Week 2: Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud

Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud:

I thought this was a great read, especially considering I am not super familiar with comics as a medium (although I am not unfamiliar either). I think that Scott's conclusions about the way we read from a panel to panel and how our mind fills in the action between each one is probably the most profound thing I took away from the book. Its something that I had never been aware of before but now that I know, I am able to understand the creativity and imagination that goes into comics. That is not only creativity on the part of the author/illustrator, but also creativity on the part of the reader as well. Its a dance between the creator and reader alike that brings the panels and pages of comics to life in a medium that is really unique when compared to other common entertainment mediums.

What is even more impressive about this is Scott's ability to demonstrate this point through the art that appears on the book. Never before, have I seen such an animated and lively character as the one in this comic... and I mean that is a literal sense. The simplified, cartoon drawing of Scott was about to transform and move in ways that stick out in my mind the same way an animation would, which is something that really drives the point home.

Beyond this, we see Scott go into depth of the differences between cartoons and realistic, explaining the benefits and drawbacks to both. This leads to another part of the reading that I found very captivating which is his explanation of the power of the symbol and how that relates to the the way our minds interpret cartoon character (simplified and general) with more realistic ones (complex and specific).

All in all I really enjoyed this read and it helped shine a light on a medium I never would have broke down and analyzed in my head on my own.

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