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.Amazon.com Review
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 … More >>
#1 by Stephen Goldberger on April 18, 2010 - 10:28 pm
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: 1 / 5
#2 by Luis A. Sanchez on April 18, 2010 - 11:14 pm
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!
Rating: 2 / 5
#3 by mark twain on April 19, 2010 - 1:20 am
i’m not quite sure why this book is so loved. artists and writers do work, they don’t need a primer on comics (especially this one). fans don’t need this because its better to spend your money on great comics works rather than this. some historical tidbits or stuff about the mechanics of comics are slightly interesting, but overall i was very disappointed with this work.
Rating: 2 / 5
#4 by kc2dpt on April 19, 2010 - 3:20 am
I got the feeling reading this book that the editors didn’t work too hard on this book, maybe figuring that since the first book was so popular they shouldn’t mess with it. Big mistake in my opinion. The book is too long, repetitive, and yet never makes any definative statements. Here’s my summary of the whole book: “What is the future of comics? I don’t know and I’m not even gonna guess.” No where near the usefulness of the first book, which I re-read all the time.
Rating: 3 / 5
#5 by Adie on April 19, 2010 - 5:03 am
W. Melton ’s review (titled Guide for Luddites, otherwise unintiated.) expressed what I felt about “Understanding Comics” best, but I thought I would reiterate.
This is a great book if you a) think comics must be meaningless drivel or b) want to argue why comics aren’t meaningless drivel, but can’t figure it out on your own. I did not find any revelations within. The most interesting passages, to me, were how European, American, and Japanese comics differ, but there was not nearly so much time spent on this as trying to “validate” comics as an art form.
As someone who has long loved comics, I don’t particularly care if they’re considered intellectual or not. Nor did I glean any insights as to how better enjoy a medium I have for years (except possible Japanese comics, a little bit) As an amateur comic creator, I found nothing to better my craft.
Also, McCloud may examine why the art is so popular, but he pays very little attention to comic book writing, which I imagine is what most people these days take exception to. It’s not because of the art that they are truely considered “pulp”, after all, but because of the content. In fact, the only time he mentions writing is as an afterthought to his diagram of “iconic vs realistic vs abstract” art styles. I found it strange he didn’t examine why “superhero” comics are so ubiqitious. There’s plenty of room to go back and reference Great Works like “the Oddesy” and “Bhagavad Gita”, etc. Epic heroes are as a part of humanity as communicating with pictures (a “revelation” of McCloud’s that seemed readily apparent to me, at least). Etc etc. There was little here that an intellegent fan of comics wouldn’t have already figured out, and there’s nothing here for a non-intellectual fan of comics (and, unlike other reviewers, I don’t fault anyone for not being an intellectual, just as I wouldn’t fault anyone for not being a molecular biologist like me)
If you would like an analysis of comics, this is for you. If you just enjoy comics, this probably isn’t for you. If you’re interested in a “how to” book, you’re better off looking elsewhere, unless your trouble is “thinking outside the box”. (and if you’re a fan of independant comics, not being able to “think outside the box” would be strange indeed)
Rating: 2 / 5