Understanding how sequential art can be used for visual narrative seems critical for service designers. This book is full of information about how the eye moves between panels, how words and images interact on the page and how time is represented in a static medium.

For example, in chapter three McCloud explores how time moves from frame to frame in a comic. He identifies six types of transitions: moment to moment, action to action, subject to subject, scene to scene, aspect to aspect and non-sequitur — and then shows examples of each.

The principles are well argued but what makes this book so engaging is the author's ability to demonstrate the techniques visually through his craft: showing rather than telling. The examples, some taken from existing comics but most created by McCloud himself, perfectly illustrate the lessons throughout the book.

There are three volumes in this series. Understanding Comics was the first, followed by the more obscure Reinventing Comics six years later. More recently McCloud has released Making Comics to wider acclaim. It focuses on the craft of sequential art and explores changes to the industry in the 12 years since the original was published.

If you can only afford one of the three, Understanding Comics is the most comprehensive in the series. But Making Comics is well worth checking out. Both should be in the service design library.