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Zot! Special Edition: The Complete Black and White Collection: 1987-1991 Hardcover – Deluxe Edition, November 11, 2008

by Scott McCloud (Author)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 103 ratings
See all formats and editions

From comics pioneer Scott McCloud, the complete black and white collection of Zot!, featuring never-before-seen artwork and extensive commentary by the author

Long before manga took the American comics market by storm, Scott McCloud (Understanding Comics, Making Comics) combined the best ideas from manga, alternative comics, and superheroes into Zot!—a frenetic and innovative exploration of comics' potential that helped set the stage for McCloud's later groundbreaking theoretical work.

Zachary T. Paleozogt lives in "the far-flung future of 1965," a utopian Earth of world peace, robot butlers, and flying cars. Jenny Weaver lives in an imperfect world of disappointment and broken promises—the Earth we live in. Stepping across the portals to each other's worlds, Zot and Jenny's lives will never be the same again.

Now, for the first time since its original publication more than twenty years ago, every one of McCloud's pages from the black and white series has been collected in this must-have commemorative edition for aficionados to treasure and new fans to discover.

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Previous page
  1. Print length
    576 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    It Books
  4. Publication date
    November 11, 2008
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 1.69 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0061645125
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0061645129
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“[A] wonderful collection…highly recommended.” — Library Journal

“Thoroughly charming...the series’s thoughtful joy spills over into its airy, bouncy design sense.” — Washington Post Book World

“McCloud is one of the major talents in the comics world.” — Sacramento Book Review

“Essential...a stunning revelation...the packaging alone is fantastic...It’s long past time for a critical re-appraisal of these tender, delicate, overwhelmingly ambitious early stories, and what they tried to accomplish as well as what they actually did accomplish.” — The Onion A.V. Club

“A brilliant superhero series that still holds up to the test of time 20 years later.” — Daily News

“[S]ure to be a treasure trove for McCloud fans or lovers of intelligent retro comics action.” — Publishers Weekly

“[D]elightful...Zot! has aged surprisingly well, and now it seems prescient in being strongly influenced by Japanese comics well before manga was common in America.” — Booklist

“Shows that [McCloud] is not only an avid student and chronicler of comics, but an incredibly talented cartoonist...illuminates McCloud’s genius as he blends Eastern and Western comics influences into a mesmerizing superhero tale.” — David Gutowski for Largehearted Boy

“Honestly, comics just don’t get any better than this.” — Gary Tyrrell for Fleen.com

“One of comics’ best written, and most overlooked, titles...a stylish, often light-hearted, and yet dramatically compelling comic.” — Edge Boston

“With a smart-looking trim size and a sharp design that includes cover flaps and a stark-but-beautiful cover, Zot!: The Complete Black and White Collection is an admirable addition to one’s bookshelf.” — Comic Book Resources.com

“To suggest I was enthralled by McCloud’s pop commentary about hope and beauty in the world would be to embrace understatement…well crafted, entertaining and even challenging…9 out of 10.” — Don MacPherson for Eye on Comics.com

“The classic retrofit of the post-war comics gestalt.” — William Gibson, author of Spook Country

“Zot! is refreshing, lively, and truly entertaining.” — Samuel R. Delany, author of Dark Reflections

“Zot! is wonderful…and should please readers of all ages. — Greg Bear, author of Quantico

“Zot! is a remarkable graphic narrative. ” — Richard A. Lupoff

From the Back Cover

Long before manga took the American comics market by storm, Scott McCloud (Understanding Comics, Making Comics) combined the best ideas from manga, alternative comics, and superheroes into Zot!—a frenetic and innovative exploration of comics' potential that helped set the stage for McCloud's later groundbreaking theoretical work.

Zachary T. Paleozogt lives in "the far-flung future of 1965," a utopian Earth of world peace, robot butlers, and flying cars. Jenny Weaver lives in an imperfect world of disappointment and broken promises—the Earth we live in. Stepping across the portals to each other's worlds, Zot and Jenny's lives will never be the same again.

