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Reinventing Comics: How Imagination and Technology Are Revolutionizing an Art Form by Scott McCloud
graveyardpansy's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 — for sure outdated, but I expected that going in. still fun to read abt the history and what they thought would happen ~someday.~ about what I expected, and I went in with like - medium expectations.
celtic_oracle's review against another edition
2.0
I wish I would have checked the publication date before picking this up. The second half is woefully dated, but the first remains interesting.
i_have_no_process's review against another edition
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.25
Worthy, but more specific than McCloud's masterpieces.
ocurtsinger's review against another edition
2.0
Understanding Comics was understandably groundbreaking and something that I still draw inspiration from (no pun intended), but this appendix-like follow-up doesn't hold the same clout. Whereas Understanding Comics was a timeless philosophical study for the sake of the art, Reinventing Comics moors itself firmly in the late 90s, exhaustively studying the history and industry of comics as it stood in the 90s and how it may shape up in the then-future. The entire second half of the book is based on an extensive and often esoteric study of where comics are going in the digital age, which McCloud acknowledges very early on will probably seem out-dated in the very near future. If that was so clear in 2000, then why devote such a huge endeavor to something that will so quickly seem embarrassingly dated upon reading in 2017? I appreciate reading much of the first half of the book, where he argues for more gender equality in the industry and more diverse topics by a different range of creators; furthermore I'm old enough to remember the strange potential that a CD-ROM comic "book" held, and the agonizing bandwidth speeds that carried the early internet, so I can relate to the topics presented in the second half, but this dated study should have been a short appendix to his timeless classic, not an entire book worth. What must have been an exciting and interesting read in the first few years after publication is now largely a waste of time.
ericvreadsstuff's review against another edition
3.0
As McCloud himself predicts at the beginning of this book, the ideas presented here aged very quickly. Many of the industry shifts and technological advances have taken place already and/or been replaced by other concerns and revolutions. But this isn't to say that the book has been entirely rendered obsolete.
I think Reinventing Comics has a lot of interesting things to say, and I enjoyed the way it acts as a time capsule for the start of this millennium. Considering where he stood in that time, McCloud's predictions have proven very prescient, discussing the Y2K crisis on one page and predicting the rise of iPad kids and wearable tech on the next. It was entertaining just to see what he got right.
McCloud provides interesting historical information both intentionally and retrospectively, for the comics industry and the rise of the digital age at large. If you're not interested in the historical aspects, however, there are still a few ideas worth considering; in particular the discussion of comics in a digital form and what the removal of print limitations could mean for the art form. Personally though, I enjoyed spending time with this optimistic 2000s time capsule, and I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in comics history.
I think Reinventing Comics has a lot of interesting things to say, and I enjoyed the way it acts as a time capsule for the start of this millennium. Considering where he stood in that time, McCloud's predictions have proven very prescient, discussing the Y2K crisis on one page and predicting the rise of iPad kids and wearable tech on the next. It was entertaining just to see what he got right.
McCloud provides interesting historical information both intentionally and retrospectively, for the comics industry and the rise of the digital age at large. If you're not interested in the historical aspects, however, there are still a few ideas worth considering; in particular the discussion of comics in a digital form and what the removal of print limitations could mean for the art form. Personally though, I enjoyed spending time with this optimistic 2000s time capsule, and I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in comics history.
balletbookworm's review against another edition
4.0
Really informative re: the history of comics (mostly in America) and how far the industry needs to go to remain relevant. Some battles are still being fought (ie race gender and genre).
The second half is a bit bound by the time it was written (2000) but it is interesting to see which of McCloud's predictions have come to pass and which are still out there somewhere.
The second half is a bit bound by the time it was written (2000) but it is interesting to see which of McCloud's predictions have come to pass and which are still out there somewhere.
blueacorn1991's review against another edition
4.0
It's amazing how spot on McCloud's predictions about technology were. He clearly knew the direction comics (and other media) were going to take in the age of the internet.
rebeccacider's review against another edition
4.0
Reinventing Comics is a fascinating look at the evolution of comics and digital media in the Internet age. McCloud was incredibly prescient, and despite its age this book still has important things to say about what comics and technology can do for storytellers.
I only identified one topics that McCloud, and many others, were dead wrong about: the rise of novel forms of data visualization. I mean, don't get me wrong, data visualization is huge, but mostly using visual metaphors similar to those that existed before the computer age. Very few people are doing, say, this any more: http://visuwords.com/grey
As a librarian, I'm fascinated by these applications of new media, but can't decide how much promise spatial visualization has for conveying ideas. Partner and I were discussing the subject and decided that learning new spatial metaphors is just plain hard. For instance, it requires effort to learn how to read maps, just like comics (or computer screens).
I only identified one topics that McCloud, and many others, were dead wrong about: the rise of novel forms of data visualization. I mean, don't get me wrong, data visualization is huge, but mostly using visual metaphors similar to those that existed before the computer age. Very few people are doing, say, this any more: http://visuwords.com/grey
As a librarian, I'm fascinated by these applications of new media, but can't decide how much promise spatial visualization has for conveying ideas. Partner and I were discussing the subject and decided that learning new spatial metaphors is just plain hard. For instance, it requires effort to learn how to read maps, just like comics (or computer screens).
spiffysarahruby's review against another edition
4.0
This was an interesting read for being so old (23 years at my reading). It was so out of date in some cases it made me smile. I'd really like to see McCloud write another book about the state of comics and graphic novels today.