Understanding Comics

This is one of the most inspiring, eye opening, and helpful books I've ever read. It's also just really funny, beautiful and moreish. I could recommend to anyone even vaguely interested in a comic book or even if you hate them and need a new point of view. 

Can not recommend any higher (truly a 5 star book). Yes Comics... but more interestingly it helps us decode what perception is, how we communicate in visuals and the human psychology that all of it is scaffolded on. This book should be required reading for anyone doing any visual communication. It lightheartedly uncovers the incredible power of the visual communication medium and shows how to command the transmission of visual ideas effectively. The book goes into the fascinating area of semiotics (the study of sign systems) without dulling it down.

Naprostá pecka, která nepokrývá pouze komiks, ale celkově umění jako takové. Skvělý náhled do storytellingu a hry s emocemi.

This isn't a book about how to make comics. It's a book about understanding what comics are—and even beyond that, what art is. That may sound pretentious, but it's essential context for understanding how comics can shape the way we perceive sight, sound, language, time... even how we perceive the self. Excellent and comprehensive book. Essential reading for anyone interested in visual art and communication.

McCloud certamente ultrapassou barreiras ao idealizar uma comic que contasse a história das comics.

Esse livro é muito bem ilustrado, muito bem estruturado e muito bem escrito. McCloud consegue, em menos de 250 páginas, explicar o surgimento das comics, a importância das mesmas para a humanidade e os caminhos futuros que podem ser abertos para quem trabalha com essa mídia. Certamente, um olhar diferente e provocativo para 1993, mas que ainda se mantém muito real e com bons insights.

Amplamente baseado nos estudos de Eisner, uma das coisas que mais me interessou - e que também se diferenciou dos livros de Eisner - foi a preocupação em ter uma perspectiva um pouco mais internacional. Embora os estudos de Eisner tenham criado as bases para a compreensão das comics como mídia, McCloud tomou um passo adiante e internacionalizou esse processo, estudando comics não apenas dos EUA, mas também da Europa e, principalmente, do Japão.

O cuidado que McCloud tem, para explicar as principais diferenças técnicas das comics ocidentais e orientais é magistral e me ajudaram muito na pesquisa que estava fazendo para a minha tese. Certamente um livro que vale a pena ser lido, por amantes de comics, por acadêmicos, ou simplesmente por pessoas que gostam de aprender um pouquinho sobre tudo.

3/5 stars
It definitely helped me a lot in further understanding comics. It helped me get through an class that forced me to analyze comics. If you want to know more about the art 9f comics or need to get through an analysis this is the correct book to look at.

I never thought I needed this—do you need a guide for understanding chocolate or ice cream? (Now that I mention it, though, I bet those exist). I like what I like, and enjoy it, and that's that, right? Well, now I wish I'd read this twenty years ago. McCloud adds new dimensions to my appreciation: he offers context, history, design insights, and makes it all accessible and enjoyable. It's too early to tell how/if this will change my future reading of comics, but I'm looking forward to finding out.

A lot of what is said in this book is common sense, only for the author to over explain it in an incredibly dry way that masks itself as quirky. It is more a book that is about appreciating the history of comics rather than giving insight into the format that isn't already known.

I didn't grow up reading comics. I've recently started reading more, but I'm still figuring out what I enjoy (Y the Last Man, Walking Dead, Saga, and Attack on Titan so far).

This book is completely different. It's not about how to read comics, but about how to write comics. While I have no intention of writing comics, it's an insightful overview of how to create a story using a combination of images and words – something I want to get better at.

What impresses me most about this book is that it felt like a conversation between me and the author. The entire comic is written in a format where the author, the main character of the comic, is introducing you to various comic concepts and exploring why they work (or don't). Although I don't plan to create comics, I came out of this with a bunch of ideas that I want to try on mediums I work in.

I didn't grow up reading comics. I've recently started reading more, but I'm still figuring out what I enjoy (Y the Last Man, Walking Dead, Saga, and Attack on Titan so far).

This book is completely different. It's not about how to read comics, but about how to write comics. While I have no intention of writing comics, it's an insightful overview of how to create a story using a combination of images and words – something I want to get better at.

What impresses me most about this book is that it felt like a conversation between me and the author. The entire comic is written in a format where the author, the main character of the comic, is introducing you to various comic concepts and exploring why they work (or don't). Although I don't plan to create comics, I came out of this with a bunch of ideas that I want to try on mediums I work in.

Excellent work on the art of comics and the underlying mechanics (and philosophies) that make comics work, and that make them valuable and intriguing as an art form. A comic about comics. Great stuff.

Like reading dumbed-down version of early film theory. McCloud desires to establish comics as a legitimate artistic and narrative medium, and he largely succeeds in doing that. However, he apparently couldn't (or didn't want to) get the rights to use other comics as examples. Because of this, the book operates almost exclusively in the abstract, rather than providing concrete examples to fully explain his theoretical musings.

Another book borrowed from the library, this one helps people try and deepen their understanding of comics. McCloud goes thru a bit of comic history and then describes several techniques to how to really understand what is going on in the comic format. The book was interesting and also follows a comic book format but I found that the style was a bit hard to read in some places and didn't keep my attention as best as it should have.