Now, for the first time since its original publication more than twenty years ago, every one of McCloud's pages from the black and white series has been collected in this must-have commemorative edition for aficionados to treasure and new fans to discover.

Includes never-before-seen artwork and extensive commentary by Scott McCloud

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ It Books; Limited edition (November 11, 2008)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 576 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0061645125
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0061645129
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.36 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.69 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 103 ratings

About the author

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Scott McCloud

Scott McCloud

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Scott McCloud has been writing, drawing, and examining comics since 1984. Winner of the Eisner and Harvey awards, his works have been translated into more than sixteen languages. Frank Miller (Sin City, 300) called him "just about the smartest guy in comics." He lives with his family in southern California. His online comics and inventions can be found at scottmccloud.com.

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
103 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

DJ Joe Sixpack
5.0 out of 5 stars A miraculous, little-known graphic novel landmark
Reviewed in the United States on July 17, 2009
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"Zot!: The Complete Black and White Collection: 1987-1991"
by Scott McCloud
(Harper Books, 2008)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Along with the first series of "Love & Rockets," Scott McCloud's "Zot!" was one of the few comic books that I bought new off the stands in the late 1980s... I was a recovering lifelong Marvel junkie, and a few books had brought me back into the fold -- DC's revamped "Swamp Thing," "Watchmen," stuff like that -- and there was a swirl of charming black-and-white, small-press "ground level" comics out there that rekindled the sense of fun and wonder that the superhero books once had, but had lost in the muscle-bound monotony of clones, alternate realities and anti-mutant pogroms, and gimmicky fake deaths. "Zot," however, was one of the few books that really enthralled me, and that I eagerly awaited when it came out on the stands.

There was the first series, the color stories, that came out first (and which have been reprinted by Kitchen Sink Press... also worth tracking down) and those stories were lots of fun. After wrapping that series up, McCloud too a sabbatical, then returned with this second series, a more mature, more accomplished, and much more ambitious project that took comicbook storytelling to a very surprising place. Under the cover of a goofy, fun, fantastical reexamination of sci-fi/superhero genre, McCloud crafted an emotionally resonant coming-of-age epic.

This omnibus opens with the ebullient young Zot, a tirelessly optimistic teenage superhero from a futuristic alternate reality coming back to visit his Earth friend, Jenny Weaver, and stay with her in her world. He brings some of his hip, wise-cracking teenage future-world friends with him, and initially the series has the same giddy, adolescent tone as the first series. But over the course of the next couple dozen issues, the tone of the book changed -- the play-action violence became more real, the hero had to accept the kind of consequences that our real-world existence demanded, and Jenny slowly but surely emerged as the book's true hero. Also the cast widened, as did their emotional depth. Jenny's geeky high school friends -- D&D-ers, comicbook readers, nerds and sexual outcasts -- were all given their own space to emerge as three-dimensional characters, with one emerging as a romantic rival in a triangle between Jenny and Zot. Two issues stood out at the time, and still do now: In issue #30, we were treated to "Autumn," a poignant story that focussed on Jenny's mother, a recently divorced single parent who laments the loss of her own youth and innocence, while issue #35 ("The Conversation") in which Jenny and Zot debate the wisdom of having premarital, teenage sex, remains an intellectual highwater mark for the comicbook medium. In the next episode, the series ended, with a bittersweet finality, but a sense of purpose and grace that is rarely seen in canceled titles.

Author/illustrator Scott McCloud has since gone on to become an expert in explaining and advocating for the graphic novel medium, but he has never really tried to present a story on this scale again, and really, why should he? Few authors create genuine masterpieces, but here he has, and it's a marvelous legacy, beautifully gathered in this thick, compact omnibus volume. This is one of the best, most resonant comics I've ever read, and it is highly, highly recommended. (Joe Sixpack, ReadThatAgain book reviews)
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DC_Fan_52
5.0 out of 5 stars A Breath of Fresh Air
Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2010
Verified Purchase
When the big two publishers (DC and Marvel)get you down, it's time to look at Indy Comics. Zot! is by Scott McCloud, who wrote another book called Understanding Comics, and though I know OF it, I've not read Understanding Comics, so I can assure you that McCloud isn't getting any reflected glory. With that in mind, I'd actually give this book a 4.5 out of 5.

