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Scott McCloud

Scott McCloud Quotes

Cartoonist

Scott McCloud, born on June 10, 1960, is a renowned cartoonist from the United States. His works are known for their in-depth exploration of the form and techniques of comics, with notable titles including 'Understanding Comics'.

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All Comic Book Comic Book Want Form Ifs Reader Thinking Kind Artist

Famous Scott McCloud Quotes

“All the things we experience in life can be separated into two realms, the realm of the concept and the realm of the senses.”

Philosophy Academic

Book:Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art

Source: Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art

“If a comic comes out on the scene and it's really knock-out brilliant, the community is pretty good about getting the word about good newcomers.”

Ifs Community Scene Brilliant Comic Newcomers

Author:Scott McCloud

“My first influences were superhero artists.”

Firsts Artist Influence Superhero

Author:Scott McCloud

“Today, comics is one of the very few forms of mass communication in which individual voices still have a chance to be heard.”

Stills Today Form Individual Voice Chance Heard Communication Mass Mass Communication

Author:Scott McCloud

“When you're free of editorial control, you owe it to yourself to obtain feedback from friends and readers. Some take those criticisms to heart and incorporate it into their work, and some ignore them.”

Heart Reader Criticism Feedback Editorials

Author:Scott McCloud

“Form and content must never apologize for each other.”

Book Form Comic Apologizing Comic Book

Author:Scott McCloud

“Comic book readers are just as abandoned by the corporate system as the creators, despite the importance supposedly given their hard-earned dollars. The average comics shop can offer only a tiny fraction of an industrywide selection that is itself extremely limited in scope. And even when readers know exactly what they want, the search can be maddeningly futile.”

Knows Want Book Hard Given Reader Offers Importance Dollars Average Creator Tiny Despite Comic Corporate Shops Abandoned Comic Book Selection Scope Fractions Book Readers

Author:Scott McCloud

“The idea that comics stores, distributors and publishers simply 'give the customers what they want' is nonsense. What the customers wanted they didn't get - and they left.”

Want Giving Book Ideas Wanted Left Customers Stores Comic Nonsense Comic Book Publishers Distributors

Author:Scott McCloud

“As I see it, mainstream comics now speak only to the hardcore few who stayed; conversing in a weird, garbled, visual pig latin only they can understand - rendering the term 'mainstream' a hollow joke - while the true mainstream, the other 99.9% of the populace, find enjoyment elsewhere.”

Book Speak Term Jokes Comic Enjoyment Visuals Latin Mainstream Elsewhere Pigs Comic Book Hollow Hardcore Rendering

Author:Scott McCloud

“By stripping down an image to essential meaning, an artist can simplify that meaning.”

Artist Essentials Simplify Stripping

Author:Scott McCloud

“A medium is a bridge between two minds.”

Mind Two Mediums Bridges Two Minds

Author:Scott McCloud

“Art, as I see it, is any human activity which doesn’t grow out of either of our species’ two basic instincts: survival and reproduction.”

Humans Art Two Grows Activity Survival Instinct Species Reproduction Human Activity

Author:Scott McCloud

“Space does for comics what time does for film!”

Author:Scott McCloud

“To kill a man between panels is to condemn him to a thousand deaths.”

Book:Understanding Comics

Source: Understanding Comics

“All through my comics career, I was always trying to reinvent the form.”

Trying Form Careers Always Trying

Author:Scott McCloud

“I don't think the potential for comics in nonfiction has been exploited nearly as much as it could be.”

Thinking Has Beens Nonfiction

Author:Scott McCloud

“And what better way to reinvent the form than to toss virtually 99% of everything that's been done with it and start with a brand-new canvas, reinvent it from the ground up? Digital comics gave me the opportunity to do that, and producing things digitally gave me the opportunity to do that.”

Way Done Form Opportunity Brands Digital Canvas Better Ways Toss Brand New

Author:Scott McCloud

“I've always been very forward-looking, and it was actually kind of difficult to turn my gaze backwards to look at comics history.”

Looks Kind Turns Difficult Backwards

Author:Scott McCloud

“It wasn't until I discovered comics that I actually began to approach drawing as a possible career.”

Careers Approach Drawing

Author:Scott McCloud

“It would take a lifetime to read all the webcomics published in one year.”

Author:Scott McCloud

“My dad was an engineer and so I had this picture of science and technology and pursuits of the mind as being more impressive than artistic pursuits, which I saw a as kind of frivolous.”

Mind Kind Technology Saws Dad My Dad Pursuit Artistic Engineers Impressive Science And Technology Frivolous

Author:Scott McCloud

“My dad was an inventor, and I think I've always had a rosy view of technology, or at least its potential.”

Thinking Views Technology Dad My Dad Inventor Rosy

Author:Scott McCloud

“The ancestors of printed comics drew, painted and carved their time-paths from beginning to end, without interruption, ... the infinite canvas.”

Ends Path Infinite Ancestor Canvas Printed Interruptions

Author:Scott McCloud

“Creator and reader are partners in the invisible creating something out of nothing, time and time again.”

Reader Creating Creator Partners Invisible Creating Something

Author:Scott McCloud

“I wouldn't necessarily have been making books about how to make comics if I'd really felt I knew how to make comics.”

Ifs Has Beens Book Felt Comic Book

Author:Scott McCloud

“Learn from everyone. Follow no one. Watch for patterns. Work like hell.”

Watches Hell Patterns Comic Book

Author:Scott McCloud

“If you just write the kinds of stories you think others will want to read, you'll be competing with cartoonists who are far more enthusiastic for that kind of comic than you are, and they'll kick your ass every time.”

Ifs Thinking Want Writing Kind Stories Ass Comic Kicks Comic Book Competing Enthusiastic Cartoonist

Author:Scott McCloud

“Nobody knows what will work until they try it. Some of comics' biggest success stories in recent years have explored subjects that no one was writing about at the time - stories no one had any reason to think would succeed. My advice? Write what you want to read. You'll have more fun doing it - and if all else fails, you'll always have at least one loyal reader.”

Ifs Thinking Knows Want Writing Trying Years Reason Stories Fun Failing Advice Subjects Reader Succeed What You Want Loyal Comic Book Nobody Knows Success Stories

Author:Scott McCloud

“The notion of getting under the hood and explaining how something works, that's fairly familiar territory to me.”

Notion Familiar Territory Explaining Hood

Author:Scott McCloud

“There's a very big part of me that just wants to take all of comics history and toss it on the bonfire. I'd sort of like to get on to the future.”

Want Bigs Toss Bonfire

Author:Scott McCloud

“Webcomics are much bigger than any one scene can circumscribe.”

Author:Scott McCloud

About the Author

Born: June 10, 1960
Known for: Cartoonist
Quotes: 31

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People Ifs Thinking Knows Men World Way Want Love Life Inspirational Needs Giving Feels Should Writing Trying Years Mind Firsts

Books & Sources

Understanding ComicsRelated source material

Understanding Comics: The Invisible ArtRelated source material

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