An Introduction to Understanding Comics
Scott McCloud’s book “Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art” was originally published in 1993. An immediate critical and commercial success, it went on to become the most widely cited book about comics. Among comics scholars, McCloud’s opus is both beloved and widely debated. 1/10
The title references Marshall McLuhan’s 1964 book “Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man.” McCloud takes inspiration from McLuhan’s description of comics as a participatory medium. And like McLuhan, McCloud is interested in addressing artists & intellectuals as well as the public at large. 2/10
The rhetorical genius of McClouds book is that he practices what he preaches, communicating ideas about comics in the form of a comic. Part memoir, part instructional book, part analytical treatise, “Understanding Comics” is wide-ranging & challenging yet consistently accessible & engaging. 3/10
McCloud embraces a common piece of advice given to both writers and teachers in his insistence on showing instead of (and/or alongside of) telling. Narratively, argumentatively, and formally embracing the participatory power of comics, McCloud involves readers in a journey of discovery. 4/10
And while different readers have different takeaways, educators who use “Understanding Comics” as a teaching tool routinely report students marveling at its accessibility and the concept at its core—that comics & cartoons have far more depth & complexity than our culture commonly acknowledges. 5/10
McCloud’s influential concepts include the theory of “amplification through simplification,” whereby readers project themselves into simplified cartoon images. McCloud argues that this projection/identification is a central component of comics’ unique appeal. 6/10
McCloud also presents a comics-specific theory of “closure,” which explains the participatory nature of the medium; because comics are composed of fragments, readers must “close the gap” across the gutters. This theory has been widely embraced and continually debated by comics scholars. 7/10
The continued ubiquity of “Understand Comics” as a teaching tool and, for many readers who will never read another book about comics, the definitive statement on how comics work, has sometimes frustrated critics & scholars, who have written voluminously about the book’s strengths & weaknesses. 8/10
In 1998, noted comics scholar Charles Hatfield prophetically wrote: “Understanding Comics will be cited, over & over, as the ‘seminal’ yet ‘problematic’ Understanding Comics, the ‘provocative’ yet ‘flawed’ Understanding Comics, the indispensable yet dangerously seductive Understanding Comics.” 9/10
But as Hatfield underscores, any flaws “Understanding Comics” might have are indivisible from its strengths. Our forthcoming series of threads will revisit the book’s core concepts alongside considerations of its legacy within historical & contemporary comics scholarship. Stay tuned! 10/10