Scott McCloud (born Scott McLeod; June 10, 1960) is an American

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the litera ...

and comics theorist. His non-fiction books about comics, ''

Understanding Comics ''Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art'' is a 1993 non-fiction work of comics by American cartoonist Scott McCloud. It explores formal aspects of comics, the historical development of the medium, its fundamental vocabulary, and various ways in ...

'' (1993), '' Reinventing Comics'' (2000), and '' Making Comics'' (2006), are made in comic form. He became established as a comics creator in the 1980s as an independent superhero cartoonist and advocate for creator's rights. He rose to prominence in the industry beginning in the 1990s for his non-fiction works about the medium; he has advocated for the use of new technology in the creation and distribution of comics.

Early life

McCloud was born in 1960McCloud, Scott. (2000), ''Reinventing Comics''. Paradox Press. p. 92 in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

the youngest child of Willard Wise (a blind inventor and engineer) and Patricia Beatrice McLeod. He grew up mostly in

Lexington, Massachusetts Lexington is a suburban town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, located 10 miles (16 km) from Downtown Boston. The population was 34,454 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The area was originally inhabited by ...

. He decided he wanted to be a comics artist in 1975, during his junior year in high school. He attended an illustration program at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. With a population of 148,620 and a Syracuse metropolitan area, metropolitan area of 662,057, it is the fifth-most populated city and 13 ...

and graduated with a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students pursuing a professional education in the visual arts, Fine art, or performing arts. In some instances, it is also called a Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA). Background ...

degree in 1982.

Career

Fiction

During his high school years, he collaborated on comics with his schoolmate Kurt Busiek, who since has had a career as a successful comics writer. While still teenagers, the two of them along with fellow teenagers Christopher Bing, a 2001

Caldecott Medal The Randolph Caldecott Medal, frequently shortened to just the Caldecott, annually recognizes the preceding year's "most distinguished American picture book for children". It is awarded to the illustrator by the Association for Library Service ...

winner, and Richard Howell created the first licensed Marvel/DC crossover comic ''Pow! Biff! Pops!'', a one-shot sold in conjunction with a 1978 Boston Pops performance of comics-themed music. While working as a production artist at

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

, McCloud created the light-hearted

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

series '' Zot!'' in 1984, in part as a reaction to the increasingly grim direction that superhero comics were taking in the 1980s. His other print comics include the 1986 black and white comic ''Destroy!!'' (a deliberately over-the-top, oversized single-issue comic book, intended as a parody of formulaic superhero fights), the 1998

graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...

''The New Adventures of Abraham Lincoln'' (done with a mixture of computer-generated and manually drawn digital images), 12 issues of DC Comics' '' Superman Adventures'' in the late 1990s, the 2005 three-issue series ''Superman: Strength'', and the 2015 graphic novel '' The Sculptor''. In June, 2024,

Raina Telgemeier Raina Telgemeier (; born May 26, 1977) is an American cartoonist. Her works include the autobiographical webcomic ''Smile (comic book), Smile'', which was published as a full-color middle grade graphic novel in February 2010, and the follow-up S ...

announced a new book co-authored with McCloud, ''The Cartoonists Club'', to be published in April 2025 by Scholastic's Graphix imprint.

Creator's Bill of Rights

McCloud was the principal author of the Creator's Bill of Rights, a 1988 document with the stated aim of protecting the rights of comic book creators and helping aid against the exploitation of comic artists and writers by corporate work-for-hire practices.Coogan, Pete (September, 1990). "Creator's Rights". '' The Comics Journal'' p. 65-71 The group which adopted the Bill included artists

Kevin Eastman Kevin Brooks Eastman (born May 30, 1962) is an American comic book writer and artist best known for co-creating the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with Peter Laird. Eastman was also formerly the editor and publisher of the magazine ''Heavy Metal ...

, Dave Sim, and Stephen R. Bissette.McCloud, Scott (2000). '' Reinventing Comics'', New York: Paradox Press. Pg. 62 The Bill included twelve rights; two of them are "The right to full ownership of what we fully create," and "The right to prompt payment of a fair and equitable share of profits derived from all of our creative work."

