"Comics is a medium of fragments -- a piece of text here, a cropped picture there -- but when it works, your readers will combine those fragments as they read and experience your story as a continuous whole" (129).

This week I finished up Scott McCloud's Making Comics and started on his other book Reinventing Comics.

Making Comics

Character Art

McCloud and his enjoyment of list making was ever present as I continued my reading. For your character art you must keep the following in mind :
1. character design (and character design needs an inner life, visual distinction, and expressive traits)
2. facial expressions
3. body language

The most important and least understood, according to McCloud, is the inner life of the character. It's important to understand at least the basics of your characters back story and how they came to be the person they are. Knowing this can help you to understand their motivation and how they will react to their surroundings.

"These [back stories] don't have to be too elaborate, especially for minor characters. In fact, obsessing too much over such minor details is a classic beginner's mistake. But be on the lookout for factors that color your characters' everyday outlooks, help or hinder their understanding of others and influence their actions" (65).

An interesting thing he pointed out was how he gave specific traits from Jungian theory to his main characters in his comic book series Zot. I immediately thought of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test (which I've done for fun and for a couple classes), which was created from Jungian theory. I had never really thought about this test in relation to creating characters though I can see now how this would be a really interesting way to approach characterization in writing. The reason I've been asked to take this test in class was to give myself a better understanding of my preferred method of approaching things and as a way to understand those who differ on approaches... and basically how to recognize the things I would need in a work situation so that I can maintain my sanity. It was also information that could potentially help me to identify and describe strengths and weaknesses.

This reasoning could relate very well to the creation of characters. By knowing or assigning a type you can better flesh out your characters wants and actions/reactions... while also using that to contrast to other characters/types and to try to understand the effects of character interaction.

Something else that can be used effectively in the planning of characters are archetypes. Archetypes are used frequently in writing but they are useful because of the instant recognition of these characters when readers are presented with them (McCloud's example was of characters like Dumbledore from Harry Potter, Gandalf from Lord of the Rings, and Obi Wan from Star Wars).

Next he discusses the importance of variation in the art for your characters. This is an essential part of the creative process... because no one wants to read about or look at the same character throughout your work (boooring!).

"[W]hether you plan to the last detail or prefer to wing it, your goal should be the same -- to figure out what makes each character unique and to put those qualities front and center" (77).

He talks about some questions artists should be asking themselves as far as whether your characters are too cookie cutter or not. Are your characters all the same height when lined up? Do you keep drawing the same nose and upper lip over and over? Is every woman you draw the same build?

Not that I can really talk since I am unable to draw a straight line... But there are some comic artists I'd love to send these pages to. I have already complained here about the content of Marvel Divas but the art was also an issue.


Cough cough, same body type. Cough!

Moving on. Another thing he mentioned was using stereotypes in comics. He said that they could be used to your advantage (and they can) but he also mentioned contradicting them and punching holes in them (yes, please).

The unifying message for the section regarding art seemed to be to research and come to a greater understanding of the complicated processes involved in human anatomy and movement so that you can make more simplistic decisions regarding them. Most of what comics do effectively as far as character art goes is the result of invisible decisions made by the author and artist. Things like facial expressions, gestures, inner life, and symbols are all crucially important to the readers understanding of the content and all aspects must be considered carefully in order to be utilized as effectively as possible.

"Just remember that in any comics panel, it's the message of your character's gesture that readers will be waiting for, and the first job of figure drawing is to deliver that message loud and clear" (115).

Environment/Setting and Tools

"Want to know the secret of drawing great backgrounds? Don't think of them as 'backgrounds!' These are environments. The places your characters exist within -- not just backdrops to throw behind them as an afterthought" (178).

The environment of your story is yet another important thing to consider. This is what will draw your reader more firmly into your world (and keep them coming back for more). In general the effort of making a detailed setting for your characters is worth the effort. It's challenging to do but important and McCloud offered up the tip of making sure you do your research (which a lot of people leave out of their process). Not only is it easy to use the web for reference but he also suggests going to locations near you to take pictures, sketch, and become fully immersed in. It's like Alan Moore said about character development -- go see the real thing sometime.

There are cases where your art won't need to be as detailed like in emotionally driven stories, but ones that create new worlds should absolutely be detailed if you want your readers to understand what's going on. He mentioned scifi as one of those genres where art should be detailed and from a readers perspective I couldn't agree more. I love scifi related movies and TV shows but I rarely read scifi novels because I often have trouble visualizing some of the things the author talks about.

As far as tools go, McCloud talks about some of the various art tools and the benefit/downside of each. He also discusses the differences between online and print work and how the art differs there. Price and preference dictate how most tools are used and how work is produced.

"Serious comics have been drawn using simple tools before (Maus was drawn with a fountain pen, much of it on ordinary typing paper)" (189).

