The Summary Report
Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics is a well thought out treatise whose subject matter also happens to be its own vehicle of conveyance, i.e., in order to discuss comics he writes and draws in comics format.
The Demographic Report
This book is for anyone who is interested in understanding some of the craft and artistic aesthetics behind the genre of comics. It would also be quite useful for those whose profession relies on conveying information through a visual medium such as graphic design or filmmaking.
The Minority Report
Although this is primarily an overview of comics as they have developed in the US, on certain levels, his work is about giving voice to the underdog. The primary underdog in this case is the medium of comics itself as an under-appreciated art form. And under this underdog there are more underdogs in the way of underrepresented creators and their content which don’t embody the market dominant tendencies towards the superhero genre occupied primarily with white adolescent male power fantasies.
The Review
If one could write a thesis dissertation on comics in the selfsame medium it discussed, one might end up with an impressive work like Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics. His work is an essential guidebook to illuminate the field of comics for both newcomers and veterans alike.
To finish his book results in a heightened state of awareness akin to a student having completed a first film class. Where before said student had probably watched “movies” as a passive recipient, now the same elucidated student approaches “films” with a critically informed eye, taking into account such stylistic choices as camera angles, mise-en-scene, and editing, in addition to the historical context that may inform the work. That same kind of transformation is what McCloud offers to the reader when looking at comics, a visual language sharing some kinship with film, yet with properties wholly unique unto itself.
He begins by doing what any good treatise should do, get a basic definition of his subject matter and then begin to build an argument based on a premise about said subject. In the way of that basic definition of comics, we get: “Juxtaposed pictorial and other images in deliberate sequence, intended to convey information and/or an aesthetic response in the viewer.” Or to save both memory and lung capacity, more simply put: “Sequential art.”
And in his premise, Mr. McCloud smartly realizes he is not necessarily preaching to the converted, so his premise essentially states that comics is an under-appreciated art form (if even acknowledged as art in the first place) that certainly deserves its own standing against established art forms such as music, film, and literature. In order to argue the point throughout, the author gives us nine well organized chapters of outstanding background information and analyses. Sensibly, after the definition and premise are set, he offers a historical overview of comics, which helps build the crucial momentum of credibility.
And he doesn’t stop there. After setting up some of the basics in the psychology of perception, we’re off to a very fun illustrated breakdown of the stylistic and structural conventions of comics, everything from the strategic use of speech balloons to an artist’s brush strokes or ink lines to established artists to the all-important breakdown of how panels (a structure unique to the medium) work in comics.
The one ostensible weakness that the book has (which ultimately may be forgivable given the scope of the overall work) is the short shrift given to the discussion of differences in Europe’s and Japan’s comics. He does highlight some qualitative difference in their respective visual and narrative sensibilities, but not enough for a reader to get a sense of comics history and aesthetics on a global (versus merely North American) scale.
Furthermore, although the book ages quite well (it was first published in 1994), it might behoove Mr. McCloud to write a second edition update that reflects the growing popularity of manga (Japanese comics) within the US.
Still, taken in its entirety, Mr. McCloud’s book is an impressively thorough contemplation on the genre of comics. It is an ideal primer for people who are unfamiliar with comics, and even for those who have greater familiarity with comics will find it to be an invaluable primary resource. For reader and creator alike, this is a must have book for your library.
Product Details:
- Title: Understanding Art: The Invisible Art
- Author: Scott McCloud (writer/illustrator)
- Paperback: 224 pages
- Publisher: Harper Paperbacks (April 27, 1994)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 006097625X
- ISBN-13: 978-0060976255
- Product Dimensions: 10 x 6.7 x 0.6 inches
