Understanding ComicsThe invisible artBy Scott McCloudReport by Mary J. AndersonComics tend to have a bad rap as being simple, not legitimate reading material, trash, low brow faire, etc.Most people I talk to when they hear the word comics, they think of Sunday paper cartoons, or Marvel comic books like Superman or Spiderman, and some of course think of stand up comedians. I myself find that comics are very expressive and enjoyable to read and look at.Scott McCloud wants to show how comics are much more than that. he message is more than just in the words, but in the pictures as well.So as someone who loves reading graphic novels, I thought this book was perfect for me as I do believe comics are an art form. IntroductionScott McCloud illustrates his explanation o ho! comics are !ritten using the elements o design !hich are used in other art orms such as paintings" music or #lm by !riting in comic boo$ style to demonstrate his points.This not only helps the reader understand !hat he is trying to get across" it is %ust a more en%oyable !ay to read about the !orld o comics&at least to me'.There is so much !onderul inormation in this boo$" it is impossible or me to share it all in this report.(opeully" ) can share enough to entice you to read his boo$ in its entirety.This book will make you rethink two questions. (o! do you de#ne art* (o! do you de#ne !hat ma$es a comic*OverviewThe author starts out by trying to develop an accurate de#nition o !hat comics are in his !ords. (e came up !ith + %uxtaposed pictorial and other images in deliberate se,uence" intended to convey inormation and-or to produce an aesthetic response in the vie!er.. This made me thin$ !hat the +real. dictionary de#nes comics as. My /010 2ebster dictionary that ) have had since childhood" de#nes comics as +a comic cartoon or strip o cartoons" relating to comedy..Ater reading this boo$" his is much more accurate in my opinion.Chapter 1-Setting the Record StraightComics have a long history believe it or not.Scott sho!s examples o a manuscript discovered by Corte3 in /410 describing in pictures the battle and con,uest by a ruler named 5 deer +Tiger6s Cla!..Another example he sho!ed !as a tapestry rom 7rance depicting the battle o /899" the :orman Con,uest" in a clear progression o actions rom one picture to the other.;ven ;gyptian paintings in tombs can be seen as comics as they also to tell a se,uential story" once you discovered they don6t read let to right as !e do but bottom to top in a 3ig3ag motion.Chapter 1-Setting the Record StraightThese are only < small pieces o the tapestry that hangs in 7rance.)t is 18 meters long.(e begins his discussion by de#ning the vocabulary o comics !hich includes symbols" !ords" shapes and pictures.The crux o this chapter really comes bac$ to =ermane load !e learned in the last unit.(e sho!s ho! that artists !ho !ant to emphasi3e a particular idea or meaning" may dra! his characters in very simpli#ed manner to avoid the reader ocusing on the details o the dra!ing in the character than on !hat the character is doing.By design the artist can determine !hat you !ill ocus on by ho! he or she dra!s out the bac$ground details or !hat the ocus is in the rame.Chapter 2-Vocabulary of Comics+he moved ,uic$ly.) ound it ascinating his point ho! !e as humans are very sel>centered in one !ay that !e see ourselves &at least our ace' in %ust about anything.Thin$ about it" loo$ at a electrical soc$et" ront o your car. Any!here you see t!o dots or small lines !ith another line or curve or dot beneath them.2hat do you see* A ace" ) !ould bet.2e get rid o all the extraneous inormation &all the other details o the ront o the car such as color or grill type' and see the germane load &%ust the right amount o inormation" the parts that ma$e the ace'.)nteresting?At least ) thought so. @>' A>>see the ace*Chapter 2-Vocabulary of ComicsBo you see a ace*Chapter C is about closure.(e discusses this as he explains the use o the gutter" the space bet!een rames in a comic. =enerally in a comic" actions are not dra!n one piece at a time.Dou may see the start o someone s!inging a bat" then in the next rame you see the ball going out o the par$.)n the gutter" or !hite space your imagination #lled in the action o hitting the bat and the ball beginning its %ourney into the air.McCloud de#nes closure as +the phenomenon o observing the parts but perceiving the !hole.. Sound amiliar*This is the =estalt Theory as discussed in our textboo$ page 99 &Eohr' !here the !hole is greater than the sum o its parts.Chapter -!lood in the "utterDou see %ust pieces o the battle" but your mind #lls in all the moments in bet!een.(is next chapter discusses the use o time in comics.(e describes the many !ays artists can sho! the passage o time in a comic story.The panels or the space that holds each piece o the story &usually rectangular but could be other shapes'" each represents a moment in time.As our eyes pass over one to the other !e perceive the passage o time as one moment leads to another" yet it6s the artist that has to help us !ith the amount o time passing or !e !ill #ll that in ourselves based on possible previous experience in a similar situation or have $no!ledge o.Some o the !ays" time passage can be sho!n is !ith !ords or character actions.They also can use lines or blurred images to sho! something moving past.Chapter #-$ime %ramesTime passes bet!een the gutters.This battle can last as long as the reader !ants.Chapter 4 discusses ho! shape can be used to represent not only emotions but ho! to use sho! other senses" such as smell" taste" and sound through the use o our visual sense.7or example ho! strong lines and shapes might provide or strong emotions" !hile thinner soter shapes sho! simpler emotions.Bar$ %agged lines could portray angers" !hile thinner curvy lines used could be used to convey contentment.Small teardrop shops alling rom someone6s bro! could sho! nervous" or rom their eyes to sho! sadness.(e sho!ed ho! lines have come to sho! i something smells by dra!ing small !avy lines coming up rom a pile o something.Chapter &-'iving in 'ineAbove" the thin lines help sho! ast motion.Belo! the %agged lines and the all capital letters help to sho! the intense emotion o someone yelling.The next chapter discusses the use o !ords !ith the pictures.(e e,uates this !ith the Sho! and Tell o our childhoods. 2e !ould bring in our item &sho!' and use !ords to describe our ob%ect &tell'.Most people thin$ o either !ords being a caption to a picture" or maybe the picture is an illustration o the !ords.2ord combined !ith pictures can be used in many !ays.As in comics" !ords can not only give dialogue to the character" but it can convey passage o time" set a mood" sho! sound" or simply give more detail to a scene than the picture does.Chapter (-Show and $ell(ere the combination o !ords and pictures allo! you to see a moment through someone6s thoughts verses having the character tal$ing out loud.(e explains ho! art goes through 9 stages" idea-purpose" orm" idiom" structure" crat" surace. (is 9 steps run parallel !ith the AC; design process as discussed in Chapter F o our textboo$ &lohr'.The Analy3e phase covers ideas" orm and idiom.The create phase covers structure and crat. The ;valuate phase is e,ual to Surace rom his model. Chapter )-Si* Steps+cCloud,s ( steps-C.)dea-purpose Analy3e7orm)diomStructure CreateCratSurace ;valuateThe last component he discusses is color.(o! color can express various moods as !ell as environments and de#ne characters !as very important in comic development.But color comics !as an expensive proposition" so that is !hy most comics used %ust F basic colors.)t !as economic more than artistic style here in America.Apparently in ;urope they had a diGerent !ay o printing in color so their artists !ere able to use more colors and thereore do more !ith color.Chapter /-ColorEight blue can sho! calm.Red can sho! anger.Dello! can be used or happy.