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Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art Paperback – April 27, 1994

by Scott McCloud (Author)
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 2,901 ratings
#1 Best Seller in Comics & Graphic Novel History & Prices
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  1. Will Eisner Comic Industry AwardsWinner, 1994
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“Reading Understanding Comics blew my teenage mind, and gave me a toolbox full of ideas that I still use today.” —Raina Telgemeier

The bestselling international classic on storytelling and visual communication.

Praised throughout the cartoon industry by such luminaries as Art Spiegelman, Matt Groening, and Will Eisner, Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics is a seminal examination of comics art: its rich history, surprising technical components, and major cultural significance. Explore the secret world between the panels, through the lines, and within the hidden symbols of a powerful but misunderstood art form.

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  1. Print length
    224 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    William Morrow Paperbacks
  4. Publication date
    April 27, 1994
  5. Reading age
    13 - 17 years
  6. Dimensions
    10.1 x 6.6 x 0.6 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    006097625X
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0060976255
  9. See all details
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Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
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Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
2,901 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book insightful, fun, and readable. They say it's a great summary of the medium and provides great examples.

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InsightReadabilityArt formDepth
151 customers mention "Insight"148 positive3 negative

Customers find the book insightful and a great course on visual storytelling. They say it provides good questions and intriguing answers. Readers also mention the book explores technique and gives a fairly general overview.

"...This is the book to show to someone, who is curious why cartoons are entertaining, and why drawn characters tell more than meets the eye...." Read more

"...This chapter also discusses how comics are subtractive, and lends itself to an excellent lesson whereupon students can draw comics with many pictures..." Read more

"Truly an insightful book that will help you see how profound comics truly are. More than just for kids...a true and important art form." Read more

"...Yes, this book is useful, especially for those with a limited understanding of comics. The advice on flow, pacing, etc is invaluable...." Read more

103 customers mention "Readability"95 positive8 negative

Customers find the book fun, fascinating, and a must-read for those interested in comics. They appreciate the amazing explanations and format that makes everything easy to understand.

"...great because it discusses the history of comics, and some great activities can be done having students think about and search for comics in the..." Read more

"such a great book! a must read for those interested in comics and drawing!..." Read more

"...Fascinating read thus far which goes beyond the boundaries of comics as we understand the term today." Read more

"I purchased the book for a Comic Class and it has been a joy to read." Read more

7 customers mention "Art form"7 positive0 negative

Customers find the book unique, original, and cool. They appreciate the hard work, craftsmanship, and creativity.

"...More than just for kids...a true and important art form." Read more

"...and an amazing essay on determination, hard work, craftsmanship and creativity...." Read more

"...the power of comics as not just a form of storytelling, but a totally unique art form." Read more

"...It's such an original work and a must read for filmmakers! Highly recommend." Read more

5 customers mention "Depth"5 positive0 negative

Customers find the book surprising, informative, and an exploration of the medium. They say it provides great examples of the medium.

"...Its a great summary of the medium and gives great examples of the medium...." Read more

"This book is fabulous. Fun to read. Easy to understand, yet deep enough to make you think." Read more

"...Excellent overview and deep in all the right places." Read more

"Surprisingly Deep..." Read more

Great book but arrived with water damage and wet
4 out of 5 stars
Great book but arrived with water damage and wet
The book itself is great. But I was a bit disappointed when I got it out of the box and the book was damp and water damaged. I can't blame the seller, the box did arrive damaged so I guess fault is more with the mail carrier. Still disappointing when a new book arrives damaged.
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Top reviews from the United States

Adam
5.0 out of 5 stars Metacomic
Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2024
Verified Purchase
I just read it for the experience of reading it. This is the book to show to someone, who is curious why cartoons are entertaining, and why drawn characters tell more than meets the eye.

It’s like opening your eyes and then opening your eyes again, beyond stereotype or bias.
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ParaNormal
5.0 out of 5 stars Great for teaching!
Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2007
Verified Purchase
I purchased this item, along with McCloud's other book Making Comics, to teach a course on comics in English to art students at Cheongju University in South Korea. Both of these books really lend themselves to teaching, each one is divided into chapters which discuss specific comic concepts and elements. Two excellent chapters:

The first chapter in Understanding Comics is great because it discusses the history of comics, and some great activities can be done having students think about and search for comics in the real world and instances of comics in history. This chapter really validates the fact that comics are interesting and useful, rather than just being treated as a 'fake' art or a 'not really real' subject.

Chapter three is excellent because it breaks down transitions not only in American comics, but European and Asian comics as well, and explains his thoughts as to why these differences exist. This allows students to compare the differences and broaden their understanding of how different cultures think differently. This chapter also discusses how comics are subtractive, and lends itself to an excellent lesson whereupon students can draw comics with many pictures, then keep subtracting and combining pictures until they have the miminum number of pictures that tells the gist of their story.

