Breakdown, summary, and analysis of Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud

1. setting the record straight
com-ics (kom'iks)n. plural in form, used with a singular verb. 1. Juxtaposed pictorial and other images in a deliberate sequence, intended to convey information and/or to produce an aesthetic response in the viewer.

In this chapter McCloud attempts to establish a more encompassing definition of comics (see above) while giving some back story into what could be considered the oldest comics (Egyptian, pre-Columbian, etc.). He also points out that comics will likely always struggle to find an agreed upon definition thanks to the infinite possibilities they present.

2. the vocabulary of comics



I found this chapter in particular to be enlightening. He points out how we project ourselves and our self image and identity onto things like symbols and objects (while driving our car it becomes an extension of ourselves... if another car collides with ours they are hitting us, not the car). If you see a circle with two dots and a line inside you can't help but see a face when constructed a certain way. It's also easier to project yourself onto an image that is less defined (as in many comics and cartoons). "We assign identities and emotions where none exist."

He also discusses how realistic backgrounds only add to this (being able to project yourself onto the character) and mentions that in the past it was more typical for Europe or Japan to do this in comics. He doesn't mention this but I found this part funny because having read manga for many years I know that in a lot of cases they actually use pictures of real things in their backgrounds. I had never really thought of this before in relations to comics -- obviously escapism is a big part of the reading experience and people tend to project onto their favorite characters but I had never really thought of how art can help this along (at least not in the way he talks about).

3. blood in the gutter

"The comics creator asks us to join in a silent dance of the seen and unseen. The visible and the invisible. This dance is unique to comics. No other art form gives so much to its audience while asking so much from them as well. This is why I think it's a mistake to see comics as a mere hybrid of the graphic arts and prose fiction. What happens between these panels is a magic only comics can create." (92)

This chapter discusses how the space in between the panels is doing some interesting things. "Closure" happens in life and in stories -- where we fill in the blanks of what is real around us even though we haven't or couldn't perceive this with our physical senses. His example of kids thinking things simply don't exist if they're not there to see/do it was good. It's the age old question of, "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around -- does it make a sound?"

But back to the spaces between panels -- the "gutter." Between the spaces of the gutter things are happening that every reader is going to interpret differently -- which is amazing. His example was a panel of a man holding an axe above his head and aiming for a man who looks to be trying to get away and who yells "no!" The next panel in the sequence is a cityscape at night with a scream written in letters across. As he says... it's in the gutter where a man is (or isn't) killed. The viewer controls the speed and intensity of the axe as the man strikes it against the other. It is up to the viewer to decide how the time in between played out.

Also in this chapter are six types of transitions that happen in the gutter (moment-to-moment, action-to-action, subject-to-subject, scene-to-scene, aspect-to-aspect, non-sequitur) and a break down of how they seem to be utilized in American, European, and Japanese comics. The most interesting aspect of this is the information that Japanese comics more frequently utilize aspect-to-aspect transitions (i.e., transitions between different parts of a scene to give the viewer a full picture). He does mention and I would argue that today this is done more often in American comics than it was in the past (and it's still typical of manga).

Something important he mentions that hits on where future growth in comics could be is with viewer interaction... or a sort of "choose your own adventure" scenario. At first I dismissed this idea because choose your own adventure stuff might limit a writer or writers might not like it in cases where they are trying to take a certain path. Then I thought on it more and I think it could potentially be interesting and open up things a bit for a writer. And to be honest I would argue that this has been done, especially by the bigger comic publishing companies. It's not done in the same comic issue or graphic novel or anything... but these companies are constantly rebooting and reinventing series, events, and characters. With characters like Batman (who has been around for 70+ years) this is kind of inevitable.

4. time frames and 5. living in line



These chapters describe how every single part of the visuals for the comic can be manipulated to give a message to the reader about what is happening. This can be done with panel sizes (e.g., putting a longer panel between two shorter ones to indicate a long pause), text boxes, the way words are written, the way a line looks... And it talks about how visible symbols (like lines over an overturned garbage can that indicate the fact that it stinks) can easily (and have) become invisible. Also important is discussion on the balance between words and pictures in a comic and how those fluctuate.

6. show and tell

In this chapter he talks about the division of art and prose and points out that as children we read books with more pictures (because it's easier) and then gradually we upgrade to less pictures until finally we're reading texts with no graphics (or we're not reading books at all -- shock and horror!). He also points out that language is originally created through familiar/common symbols (which then evolves into something like our alphabet where it represents sound only). I know this very well after several years of Japanese -- when learning to write the language most of our materials would first start out with a drawing of some real thing then slowly break that down until it became the character.

He also points out the sad but true fact that though comics have a much longer history than most people realize... it's still seen as something of a kid next to novels, art, drama, and other such things. This was written over ten years ago now and though things have been making a slow change since then there certainly hasn't been a huge leap in changing the general populations mind on this idea.

7. the six steps

This chapter starts out by saying that art is anything that isn't related to the human need to reproduce and survive. I am very fond of his caveman references such as... caveman sneakily grabbing onto a high tree branch just before racing off a cliff while being pursued by a wild beast leads to the beast falling to its death (survival) after which the caveman proceeds to stick his tongue out at and make a "nah-nah" type noise (art). He talks about the six steps that lead to the creation of things like comics and the journey from surface layer to final vision. The section was very interesting in thinking of how people follow on a path to becoming a comics artist or writer and how some people end up abandoning their goals while others find ways of reinventing what we think of as typical.

8. a word about color and 9. putting it all together

Most reasons for the relationship of comics and color can be summed up by "commerce" and "technology." The color chapter pointed out a lot of interesting things about colorful superhero costumes (and the relationship between the character, the reader, and those colors). This was the only one that could be considered a little outdated. The information is all relevant but this would definitely be a much larger chapter today because of the technological advances we've seen in the past ten years. He also doesn't mention the fact that Japanese manga is typically always in black and white (I don't really know why -- maybe because they tend to produce chapters more quickly and the author doesn't have time to color each page).

So, unfortunately comics still have a ways to go before they're thought of in terms of the definition McCloud has provided (yep, already knew this). I've definitely been made aware of a lot more of the subtle moves that comics artists and writers are making thanks to my reading this though. I really enjoyed his inclusion of examples of European and Japanese comics. I can't help but contrast Japanese manga and American comics when learning about them. I think an awareness of the differences can be important considering how popular manga is becoming in the US (and has become). I think both styles have the potential to influence one another (and have in some cases already).

Next!

Next in my research... I am definitely even more interested in perusing comic scripts (which I will be doing eventually) and seeing how much of the comic is planned out in a certain way and how much is the end result of the artists (or whoevers) instinct. The only questions I have in mind at the moment are about the roles of the people involved in comics. I can guess what most of them are like and that decisions and input are on a case-by-case basis... but I definitely want some actual facts rather than just my own speculation. I am excited to learn more about the invisible processes behind comics.