We humans are, after all, very much dominated by our sense of sight. And while of course this sense is the one we use to read words, pictures have always had the advantage when it comes to getting the attention of our brains. In ancient times, this capacity was vital for our survival -- our other senses being far inferior to other animals, we depended on sight to perceive danger, as well as to recognize the familiar. And from a very early time, we found ways to depict these visual patterns for ourselves; 30,000 years ago we drew the images of animals -- some of them in multiple, overlapping images -- on the walls of our caves. As Scott McCloud notes, even out earliest forms of writing consisted of pictographs -- tiny pictures of things -- long before alphabetic characters came to signify just one sound at a time.
Today, we are born into a world of media. From the first board-books and picture books that are placed into our hands, or read to us by our parents, we learn to see, to recognize depictions of things around us. Words -- with labored pencils and paper -- come a little later, followed soon after by screens and keyboards. So, in some way, to return to the graphical world is to revisit those primal scenes, to once again be in a world where we take things in visually, though this time with some words in, atop, and around them.
There are many conventions for this -- talk-bubbles, thought-bubbles, boxed off sections of frames where an omniscient narrator tells us what's going on -- and as we move through these spaces, we move through time as well. At a basic level, it's like the way a typical five-year-old tells a story: this happened, and then this, and then this ... but also with detours. Do we look at a round frame surrounded by square ones first? -- or do we look at the squares? What if the page is split by a jagged line like a thunderbolt? What difference does the relative sizes of frames make? And even within a single frame, there is a sequence to our seeing: the eyes, the facial expression, the shapes in the background. Often, our pulse quickens as we sense danger for the character we're following. And yet, as McCloud says, it's all just lines on paper ...
So grab a hold of a comic. Maybe you have some on your shelf? If not, why not try a webcomic? If comics were a part of your life growing up, track down one of your favorites. And then, having read this week's material from Scott McCloud's book, have a fresh look: what do you notice? Does the structure of the comic seem clearer to you now? Post your responses below.
After reading the assigned sections in McClouds books one thing that really stood out to me was the reference to his childhood on p60-61. The reference was that when he was a child he thought that whatever he himself couldn't sense wasn't real, and explained how that connected into the concept of closure. He stated that faith is what is he used to know that certain things in the world were there and that he believed in it because he had heard of it rather than seeing it. So with the new concept of closure in mind I realized that when comics used panels to get onto the next scene I did unknowingly piece what happened together. I had never been one to read many comics growing up but have read a few, but I have never put it into perspective how the creators of these comics can use imagery and a few words to make a whole scene without actually seeing what happens in between the squares. The structure of comics really did change in my perspective on how I interpreted them because I now take into consideration how others may see a scene to how I might, like McCloud said there are thousands of ways the crime may have been committed in between the panels depending on the imagination reading it!
ReplyDelete-Britney Raposo
Britney, I also found very interesting the concept of the reader's perception with the murder. I enjoyed how he calls the reader a "silent accomplice" a "partner in crime". It seems fascinating to me how we, as the readers, can participate in the story, creating our own version of it. It kind of makes the reading a bit more fun and it allows us to use our imagination.
DeleteThis reading opened my eyes to understand what you are reading. I have never been a reader much of anything, and never thought reading comics would be an interest of mine. It was quite interesting to see exactly how a writer gets their points across with the use of just a few words and minimal pictures. One specific part that caught my attention was when McCloud used the reference to hide and seek, the earth being round, and even knowing what places look like even though he had never been there before. Before reading this comic, i never realized just how much this concept is used in life. There is no possible way to be in more than one place at once, however something reassures you that life is still going on in other places that you cannot see. It was cool to see this in perspective to a comic strip, where a simple gap between clips has so much meaning. There could be tons of things occurring in this spot between what you actually know and it is all up to you to imagine the possibilities. I thought this was interesting and definitely made the structure of the comic a lot more clear. I will now be able to look at things in my own life a lot different now that i have read this.