In other chapters: Chapter two discusses word choice and flow in comics, four discusses time, chapter five discusses displaying emotion by using different types of lines (and similarities and differences between comics from different cultures), chapter six discusses how words and ideas complement each other in comics, and chapter seven discusses six steps to making comics.

In my opinion, each book is worth its weight in gold alone for a comic class, but they have a synergistic effect when used in tandem with each other. Concepts from one book flow into the other book, and vice-versa, giving the students in-depth knowledge of both how to make comics and how to understand comics from other authors better. All of the concepts from the chapters can be seen easily in comics online or from newspapers, and so each week I first do the lecture, then use a few examples on the overhead that I have found from other comics, then give the students homework pertaining to the concepts discussed.

Through use of the two books, the students' work is really improving, and it is fun to see them working specifically with each comic element. Each of the concepts discussed in the chapters is a great starting point to get the students' creative juices flowing. I would recommend this book to any teacher or lecturer interested teaching comics at almost any level and to any audience.
11 people found this helpful
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Emma
5.0 out of 5 stars great book, the online version is illegible
Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2024
Verified Purchase
such a great book! a must read for those interested in comics and drawing! unfortunately, I bought the online version first and was very frustrated to find that it is cut off and rotated and therefore unusable. I contacted amazon to get a refund and was denied, so watch out!!!
3 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars More than about COMICS
Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2024
Verified Purchase
Truly an insightful book that will help you see how profound comics truly are. More than just for kids...a true and important art form.
One person found this helpful
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Oliver
4.0 out of 5 stars Useful
Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2024
Verified Purchase
I was required to read this book for multiple comic courses. Yes, this book is useful, especially for those with a limited understanding of comics. The advice on flow, pacing, etc is invaluable. However, because comics are such a complex medium, this book is not the all-or-nothing guide it pretends to be and can even come off as pretentious at times. If you'd like to truly understand comics, observe the comics that you read rather than relying solely on this book.
2 people found this helpful
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RM
5.0 out of 5 stars Short Definition Of Comics
Reviewed in the United States on September 9, 2023
Verified Purchase
Still reading the book, but, had to hit the pause button once I reached page 23, the last page of Chapter One.

Not because I quickly grew bored of the book, rather, my mind refused to process the short definition applied to the term "Comics", i.e., Sequential Art, which is presented at this stage of the book.

After wrestling with the short definition for a couple of minutes, I eventually modified it to " Sequential Imagery" that was later validated (in my mind) by Scott McCoud's definition of an "Icon" which reads, "Any image used to represent a person, place, thing, or idea.".

For me, the term "Art" goes beyond images, i.e., sculptures, performances, music, etc.

Therefore, this book made me think more about the topic which is why I'm giving it five stars.

Fascinating read thus far which goes beyond the boundaries of comics as we understand the term today.
4 people found this helpful
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LiebsFam
5.0 out of 5 stars Genuinely changed the way I read and understand comics
Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2024
Verified Purchase
Fascinating read about the comic book medium. Asks a lot of good questions and provides very intriguing and detailed "answers". Anyone who reads comics or wants to read or write comics should pick this up.
2 people found this helpful
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mitchlaw3
5.0 out of 5 stars Great “book”
Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2024
Verified Purchase
What a pleasant surprise that this book was written using a series of cartoons to communicate cartoons. Brilliant!
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Machuca
5.0 out of 5 stars Concepos basicos para entender la estructura del comic
Reviewed in Mexico on February 2, 2023
Verified Purchase
A manera de comic es un gran libro que presenta las ideas detras de varios conceptos al desarrollar una historia a manera de comic y entender la razon por la cual se colocan paneles en cierto orden, como funciona el tiempo en paneles y el significado de simbolos, onomatopeyas y como explotar estos conceptos en un formato diverso como lo es el comic. Un libro muy recomendable
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Dustin
5.0 out of 5 stars Very enjoyable
Reviewed in Canada on September 7, 2022
Verified Purchase
For any enthusiast of comics or visual story telling. Very informative and enjoyable.
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Matt
5.0 out of 5 stars Ottimo
Reviewed in Italy on January 12, 2024
Verified Purchase
È un libro di teoria che spiega benissimo il concetto del fumetto.
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Arun N
5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome book
Reviewed in India on August 6, 2023
Verified Purchase
This is a master piece for designers who deals with story telling in theat job roles... If designing is your bread and butter then this is a must read..
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Informative in a very different way.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 4, 2023
Verified Purchase
I'm not normally one to write a review, normally I just buy a product at that is it. I am currently undergoing a solo comic book project involving script writing and illustration. I had read good stuff about this book so I bought a copy and I was not disappointed. Reading through, Scott highlighted certain areas that I took a second to realise I had already had these thought processes but not realised. It also opened me up to more information that I was not aware of and taught me things about comics that date way back.I like the idea that this was informative and in the style of a comic, pure genius. 10/10 for me and a brilliant read.
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