---
product_id: 286651
title: "Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art"
price: "¥5804"
currency: JPY
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 11
url: https://www.desertcart.jp/products/286651-understanding-comics-the-invisible-art
store_origin: JP
region: Japan
---

# Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art

**Price:** ¥5804
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

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- **What is this?** Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
- **How much does it cost?** ¥5804 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.jp](https://www.desertcart.jp/products/286651-understanding-comics-the-invisible-art)

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## Description

Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art [McCloud, Scott] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art

Review: One of the best books I ever read - This is an incredibly insightful and broad analysis of a medium that, beforehand, I didn't really care about or even take seriously... I'd say this is archetypal of one of the best experiences in life; when through another's eyes you come to appreciate something that you had previously dismissed as 'not for me'. I read this as a teenager and recently bought a copy for my 9-yr-old daughter who is super keen on both reading and making comics of her own (sorry, my apologies... "they're graphic novels dad!!"). It is advanced material for her age, but she finds it fascinating and eye-opening nonetheless. I suspect she will read it multiple times as she ages and evolves her art.
Review: Great for teaching! - I purchased this item, along with McCloud's other book Making Comics, to teach a course on comics in English to art students at Cheongju University in South Korea. Both of these books really lend themselves to teaching, each one is divided into chapters which discuss specific comic concepts and elements. Two excellent chapters: The first chapter in Understanding Comics is great because it discusses the history of comics, and some great activities can be done having students think about and search for comics in the real world and instances of comics in history. This chapter really validates the fact that comics are interesting and useful, rather than just being treated as a 'fake' art or a 'not really real' subject. Chapter three is excellent because it breaks down transitions not only in American comics, but European and Asian comics as well, and explains his thoughts as to why these differences exist. This allows students to compare the differences and broaden their understanding of how different cultures think differently. This chapter also discusses how comics are subtractive, and lends itself to an excellent lesson whereupon students can draw comics with many pictures, then keep subtracting and combining pictures until they have the miminum number of pictures that tells the gist of their story. In other chapters: Chapter two discusses word choice and flow in comics, four discusses time, chapter five discusses displaying emotion by using different types of lines (and similarities and differences between comics from different cultures), chapter six discusses how words and ideas complement each other in comics, and chapter seven discusses six steps to making comics. In my opinion, each book is worth its weight in gold alone for a comic class, but they have a synergistic effect when used in tandem with each other. Concepts from one book flow into the other book, and vice-versa, giving the students in-depth knowledge of both how to make comics and how to understand comics from other authors better. All of the concepts from the chapters can be seen easily in comics online or from newspapers, and so each week I first do the lecture, then use a few examples on the overhead that I have found from other comics, then give the students homework pertaining to the concepts discussed. Through use of the two books, the students' work is really improving, and it is fun to see them working specifically with each comic element. Each of the concepts discussed in the chapters is a great starting point to get the students' creative juices flowing. I would recommend this book to any teacher or lecturer interested teaching comics at almost any level and to any audience.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #8,195 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #1 in Comics & Graphic Novel History & Prices #4 in How to Create Comics #16 in Educational & Nonfiction Graphic Novels |
| Customer Reviews | 4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars (3,039) |
| Dimensions  | 10.1 x 6.6 x 0.6 inches |
| Edition  | Reprint |
| ISBN-10  | 006097625X |
| ISBN-13  | 978-0060976255 |
| Item Weight  | 10.4 ounces |
| Language  | English |
| Print length  | 224 pages |
| Publication date  | April 27, 1994 |
| Publisher  | William Morrow Paperbacks |
| Reading age  | 13 - 17 years |

## Images

![Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41r1g+AlZsL.jpg)
![Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art - Image 2](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51BFme9LVLL.jpg)
![Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art - Image 3](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51Mk-4kPMcL.jpg)
![Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art - Image 4](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51VWBnEwjJL.jpg)
![Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art - Image 5](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51c9CFeNRxL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ One of the best books I ever read
*by I***D on January 5, 2026*

This is an incredibly insightful and broad analysis of a medium that, beforehand, I didn't really care about or even take seriously... I'd say this is archetypal of one of the best experiences in life; when through another's eyes you come to appreciate something that you had previously dismissed as 'not for me'. I read this as a teenager and recently bought a copy for my 9-yr-old daughter who is super keen on both reading and making comics of her own (sorry, my apologies... "they're graphic novels dad!!"). It is advanced material for her age, but she finds it fascinating and eye-opening nonetheless. I suspect she will read it multiple times as she ages and evolves her art.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great for teaching!
*by P***L on May 10, 2007*

I purchased this item, along with McCloud's other book Making Comics, to teach a course on comics in English to art students at Cheongju University in South Korea. Both of these books really lend themselves to teaching, each one is divided into chapters which discuss specific comic concepts and elements. Two excellent chapters: The first chapter in Understanding Comics is great because it discusses the history of comics, and some great activities can be done having students think about and search for comics in the real world and instances of comics in history. This chapter really validates the fact that comics are interesting and useful, rather than just being treated as a 'fake' art or a 'not really real' subject. Chapter three is excellent because it breaks down transitions not only in American comics, but European and Asian comics as well, and explains his thoughts as to why these differences exist. This allows students to compare the differences and broaden their understanding of how different cultures think differently. This chapter also discusses how comics are subtractive, and lends itself to an excellent lesson whereupon students can draw comics with many pictures, then keep subtracting and combining pictures until they have the miminum number of pictures that tells the gist of their story. In other chapters: Chapter two discusses word choice and flow in comics, four discusses time, chapter five discusses displaying emotion by using different types of lines (and similarities and differences between comics from different cultures), chapter six discusses how words and ideas complement each other in comics, and chapter seven discusses six steps to making comics. In my opinion, each book is worth its weight in gold alone for a comic class, but they have a synergistic effect when used in tandem with each other. Concepts from one book flow into the other book, and vice-versa, giving the students in-depth knowledge of both how to make comics and how to understand comics from other authors better. All of the concepts from the chapters can be seen easily in comics online or from newspapers, and so each week I first do the lecture, then use a few examples on the overhead that I have found from other comics, then give the students homework pertaining to the concepts discussed. Through use of the two books, the students' work is really improving, and it is fun to see them working specifically with each comic element. Each of the concepts discussed in the chapters is a great starting point to get the students' creative juices flowing. I would recommend this book to any teacher or lecturer interested teaching comics at almost any level and to any audience.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A lot of good content
*by D***A on September 7, 2025*

It really makes you appreciate comics and give them the respect they deserve. McCloud is funny and a good teacher.

## Frequently Bought Together

- Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
- Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels
- Reinventing Comics: The Evolution of an Art Form

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*Product available on Desertcart Japan*
*Store origin: JP*
*Last updated: 2026-02-22*