Understanding Comics - Scott McCloud

-

Understanding Comics 
Scott McCloud 

I really enjoyed Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics because I used to read comics as a kid as well, but I too asked the same questions as this comic had in it. I loved how this comic was very successful by explaining as well as questioning comics as a comic medium itself, to make it more interesting. There were many topics discussed in this comic and explaining the fact that we can use each panel to our advantage to tell stories in immense detail even with just a couple of panels. McCloud discussed the different aspects of storytelling through symbolism, the exchange of information and visual imagery. It's great how he explains how classic comics have a certain structure to them as well as analyzing how those structures can be tested and changed. He also touches bases on both fiction and non-fictional concepts through the comics and how they have symbolic elements that help create these works. In this comic he shows these ideas through having some graphic/ iconic imagery to then having some realistic images. It's a great read because it feels like the character in the book is talking to you - as if there is some sort of a conversation going on through his analysis as well as his questioning. I was only exposed to more Westernized comics such as the Archie and Josie and the Pussycats comics, as well as Garfield or DC and Marvel comics. I later started to look into other comics through my friends and found the Moebius comics by Jean Giraud, and then Sergio Toppi's comics. I noticed the difference between themes and art form of them, the contrasts and similarities. I noticed that American comics were more stylized in a more 'cartoony' kind of way. I love how this comic was about to let me think conceptually as well as analytically about comics and surreal topics in general to understanding the form and art of comics.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Arrival - Shaun Tan

-
The Arrival Shaun Tan The Arrival  by Shaun Tan is a very interesting story, told in a comic. The reason why this works so well, is because although Tan does not use any descriptions or any of the characters speaking to one another. This comic worked particularity well because it was very cinematic as well as animatic. Going scene by scene, and sometimes as detailed as frame by frame. In a sense, it can be seen as a silent film – they usually did not have to have dialogue between the characters, it was all inaudible. The majority of how this story worked out was as the saying goes, ‘actions speak louder than words’. So, whenever you’d go to the next frame it would be in a very sequential way of looking at how the story is being played out. Tan even shows the characters in a very close up scale, showing the emotions on their faces and how they react with each other as well as the environment around them. Even the way that Tan would illustrate the...
Read more

Week nine: Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

-
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi Persepolis is about a girl's childhood and adulthood of growing up in Iran during the Islamic revolution which came out in France. I didn't read the novel first, it's interesting, I actually watched the animation of it about three years ago. It's interesting because the graphic novel is non-fiction and brings out the life of how the author's childhood was – especially being in black and white, I thought that it gave the book the essence of the time of when she was a kid, as well as the environment and the event that was taking place during that time. I linked with this because although I did not personally go through it, I had family members and people I knew who went through the same things the author went through at this time. Such as, repression, warfare and loss. Because I grew up in the Middle East, but in a country that did not go through such tough circumstances such as Syria, Palestine, Iraq, Egypt, Libya and Oman. There ha...
Read more