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| Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels | 
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| Author: Scott Mccloud
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
Category: Book
List Price: $22.95
Buy New: $11.78
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Avg. Customer Rating:  36 reviews
Sales Rank: 5530
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 10.2 x 6.7 x 0.7
ISBN: 0060780940
Dewey Decimal Number: 741.5
EAN: 9780060780944
ASIN: 0060780940
Publication Date: September 1, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com Review
Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics was published in 1993, just as "Comics Aren't Just for Kids Anymore!" articles were starting to appear and graphic novels were making their way into the mainstream, and it quickly gave the newly respectable medium the theoretical and practical manifesto it needed. With his clear-eyed and approachable analysis--done using the same comics tools he was describing--McCloud quickly gave "sequential art" a language to understand itself. McCloud made the simplest of drawing decisions seem deep with artistic potential. Thirteen years later, following the Internet evangelizing of Reinventing Comics, McCloud has returned with Making Comics. Designed as a craftsperson's overview of the drawing and storytelling decisions and possibilities available to comics artists, covering everything from facial expressions and page layout to the choice of tools and story construction, Making Comics, like its predecessors, is also an eye-opening trip behind the scenes of art-making, fascinating for anyone reading comics as well as those making them. Get a sense of the range of his lessons by clicking through to the opening pages of his book, including his (illustrated, of course) table of contents (warning: large file, recommended for high-bandwidth users):
Product Description
Scott McCloud tore down the wall between high and low culture in 1993 with Understanding Comics, a massive comic book about comics, linking the medium to such diverse fields as media theory, movie criticism, and web design. In Reinventing Comics, McCloud took this to the next level, charting twelve different revolutions in how comics are generated, read, and perceived today. Now, in Making Comics, McCloud focuses his analysis on the art form itself, exploring the creation of comics, from the broadest principles to the sharpest details (like how to accentuate a character's facial muscles in order to form the emotion of disgust rather than the emotion of surprise.) And he does all of it in his inimitable voice and through his cartoon stand–in narrator, mixing dry humor and legitimate instruction. McCloud shows his reader how to master the human condition through word and image in a brilliantly minimalistic way. Comic book devotees as well as the most uninitiated will marvel at this journey into a once–underappreciated art form.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 31 more reviews...
Great for learning the craft of comics (and for classroom use) September 8, 2006
35 out of 37 found this review helpful
"Making Comics" is true to its title -- it's very well suited for folks eager to learn the craft of "making comics." I teach a Sequential Art class at California State University, Fullerton and I have made it a required reading book, because it so solidly articulates the elements of comic art from the perspective of the artist. McCloud has been teaching comics at workshops and guest speaking engagements across the country. His having been in the teacher's seat manifestly helps make his points all the more applicable and meaningful. For instance, McCloud uses examples from comics from around the world (Asian mangas, Eurocomics or BD, Western superheroes and alternative comics) that will resonate with modern audiences who perceive comics as more than the "mainstream" superhero comics. "Making Comics" casts the same clarity and passion that made "Understanding Comics" so compelling, and it is not as speculative as "Reinventing Comics." Readers of "Understanding Comics" may find that "Making Comics" covers a lot of the same ground, and that is inevitable (so if you are more into analyzing comics rather than making your own, "Understanding Comics" is for you). In a nutshell, Making Comics is a solid starting point for budding and eager comic artists!
For any fan of comics (even if you can't draw) November 24, 2006
27 out of 32 found this review helpful
When it comes to artwork, I am at the stick figure level. My talents for making visual art, whether painter, comic book artist or whatever, are, at best minimal. At first glance, therefore, it might seem that I am not the right audience for a book like Scott McCloud's Making Comics. I am, however, a long-time comic book fan. The advantage to Making Comics for a drawing layman like myself is the same as watching a "making of" documentary of a movie (or listening to a DVD commentary). You gain a better understanding of what you are looking at.
