Reinventing Comics: How Imagination And Technology Are Revolutionizing An Art Form

Highly recommended!

A definite must have for comic book lovers and those who study contemporary arts. I also recommend Understanding Comics by the same author.

excellent price for this item + delivered on time

There is not much more that can be said. I learnt a lot from McLoud's books and this one is as good as the others: 5 STARS, from first to last page. Some had already tried (hardly) to copy this amazing style, with no success - they need to study a lot to get close. If you love comics (or sequential art, if you prefer), if you know nothing about, if you know a lot, if you are not in any of these categories, whatever is the case, BUY and READ this book. You'll love it for the learning it provides and for the simple amusement of reading it.

A lively discussion on how the comics business might respond to change; perceptive and well-informed. I always love discussing the business side of illustration and publishing but as an illustrator I realise that there’s little that I can do to influence the way things are going. So I’m looking forward to ‘Making Comics’, the final title in the ‘Understanding Comics’ trilogy, which relates more to my everyday experience. ‘Reinventing Comics’ has given me a historical perspective to the possibilities of the medium.

I am a big fan of Scott McCloud. 'Understanding Comics' Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art should be, if it isn't already; a standard textbook for design students on how comics work and how to make the best use of the media. You can also find McCloud on TED talks giving an inspiring lecture that hints on the book reviewed here. Sadly this book falls short on that first book. To be fair, it was published sometime ago (2007) and tech has moved on enormously in that time (Written before the smartphone and the tablet junior!) and book that theorises on tech is going to take a beating and McCloud certainly got a lot right in quite a few places. But looking from 2014, it's sadly in need of a serious re-write on the tech side. As for the other material it feels like a sequel. This is the stuff that didn't make it to Understanding comics, or it expands on material there. It fills some holes and McCloud's enthusiasm come across as always. But after stripping out the outdated technology there's quite a lot gone and I think that at the end of the day perhaps re-inventing comics needs to be re-invented itself. Should be three stars, but four because he's still a giant.

Very much more for the comic artist than someone just interested in comics (unlike 'Understanding Comics', which is for anyone in any way interested in comics). It is also extremely dated, as one would expect of a book making predictions about the future of computers and the internet in 2000. For all that, though, there are some interesting ideas, particularly regarding how the form of comics can change to meet the possibilities of computers and the internet while remaining comics.

Reinventing Comics has one strength that makes it timeless: Scott McCloud systematically explains what was wrong with the comics that were created through the end of the 20th century. When he switches over to what's needed to overcome those issues, the book becomes more idealistic than practical in many areas. The book is particularly hobbled by a limited appreciation of how comics might blur with (and be surpassed by) electronic gaming. His basic optimism is that the comics genre can expand to satisfy more readers' needs by: 1. Becoming more like literature. 2. Developing as an art form. 3. Providing creators with more rights. 4. Changing the industry business model to serve everyone's needs better 5. Improving public image. 6. Reducing the heavy hand of governmental overview. 7. Appeal to females. 8. Represent all kinds of people. 9. Diversify in subgenres. 10. Employing improved digital production methods. 11. Providing digital delivery. 12. Exploring the potential of digital comics. Basically, he sees escaping the box of limited distribution by providing online, direct distribution. This method is potentially cheaper and could provide for more creators while eliminating many intermediaries. I suspect that some of his optimism will be "over the rainbow" for quite a while yet. It's interesting that even the blockbuster success of so many comic-based characters hasn't helped to reinvigorate the comics business more. I think that's where he doesn't realize that in a world of video, comics seem dated and static. Will comics go the way of high art and become something primarily for older aficionados? I doubt it. Comics are like candy to boys of a certain age. Comics help them to dream. Can comics go beyond that heritage? It's possible, but is it likely? Books like this one will have to do more than point the way: Breakthrough success is needed to draw an audience and more inspired creators. I hope Mr. McCloud is right. I still like comics.

Scott's comic tutorial series is a classic and must be recommended to those around me interested in comics and animation. Really a lot of the rules and tutorials can be applied to storyboarding or just general art techniques.

So... What now? In these uncertain times in that the beloved "editorial paper" world is crumbling and falling apart, what we, poor comic creators, must do in order to spread our loveworks to the world? Well, Scott McCloud have all the answers, and they are full of bits and pixels. Just the way it's meant to be.

Very useful for understanding the history of comics and new ways of writing comics now and into the future.

Un "must have" para cualquier fan de los cómics junto con los otros dos de Scott McCloud, Understanding Comics y Making Comics

Scott McCloud è l'autore di Understanding comics, un libro molto importante sul fumetto, sul suo valore come arte, sulle sue `regole', sul processo creativo del fumetto. In Reinventing comics affronta un tema sempre più importante, e cioè la rivoluzione telematica e le trasformazioni che questa sta imponendo sul fumetto stesso. Rispetto al libro precedente questo è più `politico', perché affronta l'aspetto industriale del fumetto come forma d'arte, la percezione sociale e politico-giuridica dello stesso, ed i problemi che derivano dalla forma attuale di produzione-distribuzione del fumetto (i costi fan sì che ci si concentri su certi temi main-stream, finendo per produrre fumetti `maschili' e `maggioritarî', solo su pochi generi). L'idea di McCloud è che l'artista sia tale solo se riesce a dire qualcosa che esce dal si-è-sempre-fatto-così, perché il `consueto', l'`industriale' è, alla fine, la morte della diversità, dell'ispirazione. Il problema è, però, quello di trovare il proprio pubblico. Se questo era, prima -nel mondo del fumetto di carta- difficile, l'avvento di internet lo rende invece possibile. Non solo, visto che questo mercato è potenzialmente enorme, questo potrebbe definire i contorni di un mondo completamente nuovo. Reinventare i fumetti, allora, perché il modo attuale di concepirli (vignette contenute in una pagina, ad es., in un medium cartaceo) può essere trasformato, ha sempre meno ragion d'essere, può essere migliore. E qui McCloud passa anche a fare una rassegna di qualche tentativo di reinventare il fumetto, con i suoi pro e contro. Libro estremamente interessante sulle prospettive future, attuale nonostante l'industria abbia preso delle strade differenti da quelle proposte. Un libro sul futuro, per il futuro.