24-hour comic

In 1990, McCloud coined the idea of a

24-hour comic A 24-hour comic is a 24-page comic book written, drawn, and completed in 24 hours. Cartoonist Scott McCloud came up with the challenge in 1990 as a creative exercise for himself and fellow comics artist Stephen R. Bissette. Beginning in 2004, wri ...

: a complete 24-page comic created by a single cartoonist in 24 consecutive hours. It was a mutual challenge with cartoonist Steve Bissette, intended to compel creative output with a minimum of self-restraining contemplation. Thousands of cartoonists have since taken up the challenge, including

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman (; born Neil Richard Gaiman; 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, audio theatre, and screenplays. His works include the comic series ''The Sandman (comic book), The Sandma ...

;

, co-creator of ''

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (''TMNT'') is an American media franchise created by comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Donatello (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), D ...

''; Dave Sim, who published some of his work from this challenge in '' Cerebus the Aardvark''; and

Rick Veitch Richard Veitch (; born May 7, 1951) is an American comics artist and writer who has worked in mainstream, underground comics, underground, and alternative comics. Biography Rick Veitch is a native of the small town of Bellows Falls, Vermont. One ...

, who used it as a springboard for his comic ''Rarebit Fiends''.

Non-fiction about comics

In the early 1990s, McCloud began creating a series of three books about the medium and business of comics, presented in comic form. The first one was '' Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art'', published in 1993 and which established him as a popular comics theorist, described as the "

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

of comics" and the "

Marshall McLuhan Herbert Marshall McLuhan (, ; July 21, 1911 – December 31, 1980) was a Canadian philosopher whose work is among the cornerstones of the study of media studies, media theory. Raised in Winnipeg, McLuhan studied at the University of Manitoba a ...

of comics". The book was a wide-ranging exploration of the definition, history, vocabulary, and methods of the medium of comics; it is widely cited in academic discussions of the medium. In 2000, McCloud published '' Reinventing Comics: How Imagination and Technology Are Revolutionizing an Art Form'', in which he outlined twelve "revolutions" taking place, that he argued would be keys to the growth and success of comics as a popular and creative medium. He returned to focus on the medium itself in 2006 with '' Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga, and Graphic Novels'', an instructional guide to the process of producing comics, which he followed with a promotional lecture tour (with his family) of all 50 U.S. states and parts of Europe. In November 2022, McCloud was working on a third draft of layouts for an upcoming book on visual communication. He has described the book as "a preposterously ambitious full color project covering the evolution and biology of vision, principles of visual perception, demonstrations of how visual elements behave in the mind's eye; best practices for clarity, explanation, and effective rhetoric; and some personal reflections on yfamily's experiences with blindness."

Technology

Beginning in the late 1990s, McCloud was an early advocate of micropayments. He was an adviser to BitPass, a company which provided an online micropayment system. He helped launch it with the publication of '' The Right Number'', an online graphic novella priced at a quarter for each chapter. Among the techniques he explores is the " infinite canvas" permitted by a web browser, allowing panels to be spatially arranged in ways not possible in the finite, two-dimensional, paged format of a physical book.

Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...

commissioned him in 2008 to create a comic serving as the press release introducing their web browser Chrome.

Personal life

McCloud lives in Newbury Park, California. In 1988, he married Ivy Ratafia; they had two daughters together. Ivy died in a car accident in April 2022.

Awards

*1985 Jack Kirby Award for Best New Series for ''Zot!'' *1985 Russ Manning Most Promising Newcomer Award for ''Zot!'' *1994 Eisner Award for Best Comics-Related Book for ''

'' *1994

Harvey Award The Harvey Awards are given for achievement in comic books. Named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman, the Harvey Awards were founded by Gary Groth in 1988, president of the publisher Fantagraphics, to be a successor to the Kirby Awards, which were ...

for Best Writer for ''Understanding Comics'' *1994 Harvey Award for Best Graphic Album/Original Material for ''Understanding Comics'' *1994 Harvey Award for Best Biographical, Historical or Journalistic Presentation for ''Understanding Comics'' *2001 Harvey Award for Best Biographical/Historical Presentation for '' Reinventing Comics'' *2007 Eagle Award for Favourite Comics-Related Book for ''Making Comics'' *2007 Quill Award for Best Graphic Novel for ''Making Comics''