It's not a perfect book, because it's not a perfect book. The first ten issues are missing, and as of this review, there's no plans to reprint the material. There was no summary to explain what happened in those first ten issues. And, we don't even get character bios to explain who everyone is. Scott McCloud makes the excuse that "575 pages is enough," but some character bios would have only taken at most two pages. Also, a story is missing, "Getting to 99," you can still sorta read it, but it's printed really small, so its not enjoyable to read.

That said, I gave this a 5 out of 5, because once you look past these petty nitpicks, this collection is strong. You'll pick up on the character that matter after the first two chapters. The book is divided into two parts "Heroes and Villains" and "Earth Stories." You might already know that "Earth Stories" gets a lot of praise for the issues it played with, and I'll agree it deserves it. Let me tell you about "Heroes and Villains" instead. Part One is spent mainly on Zot's world, a pseudo-utopia where villain and hero battles are not something to get overly worried about. McCloud creates a decent Rogue's gallery for Zot to fight, some villains are silly, but there are some serious threats like 9-Jack-9 and Dekko, who are a wonder to behold. "Heroes and Villains" is important for when you get to the middle of "Earth Stories" and you suddenly wish for the simplicity of Zot's world. So, put together, they're a great experience. Should I mention this is a love story?

I love the art. Modern superhero art is big and flashy, this feels more down to earth. When Zot's happy, he's really happy. And when Jenny's sad, you can see her face twist with anger and frustration. I love how most of the stories are one, two, maybe three chapters long, making them easily digestible bites that I can pick up and put down. Plus this collection fits very comfortably in my hands. I got the signed hardcover version, they only made 1000 of these and mine is 961.

So there's some really good art in here, superhero silliness, and some solid writing for the "Earth Stories." It's not very violent, but there's talk about sex in this book, so it's not for young readers. If you're tired of mainstream superhero comics, this is worth a look. Heck, I think non-comicbook readers can get into this book.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Karin
5.0 out of 5 stars Prachtige tekeningen
Reviewed in the Netherlands on March 27, 2024
Verified Purchase
Fijne paperback-uitgave van de prachtig getekende Zot-verhalen ban Scott McCloud. Ligt fijn is de hand. Het zwart is echt mooi zwart. Als je dit nog niet gelezen, echt een aamrader!
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Cliente de Amazon
1.0 out of 5 stars Poniendo a prueba.
Reviewed in Mexico on March 2, 2017
Verified Purchase
Seguro conocerás a Scott por sus libros sobre cómics (Making comics, understanding comics, etc)

Estos son excelentes, pero uno se pregunta:

"¿Que autoridad tiene para darme consejos?"

Aquí es donde entra Zot.

Y vaya que si sabe de que habla (escribe, pero ustedes entienden)

Vez todos los consejos que el da en acción.

Personajes increíbles, excelente diseño de escenarios y personajes, seguimiento de la historia sublime y esta es increíble, de lo mejor que he leído en cómic alguno.

Sin duda, un punto clave en los cómics de superhéroes, de los mejores jamás hechos.

El único problema es la impresión, que es algo barata (como un manga pero muy abultado)

Así que si pueden, compren la edición de pasta dura.

Fuera de eso, Zot es un cómic que debe pertenecer en la estantería de cualquier aficionado a los cómics...

HASTA EL CUARTO NUMERO

Los primeros numeros de Zod son una obra maestra, pero despues el comic se vuelve melodrama adolescete barato (los primeros numeros tambien lo son, pero ES BUENO)

El dibujo sigue siendo muy bueno en terminos de estructuras y fondos, porque los personajes son asquerosamente dibujados.

