Photo of comics author/artist Scott McCloud at a book signing in Montreal, Quebec. Photo: Simon Law (CC Sharealike)
Innovative and multi-award comic creator Scott McCloud has been announced as the first official overseas guest for the 2014 Lakes International Comic Art Festival.
The announcement comes hot on the heels of the event’s launch of its 24 Hour Comic Marathon, run by Dan Berry – a concept first espoused by Scott – and its Great War in Comics exhibition at Kendal’s Abbot Hall, which will feature work by Charlie Adlard, Joe Colquhoun and Ivan Petrus.
McCloud, who has been creating comics professionally since 1984, is highly regarded for his innovative work in comics – particularly digital comics – and his books on comic form. While his comics are numerous, such as the ground-breaking Zot!, first published in 1984, he is perhaps best known for his non-fiction books, particularly Understanding Comics, published in 1993, a 215-page comic book about the comics medium which has been translated into over 16 languages.
Scott is considered the inventor of the 24 Hour Comic , which has become an international movement over the years, especially with the debut of 24-Hour Comics Day in 2004; and The Big Triangle and Five Card Nancy . (There’s more information on these here on Scott’s official site.
Scott’s first comics series was Zot! (1984-1991) which he usually describe as “a cross between Peter Pan, Buck Rogers and Marshall McLuhan”. He also created the superhero parody Destroy!! in 1986, and wrote scripts for various Superman comics (12 issues of Superman Adventures, the three-part Superman: Strength, and JLA Adventures #16), and a 1998 graphic novel he says “almost everyone hated”. He’s also created numerous mini-comics.
Scott is a regular public speaker and consultant on comics, delivering lectures to the likes of and at MIT, Google, Harvard, Pixar, DARPA and about 250 other destinations over the years.
“I was an early (and noisy) advocate of digital comics in the 1990s and early ’00s,” he says of his work on digital comics. “Major controversies surrounding my failed attempt at micropayments and the still-controversial “infinite canvas” design strategy.”
“Depending on who you ask, I’m either comics’ leading theorist or a deranged lunatic,” he says of his work, “but life continues to be very interesting for me and the ideas that I’ve raised continue to provoke reactions throughout the comics community and — increasingly — beyond it.”
Pick up Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
• Scott McCloud’s Official Site: http://scottmccloud.com
• Check out Scott’s various digital comic stories and experiments here.
Other Recommended Books
• Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels
The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.
He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.
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