ReplyDelete-Carlie McPherson
I was thinking about your question “does the structure of the comic seem clearer to you now?” even before I started reading the chapters assigned. It was evident to me that my answer was a no. The structure of the comic is not clear to me, only because I do not remember a time where I purposefully chose to read a comic or buy a comics book or magazine. I do enjoy reading from time to time, but comics has never been my first choice, or even an option. Thus, I guess it is only natural that I am not familiar with its structure. However, this very unfamiliarity is what woke an interest to the reading of McCloud’s book.
ReplyDeleteDespite the stereotype that comics are “crude, poorly-drawn, semiliterate, cheap, disposable kiddie fare” like McCloud mentioned, I found it more difficult to read than anticipated. It certainly takes more than just reading the words to fully understand what it is being said. Starting with the fact that giving a definition to the word “comics” is still an ongoing process, it shows how complex comics can be, both in form and content. Additionally, like the author himself said, the sequence of the actions drawn by the artist, depend heavily on the reader’s perception, imagination, and interpretation of the acts, which takes place in the “gutter”. I, honestly, never thought there was so much work and precision into the creation of comics. Though, now I see how every detail has been thoughtfully created so the reader can understand what is happening with only so many words, sometimes, even with no words at all, just a sequence of images.
It is, to me, a shame that comics do not get the recognition they deserve in the world of arts. But I believe part of the reason is that many, like me, do not fully understand the complexity of its structure. After completion of the reading, the structure of the comic seems just a little bit clearer to me. However, I certainly believe that there is much more to learn about it.
-Juliana Lopez
As a child, I loved to read. Once I learned how to read I read what I could when I could, but I was never really interested in comics. The only time I remember reading comics were the ones in the newspapers, one of my favorites being Peanuts. Before reading the assigned excerpts from Understanding Comics, I was quick to judge in thinking I wouldn’t enjoy it because I have never been a fan of comics, but I actually found the readings quite interesting. The first chapter discussed that comics are much more complex than they appear, as McCloud spent some time trying to define what comics really are. I liked how he tied the topic of comics to history, that comics are not just what are read in books or newspapers, but have been around for an extremely long time. The topic of closure discussed in chapter 3 helped me understand how storylines in comics work. I admired how he compared closure in comics to real life situations, sort of bringing a psychological aspect into it. The description of closure brought a clear explanation to how we all read and how it allows us to “mentally construct a continuous, unified reality.” The structure of the comic was clear to me. It is slightly more difficult to read because of the layout compared to reading a normal book, but the layout, illustrations, and dialogue help in bringing the reading to life, and allow readers to use their imagination and interpret the comic as they wish.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading, I find it really interesting that comics seem to have this stereotype/ stigma around them and I have never thought about why...I guess I have just accepted it. I don't typically read comics but I loved picture books growing up and felt like they told a story. i'm a very visual learner and it opened my eyes when the reading said that diagrams with pictures are comics but no one calls them that and they are crucial for understanding important directions/ procedures.
ReplyDeleteI was also surprised by the way our minds work to turn everything into a face and give inanimate things identities and emotions, it's true. Just from those assigned readings I feel like I have a different perspective on comics and the comic was very informational about describing and explaining comics.
-Hannah Kuprevich
I grew up around someone who loved comics, and still had the stigma that they are 'nerdy' or even 'weird' to read. It is super interesting how we can have these feelings just because a book has pictures in it. McCloud mentioned how we cannot call diagrams comics, because that is not as "dignified" (McCloud, 20) which is really odd to think about. Advanced textbooks have various diagrams, but if they were to be called 'comics' would the textbook be any less advanced?