Evitelo a menos que se encuentren una versión con solo los primeros tomos.
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Cal
5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful, thoughtful comics, with a superhero.
Reviewed in Canada on February 6, 2015
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It's hard to understand how this series has not had a bigger impact on comics. Maybe it has, but I don't hear much talk about it. It definitely didn't have any impact on Marvel or DC or any of the numerous superhero movies that come out every year. Every one flashy but stunningly devoid of heart, soul and dynamism of character. Essentially everything that Zot is not.
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Starbuck
3.0 out of 5 stars Ganz nett...
Reviewed in Germany on September 4, 2011
Verified Purchase
...aber doch etwas eingestaubt. Zeichnerisch macht McLeod hier alles richtig, die Handlung ist aber bisweilen zu wenig zielstrebig. Zu Beginn macht das noch Spaß, im Laufe des Buches verliert der Autor jedoch den Fokus und verliert sich in Randthemen, die heute nicht mehr so unbedingt schockieren (Thema Sexualität in allen Facetten).

Eher ein Stück Comiczeitgeschichte als ein wirkliches Graphic Novel Erlebnis. Kann man sich anschauen, ist aber nicht zwingend nötig.
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Humeanbeing
5.0 out of 5 stars Worth it for the Earth Stories alone...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 16, 2009
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I don't have much to add to what the first two reviewers have written here. Except to say that as someone who splashed out on the now-deleted Kitchen Sink collections only to see the final collection (Book 4) fail to appear due to the publisher running out of money, it is a joy to see these comics in print again at long last.

That goes double for the "Earth Stories", which featured in issues 28 to 36 of the original series (issue 36 being the last issue to date). Not only because it was ridiculous that such finely wrought tales should have been so long out of circulation when McCloud was enjoying mainstream success as the author of Understanding Comics and its various sequels (though it was). But because those eight issues represented something rarer than diamonds, not only in comics but in literature and the arts as a whole - in that they came from somewhere unmistakably real in the author's life, were autobiographical in the best sense of the word without surrendering any of their fictional magic, and as such had a power to speak into people's lives, including my own, that I have yet to see matched by any other comic in 20-plus years of collecting.

It was as if, having relaunched the title in black and white with issue 11, McCloud again stepped up a gear with issue 28, taking Zot! and its readers into entirely new emotional territory. As a reader of the original comics, I was relatively late to the party. The first issue I picked up while it was still on the stands rather than in the back issue racks was issue 35. That was on the back of a series of feverish recommendations in the letters pages of other titles. Fortunately, with a bit of persistence and doing the rounds of comics fairs, I was able to dig back and buy up most of the issues I had missed.

And I'm glad I did. No graphic novel collection to my knowledge has ever included readers' letters as part of the package. Understandably so in many cases. Yet to read the letters in titles like Zot!, Sandman and Alan Moore's Swamp Thing is to see at first hand (near as dammit) the impact that comics can have on people's lives.

Looking back, it's almost impossible to overstate how much the Earth Stories meant to myself and other readers. As a relatively callow youth at the time, reading stories such as "Normal" opened my eyes to - among other things - issues such as gay rights and homophobia. It made them real, and in doing so transformed a key aspect of my view of the world (portentous and pretentious as I know that must sound).

Reading this collection now, it is fascinating to have McCloud's retrospective take on his work. Of course, the creator can by definition never really share the reader's perspective; he is always going to see the flaws and/or where he fell short of his original vision. For me, there are places where McCloud's achievements go beyond words. Transcendent moments that occur both in the artwork (certain panels of the story "Autumn"), and the dialogue ("Normal"), and in the ineffable combination of the two (the opening of "Autumn" and the ending of "Invincible", but take your pick).

After writing some of the most penetrating and pioneering analysis of the comics medium in print, McCloud now looks set to return to actually creating comics once again. I for one cannot wait.
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