Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud (1994, Paperback, Reprint)

This book digs much deeper into the world, essence, and aesthetic of comic books and graphic novels. Mr. McCloud deftly presents style and purpose to his overall message. It is genius. Presenting the gestalt of comics in a comic format. This book will make you look at all comics in a completely new way: with a more critical eye. And that is not by any means a bad thing. If you are a comic lover this is a must. if you like art, or literature it is a must read. if you don't like comics, this may change your mind completely. Comics owe a great deal to Scott McCloud.

I have purchased several books for my son, such as "How to Draw Pokemon" and other "How to Draw _____" type books. Those books all teach the same techniques of circle drawing and sketching and such... but, none of them teach how do draw a comic type character with any emphasis on expression and story telling. This book does... and, it is all in comic form!

My sone is now able to draw the same comic character in several different ways to convey a message, rather than just the same thing over and over again. This book was a great turning point for him. In addition, I have enjoyed reading through the book myself!

I received the book very fast after my purchase. I received the item within a week of my purchase which was very nice.

This book is amazing, because in simplistic terms in manages to establish comics as its own seperate art form. McCloud identifies this third dimension in between depicted reality and figurative idea called the picture plane. The plane, a combination of abstraction from images and writer's intent, forms a new union between thought and the way thought is projected.

I know all this sounds very technical, like this should be an exhaustedly trivial attempt in new philosophy. It's defiinitely not. It is drawn like a comic book. Every idea is explained in a very engaging way by using succint imagery to enhance the topic. Essentially, he is using the medium of comics, a medium that is baser than literature or photography, to explain the necessity for comics. I.e. an art form that makes ideas easier to understand, more compelling, entertaining and focused.

This book has turned me on to comics. I really didn't care before. It's genius!