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rebeccacider's review
4.0
Reinventing Comics is a fascinating look at the evolution of comics and digital media in the Internet age. McCloud was incredibly prescient, and despite its age this book still has important things to say about what comics and technology can do for storytellers.
I only identified one topics that McCloud, and many others, were dead wrong about: the rise of novel forms of data visualization. I mean, don't get me wrong, data visualization is huge, but mostly using visual metaphors similar to those that existed before the computer age. Very few people are doing, say, this any more: http://visuwords.com/grey
As a librarian, I'm fascinated by these applications of new media, but can't decide how much promise spatial visualization has for conveying ideas. Partner and I were discussing the subject and decided that learning new spatial metaphors is just plain hard. For instance, it requires effort to learn how to read maps, just like comics (or computer screens).
I only identified one topics that McCloud, and many others, were dead wrong about: the rise of novel forms of data visualization. I mean, don't get me wrong, data visualization is huge, but mostly using visual metaphors similar to those that existed before the computer age. Very few people are doing, say, this any more: http://visuwords.com/grey
As a librarian, I'm fascinated by these applications of new media, but can't decide how much promise spatial visualization has for conveying ideas. Partner and I were discussing the subject and decided that learning new spatial metaphors is just plain hard. For instance, it requires effort to learn how to read maps, just like comics (or computer screens).
spiffysarahruby's review
4.0
This was an interesting read for being so old (23 years at my reading). It was so out of date in some cases it made me smile. I'd really like to see McCloud write another book about the state of comics and graphic novels today.
howiedoowinfam's review against another edition
challenging
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
raloveridge's review
4.0
Very interesting; I'm a fan of McCloud's other work, and this was no disappointment. If anything, I wish he'd come out with another book, since a full decade has passed since he wrote Reinventing Comics, and some of what he touched on is majorly outdated by now. He's a smart guy with lots of good ideas about what technology can do for all kinds of art forms--very cool book.
mjfmjfmjf's review
3.0
A fine lecture in comic form. But I can't say I retained nearly as much as in the first book. In the second half is captured the moment of time as digital comics was taking off. So we get kind of a thin history of the Internet, which really I was already familiar with. As with the author's other books that I've read, this is a fantastic work of the media. But it was more the content I was after and this is somewhat lacking. That said, there was a lot in the first half so perhaps upon discussion, I'll have a somewhat different opinion. Much of what was in the first half has been said before - but it is likely that this book is the earliest I'd seen it in print.
ashleylm's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting, but dated, but interesting because of that--he was certainly ahead of many in imagining ways computers/the internet could change things. Though as deftly handled, the subject of this book wasn't nearly as compelling to me as his earlier Understanding Comics, and I would probably have survived nicely if I'd never read this one--but would really regret not having read the first.
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s).
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s).
millajab's review against another edition
3.0
I should have read this book 20 years ago. Interesting to see where he thought comics were going, what he got right and what he whiffed. A bit of a slog compared to Making Comics which I enjoyed thoroughly.