Reinventing Comics: How Imagination and Technology Are Revolutionizing an Art Form (Paperback)

~ Scott Mccloud (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Scott McCloud's Reinventing Comics, the sequel to his groundbreaking work Understanding Comics, is a study of two revolutions: a failed one and a potential one. His 1993 book was not only a chronicle of the potential breakthrough of comics (which he redefined as "sequential art") into a legitimate art form but a sterling example itself of the medium's astonishing untapped potential. Now, seven years later, he chronicles the failure of the comic book industry to fulfill that promise, but also explores how the movement can be restarted, particularly by utilizing the resources of another spectacularly successful revolution, the Internet. In the first half of Reinventing Comics, an elegantly clean example of comic art in McCloud's trademark bold black-and-white style, the author outlines how hype, speculation, and artistic burnout led to the genre's decline. He then lays out 12 paths toward a new revolution of comics, including creators' rights, industry innovation, public perception, gender balance, and diversity of genre, which are then explored with such innovative intelligence that, as with his earlier work, the conclusions he comes to are fascinating for both artists and nonartists alike.

Three of his paths, however, are of particular interest to anyone who wants to know how the Internet will affect both our lives and the livelihoods of future artists. Understanding Comics, with its brilliant how-to guide on marrying image and language, has become an indispensable reference for many Web designers. Now McCloud returns the favor by focusing on how the digital revolution will influence production, delivery, and the art form of comics itself. Informative without being pedantic, controversial without being argumentative, and always entertaining, this is both a worthy sequel to the author's brilliant original and a work that opens up the potential for an entirely different direction for sequential art in the realm of cyberspace. --John Longenbaugh

From Library Journal

This is an exceptional book (in comic format) of ideas presented as a reader-friendly theoretical lectureDand it may just be the blueprint for the very future of the comics industry. McCloud, author of Understanding Comics, a classic exploration of how this unique art form actually works, now uses his impressive insight and admirable clarity to map out "12 revolutions," which, he believes, need to take place for comics to survive and finally be recognized as a legitimate art form. The topics progress from the oldest of comic-related arguments (seeking respect) to the use of computer technology to renew and expand its audience. These brilliantly presented discussions concern comics as literature, comics as art, creators' rights, industry innovation, and public perception, among other topics. McCloud's arguments are strong, factual (he recaps the evolution of the comics industry and the Internet to support his theories), and persuasive. He describes the comic as a "misunderstood, squandered idea...that seems increasingly obscure...[and] small...like an atom...waiting to be split." After reading this treatise, I agree. Strongly recommended for all public and academic libraries.DChris Ryan, New Milford, N.-- small...like an atom...waiting to be split." After reading this treatise, I agree. Strongly recommended for all public and academic libraries.DChris Ryan, New Milford, NJ
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks; 1st Perennial Ed edition (July 25, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060953500
• ISBN-13: 978-0060953508
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 6.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #202,900 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential reading on comics and information theory, July 25, 2000

By	Robert Helmerichs (Minneapolis, MN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

In 1993, Scott McCloud published an unexpected blast of pure genius, _Understanding Comics_: a monograph on comic books in the form of a comic book. Now he has created a sequel. I was leery at first; I wasn't sure that there was much more to be said, and I feared that the freshness of the first volume would be lacking. The first half of _Reinventing Comics_ somewhat fulfilled my fears; chapters dealing with the artistic and business side of comics seemed like afterthoughts to the first book, and chapters on issues of diversity, while interesting enough, didn't really jump off the page at me.

But the second half of the book, unexpectedly, brought back to me the excitement I felt in 1993. It covers new technology, especially the Internet: digital production, digital distribution, and the evolution of comics in the digital world. McCloud includes a brief history of computers, the internet, and computer graphics, and analyzes both the impact digitalization has had on comics, and the impact he expects it to have in the future. Always the optimist (see Zot!), McCloud is also terribly smart, and the future he envisions is exciting and provocative.

_Reinventing Comics_ is essential reading for anybody interested in comics, in the potentials of the Internet, in information theory, or simply in thinking.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, but not as successful as "Understanding Comics", August 31, 2000

By	a_bucket_of_shoes (Walnut Creek, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This book continues the arguments McCloud made about the validity and potential of comics in his earlier book "Understanding Comics". He still uses the comics format, but the effect isn't as strong since the subject matter here isn't as much comics itself as the financial and logistical aspects of the comics industry and the technical aspects of comics creation in an electronic environment; thus it never quite captures the astounding, recursively expressive effect that the earlier book had.

Still, McCloud's discussions and insights on the nature of the production and distribution of comics are worth the read. His ideas about the future of comics on the internet are less convincing (he suggests the prime advantage of internet comics are an avoidance of the confines of the physical page; in my opinion, restrictions like that, in any art form, usually provide both limits and opportunities).

Anyone with an interest in the distribution of comics, or any art form, will find much of the book insightful and helpful. Many people new to the internet will find the discussion of it useful. But techies, especially those who have studied hypertext, won't learn anything new about the net here.

In summary, this book is recommended for its content, but the essay-as-comics form isn't as effective this time around. The same material could probably have been presented as straight text with a few illustrations, and the resulting book would have had the same impact in fewer pages. The arguments are interesting, if not wholly convincing, and the inclusion of an index and a bibliography round it out nicely.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Definitely NOT "Understanding Comics", September 22, 2003

By	Daniel Lee - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Reinventing Comics (Paperback)

The idea behind this book was "computers, internet, and comics." Sounds great, but there was a bit too much explaining the history of computers and internet. It was necessary for those people who don't know, and I reccomend it for those who want to learn about computers / internet in general. However, as a seasoned computer tech of sorts, reading most of this book was like "eating 10 pounds of potato salad" as McCloud himself described his book at one time. Another problem is that the book is somewhat outdated. Comics on the web are proliferating successfully, and broadband and VERY fast computers are quite affordable now.

It has good moments, though his first book "Understanding Comics" is much, much better. That is a landmark title for comics.