Understanding Comics

What can I say? I am a sucker for the comic book medium and books that make you appreciate the medium are  great in my book.  I can't believe I never read this book until I mentioned it to Dark Noldor. I am not sure if it came off as me recommending it as a way to understand the medium, because at that time I did not read it.  I just panicked when he asked how do I know so much about the medium and if I was a pro.  I am not a pro, I wish I was paid to review, but I do it out of love for the medium.  I happen to learn a lot about the medium the hard way, meaning reading a wide variety of books related to the medium and just asking questions to pros at cons and just digesting everything I can.  I'll save you all the trouble if you want to Understand Comics.  Scott McCloud's "Understanding Comics" really is a great manual of the medium.  I finally finished it, so I can honestly recommend it now.  There are a lot of great things Scott does with this book.  He really does break down the medium.  He does this in 9 chapters:
 
I was the one who updated the wiki, so I don't feel guilty using the wiki article in this review.  Click the *Spoiler Warning*  if you want to open the content of the 9 Chapters.
What I really like about this book is that it must be something that inspired Grant Morrison. The book is called "Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art" and Morrison's series to explain metaphysics and Magick is called " The Invisibles".  The word "Invisible" is the theme here.  I think that is what comics are, an invisible balance of pictures and words to create a new language we see, but can't really see.  I know that doesn't sound like it makes sense, but it is like how in a really good read like Watchmen, there is so much information being received that it is both words and pictures your mind is deciphering.  Comics is a magical language that many people have forgotten and/or never learned how to properly read.  This BOOK is a great stroll to that knowledge.  
 
I will warn you that if you NEED superheroes in a book, this one has some, but they are not used in those shallow superficial ways of the 90s tights era.  This comic uses as many examples of everything to explain comics.  It is a wonderful book for those who really want to Understand Comics.
 
Cheers!
- Silkcuts

Scott McCloud was a comic creator's comic creator throughout the 1980s. His series Zot! won numerous industry awards, including 4 Harvey Awards and 8(!) Eisner Awards.

But Zot! is not McCloud's greatest contribution to the comics field. That would be his comprehensive tome on the medium written in the medium. With chapters covering everything from the history of comics to the meaning of symbols, composition to color, it is a well thought-out, well-executed, well-organized volume that is not only one of the best analysis on comics ever written (and illustrated), but one of the best books on art theory (of any type) written in the 20th Century.

It's mostly objective, but when it is subjective, the author always alerts the reader. And, while I don't agree with McCloud on everything (such as what constitutes a comic, origins of the medium, etc.), I cannot deny that even when I disagree with his assessments, his point of view always remains well-reasoned in its subjectivity.

Bottom line - it's a comic about comics, and a damn good one.