Reinventing Comics

Reinventing Comics
Author	Scott McCloud
Cover artist	Scott McCloud
Language	English
Subject	Comics
Publisher	Paradox Press
Publication date	2000
Publication place	U.S.
Media type	Paperback
Pages	250
ISBN	0-06-095350-0
OCLC	44654496
Preceded by	Understanding Comics
Followed by	Making Comics

Reinventing Comics: How Imagination and Technology Are Revolutionizing an Art Form (2000) is a book written by comic book writer and artist Scott McCloud. It is a thematic sequel to his critically acclaimed Understanding Comics, and was followed by Making Comics.^[1]

Publication history

Reinventing Comics was released in 2000 in separate editions published by Paradox Press and William Morrow Paperbacks. Paradox Press, formerly an imprint of DC Comics, is now defunct, and William Morrow is now a division of HarperCollins, so subsequent printings of the book have been released by HarperCollins.

Summary

Reinventing Comics explains twelve "revolutions" that McCloud predicts are necessary for the comic book to survive as a medium:^[2]

"comics as literature"
"comics as art"
"creators' rights"
"industry innovation"
"public perception"
"institutional scrutiny"
"gender balance"
"minority representation"
"diversity of genre"
"digital production"
"digital delivery"
"digital comics"

The book caused considerable controversy in the comics industry,^[3] McCloud famously noting that it had been described as "dangerous".^[4]

As promised in the book, McCloud has offered annotations, addenda and his further-developing thoughts about the future of comics on his website. In particular, he considered his 2000–2001 webcomic, I Can't Stop Thinking, to be a continuation of Reinventing Comics,^[5] though he has continued to write about the future of comics in many different forms, as he acknowledges Reinventing Comics is "a product of its time".^[6]

Development

McCloud drew Reinventing Comics digitally, using a small Wacom tablet. Because of the low power of the machine he was using, McCloud had a difficult time working on the book. In an interview with Joe Zabel, McCloud stated that he was so eager to get to the second half of the book that he rushed through the first portion.^[7]

A revised version of Reinventing Comics^{[ISBN missing]} was released in 2009.^{[citation needed]} Here, McCloud cited various successful webcomics that pushed the envelope, such as Daniel Merlin Goodbrey's work with the "Tarquin Engine" and Drew Weing's Pup Contemplates the Heat Death of the Universe.^[8]

References

^ Boxer, Sarah (August 17, 2005). "Comics Escape a Paper Box, and Electronic Questions Pop Out". The New York Times. Retrieved November 23, 2011.
^ MCMILLAN, GRAEME (Nov 2, 2021). "REINTERPRETING SCOTT MCCLOUD'S "REINVENTING COMICS"". The Gutter Review.
^ "Reinventing Comics". ScottMcCloud.com. Retrieved Feb 12, 2024.
^ McCloud, Scott. "Reinventing Comics". ScottMcCloud.com. Archived from the original on July 22, 2008. Nearly every page seemed to step on somebody's toes, and the debates in the comics industry over comics on the Web have gotten increasingly heated since its publication. Reinventing Comics is the only book I've ever written that's been actually described as 'dangerous.'
^ McCloud, Scott. "I Can't Stop Thinking (2000-2001)". ScottMcCloud.com. An online appendix to my 2000 book Reinventing Comics, 'I Can't Stop Thinking' provided a forum for ongoing speculations about digital comics.
^ "RESOURCES: Reinventing Comics Resources". ScottMcCloud.com. May 2001. Retrieved Feb 12, 2024.
^ Zabel, Joe (2006-06-21). "Making Lightning – An Interview with Scott McCloud". The Webcomics Examiner. Archived from the original on 2008-03-24.
^ Booker, M. Keith (2014-10-28). "The+Right+Number"+McCloud Comics through Time: A History of Icons, Idols, and Ideas. ABC-CLIO. p. 1825. ISBN 978-0313397516.

External links

Reinventing Comics page on Scott McCloud's website

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[1] Boxer, Sarah (August 17, 2005). "Comics Escape a Paper Box, and Electronic Questions Pop Out". The New York Times. Retrieved November 23, 2011.

[2] MCMILLAN, GRAEME (Nov 2, 2021). "REINTERPRETING SCOTT MCCLOUD'S "REINVENTING COMICS"". The Gutter Review.

[3] "Reinventing Comics". ScottMcCloud.com. Retrieved Feb 12, 2024.

[4] McCloud, Scott. "Reinventing Comics". ScottMcCloud.com. Archived from the original on July 22, 2008. Nearly every page seemed to step on somebody's toes, and the debates in the comics industry over comics on the Web have gotten increasingly heated since its publication. Reinventing Comics is the only book I've ever written that's been actually described as 'dangerous.'

[5] McCloud, Scott. "I Can't Stop Thinking (2000-2001)". ScottMcCloud.com. An online appendix to my 2000 book Reinventing Comics, 'I Can't Stop Thinking' provided a forum for ongoing speculations about digital comics.

[6] "RESOURCES: Reinventing Comics Resources". ScottMcCloud.com. May 2001. Retrieved Feb 12, 2024.

[7] Zabel, Joe (2006-06-21). "Making Lightning – An Interview with Scott McCloud". The Webcomics Examiner. Archived from the original on 2008-03-24.

[8] Booker, M. Keith (2014-10-28). "The+Right+Number"+McCloud Comics through Time: A History of Icons, Idols, and Ideas. ABC-CLIO. p. 1825. ISBN 978-0313397516.

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