Dr. T Loves Books's Reviews > Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art

Jul 2020 re-read: This is still an amazing guide to deciphering the many layers and intricacies of the deceptively simple comic / graphic novel format. This re-read was preparation for writing curriculum for a middle school elective class, "Graphic Novels: Seeing the Bigger Picture", a class meant to help students (and through them, their parents and teachers) understand that graphic novels are not a "lesser" form of reading - and that, in fact, our brains need to do a whole lot of work to decipher the information presented in these works.

The work definitely shows its age a bit in places - this is a very white-male-centric view of comics. But the ideas are thoughtful and thought-provoking, and are far beyond anything I might have come up with on my own. McCloud displays an intellect, in addition to his depth of knowledge, that is very impressive!

2018:
McCloud's graphic "novel" about the art of comics and graphic novels is very interesting and insightful. It made me realize some things about comics I had never really considered before. He does a very admirable job of arguing that comics can be much more than people in tights punching each other, and he provides an interesting and engaging breakdown of the key artistic elements that are employed in the creation of comics. The deceptively-simple comic becomes something much deeper when analyzed carefully, as McCloud has done quite successfully here. Well worth the read by those who love comics, and particularly by those who see comics as "low" art or a waste of time.