Unlike a painting, comic strip writing is a sequential art, a depiction of a series of pictures that, typically with text, tell a story. McCloud gets into the narrative aspects of comics writing immediately with a chapter on writing with pictures in which he discusses how the sequence of pictures (or panels) typically relate to each other. For example, panels can go from moment-to-moment, depicting a single action as a series of moments (like showing a baseball player swinging a bat. A different panel transition is action-to-action, showing a subject doing a series of actions (panel one shows the player hitting the ball, two shows him running, three shows his sliding, etc.). Besides these choices of moment, there are also choices of frame (essentially, point of view), choice of image, choice of word and choice of flow.
McCloud also goes into how to draw people, how to blend word and picture, how to build worlds, and, in the only chapter that is really specific to actual artists, what the tools of the trade are. There is a lot in this book, and it's all told with McCloud's easy going narrative where a depiction of himself guides us through all the ideas.
Part of the magic of comics is the way the reader's mind fills in the gaps, an idea that McCloud first introduced in Understanding Comics. With a couple dots and a line, we can see a face. When we see two panels, one showing a player swinging at a ball, the next with him making contact, we "see" the motion even if it's not really there. Similarly, we feel like it is actually McCloud talking to us, even if it's really just a picture of him (and making is nothing like what he really looks like).
In short, this is a brilliant book. I am not a huge fan of Reinventing Comics, but Understanding Comics is a classic and this book follows right in its footsteps. If you enjoy comic books (or comic strips), this book is a must-read, even if you can't draw.
The Great McCloud Comics Trilogy- 3 of the Best-Ever December 12, 2006
25 out of 26 found this review helpful
Want 3 of the best-ever books on the general topic of comics? Here they are! (each generally sold separately)
1.*Understanding Comics- A *landmark* & bestselling examination of the medium. A comicbook on comics! While I try not to use the "genius" label *too* liberally, with Understanding Comics it really seems to fit(!). 5 Stars!
2.*Reinventing Comics- Maybe his best *looking* book (in my opinion), it's basically split into 2 sections: The 12 Revolutions in comics; and then basic Internet/Computer/Web Comics. It's the least popular & practical in the Trilogy, yet I still really like it! 4-1/2 Stars.
3.*Making Comics- It's like Understanding Comics refined, as well as a "hands-on" introduction to the medium. It's the thickest book of the three, dealing with the most critical questions involved in the comics creating process. Since making comics basically means writing with pictures, McCloud begins with this. How many panels do we need? What should they contain? What's the clearest way to communicate our ideas? He first helps us with these things, and then moves to our real center of interest: characters! How to create and illustrate interesting characters is a central theme throughout. Once we establish our pictures & characters, words can be added to complete our ideas. He explains various ways to do this, basically refining his ideas in Understanding Comics. Perspective is only barely touched upon here; most books similarly briefly mention it. He explains that it's a difficult yet necessary part of the picturemaking process, and that it can actually be quite fun(!). He also touches on eastern/western differences in comics, explaining how & why Japanese methods are still gaining in influence. Common materials & equipment professionals use, as well as common philosophical approaches are included. It's basically Understanding Comics made even more practical & clear- with many added hints, tips, and tricks along the way. It competes with that 1st title for most popular in the Trilogy, and it's highly recommended to anyone who wants to make comics! ! I like it! 5 Stars.
In conclusion: The 1st is genius; the 2nd is fascinating; the 3rd is highly refined- get this great McCloud comics trilogy today!
Disagree with review below--this is a remarkable book! October 3, 2006
9 out of 11 found this review helpful
The previous reviewer accuses Scott McCloud of lacking the authority to write a guide to making comics. But McCloud's book is based on clear demonstration, not on authority.
McCloud does a remarkable job of showing--not just telling--the reader about how details of characters' expressions and body language reflect their mental states, how different "camera angles" and types of panels control the flow of the narrative, how the way an environment is presented affects our relationship to it, and more.
Reading the book, I encountered insight after insight about things that I had noticed intuitively about comics but never really been conscious of.
 The Robert McKee of Comics January 4, 2007
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
Scott McCloud has distilled the content from his previous two works (Understanding and Reinventing Comics) into one very accessible graphic novel. If a person is more interested in comic language, I suggest reading "Understanding Comics". It provides a framework for analyzing the comics form and is more intellectually stimulating. "Making Comics" has wide appeal and is perfect for younger folks with interest in using the medium to produce comics. Most of all it's a fun read.
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