Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud
Understanding Comics: the Invisible Art was written and illustrated by cartoonist Scott McCloud. The original edition was published in 1993 by Kitchen Sink Press, but these photos are taken from the 1994 edition published by Harper Perennial. Before writing Understanding Comics, McCloud was primarily known for his Eisner award winning comic Zot!. Understanding Comics was followed by two sequels, Reinventing Comics and Making Comics. The book has achieved popularity throughout the world, and is often taught in college comic study courses.
McCloud’s book is atypical in the realm of serious analytical work, in that it itself is presented as a comic. It’s a testament to McCloud’s abilities as a maker of comics that his words and ideas never feel drowned out by the illustrations on the page; he has a great sense for when to use illustration to heighten his points, and when to hang back and let the words do the talking. Additionally, he has a great sense for page layout, with each two page spread feeling complete and cohesive enough to stand alone as its own work. Anyone looking for an example of a long-form work mixing information and illustration would be hard pressed to find a more entertaining and beautiful example.
While primarily focused on the medium of comics, McCloud’s work is broadly a detailed analysis of the art of visual storytelling and idea communication. For example, one chapter is dedicated to the power of iconography, and how making visuals simpler (McCloud’s example is “cartoonifying” a character) can lead to a broader appeal and more universal identification. Again, if a reader is disinterested in comics they might have to parse some of the text to get at the lessons, but the ideas inside are so useful that the effort is well worth it. There’s a reason that, along with Will Eisner’s work on the subject, when someone seriously asks to be taught about comics they’re pointed towards Scott McCloud.
TED. “Scott McCloud: Understanding comics” YouTube video, 17:39. January 14, 2009. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXYckRgsdjI
Fusanosuke, Natsume, Jon Holt, and Teppei Fukuda. “Natsume Fusanosuke on Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics.” Inks (Columbus, Ohio : 2017) 6, no. 3 (2022): 365–73. doi:10.1353/ink.2022.0034.
Manning, Alan D. “Scott McCloud, Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art.” IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication 41, no. 1 (1998): 66-. doi:10.1109/TPC.1998.661632.
