Understanding Comics
Understanding Comics by Scott McCloudby Scott McCloud
Ranked 2 of 3 art books by recommenders
People recommend it as a clear study of how comics work, using pictures and words together, and many say it changed how they read the medium.
People recommend it as a clear study of how comics work, using pictures and words together, and many say it changed how they read the medium.
5 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Changed how readers see comics
“Changed the way I read comics and I've been a lifelong fan of the medium.”
Comment from 29 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?” “it had so many "aha" moments for me”
Comment from 29 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?”
Other art books people recommend
The two most recommended other art books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ways of Seeingby John Berger | 8 | 5 | 62% | 3 | — | — |
| Understanding Comicsby Scott McCloudThis page | 5 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
| The Masters of Pixel Art | 3 | 0 | 100% | 1 | — | — |
What people said
All 5 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Changed the way I read comics and I've been a lifelong fan of the medium.”
“it had so many "aha" moments for me”
“both of which are inspirational reads”
“Just go read the thing, enjoy.”
“a tremendous study in this area, Scott shows how you can add abstract meanings to words and pictures through illustration”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.