Even before writing Understanding Comics, McCloud was an activist for artist rights and a renowned superhero comic-writer who published his first comics while still in high school. He was the driving force behind The Creator’s Bill of Rights (1988), a manifesto that addressed comic publishers’ regimented work conditions and payment schedules. McCloud also has a life-long history of collaborating with other artists; he and two other young comics artists were the first to pen DC/Marvel Comics crossover graphic novel Pow! Biff! Pops!. In 1984, as superhero comics were becoming increasingly dark and serious, McCloud responded with Zots!, a light-hearted superhero comic.

Born in 1960, McCloud was greatly influenced by visual stimuli as a child due to his father’s blindness, becoming well versed in history and philosophy among other subjects. In response to his theoretical work, some critics and reviewers refer to him as the Aristotle of Comics.

McCloud attended Syracuse University and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1982, four years after the publication of his first graphic novel. Over the course of his career, he received multiple awards. He lives in California and continues to lecture, tour, and produce original work.