Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels

by Scott McCloud

Paperback, 2006

Status

Available

Call number

741.5

Series

Understanding Comics (3)

Genres

Graphic Novels and Comics

Comics

Graphic Novels

Manga

Publication

William Morrow Paperbacks (2006), Edition: 8.6.2006, 272 pages

Description

"Magnificent! The best how-to manual ever published." -- Kevin Kelly, Cool Tools 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. Both comic book devotees and the uninitiated will marvel at this journey into a once-underappreciated art form.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member neontapir

If you *ever* had interest in drawing a comic, this book is a must!

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LibraryThing member Terpsichoreus

I really enjoy Scott McCloud. He is insightful and funny and his analytic method is always useful in dissection of concept. I find that the conscientious author tends to be the superior author, and for this reason, McCLoud is indispensable.

Another thing that is refreshing about McCloud is that he

takes the medium very seriously, and reminds us, as creators, that we have a responsibility to the art to do everything we can with it, and not simply accept the given standards.

In a lot of ways, this book feels like an update of Understanding Comics, but with a greater mindfulness of the creator, and less for the pure history and development of the art. 'Making Comics' is an inspirational work which avoids treading the ground of other 'how to's, instead focusing on asking 'how might you'?

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LibraryThing member questbird

As one of the few readers who actually enjoyed Scott McCloud's 'Reinventing Comics' more than 'Understanding Comics', I was excited about this book. It does not disappoint. McCloud describes all sorts of techniques for telling a story in comic form, in an engaging and tight manner. The notes

sections for each chapter are just as interesting as the chapters (though not in comic format). A tip of the hat to 'Reinventing Comics' is found in chapter '5 and a half', which is located online. I find McCloud's ideas about online comics very interesting.*

A couple of parts of the book didn't work so well for me. In the tools and techniques chapter I would like to have seen a bit more about process, scriptwriting, and comics industry roles. I also found the classification of the the various comics artists in the comics culture section a bit unrealistic and unhelpful.

Overall though, the book is full of great tips about how to improve the presentation of your story in comics format. A great read.

* Notably McCloud's earlier Flash-based effort at producing an online comic has aged far more than the Zot! online, which uses only graphical elements in a simple downward-scrolling web page. Online comics artists, beware of proprietary file formats for your creations!

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LibraryThing member EstamosUnidos

In Reinventing Comics, McCloud took this to the next level, charting twelve different revolutions in how comics are generated, read, and perceived today.

LibraryThing member Andreawallin

Reaction: Wow! A similar reading experience to Understanding Comics, I couldn’t put this informational book down! The entire text is written in a cartoon format, helping the reader immerse herself into the comic book world, and fully understand McCloud’s teaching points. Any teen or adult would

find this text fascinating and very useful, especially if pursuing an art career.

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LibraryThing member Warnerp

Won the 2007 Quill Award and the 2007 ALA Great Graphic Novels for Teens Award. Brilliant blend of written text and visuals. Each chapter begins with about a page of written text info to set it up, and ends with written text notes and exercises for the reader, but in between is the graphic novel

format to explain all the details of the comic writing process.

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LibraryThing member sylliu

This is the third in a series of massive comic books about the art and theory of comic books, following Understanding Comics (1993) and Reinventing Comics (2001). In this book, Mr. McCloud sets out to provide the bedrock principles for making great comics: clarity and communication (including five

choices a comic artist must make - moment, frame, image, word, and flow); connecting to readers through character design, facial expressions, and body language; the power of combining words with pictures; world building; tools, techniques, and technology; and understanding different genres. He ingeniously accomplishes all this through the comic medium itself, inventively illustrating his points and referring to other comic artists, past and present. One particularly intriguing part of the book was the discussion on how manga differs from Western comics (with its use of iconic characters, frequent use of wordless panels, strong sense of place, subjective motion, and genre maturity), and how it has influenced current artists. The selected bibliography also provides a great starting point for excellent technical books on drawing comics and more information on manga.

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LibraryThing member akmargie

Interesting to learn more about what makes comic art good or bad. Very informative.

LibraryThing member maxwestart

Building upon his theories within Understanding Comics, Scott McCloud gives a look into the art of making comics in this tome.

He breaks it apart by reviewing storytelling, panels, use of words and dialogue, character designs, facial expression, and much more.

This book is a must-have for anyone

wanting to make comics. Reading his earlier books is helpful but not required.

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LibraryThing member jonbrammer

McCloud's series explaining the ways of graphic storytelling is an invaluable resource for anyone wanting to teach, create, or discuss comics and graphic novels. Understanding Comics is more about theory of visual art; Making Comics is a primer on technique. Regardless, I found the vocabulary /

terminology useful if you want to teach visual analysis. I also really appreciated the sections on manga, which goes into the genre's history and web of influences.

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LibraryThing member mimo

After reading Scott McCloud’s Making Comics I have a much deeper appreciation for artists who produce comic books, manga, and graphic novels. There is the story to be told, drawings to illustrate, and dialogue to create… all with style. McCloud, a comic book artist with over twenty years under

his belt, has written a guide for aspiring comic book artists in creating their own works – and he has largely done so humorously in comic book form. Discusses unique use of panels to tell a story, tools of the trade, perspective drawing, and special tricks to deliver the message. Includes many examples from other artists. Very well annotated and glossed, including art credits, bibliography and recommended reading. Although I have no illusions of drawing comics myself, I have much better understanding of how to read them, what to notice, and above all, better appreciate the talent this book form requires.

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