DeleteWhen I had found out that this class was primarily focused around comics, I had a few flashbacks of when I would read the latest transformers comics as a kid. Unfortunately I do not own any of those comics physically so I couldn't get the true nostalgic feel I was seeking. After doing the reading from "Understanding comics", I understand a lot more of why comics are structured the way they are. I've always appreciated the unique way comics can tell a story while ago visualizing it, too many adults don't give comics a fair chance because they view it as childish but its so much more then that. I borrowed a manga from one of my friends, and the type of bold lettering, visuals and unique way of displaying various kinds of intense action scenes is something a regular book just can't portray. My understanding and interpretation of comics have definitely improved after the reading because not only is it important to understand what your reading when reading a comic but its also handy to appreciate/comprehend WHY that page was structured that way, WHY that word was bold or in funky lettering, etc. - Marvick Felix
ReplyDeleteI'm a big reader, but comics or graphic novels have never been an interest to me. Once or twice I have read a graphic novel adaptation of one of my favorite books. When I read it, I thought that it was just a shortened version of the books I loved. After hearing Dr. Potter talk about adaptations and reading this section of the text I've realized how much depth can actually be found inside a graphic novel. Just because those books have less words, doesn't mean they have less depth than the novels they are based off of. Details can be found in the pictures instead of in descriptive language of the text. I now understand that even the spaces in between the panels have a purpose, and that in the adaptations that I read, there was more space for the imagination, whereas the novel doesn't leave quite as much up to interpretation.
ReplyDelete-Catherine Comfort
After reading the assigned material from Scott McCloud I was able to see a fresh perspective on previous comics I’ve read. The most interesting part of comics to me are how movement is implied. I never saw this before reading Understanding Comics. Two pictures can show a progression of movement, but they are still images? Sequential art is used often in literature, and it stems from comics. In addition to this, I also was able to see the impact comics have on our daily lives. We come across comics many times in life without realizing. In Understanding Comics, McCloud comments on this but addressing a diagram that might be seen on an airplane. This diagram illustrated the plane taking off and how to use the oxygen masks in case of emergency. McCloud asserts that “pictures in sequence are finally being recognized as the excellent communication tool that they are, but still no one refers to them as comics! ‘Diagrams’ sounds more dignified” (McCloud, 20) It is so interesting to me, the connotation that “Comics” have. Unfortunately, people view them as a juvenile form of literature, when in many cases, the material and commentary is beyond that of a child. Comics are used in so many aspects of life, and are a convenient way to convey instruction or information, so why are they looked down upon? The reading from this week opened my eyes to how prevalent comics are in our life. -Lisbeth Spitzschuh
ReplyDeleteAs a child I did not find reading books very interesting. And once in a while I would find a really good juicy book but comics were always easier to read and interesting to me. I was not a fan of the superhero type books but when you really think about it every book has some type of superhero and villain. This weeks reading opened my eyes to the things I do not really think about which is how we really see/read comic books without actually thinking about it. It was really fun to learn about how ways back in the day people used comics.
ReplyDelete-K'Mia Sylvester
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ReplyDeleteAs a child, I read and enjoyed a number of comics, manga, and graphic novels. While I did thoroughly enjoy reading graphic novels and comics, it was something that was looked down upon due to the stigma surrounding comics and the idea that graphic novels were not truly books. McCloud does an amazing job explaining that comic books are more than just picture stories meant for children. Comics are actually more complex than they appear, and they require reader participation as well as the reader’s ability to imagine scenarios freely in order to carry a message across successfully and in a way that can be understood. I found it interesting that different structures of comics also alter how the human brain perceives the message of a comic. Comics serve as a type of exercise for the human imagination and also serve as a communicative medium in which things such as simple instructions and complex concepts can be explained in a visual way to assist with written instruction (diagrams).
ReplyDeleteReading a comic now, especially after reading McCloud’s work, has helped me notice so much more now than from I what I used to. First, I noticed immediately how much is left to the human imagination while also still presenting solid ideas and information. Second, I noticed the different types of transitions McCloud covers, such as action-to-action, subject-to-subject, and scene-to-scene. The structure of the comic and how it is read is made slightly clearer and easier to understand, although there still is a challenge of understanding exactly what’s happening and how the sequential order is meant to be followed. While reading McCloud’s work has provided a better understanding of the structure of comics, it has also served to prove that comic books are more challenging than they appear and that they are much more complex than previously thought.
