iFanboy - Episode #66: Understanding Comics

Exploring Scott McLoud's definitive work on understanding how comics are constructed, the practice and procedures, and how to read them.

If you're not entirely clear on how these comic books work, iFanboy has got a show for you. Ron, Josh, and Conor delve into Scott McCloud's seminal work, Understanding Comics, which is far more interesting than it might at first seem. Get a look at McCloud's interesting, yet academic take on what exactly a comic book is, how it works, and why the art form is so effective and unique. You may not have thought you needed to read this book, but you'll be surprised at how much you didn't know about comics.

Then, after he was sure you understood comics, McCloud went on to make Reinventing Comics, and then Making Comics.

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Comments

really great show, guys. i always see this book at the barnes and nobles near my house and never bother to read it. now I'm intrigued.

Oh, and give Ron his map!

Posted by mypistola on 04/19/08 at 02:36 PM

I read Understanding Comics a few years ago and it completely changed my views on reading and creating comics. I'm currently reading Making Comics and it's really awesome too. Very inspirational and informative. I'm glad you guys covered this.

Posted by bearnhart on 04/19/08 at 05:57 PM

Well iFanboy, I'm slightly disappointed by this. I strongly, strongly reccommend Comics and Sequential Art by Will Eisner. I read Understanding Comics last semester in my Graphic Novels as Literature class, and while I agree that a lot of what in this book are worthwhile, I knew a lot of it already.

That said, the giant triangle of faces was probably one of the coolest things I've ever seen. But read Comics & Sequential Art by Eisner.

Posted by jestergoblin on 04/20/08 at 02:03 AM

No offence to you guys who make the show, but I definitely wont be reading these books. They sound like they would be a great text book for aspiring comic creators or someone studying literature ... but I am neither of these things.

Metaphysics? Graphs? Not my personal idea of a good time.

Posted by WadeWilson on 04/20/08 at 09:46 AM

Great show this week. I remember my literature text book in high school had a decent size excerpt from the Understanding Comics book. Unfortunately my teacher didn't think it was very important to go over it in class. Of course that didn't stop me from reading it.

Posted by Vincent86 on 04/20/08 at 01:24 PM

Well ... this is funny.

I'm working on my bachelor-project and it's a comparison between space, time and movement in PERSEPOLIS the comic book and PERSEPOLIS the cartoon. I'm using McCloud (and applying his claims with a much needed perceptional psycological backbone). I have about a week left, and I wanted a break from it all, so I go to Ifanboy.com for the weekly show --- and what's it about?? ....McCloud.

I'm being punished.

Anyways - great show as always. Making Comics is also a really good book going in to more detail than Understanding Comics. You should do a similar show on Will Eisners 'Sequential Art' as a follow-up some time, eh?

Cheers, from Denmark.

- Kim

Posted by Kim on 04/21/08 at 05:02 AM