Comments on: *Understanding Comics — Recommended

By: Kingyo Used Books Book 2 » Manga Worth Reading

Kingyo Used Books Book 2 » Manga Worth Reading — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 14:29:48 +0000

[...] my case, it was Understanding Comics. Without it, I wouldn’t have gotten back into comics in grad school, which means I [...]

By: *Zot!: The Complete Black and White Collection: 1987-1991 — Best of 2008 » Comics Worth Reading

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 21:32:45 +0000

[...] is better known today as the author of Understanding Comics, a non-fiction exploration of the format; its followup, Reinventing Comics, which examines [...]

By: SamÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s Strip: The Comic About Comics » Comics Worth Reading

SamÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s Strip: The Comic About Comics » Comics Worth Reading — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 12:40:49 +0000

[...] about how comics work, Sam’s Strip is a lovely companion, of sorts, to both Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics as well as Will Eisner’s Comics and Sequential Art. There’s an even more direct link to Mort [...]

By: Alan Coil

Alan Coil — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:31:34 +0000

Ellison merely wrote the introduction about Steranko.

By: cognitive dissident

cognitive dissident — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 14:32:23 +0000

Yep, that’s the one…I wasn’t trying to slight Ellison and Caputo, but Steranko’s name was the one I remembered. (I picked up a copy a while ago, but it hasn’t yet made it to the top of my to-be-read pile…)

By: Johanna

Johanna — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 11:12:26 +0000

I didn't know there was a Steranko book. Interesting. Do you mean this one, also by Tony Caputo and Harlan Ellison? Looks like it's out of print but available used. Caputo hasn't got a very good rep, so I'd be leery.

By: Journalista - the news weblog of The Comics Journal » Blog Archive » July 16, 2008: That’s not funny

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 09:20:42 +0000

[...] Johanna Draper Carlson on Scott McCloud’s Understanding [...]

By: Rivkah

Rivkah — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 03:12:01 +0000

This is a wonderful book and my favorite of the three, with “Reinventing” second and “Making” last. I think that, unfortunately, the last book (“Making”) became too complex for the graphic novel format (ironically, I think I would have been able to read through more if it had been in written format with examples interspersed throughout), but the first and second were simple, straightforward, and got right to the point with each chapter containing strong, well structured themes. While the last book covers more material, it almost covers too much (perhaps because of all the examples), giving instead a sense of the lost wanderer. The first two were more cohesive, coherent, and solid, sticking to their paths.

When it comes to comic theory, Scott McCloud is the visionary of our times. I deeply respect his work, and I feel that those first two books gave me an incredible tool towards creating better comics. To this day, I still go back and revisit them and wonder. :)

By: cognitive dissident

cognitive dissident — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 15:05:45 +0000

Great review!

I loved this book, which I also think is the best of his trilogy. (I’ve been meaning to pick up the Eisner books for *ages*, and the new editions will be out next week…I guess I’m running out of excuses.)

Has anyone read Steranko’s “Visual Storytelling” book? I always loved his page design.

By: Johanna

Johanna — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 13:52:52 +0000

I agree that it’s the best of the three, but I still think the other two are worth reading. I plan to reread Eisner’s two craft books for review, but from memory, I found them disjointed, as though an instructor had published incomplete class notes. Lesson: what works for you might not work for me and vice versa. :)

By: Jason

Jason — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 13:26:15 +0000

Unfortunately, McCloud has always struck me as a bit too caught up in himself and his ideas and that makes him a little less approchable to me than, say, Will Eisner and his “Comics and Sequential Art”. It’s still whorthwhile reading and better than his two follow-ups.