The Infinite Potential for Comics and the Manga Revolution

"For decades, each generation of comics creators has dug a little deeper into the emotional lives of their characters. Digging deeper still could be one of the ways that future generations of creators will define themselves" (121).

McCloud talks extensively about the potential comics have for evolution. Most interesting to me was a discussion on how manga has influenced a new generation of American artists. Something I never realized that he points out is the audience participation involved in manga. Scenes are set up at different angles, movement is shown around still characters (to suck the reader into the action), and -- on the other hand -- expressions and emotions are focused on rather than action (to suck readers into the emotion of the experience). Moves like these contribute to bringing the reader more firmly into the action and a lot of these things weren't being done in American comics years ago.

I never really thought of this aspect of manga before but it makes me wonder now if the audience participation aspect wasn't what drew me to it. When I was young (11-12ish) I read American comics for a year or two before discovering manga and becoming obsessed with it and reading nothing but Japanese comics up until college. Of course, I still can't say for sure why I turned away from American comics for so long, but it's interesting to now be able to recognize what one of the probable draws of manga was for me.

The end of this book made me think of the possibilities for comics evolution. McCloud points out that the next generation of comics artists and authors are likely to be people who grew up enjoying manga. It is intensely interesting to think of how concepts from manga could be incorporated into American comics.

Final thoughts from Making Comics?

"In short: discovering your own 'style' is a deeply personal process which can take years -- and it can't be taught in a book" (217).

Reinventing Comics

In the sections of the book I've read so far McCloud has been discussing the hopes for comic books in the 90s (and the dashing of those hopes) and the potential for comics in the future. He talks about those of us who are drawn to comics and what they can do, and those who still debate what category comics fall under. There is also history on what has happened to comic writers and artists in the past and the lopsided agreements some were forced to sign that gave them meager rights to their own creations.

Comic books have a pretty turbulent past and have had to reinvent themselves to survive. This reinvention is essential though and not only for survival. As Moore said about not letting your creativity stagnate in the familiar... Don't let comics stagnate in the same formula and content that it has always contained.

So What?

The future of comics was on my mind as I finished my reading this week. McCloud mentioned the influence of manga on future comics and it made me think of the popularity of manga in the US. It has gone from having a couple shelves at major book stores to having full aisles of its own. In fact, there is more space for manga than there is for American comics. There is also representation of manga in comic stores.

I think American comics are steadily evolving and becoming more respected (though they still have some way to go). As this continues in the years to come I wonder about what direction comic book publishing companies will take and how I could potentially be part of the changes that will come. My generation and the ones that follow could make comics bigger than they've ever been in this country and this trend already seems to be in motion when graphic novels like Maus are being placed in the biography section of major bookstores.

"The approach to characterization in comic books has evolved, like everything else in this retarded bastard medium, at a painfully slow pace over the last 30 or 40 years" (Moore 23).

This week I read Alan Moore's Writing for Comics and the first part of Scott McCloud's Making Comics.

Making Comics

The first half of Making Comics is mostly full of tips and some standard rules for comic making. The introduction ends with "In short, there are no rules" at the end of the page, which is followed by a small panel (surrounded by white space) on the next page that says "And here they are."

He starts out the book by talking about the importance of clarity, persuasion, and intensity -- and about the constant choices that need to be made regarding imagery, pacing, dialogue, composition, gesture, etc. He breaks these down into five different types of choices and also refers back to the scene change choices he discussed in Understanding Comics.

The five choices are of movement, frame, image, word, and flow. McCloud talks extensively on the importance of how you establish your opening scenes to create a sense of place for your reader -- and to keep in mind how they will perceive things. There are so many things to consider when making a comic and a lot of details to keep in mind. You also have to keep in mind what you can actually do and then execute it in a quick, clear, and compelling way.

The most important question (or the first, as McCloud says) is will readers get the message? He points out that a style that may be more crude or simple can still win more fans than the best drawn comics out there if it is communicating effectively.

When he mentioned this I thought about the webcomics I follow regularly and about the art that each contains. Xkcd is an excellent example of what McCloud was talking about.


The art for xkcd is very simple. The artist doesn't stray from using stick figures in every comic but there is no meaning lost because of this. The comic has a huge fan following (as well it should!) and you can even buy xkcd merchandise if you want. The point is... this is a very simple style of art... but because of the ideas and humor it successfully gets across to its readers it is effective without needing to be fancy.

McCloud also points out the importance of pictures and words working seamlessly so that readers don't notice a switch. He also mentions this in relation to other aspects with the clear message being to not take your reader out of the story (needlessly).

