'Understanding Comics'.
Scott McCloud is an American comic artist and theorist. Among his main graphic influences were Will Eisner, Jack Kirby, Art Spiegelman and Jim Woodring .
After receiving his Bachelor of Fine Arts in illustration from Syracuse University, he created his lighthearted comic strip 'Zot!'. It was published by Eclipse Comics from 1984 to 1990 and won several prizes. Subsequent comics include 'Destroy!!' and 'The New Adventures of Abraham Lincoln', as well as the writing of DC's 'Superman Adventures' and 'Superman: Strength'.
'Zot!'.
McCloud is best known as the creator of 'Understanding Comics' (1993), the most influential study on comics since Will Eisner's 'Comics and Sequential Art'. What's more, 'Understanding Comics' is a comic itself, so actually it is nicer, easier, more understandable and illustrative than Eisner's classic work. Accessible and intelligent, 'Understanding Comics' stands as the best publication on the medium to date.
'Reinventing Comics'.
In the spring of 2000, Scott McCloud's second book on comics was published: 'Reinventing Comics'. In this equally comprehensive work, he debates the future and possibilities of the comic genre. Finally, in 2006, he released 'Making Comics'. His long awaited graphic novel 'The Sculptor' was released by First Second Books in 2015.
'The Sculptor'.
McCloud was additionally one of the early promoters of webcomics and the principal author of the 1988 Creator's Bill of Rights, in order to protect the rights of comic book creators. He is also the originator of 24-Hour Comics Day, an annual event in which comic book authors finish a complete 24-page comic book in 24 hours.
McCloud's 'Understanding Comics' has received praise from Margreet de Heer and Matt Groening. Another celebrity fan is novelist and poet Austin Kleon, who named 'Understanding Comics' one of his favorite books of all time and "the world's coolest visual communication textbook." 'Understanding Comics' has even been satirized by Kurt Wolfgang in the anthology book 'Low Jinks 2' (2000).
'Understanding Comics'.