![]() ![]() ![]() Comics may even be more inclusive than other forms, as the language of comics is the language of the modern world. Page after page he convincingly argues comics belong in the same inner circle as other high art forms, including art considered vulgar upon its first appearance, such as film and jazz. His belief in comics’ power and universality is unshakeable. There’s nothing sheepish to be found in Understanding Comics-McCloud is not merely comic’s Aristotle, he’s one of its best ambassadors. While Zot! was a success in the 1980s, its reputation has not swollen over time, as evidenced by McCloud’s sheepish preface to a 2008 reprint. ![]() McCloud is an unlikely “Aristotle of comics.” Prior to Understanding Comics he was best-known for Zot!, a lighthearted superhero comic book series which introduced many American readers to the tropes and style of Japanese manga. Others have attacked the subject, but none come close to McCloud’s exhaustive treatment. Published in 1993, the book remains the definitive work on comics theory a quarter century later. The text I’m speaking of is Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art. This is the first time I’ve written about a text on critical theory-and it may be the best lit crit book I’ve ever encountered. So far in this series, about half of the books I’ve discussed have been nonfiction and the other half fiction. See the “Twenty Writers, Twenty Books” home page for more information on this series as well as a list of other reviews and essays ![]()
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