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rebeccacider's review against another edition
5.0
Read this for work, not because I have any (serious) pretensions of making comics. I loved it - it was a great followup to Understanding Comics and taught me a lot about how comics creators approach their craft.
I suspect that comics have a lot to teach fiction writers - just as novelists borrow cinematographic techniques, they could apply comics storytelling to narrative, characters, and worlds. For instance, I struggle at describing facial expressions and body language and have use artists' guides in the past to help me ground my characters in reality. On the more experimental end of things, applying the techniques behind comic panels could result in a narrative in which events are represented as a series of visual moments.
Finally, McCloud has helped me take manga seriously, which I regret to admit I have not always done in the past.
I suspect that comics have a lot to teach fiction writers - just as novelists borrow cinematographic techniques, they could apply comics storytelling to narrative, characters, and worlds. For instance, I struggle at describing facial expressions and body language and have use artists' guides in the past to help me ground my characters in reality. On the more experimental end of things, applying the techniques behind comic panels could result in a narrative in which events are represented as a series of visual moments.
Finally, McCloud has helped me take manga seriously, which I regret to admit I have not always done in the past.
msmo's review against another edition
3.0
After reading Scott McCloud’s Making Comics I have a much deeper appreciation for artists who produce comic books, manga, and graphic novels. There is the story to be told, drawings to illustrate, and dialogue to create… all with style. McCloud, a comic book artist with over twenty years under his belt, has written a guide for aspiring comic book artists in creating their own works – and he has largely done so humorously in comic book form. Discusses unique use of panels to tell a story, tools of the trade, perspective drawing, and special tricks to deliver the message. Includes many examples from other artists. Very well annotated and glossed, including art credits, bibliography and recommended reading. Although I have no illusions of drawing comics myself, I have much better understanding of how to read them, what to notice, and above all, better appreciate the talent this book form requires.
jexjthomas's review against another edition
4.0
[a:Scott McCloud|33907|Scott McCloud|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1231113775p2/33907.jpg] distills [b:Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art|102920|Understanding Comics The Invisible Art|Scott McCloud|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1328408101s/102920.jpg|2415847] down to the bare necessities, the points that are most important for comics creators. He adds in a few technical details, protips, and some inane rambling about genre which could have been excised. Honestly, I do think this book is pretty good, especially if you have read Understanding Comics, but while it starts out strong, it kind of peaks somewhere in the middle, and then drops off HARD at the end. His musings about style and genre in particular feel out of place and without a whole lot of insight. Maybe I'm being a little harsh, I don't know, but I felt in particular his attempts to boil down genre into four distinct "tribes" to be really simplistic and not especially helpful. I think that's McCloud's approach to comics theory in a nutshell, though--in boiling comics down to the essence, you risk losing some of the profundity. Anyway, if I want a more in-depth analysis/exploration of genre in comics, I can go elsewhere, and all said, Making Comics offers some really good tips and McCloud drops some practical knowledge that young artists would otherwise only come across through years of trial and error. I would recommend this book to people who are serious about creating comics -- artists and writers both -- but if you're merely a comics fan, I would skip it. Understanding Comics is a much more comprehensive look at comics as a medium and the theory behind comics; in focusing on the practical, Making Comics only scratches the surface of that stuff, and if you're approaching this thinking that it's further exploration of comics theory, you're going to be left wanting. It lacks any of the revelatory moments of its predecessor -- which, for a young comics fan, really felt IMPORTANT, you know? -- but that doesn't mean its without merit.
I don't know what it says about me, but I enjoyed the section about pens the most.
I don't know what it says about me, but I enjoyed the section about pens the most.
howiedoowinfam's review against another edition
challenging
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
5.0
leeza_robertson_writes's review against another edition
5.0
This book is amazing and now I want to write a graphic novel!
rhyslindmark's review against another edition
5.0
Damn. Scott McCloud writes THE books you want to read if you're making visual ideas of any form, especially comics.
Highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
huckleberryrk's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
5.0
There’s a reason I keep coming back to this book.