review: The idea behind this book was "computers, internet, and comics." Sounds great, but there was a bit too much explaining the history of computers and internet. It was necessary for those people who don't know, and I reccomend it for those who want to learn about computers / internet in general. However, as a seasoned computer tech of sorts, reading most of this book was like "eating 10 pounds of potato salad" as McCloud himself described his book at one time. Another problem is that the book is somewhat outdated. Comics on the web are proliferating successfully, and broadband and VERY fast computers are quite affordable now. It has good moments, though his first book "Understanding Comics" is much, much better. That is a landmark title for comics.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful work, if a bit flawed
Review: There are many good things that can be said about this book, but a few underlying flaws may not justify the steep $25 price tag to someone not interested in the subject matter. McCloud's book, while composed entirely of comics is remarkably wordy. While the points he makes in his book are entirely valid, I could not help but think that they could have been made using half the space. Ironically, one of the key points McCloud makes is that comics are an incredibly versatile medium, yet the book itself seems like it could have been told much better in prose. While there are some great visual metaphors (especially the snake resembling the dollar sign symbolising the comics industry), many of the panels simply show Scott McCloud with a word ballon coming out of his head. Furthermore, the use of footnotes breaks up the narrative flow, which McCloud does a good job establishing. That's not to say that this isn't a fabulous book. While I do not read comics regularly, by the end of the book it was not hard to sympathize with McCloud's quest to give comics the artistic recognition they deserve. If you have $25 that you don't know what to do with, and you are interested in comics in general, then pick this one up.
Rating:
Summary: Hmm...
Review: There are some good points
This is not mind-altering
Not quite the first one
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