Chapters 1 & 2

Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art by Scott McCloud

Our first text is Understanding Comics By Scott McCloud. It is a comic book about comic books. McCloud, in an incredibly accessible style, explains the details of how comics work: how they’re composed, read, and understood.

Questions to Consider:

Chapter 1 – Setting The Record Straight – pp. 2

  • What is McCloud’s dilemma regarding comics as the book begins?
  • What’s the difference between pictures and comics?
  • According to McCloud, why isn’t it easy to define comics?
  • To what definition does he eventually arrive?
  • List the ancient civilizations that had some form of comics.

Chapter 2 – Vocabulary of Comics – pp. 24

  • What is an icon?
  • How does knowing what an icon help you “get” the author’s point about the “Treachery of Images”?
  • Discuss the concept of the universality of the cartoon: How/why does this concept help readers of comics? Do you agree with Scott Mcloud’s position that there is a universal icon?