Writing and Art: Scott McCloud
Lettering: Bob Lappan

Understanding Comics is a justified classic. Not only does it explain what makes comics unique and why they can be so powerful, it is itself a unique and powerful comic.

This book makes a nice introduction to evaluating comics beyond just the pretty pictures and occasionally interesting story elements. It makes an attempt to examine what makes comics unique as an art form.

The only real stumbling point for me came when Mr. McCloud attempted to explain his theory of art, which was too much of a stretch for this volume, although he seemed to be aware of this enough to keep it readable.

The book draws on a wide variety of samples from many different artists to illustrate the points. This makes it a much more effective tool at learning how to read comics more intelligently because you get to see principles as they were used by different artists.

There is a small look at what makes Japanese comics style different from American comics, which I would have loved to see expanded.

If you pay attention while you read this you will not read comics in the same way as you did before reading this.