Week 2: Understanding Comics

In Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics, he examines comics as an art form. Understanding Comics is truly a comic book written about comics as a literary and artistic medium. He explains the fundamentals of genre, including the passage of time, depiction of motion, and broad interpretation by the reader as elements unique to comics. 

He also provides a detailed history of the medium, along with examples of various styles and strategies used. He provides the book with examples of the works of some of the most well known comics artists in the world, along with the techniques that make them notable in the evolution of comics. McCloud provides plenty of visuals in order to demonstrate each concept he introduces. He contrasts the work of both Eastern and Western artists, and points out the influences of many non-comics artistic masters, including Picasso and Monet.

The six steps involved in creating any art form are examined in detail. Although he insists that all artists will follow some variation of this formula, he also makes the argument that only creators choosing to focus on ideas and concepts over form will actually elevate the medium to a higher level. There are brief discusses of the pros and cons of using color to illustrate images, especially by means of the traditional four-color process used in the United States.

The influence of Expressionism on comics is also reviewed. Examples are shown of ways in which different comics artists convey mood and appeal to the readers’ senses. Emotion through use of different images is analyzed, either with or without the addition of word balloons and sound effects.