After reading Scott McClouds "Understanding comics" my eyes have opened to many details that are within comics of a whole. For example the art within comics and how things are drawn and referenced affects the readers perception. Weather its in a bold statement vs not can tell us how much the author is trying to emphasis the statement. I also learned what sequential art was and how important it is when understanding comics. Space is also a huge part of comics because it can catch the readers attention drastically. I also liked how the author talked about history and related it to comics. He mentions hieroglyphics and other older artifacts that were the early basis of comics. He also states that art in sequence is practically comics. Many artists have done collections in sequence and even though they may be very detailed the sequential aspect of them makes them a type of comic.In the first part of chapter 3 i noticed the author mentions childhood and how you perceive the world. I strongly associated with that because i have done it as a child. He also makes an interesting note on how we perceive the world and it makes you think a lot about how that related to comics. We may not know something is there but we assume it is based on the story. I also learned in chapter 3 about closure. At first i struggled with the concept. Overall it meant "observing the parts but perceiving the whole." Once the examples were stated i understood more about the concept. it was interesting to me that closure is very much involuntary in comics based on "The gutter" in most traditional comics. It is a way between panels to interpret and assume what is happening.The author also touches on "movement to movement" and "action to action". I found this especially helpful in understanding the art of comics and the major aspects of it. Overall i enjoyed being educated by McCloud because i had to little knowledge about comics previous to reading it. I didn't think comics could be so complex but the author does a great job explaining comics as a whole.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up, I always thought of comics the same way as picture books- but never really put together that they told a story until way later in life.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading McCloud's perspective on comics, it shines a whole different light on comics. You tell the story as you perceive it just as McCloud was doing with the hieroglyphics in chapter one. He told the story as he saw it in his mind. I also find it fascinating how im chapter three, McCloud touches on the subject of a daydream as a child. He did not believe things existed unless he saw them. I find it interesting because it is true- you have to have an imagination to believe things exist in the world without seeing them. I like the point he makes about the space between the panels on p. 66 called the "gutter". I never thought of it as a place where your imagination takes place to give the last panel closure.
I did not read too many comics growing up. From the ones I did read and just reading a quick comic now, it is amazing how different the perspective of comics are now. McCloud created a whole new way understanding and interpreting comics.
After reading McCloud's work entitled “Understanding Comics”, I got a better understanding of how comics have their own way of illustrating a story. I have never been a big fan of reading graphic novels or comics but I do enjoy learning new things such as the development of certain ideas that have evolved throughout our existence. As kids, the first reading category that was introduced to us were picture books. Comic books tend to represent the same idea for example, they tell a story using more pictures and less words. As we see in page 14, the artwork tells its own story without using words, but as readers we can make out what is happening in each scene. The structure of comics is like conducting a science experiment. At first you’re confused and don’t get the idea of how the procedure works (in this case, comics can have various panels in one page making it hard to know what panel comes first). But, after studying the form of how comics are written, you get the gist of how to read a comic’s work. After our first reading, I hope to get a better interpretation of comics and why their structures make them unique in every upcoming book that is introduced to us in this class.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up, comics were not a major part of my life. Yet, I do specifically remember reading a series of comics in particular and enjoying them more than I had expected. The series was named, Calvin and Hobbes. Looking back at these comics, and now having read McCloud's work, "Understanding Comics", I see the pages in a completely different light. Why is it that the author felt the need to draw the characters in a certain way in each illustration? Also, why are some words outlined in a thought bubble while others are simply printed on the page? These questions would have never crossed my mind as a child, or even now, without having heard the depth and thought that actually goes behind such work. I believe comics and many graphic novels in general are often looked down upon, when in reality they take a lot more thought than one may think at a first glance. The ideas brought up by McCloud have changed my mentality on comics, and make me intrigued to take a further look at other work to see the details that passed me by. Why is it that this series, Calvin and Hobbes, caught my attention as a young girl while other comics didn't interest me at all? Possibly the reason could be on a visual level, or perhaps it is more in depth than that. The work, "Understanding Comics", has opened up an array of new thoughts and ideas about comics and the details hidden inside them.
