UNDERSTANDING COMICS BY SCOTT MCCLOUD



            I found McCloud's guide to understanding comics is a little dry at first, as it explained what seemed like a very easy and simple to understand concepts of what a comic is, but as I continued reading the dissections of why we as readers read comics the way we do, it was engaging. I never put too much thought into how I see my own face in my head, but when I do picture it, it becomes simplified, while other faces of people I know are more complex. I found this reasoning as to why characters in comics tend to have simplified looks very compelling as I always thought comic artists did simplified styles and faces because it was faster to draw repeatedly. He discusses the importance of the face and how it directs the reader to relate to the character more because of its simplification. Another point McCloud makes in his comic, that I found really interesting, was how in Japanese comics (manga) the main characters face would be more simplified while another character might be drawn more realistically to show their “otherness” from the reader and objectify them. When reading this concept, I could recall many manga I have read over the years, and remembered many of the girls being simplified while evil men were usually drawn more realistically. This was something I wondered about quite often, and thought maybe it was just because the artist didn’t know how to properly draw women. It’s nice to know that it was actually just a style choice for the reader to understand that something was wrong with these more realistically drawn characters. It also goes on to show how not only was this done to faces, but objects as well. McCloud uses a sword as an example and shows it far away and how simplified it is, making it an extension of the character/reader. However, in a close up shot, McCloud shows the sword in high detail with texture and shading, making the sword more of an actual object.
            As a whole I really ended up enjoying McClouds understanding of comics, and I found it not as dry and boring as I presumed. I found its comparisons of western comics and Japanese comics throughout the book really interesting as it gave a lot of answers to things I didn’t even think to ask, but always noticed.

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