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kazen's review against another edition
4.0
A wonderful look at what goes into a comic, from perspective and line to story and style. I learned a lot and gained even more appreciation for an art form that I already respected.
The ebook version is not recommended, however. I read an epub from my library using Overdrive on an iPad and the text was a tad too small to read comfortably. The notes after each chapter were written in McCloud's lettering font and it translated to ALL CAPS ALL THE TIME in the file. Annoying to say the least.
My favorite part was his look at Japanese manga, as I have more experience with that than North American comics. (I started reading the panels in this comic right to left, I'm so well trained.) It was neat to see his take on the Japanese industry and how it's melded with American comics over time.
Run out at get this book (a paper copy!) if you have any interest at all in comics - you won't be disappointed.
The ebook version is not recommended, however. I read an epub from my library using Overdrive on an iPad and the text was a tad too small to read comfortably. The notes after each chapter were written in McCloud's lettering font and it translated to ALL CAPS ALL THE TIME in the file. Annoying to say the least.
My favorite part was his look at Japanese manga, as I have more experience with that than North American comics. (I started reading the panels in this comic right to left, I'm so well trained.) It was neat to see his take on the Japanese industry and how it's melded with American comics over time.
Run out at get this book (a paper copy!) if you have any interest at all in comics - you won't be disappointed.
jsjammersmith's review against another edition
5.0
Scott McCloud always reminds me why I love comics, and this book is no different. The fact that I lead a MakerSpace for kids and teenagers about making comics on the same day I finished this book was also a delightful bit of serendipity.
Unlike his previous two books (UnderStanding Comics and ReInventing Comics) Making Comics does not explore the culture relevance of the medium of comics, nor does it attempt to validate the form as a legitimate medium. Instead McCloud leads this book with the idea that the reader probably has already read these books, or else already believes comics to be a worthwhile medium. And from there he provides the reader with a toolbox. This metaphor is used purposefully because often while reading it I felt like I was receiving one unique tool after another and whether it was advice for character designs, atmosphere designs, drawing equipment, Software programming for digital sketching, drafting, etc. Every page of this book was beautifully and carefully constructed to reflect the argument McCloud was making. This book is the work of a human being compelled by passion to make something great, but also to pass along the wisdom of a lifetime learned.
Scott McCloud is likely to fall into the same company as Will Eisner who fought for comics as a worthwhile form of art, and Making Comics is proof of that. McCloud, like Eisner, like me, and like so many of the people who pick up comics and disappear have been waiting for books like this. It's not just an empty guide of "how-to's," it an opportunity share a familiar passion.
I loved this book all the more for it, and can't wait to see it's effect on the next generation of comics artists.
Unlike his previous two books (UnderStanding Comics and ReInventing Comics) Making Comics does not explore the culture relevance of the medium of comics, nor does it attempt to validate the form as a legitimate medium. Instead McCloud leads this book with the idea that the reader probably has already read these books, or else already believes comics to be a worthwhile medium. And from there he provides the reader with a toolbox. This metaphor is used purposefully because often while reading it I felt like I was receiving one unique tool after another and whether it was advice for character designs, atmosphere designs, drawing equipment, Software programming for digital sketching, drafting, etc. Every page of this book was beautifully and carefully constructed to reflect the argument McCloud was making. This book is the work of a human being compelled by passion to make something great, but also to pass along the wisdom of a lifetime learned.
Scott McCloud is likely to fall into the same company as Will Eisner who fought for comics as a worthwhile form of art, and Making Comics is proof of that. McCloud, like Eisner, like me, and like so many of the people who pick up comics and disappear have been waiting for books like this. It's not just an empty guide of "how-to's," it an opportunity share a familiar passion.
I loved this book all the more for it, and can't wait to see it's effect on the next generation of comics artists.
jgkeely's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoy Scott McCloud. He is insightful and funny and his analytic method is always useful in dissection of concept. I find that the conscientious author tends to be the superior author, and for this reason, McCLoud is indispensable.
Another thing that is refreshing about McCloud is that he takes the medium very seriously, and reminds us, as creators, that we have a responsibility to the art to do everything we can with it, and not simply accept the given standards.
In a lot of ways, this book feels like an update of Understanding Comics, but with a greater mindfulness of the creator, and less for the pure history and development of the art. 'Making Comics' is an inspirational work which avoids treading the ground of other 'how to's, instead focusing on asking 'how might you'?
My Suggested Reading In Comics
Another thing that is refreshing about McCloud is that he takes the medium very seriously, and reminds us, as creators, that we have a responsibility to the art to do everything we can with it, and not simply accept the given standards.
In a lot of ways, this book feels like an update of Understanding Comics, but with a greater mindfulness of the creator, and less for the pure history and development of the art. 'Making Comics' is an inspirational work which avoids treading the ground of other 'how to's, instead focusing on asking 'how might you'?
My Suggested Reading In Comics
corpuslibris's review against another edition
4.0
I probably should have read "Understanding Comics" first, but I still found this book informative and readable. I've been digesting comics in earnest for less than a year, and this really gave me some tools to analyze them (and critique them) at a much deeper level. His style made it really easy to follow, and I'm not even an artist (although I am dating one)! Next time I'm ready for theory, I'll definitely come back to McCloud.
jeanneerin's review against another edition
1.0
This book just wasn't for me. I don't think there was anything bad about it, it just ... was too in the weeds in some places and then talking down in others. Like it didn't trust its audience. But I really think it was just me.
leighlucas's review against another edition
5.0
A must-read for anyone considering making comics. So thoughtful, well-researched and interesting!
mossyforest's review against another edition
5.0
This is an excellent book for anyone interested in writing comics and wants some tips and tricks to help them on their way. I am personally working on creating my first comic book and though I have had years of art education and lessons in how to draw I have never learned anything about incorporating that into a narrative structure. So this book was exactly what I was looking for.
