McFARLANE, TODD 401
that, in addition to providing a defi nition, history and vocabulary for understanding
comics, attempts to explain visual communication, symbol use and the artistic pro-
cess. Understanding Comics almost immediately became the most important work in
the comics studies fi eld and continues to profoundly infl uence the work of comics
creators and scholars. Th e book won the industry’s two leading awards, the Eisner
Awa rd and the Harvey Award , and was widely and favorably reviewed in the main-
stream media.
In 2000 McCloud followed-up with Reinventing Comics , his manifesto, in comics
format, about how the comics industry needs to evolve. He was already well-known in
the online comics community as a pioneer and promoter of web-comics, but his enthu-
siastic portrayal of a digital future for comics in Reinventing Comics made McCloud a
guru in the web-comics community. McCloud’s trilogy of theory in comics form was
completed in 2006 with the publication of Making Comics , a how-to book for aspiring
comic book creators.
Th e concepts in these works have captured the imaginations of diverse audiences
beyond the comics industry and garnered McCloud invitations to speak at Harvard
University, Microsoft, Th e Smithsonian, Pixar, and many other venues. He has been
a consultant on projects at a number of institutions, including Th e National Cancer
Institute, Th e Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and Th e Xerox Palo Alto
Research Center. In 2008 he created a 38-page comic to introduce Google’s “Chrome”
browser.
Even after he began to establish himself as a theorist, McCloud continued to create
comics. In 1997 and 1998 he scripted issues #2 through #13 of DC’s S u p e r m a n
Adventures. Also in 1998, McCloud’s fi rst attempt at computer-generated artwork, Th e
New Adventures of Abraham Lincoln , received lukewarm, or worse, response from fans
and critics. McCloud accepted a couple of more assignments from DC, including script
and layouts in 2004 for the three part prestige series Superman: Strength , but after the
1998 launch of his ScottMcCloud.com Web site most of his comics output has been
in the form of web-comics, including Zot! Online beginning in 2000. As of this writing,
McCloud is at work on a new graphic novel with the working title Th e Sculptor.
Randy DuncanMCFARLANE, TODD (1961–). Originally from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, McFarlane
made his artistic debut in American comics in Coyote #11 in 1985 for Marvel
Comics. Soon after, he also began working for DC Comics on the series Infi nite
Inc. His continued success led him to add work from both B a t m a n : Ye a r Tw o and
Incredible Hulk to his portfolio. His signifi cant rise to the top came when he began
drawing Th e Amazing Spider-Man in 1988. Here, McFarlane would craft the famous
nemesis, Venom, and with his growing popularity, would be given the opportunity
to both write and draw his own Spider-Man series in August, 1990. Th e debut issue
sold over 2.5 million copies; the best-selling issues at the time and still one of the
best-selling issues of all time.