Understanding Comics

A 215-page comic book about comics that explains the inner workings of the medium and examines many aspects of visual communication. Understanding Comics has been translated into 16 languages, excerpted in textbooks, and its ideas applied in other fields such as game design, animation, web development, and interface design. Winner of the Harvey and Eisner Award, the Alph'art Award at Angoulême, and a New York Times Notable Book for 1994 (mass market edition). Topics include: Definitions, history, and potential. Visual Iconography and its Effects. Closure, reader participation between the panels. Word-picture dynamics. Time and motion. The psychology of line styles and color. Comics and the artistic process.