Unlike most books about making your own comic this is not a how to draw book. It is very firm in it’s view that you can create comics in any way that you choose, but it attempts to cover fundamental things which all comics creators will need to consider including choice of images, creating characters and worlds and notes on tool favored by different artists.
This is Scott McCloud’s book and so is not the only way to do things but I found that it gave me plenty of food for thought and let me understand things better where I had been relying purely on intuition. Plus my nerdy heart loved the expanded noted at the end of each chapter including a whole page about pens! I could read about art materials for hours.
I will probably pick up one of his other non fiction books at some point. He uses the comic book format to explain points very effectively. The format makes sense for a book about comics but I am sure that it would also work well for other non fiction topics and my dyslexic brain found it really easy to understand (though I would disagree with it’s use of only uppercase letters, but that is a minor quibble and a personal thing).
So yes, a very useful book. I would recommend reading through it slowly and maybe doing some of the exercises at the end of the chapters (not cram it in less than a week, like I did, but I have a deadline looming).
Unlike most books about making your own comic this is not a how to draw book. It is very firm in it’s view that you can create comics in any way that you choose, but it attempts to cover fundamental things which all comics creators will need to consider including choice of images, creating characters and worlds and notes on tool favored by different artists.
This is Scott McCloud’s book and so is not the only way to do things but I found that it gave me plenty of food for thought and let me understand things better where I had been relying purely on intuition. Plus my nerdy heart loved the expanded noted at the end of each chapter including a whole page about pens! I could read about art materials for hours.
I will probably pick up one of his other non fiction books at some point. He uses the comic book format to explain points very effectively. The format makes sense for a book about comics but I am sure that it would also work well for other non fiction topics and my dyslexic brain found it really easy to understand (though I would disagree with it’s use of only uppercase letters, but that is a minor quibble and a personal thing).
So yes, a very useful book. I would recommend reading through it slowly and maybe doing some of the exercises at the end of the chapters (not cram it in less than a week, like I did, but I have a deadline looming).
otterno11's review against another edition
4.0
I have been on a bit of a graphic novel and comic reading kick lately, raiding the library collections for any titles that sound interesting and devouring them at a rather manic rate. Traditionally, I never really considered myself a comic fan, preferring prose, but something about the elegance of the “artful combination of words and pictures” has really intrigued me. Beginning with autobiographical and other small press comics, I’ve been enjoying more and more graphic novels. Then, thinking back on my childhood, in spite of my disinterest in “super heroes” I had long been a huge fan of comics like “Calvin and Hobbes” and other strips, realizing that I had always appreciated the form. Reading more widely, in the various styles and genres of the form has even inspired me to look into making a comic or graphic novel of my own (my own lack of artistic talent notwithstanding). This is where I picked up “Making Comics” by Scott McCloud.
A very interesting read, even for more than people looking for advice on working on their own graphic novel. McCloud details many insights that I had not thought about regarding the behind the scenes creation of comics, graphic novels, and other “pictures in sequence.” “Making Comics” is not a simple “how-to” book, but an examination of the creative processes unique to comic creation, told from McCloud’s own point of view and including examples from the diversity of the art form, from manga to edgy, experimental small press works. From choices of imagery, pacing, and composition to character design, to categories of word/picture combinations, McCloud details many aspects of creation I had not conceived of before. I will look for these various choices and differences when reading the work of other artists, even if I never begin work of my own. The chapter describing tools, techniques, and technology was particularly interesting for me, but it must be said that “Making Comics” is not really geared towards beginners looking for the basics of drawing and writing, though many such works are suggested by McCloud in the detailed notes and bibliography. However, it is also a unique guide to comics design that is useful for anyone interested in analyzing graphic novels, even if they are not artists or writers themselves. Throughout, I found the book entirely readable, even when discussing the vagaries of style and design. I particularly enjoyed McCloud’s essays about understanding genres and comic culture, which arranges all comics by their values; classicists, animists, formalists, and iconoclasts. I have not read any of Scott McCloud’s other works, but I will definitely look at them as well.
A very interesting read, even for more than people looking for advice on working on their own graphic novel. McCloud details many insights that I had not thought about regarding the behind the scenes creation of comics, graphic novels, and other “pictures in sequence.” “Making Comics” is not a simple “how-to” book, but an examination of the creative processes unique to comic creation, told from McCloud’s own point of view and including examples from the diversity of the art form, from manga to edgy, experimental small press works. From choices of imagery, pacing, and composition to character design, to categories of word/picture combinations, McCloud details many aspects of creation I had not conceived of before. I will look for these various choices and differences when reading the work of other artists, even if I never begin work of my own. The chapter describing tools, techniques, and technology was particularly interesting for me, but it must be said that “Making Comics” is not really geared towards beginners looking for the basics of drawing and writing, though many such works are suggested by McCloud in the detailed notes and bibliography. However, it is also a unique guide to comics design that is useful for anyone interested in analyzing graphic novels, even if they are not artists or writers themselves. Throughout, I found the book entirely readable, even when discussing the vagaries of style and design. I particularly enjoyed McCloud’s essays about understanding genres and comic culture, which arranges all comics by their values; classicists, animists, formalists, and iconoclasts. I have not read any of Scott McCloud’s other works, but I will definitely look at them as well.
izzorizzo's review against another edition
5.0
This book changed my way of thinking about comics, sequential art, and visual storytelling in general. It gave me the confidence to start planning my own short stories. It's definitely worth reading, even if you don't want to draw comics - it works with all storytelling.
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