Cartoonist Scott McCloud is the author of Understanding Comics and its sequels, a series of nonfiction books about comics in comics form. He's a frequent lecturer and teacher on comics, digital media and visual communication. He originated the 24-Hour Comics challenge. His new graphic novel is The Sculptor (First Second Books, February 3, 2015). His online comics and writings can be found at scottmccloud.com.
On your nightstand now:
How Music Works by David Byrne. I'm a sucker for books that promise to explain the inner workings of anything.
Favorite book when you were a child:
First favorite book as a kid was probably On Beyond Zebra! by Dr. Seuss. It opened doors that never closed again and set the tone for my entire worldview and career.
Your top five authors:
Today I'll pick Chris Ware, Jim Woodring, David Mazzucchelli, Osamu Tezuka and Will Eisner--all cartoonists, one of whom rarely even uses words. I'm making a point about visual literacy and also being a wise-ass.
A writer--living or dead--for whom you'd take a bullet:
Mark Twain.
Book you've faked reading:
Michael Crichton's Andromeda Strain, for a speed-reading class. Never mastered those techniques. I'm still a very slow reader.
Book you're an evangelist for:
Market Day by James Sturm, a bulletproof graphic novel about a rug maker facing a crisis of confidence. Anyone in a creative career--or even contemplating one--should read this book.
Book you've bought for the cover:
Technically bought by a friend, but I would've done it if he hadn't: it was a literary anthology [of Alan Coren's work] with a giant swastika on the cover and the title Golfing for Cats in big bold letters. The introduction explained that they had done market research and discovered that books on sports, pet ownership and the Third Reich topped the bestsellers charts, so they decided to combine all three. Pure genius.
Favorite line from a book:
"The noises it made, or failed to make, were more like Sunday than Sunday itself." --John Wyndham, The Day of the Triffids. Or maybe "That terrible skull a mere fold." --Stephen R. Bissette, Tyrant
Which character you most relate to:
Schroeder from Peanuts.
Book you most want to read again for the first time:
The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis--one of the only books I've considered doing a graphic novel adaptation of. It just killed me when I found out recently that Heath Ledger was set to direct an adaptation of it shortly before he died.
Also, a simple introductory book on chess I read in summer camp, the name of which I will probably never recall. I vividly remember the experience of reading it as an almost physical sensation.