Nominations

*1988 Harvey Award for Best Cartoonist for ''Zot!'' *1988 Eisner Award for Best Single Issue for ''Zot!'' #14 *1988 Eisner Award for Best Continuing Series for ''Zot!'' *1988 Eisner Award for Best Black-and-White Series for ''Zot!'' *1988 Eisner Award for Best Writer/Artist for ''Zot!'' *1991 Harvey Award for Best Writer for ''Zot!'' *1991 Harvey Award for Best Single Issue or Story for ''Zot!'' #33 *1991 Eisner Award for Best Story or Single Issue for ''Zot!'' #33 *1991 Eisner Award for Best Continuing Series for ''Zot!'' *1991 Eisner Award for Best Black-and-White Series for ''Zot!'' *1991 Eisner Award for Best Writer for ''Zot!'' *1992 Harvey Award for Best Single Issue or Story for ''Zot!'' #35 *1993 Harvey Award for Best Biographical, Historical or Journalistic Presentation for ''Understanding Comics: The Slideshow!'' *1994

Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) and chosen by its members. The award is administered by th ...

for Best Related Non-Fiction Book for ''Understanding Comics'' *1998 Eisner Award for Best Single Issue for '' Superman Adventures'' #3 ("Distant Thunder"; with Rick Burchett and Terry Austin) *1998 Eisner Award for Best Serialized Story for ''Superman Adventures'' #11–12 ("The War Within"; with Rick Burchett and Terry Austin) *1998 Eisner Award for Best Writer for ''Superman Adventures'' *2007 Harvey Award for Best Biographical, Historical or Journalistic Presentation for ''Making Comics''

Bibliography

*'' Zot!'' **''The Original Zot!: Book One'' (issues 1-4) (Eclipse Books, 1990) **''Zot!: Book 1'' (issues 1-10) (Kitchen Sink Press, 1997) **''Zot!: Book 2'' (issues 11–15 and 17–18) (Kitchen Sink Press, 1998) **''Zot!: Book 3'' (issues 16 and 21-27) (Kitchen Sink Press, 1998) **''Zot!: The Complete Black and White Collection: 1987–1991'' (issues 11-36, with 19 and 20 in layout form only) (Harper Paperbacks, 2008) *'' Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art'' (1993, ) *'' Reinventing Comics: How Imagination and Technology Are Revolutionizing an Art Form'' (2000, ) *'' Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels'' (2006, ) *''The New Adventures of Abraham Lincoln'' (Image Comics, 1998) *'' 24 Hour Comics'' (editor) (About Comics, 2004) *
Destroy!! (Oversized Edition)
' (Eclipse Books, 1986) *'' The Sculptor'' (First Second, 2015) 978-1-59643-573-5 *'' Superman Adventures'' #2-13 (DC Comics, 1997) *'' Justice League Adventures'' #16 (DC Comics, 2003) *'' Superman: Strength'' #1-3 (DC Comics, 2005) *''

Google Chrome Google Chrome is a web browser developed by Google. It was first released in 2008 for Microsoft Windows, built with free software components from Apple WebKit and Mozilla Firefox. Versions were later released for Linux, macOS, iOS, iPadOS, an ...

'' (2008) *'' Best American Comics 2014'' (editor) (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014-09-05)

Typography

Various fonts used in Scott McCloud's comics have been recreated digitally, and have been released by Comicraft: *Scott McCloud/McComicBookFont: The font used in '' Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels''. The family includes 4 weights (Regular, Bold, Semi Bold, Extra Bold). *The Sculptor: Designed by John ’JG’ Roshell of Comicraft, it is based on the font used in ''The Sculptor''. The family includes 3 weights (Regular, Bold, Heavy). *Digital Delivery: Designed by John ’JG’ Roshell of Comicraft, it is based on the font used in '' Reinventing Comics: How Imagination and Technology Are Revolutionizing an Art Form''. The family includes 5 fonts in 2 weights (Regular, Bold) with complimentary italic, and a Display font.