One of the problems with getting more people interested in comics, is explaining what exactly comics are. Scott McCloud is not only a comic artist with as wonderful series Zot (my review) on his resume, but he is also a comic inventor. Among his inventions are 24 Hour Comics, The Creator’s Bill of Rights and 5 Card Nancy. McCloud has given us an essential book that not only explains what comics are, but explains the how and the why. He has taken comics back to the basics and given the world the first book that truly helps people in Understanding Comics. So how does he do it?

McCloud gives two big definitions that help explain comics. The first is The Big Triangle. This explains the three facets of language/art. On one corner is meaning, which is a generic picture or word (such as face). On another corner is resemblance, which is how closely does a picture resemble a real object. And on the third corner is picture plane, which is color and shapes. All art can be described by it’s position within the triangle. A stick figure would be closer to meaning. A photograph would be closer to resemblance and a modern art piece of just shapes and colors would be closer to the picture plane. Picasso would be on the line between picture and meaning. Michelangelo would be on the line between picture and resemblance.

The other big definition is the gutter. The gutter is the empty space between two pieces of art (such as comic panels). Where movies show exactly how a character moves around the room, a comic would show two or more panels with a character in different places in the room and your mind would fill in the action that happened within the gutter. The gutter is a transition between two panels and is the basis for all comics.

McCloud also goes into the history of comics in different cultures from cave paintings to superheros to manga. It’s an essential book for anyone who is interesting in comics beyond superhero fight scenes. Highly recommended.