ReplyDeleteScott McCloud definitely helped shape a new perspective of comics for me. I have never really been much of a comic reader growing up, I occasionally read books, however i just never grew an interest in comics. McCloud has made me realize that comics are sort of like books when it comes to story telling, although there is pictures in comics a lot of the details in the story relies on the mind of the reader, as he explained in chapter 3. Even though there is more details in a book describing a scene, it is really up to the reader to paint a picture of what is happening in their head.
ReplyDeleteReading a comic after keeping this new perspective in mind really opened my eyes to the way the story telling takes place in comics. Within the transitions of the 2 slides its really keeps details to the mind of the reader a lot often than I noticed previously. It does this while keeping the main story in tact, while minor details are left to the reader to infer what happened.
Surprisingly everyone was into comics besides me. I didn’t really grow up hating them maybe just with a little disdain. I think the reason for this was that I am not the biggest fan of anything with pictures. I didn’t give comics a chance when I should of. I thought they were overwhelming (too much going on) and didn’t find the structure of comics appealing.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this week's material from Scott McCloud's book it makes more sense to me now. What I mean by that is to truly understand the definition of comics is to know that there isn’t a precise one. My Philosopher Professor once said definitions can be limited and cannot be defined on just the wording itself. How there is never a true definition, because how would you even know? That’s the same with comics. We, as readers, attain personal definitions of what comics mean to us. Scott utilizes Will Eisner who believes comics are sequential art, of a neutral quality or style. I found this one definition interesting because I didn’t think about it in a “neutral” way regarding its structure, it was more on what it entails. For me, it was more about animations and the timing of those animations. However, Scott then goes on to use another definition “Juxtaposed pictorial and other images in deliberate sequence, intended to convey information and/or to produce an aesthetic response in the viewer”(pg 9). It got me thinking, how general this definition was. When Scott gave more pictorial examples it made sense, there are different ways for comics to express ideas dating back from the Egyptians to modern comics today. This type of genre of what we believe what comics are is going to continue and be added on and therefore create a new genre.
Moving on, Scott talks about comics having this closure, to observe parts but perceiving it as a whole. I find it fascinating how we as humans, involuntary act on what we think should be perceived. To why it happens and where it originates no one knows, we just assume it should be the way it is. The way we think comics are structured (in panels) leads us to believe this certain event may happen. This actually connects back to genres because this ongoing cycle of patterns or styles that we come accustom to or have learned is what we believe is essentially components of comics. Overall, this section was a good introduction for me to gain knowledge about comics.
-Kimberly Dy
I was never really interested in reading comic books. I've never completely read one, besides the occasional skimming of “The Walking Dead” or “The Avengers” that I did out of curiosity after such material was adapted into TV shows & movies. Even as a visual learner, the idea of looking at small blocks of pictures to tell a story never appealed to me. After reading “Understanding Comics” I am beginning to think of graphic novels differently than I did before. Having an understanding of the technicalities and terms associated with creating comic panels has sparked my interest in them. Based on the reading, I feel like viewing graphic novels throughout the semester will offer a more immersive experience than I had thought.
ReplyDelete-Nick Lancia
After having read McClouds "Understanding Comics" , I have a different perspective on comic books. As I recall , growing up I never had an interest in comic books , nor can I remember a time being younger and picking one up to read. However now I feel as though I am eager to go through some comics and see more of what a comic is all about. With now having read Chapter one and Chapter three , McCloud changed my point of view and gave me a better understanding that helped me get a better interpretation. I never thought before as you look at an image you are assuming in your mind the animated photo to be moving even though it isn't draw completely with that visual. I hope to continue to get a better outlook on more comics and how influential they can turn out to be, as now I have a different understanding on why one would be so interested and easily caught up on reading one.
