About this title: This is an exploration of the history, meaning, and art of comics and cartooning. Using comics to examine the medium itself, the author takes the form of a cartoon character and explains the structure, meaning, and appeal of comics, and provides a running analysis of comics as art, literature, and communication. He reaches back to pre-Columbus picture manuscripts and Egyptian monuments to trace the history of the comics and examines their place in today's pop culture.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
Date Published: 4/27/1994
ISBN-13:9780060976255ISBN:006097625X
Description: Fine. 006097625X Ships next business day. NEW/UNREAD BOOK! ! ! Text is Clean and Unmarked! ! ! --Be Sure to Compare Seller Feedback and Ratings before Purchasing--Has a small black line on the bottom/exterior edge of pages. May have light shelf wear to cover from storage, if any. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
Date Published: 1994
ISBN-13:9780060976255ISBN:006097625X
Description: Good. Used item may show library stamps, stickers and marks. Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Kitchen Sink Pr
Date Published: 1994-04-01
ISBN-13:9780060976255ISBN:006097625X
Description: NEW. Softcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9780060976255. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS INC Country = UNITED STATES
Date Published: 1994
ISBN-13:9780060976255ISBN:006097625X
Description: BRAND NEW PAPERBACK. 224 pages. (224 pages) a look at the history, meaning, and art of comics and cartooning. using comics to examine the medium itself, the author takes the form of a cartoon character and explains the structure, meaning, and appeal of comics, and provides a running analysis of comics as art, literature, and communication. b&w cartoons throughout, 7pp colour illustrations (Paperback) read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Harper Perennial, New York
Date Published: 1994
ISBN-13:9780060976255ISBN:006097625X
Description: Good. No Jacket-As Issued. Arts. First HarperPerennial Edition; reprint of Kitchen Sink book. Illustrated, laminated soft cover wraps; lamination is starting to lift on front; several bumps and dimples on wraps. Inside front cover and ffep are very soiled; otherwise pages are clear and unmarked. Binding is clean and tight. 215 pages. 4to-over 9¾"-12" tall. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Kitchen Sink Press
Date Published: 1993
ISBN-13:9780878162444ISBN:0878162445
Description: Fine. First edition. 655 of 750 signed and numbered copies. Signature and number is on a signed bookplate on front free end page. Book in new condition with visable marks or damage. read more
Description: Good. Used-Good Sorry, CD missing. Rep May contain highlighting/underlining/notes/etc. May have used stickers on cover. Ships same or next day. Expedited shipping takes 2-3 business days; standard shipping takes 4-14 business days. read more
Description: NOT an ex-library, remainder or bookclub copy. 216 pages, 0.6 x 6.8 x 10.2 inches tall. Stated 2nd printing. Glossy pictorial wraps. Well illustrated w/ b&w comic-book drawings. Very Good, straight & tight, clean & bright trade paperback w/ no marks, bumps or excessive wear (superficial shelfwear; ghost crease to top front fore-edge corner, else superficial corner wear; super-clean textblock edges; interior As-New w/ no marks). Editorial Review: A comic book about comic books. McCloud, in an ... read more
Description: Acceptable. Used-Acceptable. Not perfect, but still usable for class. Ships same or next day. Expedited shipping takes 2-3 business days; standard shipping takes 4-14 business days. read more
"I never had any intention of taking the graphic-novel class here at Brown, but I had every intention of taking my roommate's textbooks for class and reading them on my own time. I hadn't gotten around to it yet when my playwriting professor assigned a big, photocopied chunk of this to us for reading - "Though it's about comics," he said, "there's a lot to be learned here for playwrights, too."
I decided just to read the whole book, since my friend Momo had also read it and recommended it enthusiastically. I certainly liked it - it was clear and concise, funny but not overly so, and really made me think about the nature of comics in a different way. The reason I'm giving this three rather than four stars is that it felt a little weak on the content side - McCloud spends so much time trying to prove that comics are a real art form that there's not much room left for exploring it. I enjoyed this, but don't know how much practical information I'm actually walking away with. The title here is "Understanding Comics", but I feel like my understanding of comics was merely augmented rather than completed, as McCloud never seems to decide whether he wants to focus on comics' history or the differences in international styles or why comics matter at all. Nonetheless, this was a quick-enough read that it was fully worth what I got out of it: some interesting explorations of time between scenes--valuable information for anyone crafting a story--and the relationship between icons, art, and language."
"What a fantastic introduction to the art of comics. Scott McCloud's work sets a new benchmark in comic art appreciation. The highly esteemed reputation this book enjoys is richly deserved. The tools he describes like the art pyramid and panel-to-panel types are a great place to start for comics critique and analysis. His explanation of the "invisible art" between panels, what he calls closure, is the clearest I've seen. I'd like to have seen more about how closure is different from say what Jacques Lacan calls suture.
McCloud's knowledge of Eastern and Western social differences illuminate how that translated into their comic art. The Eastern idea of "being" versus the Western emphasis on goals and "doing" impacted the medium of comics in ways I hadn't appreciated till McCloud pointed them out.
The closing chapters on the path that a comic book writer/artist takes had a poignancy that I never expected from a work like this. I teared up a bit when McCloud described the artist that doesn't have the skill or passion to make it far along the path before giving up. I feel like he could have built a whole new book just around that chapter.
I think the only flaw may be when he tries to nail down what art is. He defines art by what two things it is not. The description is so broad that it doesn't really add much and invites the reader to find exceptions. His discussion of representation versus symbols is perfect and trying to place them in this vague definition of art is not necessary."
"This book is amazing. I never thought i would like comics, but this book truly turned me on to the art-form. i have always read comics as one would read a normal storyline, as i would read a novel. THe psychology of the art form, the way that we process the pictures in the frame and how we move between the frames, the omitted space, this all works into our processing of the story line. McCloud details the history of comics as an art, its juxtaposition of pictures with words in order to give an enlivened story, or as he defines it, "juxtaposed pictorical and other images in deliberate sequence." He ties the comic tradition to both eastern and western culture, how they mix every once in a while and aspects of the framework of each culture collide (west is about action, east is about scene--for instance). I'm dumbing this way down, because i'm in a hurry. I'll probably give a more fulfilling review some other time. All i can say is that i would recommend this to adults, teens, the age brackets of 12-16 will read this differently than 18-30 year olds, and 30-58 year olds. But all can find different value in this book. It's simple, wise and clear."
"I love the idea of this conversation more than I love the application--at least in this book. While I find the concepts themselves fascinating, I found the book tedious. The overall art and style employed by McCloud just wasn't compelling to me. I really struggled to finish this book.
But as I said, the conversation is a good one, and the concepts explored--particularly the role of the reader and the required brain work involved in reading comics--were interesting. I'm glad this book is out there. I just wish I personally enjoyed it more."
We guarantee every item's condition, as described on Alibris. If you are not satisfied that an item is as described, return your purchase for a refund.
rating
