Understanding Comics

When I bought all of my books for this course, I was the most excited to read “Understanding Comics” by Scott McCloud. What a genious way to talk about comics, and much more for that matter, by actually making it in a comic book format.

Having a box of over 100 Archie comics somewhere in my basement, I was once a big fan of this type of art. I suppose I had moved away from comics once I was a teenager, but I still haven’t moved away from symbolic images and icons. That is pretty much impossible. I think that is what McCloud is trying to prove with this book. There is so much more to comic books than what people usually assume. It is surely a type of art, and there are many secrets that go behind the making of a comic book. Reading it made me want to go back and analyze one of my many Archie comics. Who knows, maybe I’ll read one again for old times sake?

McCloud makes symbolic icons (representing ideas and concepts) and pictorial icons (resembling their subjects) very easy to understand. No wonder comics are so universal and I was always able to choose between being Veronica or Betty. Cartoon images can be stripped down so the meaning is more apparent than the drawing itself. A simple cartoon smiley face can be anyone our minds want it to be.

Looking into the mind and its capabilities are what McCloud explains with the many things humans do to understand a sight-based medium such as comics. Between the panels of comics we make closure, and make sense of what we don’t see. It is something we do all the time in every day life. With colour and lines, we understand motion and emotions. We are even able to grasp the concept of time frames.

Books with pictures should not be considered “childish”. Why must literature and pictures be pushed away from each other? McCloud proves that words and pictures can work together to make an enjoyable, yet informative, work of art.

Works Cited:
McCloud, Scott. Underrstanding Comics. New York: HarperCollins, 1993.