ReplyDelete-Karissa Santos
I had never officially read any comics before this assignment, but McClouds “understanding comics” brought to my attention all of the different types of sequential art that are similar to comics that are all around us in daily life. From instruction manuals to hieroglyphics, they are all conveying information using pictures and minimal or no words. It is interesting to see how the mind can put the pictures together and let it tell a story even if some details are missing. I found it interesting when McCloud addresses that scenes in comic books can be portrayed many ways including moment-to-moment, scene-to-scene, action-to-action, and non-sequitur. Although we may not see the real time movement of the scenes, the reader still knows what is happening and is able to make up their our own idea of the missing pieces, no matter the size of the time gap between the pictures. This graphic novel has given me a new perspective and has opened my mind a bit more to the world of comics.
ReplyDelete-Sadie Patterson
Growing up, my father always used to read comics when he had spare time. He had grown up loving them and ended up starting a small collection ranging from Batman to X-men. He never would let my sister or I read them on our own for fear of ruining them, even though the editions he owns are not really of value. He did pass down the enjoyment of reading comics to my younger cousin. They bonded over the different story-lines and how certain movie adaptions were incorrect. I do have some experience reading graphic novels and of course reading the Sunday paper to read the color comics when I was a child. When I discovered anime, I got into some manga. I would like to have read more, but because there are so many books in a series it gets expensive to buy the books and time consuming to try and rent the books from the library. The last time I read something in the realm of graphic novels was reading a web toon online for BTS called Save Me. One thing that is clear to me is that I enjoy reading standard books much more. I have consistently found it somewhat difficult to stay focused when reading manga/web toons- maybe because my eyes just naturally try to skip the words and focus on the pictures.
ReplyDelete-Katerina Pena
I remember when I was young, my mom would talk about how her and her family would read the comics section of the newspaper at the the table when she was growing up. She would tell me how much she loved the Popeye comics and the peanuts with Charlie Brown. Every year to this day, we all sit down and watch each of the Charlie Brown's holiday specials. When I was in high school, I remember when I discovered Japanese manga I would sit through class and read it until I finished it. I also had a lot of fun reading the walking dead comics. I'm not as big into comics today as I was back then, but I'd be willing to give it another chance.
ReplyDelete-Kaitlin Patterson
Growing up, reading was prominent in my daily endeavors, especially because I emigrated from Ghana. Reading in essence, was my safe space where I felt like I could expand my vocabulary of the English language without being judged. Unfortunately, as I grew up my yearn to read dimmed drastically as my school course load magnified . That was until I found a passion for reading Japanese comic books, manga, where I could pick up my love for reading during my free time. Although I enjoyed reading manga, I was embarrassed to share that hobby because of the fear of humiliation from reading “a children’s novel”. After reading this week’s assignment, not only was I able to compare how different comics can be alike yet so different, similarly to other genre books, but also aided in my understanding that comics are not only for children. It went beyond the stereotypes of comics being just an easy read comprised of mainly pictures and minimal words. McCloud highlights that comics are special because they require you to expand your thought process to help visualize the story to truly interpret and understand the message being portrayed.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, after the reading I had a moment to internalize what McCloud said when he talked about the history of comics. I never had thought about how hieroglyphics were one of the older artifacts that related to modern day comics. It was fascinating how he was able to tell the story from his perception but as readers we are able to connect to his thoughts when we are fully engaged. Similarly, McCloud did it throughout other chapters in the comic. For instance, in chapter 3 were he brings to our attention that even as children we used daydreaming to expand our imagination on the perception of the world. With a small thought you are able to draw your own conclusions which is similar to the ideology behind comics. There may be few words, but it is how you are able to draw conclusions on what you know the author intended through your imagination that makes comics so unique.
- Lisa Agyare
Although I did not own any of my own comics growing up, I do remember reading them from other people's collections or at school. I agree with McCloud on the matter of comics. Throughout reading this book, I have come to the absolute belief that comics are not simply for children. so many skills and brain stimulation comes out of comics, giving it some educational value. comics allow its readers to use their imagination and piece things together within the comic story.
