Making Comics - A Review and a Teaser

Last week, I read a very interesting book - Making Comics by Scott McCloud. The author, I later came to know, is also the one behind the Google Chrome manual, which caused quite a sensation when it came out. The book itself is written in a comic format, true to the message it conveyed. Like any typical comic book, this was very easy to read and to understand, even though it covered much heavier concepts.

As a kid, and probably like any other kid of my time, I enjoyed reading comics, and still do. In India, the concept of a 'lending library' is quite popular - it's akin to a video library (such as Blockbuster) but for books. You become a member by paying a nominal fee and can borrow books - anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks depending on the nature of the book - for a fraction of the actual price of the book. I am still not exactly sure if it violated copyrights of the book (although the model is similar to video libraries - so I guess it's OK) but it did expose me to a wide range of books to which I would otherwise have not had access.

In fact, so much was my craze that whenever our family moved to a new city, the first thing I would do is become a member of the nearest lending library (sometimes three or four). The comics available in India were primarily European (Tintin, Asterix, and the like), American (Archie, Disney, and a few such as Mandrake and Phantom imported via Indrajal comics) and local flavors like Tinkle and Amar Chitra Katha (ACK).

Comics were always an interesting read, primarily because of the mix of visuals and text, which suited my level of concentration as a tween. It was short, to the point, and fun. When I came to US, I was disappointed to find that most European comics were simply not available. I don't know if it was because of the tendency in USA to distinguish themselves from Europe (manifested in a number of ways) or just plain preference, but all I could find in bookshelves were either Marvel Comics (---man, fill the blanks for any word) or super-contemporary ones that I did not get. Recently, Japanese comics (Manga) seems to be the only non-US genre that has broken this barrier, and that too in a big way.

Of late, I have been wondering why Indian comics has not blossomed beyond Tinkle and ACK despite access to a rich treasure of stories from generations past. One thing led to another, and I started exploring the world of comics - to understand what makes a comic instead of just reading them, which led me to the book in question.

One of the general dilemmas one has when looking for a book about writing is the credibility of the author. If I want to read a book about comics, I expect the book to be written by an established comic writer. Same for a book on movie direction or story writing. However, I feel that this is wrong. Not all teachers of an art are accomplished in their area of expertise or vice versa (accomplished persons may not be good teachers). Barring a few (like Richard Feynman on teaching itself, or Stephen King and Ray Bradbury on writing), these two don't tend to meet and that is no reason to discredit a person's work.

Frankly, I had not heard of Scott McCloud till I read this book. Regardless of whether he is an accomplished comic writer himself, he seems to have an excellent grasp of the theory behind writing comics. He breaks down the concepts behind a comic in a simple yet profound manner. My only pet peeve with this book, probably due to my background as mentioned earlier, is that the book focuses primarily on the genre of comics sold in USA (graphic novels, manga, and contemporary comics) and skips almost entirely the European style of comics. I wish he had at least dedicated a chapter on it, given that it shaped the thoughts of the world outside USA.

Interestingly, as I got deeper into the book, I found myself increasingly comparing the concepts behind a comic book to those behind developing business presentations. Stretching it a little, I feel that some may even extend to the area of User Interface and User Experience.

I will expand on this correlation between comics and presentations in my next blog (hence the teaser part). In the meanwhile, if you are curious enough, I would definitely recommend picking up the book from your friendly neighborhood bookstore. It's an easy, fun, and thought provoking read. If you are more interested in knowing Scott McCloud a bit more, you can also view his TED presentation on comics.