Understanding Comics

Scott McCloud's "Understanding Comics" is a graphic novel dedicated to doing exactly what the title reads, to get you to understand comics. McCloud does this very well in many ways throughout the novel. I particularly liked the segments where he talked about timing and pacing. More specifically, the section where he showed examples of giving the viewer the same amount of information three different ways. He showed an example of where a story was told in many panels, and eventually went down to the minimum number of panels he could use to still tell the same story, successfully.

Another section that caught my attention quickly was one in the very beginning. This section was where McCloud explains how we can take a realistic picture and simplify it, but still be able to recognize it well. Part of the reason we can tell emotions well is because we see icons of emotion everywhere. For example, we see faces in many things, such as the front of a car, because see ourselves everywhere, as he explains. Some of the most effective comics, in my opinion, are those that can use such a simple line and form, but still portray effective emotions and story. Instead of using photo realism to show a very specific story, which we are more or less used to, McCloud explains how using simple forms and cartoon, the comic is more a world of concept.

McCloud could have easily published "Understanding Comics" as a specifically written form, but instead he made the piece a graphic novel. I find this to be much more effective. Many could have grasped his concepts simply by reading them, but many more might have struggled. For example, visual learners, who would probably be the most common readers of "Understanding Comics," greatly benefit from the comic style of the novel. Being in comic form however, both types of learners can understand what he's trying to tell us.