ReplyDelete-Leighasia
I have never really been interested in comics. When I was younger, my nana used to always save the Sunday paper for me so I could read the comics on the back, but I remember just looking them over pretending to read them so as not to make her feel bad. When I think of the word "comics" I always picture Garfield, I know that sounds so ridiculous and narrow minded seeing as how there are many different kinds of comics, but the image of that fat orange cat always pops into my head when I think of comics.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading McClouds “understanding comics”, I have a new outlook on what comics actually are and how much goes into making them. When McCloud used the example of the character in the panel that said, “In this panel you can’t even see my legs, yet you assume they are there. Even though they are not” and then wrote “All of us perceive the world as a whole through the experience of our senses.” I was instantly intrigued. I almost felt completely mind blown because our minds naturally fill in little gaps like that without us ever really realizing that it is happening. I now have a different perspective on comics and look forward to reading more in this class!
-Amanda Musumeci
Personally, I’ve always felt like all sources of reading opened up your imagination. While reading you always get the sense of having to use your imagination to just visualize or even understand what’s going on. While reading about blind spots I started to realize that authors who didn’t write comics left it up to us (the readers) to imagine what happens during the whole book. This is considered using our blind spot to their advantage. Authors sell more books because of the way they reach the readers feelings, there perfect wordage, as well as what the reader imagines as they read. As a young child and even now, I thought of us humans as gods toys. For example, whenever we get in the car he is holding us and walking us to the store. Yes sticking to this theory is a thing, but the theory will never be solved. Authors give us our closer when they either talk about it themselves or a movie is put out.
ReplyDelete-Destiny Austin
ReplyDelete(my name didn't show up)
I personally didn't grow up around comics, and besides the tv animation shows based on these, I did not have any contact with them, and to be honest, before this reading I use to think that the comics were just another way to explain a story with pictures, but essentially that's what they are. but what I did not know was the science behind it. the comics use the way our brain works to achieve their point in other words, our brains associate figures with the meaning of the things, and like it was explained in chapter 3 the existence of the stories are based in what it's present to us as images, so the comics use all these factors on the favor to present to us their story in the way that the author wants us to understand it, but at the same time leaving space of interpretation open to us. having on mind all these the structures of the comics make sense, and they are actually a great choice of presenting a story in a more entertaining way.
ReplyDelete-Luis J Cespedes
After reading Understanding Comics the biggest take away for me was the interpretation of the space between panels. I did not read comics as a kid but I still found this very interesting. It made me realize that when reading comics, you, as the reader have the power to use your imagination to create part of the story. Everyone can have their own assumption of what happens in that space between panels, and therefore, will have a different storyline in their head until their assumption is verified or declined. I find it so interesting that a space holding nothing can be so powerful for our imaginations and can hold so much.
ReplyDelete_Naomi Rivard
Although I did not grow up reading comics, my favorite book at one point in my life was a graphic novel called "Smile" by Raina Telgemeier. It told a story of the author growing up with extreme dental complications all while growing through a difficult adolescence. McCloud's Understanding Comics verified that a comic can make a reader feel much more engaged and involved in a story than a pictureless book. The images represented events that were up to the interpreter to see in order to understand the emotions that the girl was going through. The drawings and storyboards allowed the readers to use their imaginations and fill in the gaps that a comic does not provide, unlike a movie or a book. As a young girl reading the book, I was able to relate to the story on a deep personal level, which I found that I was unable to do with many others.
ReplyDelete-Molly Kosma
As a child, I’ve never really been into comics. Actually, I’ve never been into reading at all. The only book I’ve really read at that age was Diary of a Wimpy Kid, which is a graphic novel. Over the past few months, I’ve been reading more web comics. They comics usually fall under the category of mystery, slice of life, and heart-warming tales. However, these comics are not structured the same as McCloud's comics in the sense of them not being as eye-opening. For example, on page 33, McCloud talks about how we as humans put a face to every object we see. Going off that, on page 34, he mentions that we are also unable to see our own face. Our face is a mask, a mask that everyone else is able to see, but not ourselves.
ReplyDelete- Zachary Garcia