The bottom line of this part of Making Comics was to remember that your readers are all human beings and therefore at least somewhat predictable. There are a lot of choices to be considered and made when creating comics and a lot of balancing to be done. I think McCloud seemed to most emphasize the importance of making things work for the reader and I agree. Moore also talks about this (and adds in some lovely snark).

Writing for Comics

"You can produce a comic about bright and interesting new characters, have a computer draw it, publish it in a lavish Baxter package and color it with the most sophisticated laser scan techniques available, and the chances are that it will still be tepid, barely readable shit" (2-3).

Moore says a lot about the pitfalls of comics like the fact that they really aren't comparable to any other medium (despite the attempts to do so). He talks about how a lot of lingo is similar to movie making as far as how it will look, but in the end movies are doing something that comics can't and comics are doing something that movies can't. The pacing of comics and other mediums are different and that should absolutely be taken into account.

Some other pitfalls that he gets into involve the style and voice of the author -- he advocates going out and meeting some real people and seeing how they act to develop your story, rather than looking at how other comics writers and artists portrayed their characters. He also talks a lot about self reflection and looking deeply into yourself to pull out every piece to examine. As McCloud also touched on... we're all human and it's very likely that a human is going to be reading your work. Moore also connects this to the readers experience and the importance of the reader (like McCloud).

He got on the topic of self reflection and humanity because, as he points out, there are some comic book publishing companies who think that keeping a tight leash on comics is important so as not to offend any person (ever). This essay was written in the 80s and I feel like this is less the case now than it was then because companies realized readers wanted something more real that they could connect to (something with real emotion, if not necessarily a story about something realistic). The comics of old definitely fit this bill -- and comics had to contend with the comics code authority breathing down its neck for a long time too.

This is obviously not the case as far as women in comics go. Publishing companies like DC and Marvel (especially Marvel) offend women pretty frequently. Most recently Marvel published a series called Marvel Divas where several Marvel girls starred in the series and were essentially copies of the gals from Sex and the City. Now, I like SatC... but I don't want superheroines starring in a comic where they essentially play out SatC and neglect the fact that this is a comic book with superheroes. That's not what I'm buying comics for. On the other side of the fence is Gotham City Sirens by DC, a series where Catwoman, Poison Ivy, and Harley Quinn have teamed up. I have read every issue so far and while I will admit that there hasn't been much of a plot (except for in the more recent issue) yet... at least my comic book girls are still acting like comic book girls and having campy fun while kicking ass. And they've also successfully inserted humorous domestic stuff that doesn't make me feel like I'm no longer reading a comic book (not that this is a rarity in comics, what I'm getting at is they have balanced what Divas failed to).

I won't go into any more examples of how DC and Marvel have offended women recently. I am especially not going to talk about any "that's not how anatomy works" moments.

Anyway, I will say that comics have progressed even more from the things Moore was talking about. My favorite example being Catwoman's progression in comics (because I love her and she and Batman got me into comics in the first place). When looking at the picture as a whole Catwoman has come a long way -- she started out as a sort-of villain for Batman... She was a cat burglar and fell in love with Batman... which meant that eventually her character boiled down to "Batman's sometimes love interest who secretly just wants to marry him and settle down but is going to sort of be a villain for fun for now." Puke! Keep in mind that this was in the 40s though.

Catwoman today is an anti-hero.

I could go on and on about what a strong character she is (and she is!) but the most important thing I want to note is that characterization has come a long way -- even since Moore wrote this.

He talks about the fact that the thought used to be "If a character can't be summed up in 15 words then it may not sell to small children, who we assume are of limited intelligence and possess brief attention spans" (24). I definitely agree with this... and the characterization of Catwoman in the 40s that I summed up fits this. I think in a lot of cases certain people still think this is how it is with comic books. But we are definitely seeing a shift.

Moore also talks about the constant change in comics, just as McCloud did in Understanding Comics. The last essay of the book states this again (it was written in 2003 by Moore) after Moore warns us that he was young and stupid when he wrote the original essays. And he challenges the reader again -- examine yourself and your experiences. And more importantly, don't let your creativity stagnate in the familiar. Constantly push yourself off that next cliff and do things you think aren't possible. If people come to expect you to create comics that are deep and morose then make your next project one that is funny and frivolous.

All of this is good advice -- challenging yourself is important. Though I would say to take this into account once you're already established. Or to do it if creating comics isn't your day job.

So What?

Again I was left thinking of the limitless possibilities comics present and the invisible work that goes into them. Careful planning and good instincts were again touched upon and I wonder how my own instincts would work if I tried to apply them to making comics rather than reading them.

I'm still curious as to the role others play in the creation of comics (besides the author and the artist).

I also checked out Scott McCloud's twitter and was a bit geeked to find out he not only follows a lot of cool comic book artists and authors (of course he does) but he also has a couple of webcomic artists listed as well (like Jeph Jacques of Questionable Content).