Week Two: Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud

Two things that popped into my mind when opening the PDF of Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud. 1. Now this is the kind of comic I was expecting to see when registering for this class (maybe because I’ve seen so few?). 2. How do I go about analyzing a work that is essentially already an analysis?

What I found was that this was ultimately a really fun and easy read, especially considering there were words involved (not saying I didn't enjoy the previous wordless comics, just saying this was refreshing and "to the point"). As someone who has no previous knowledge or experience with comics, Scott McCloud could not have done a better job in laying out the basics, backstory and details of comics, the creation of them and why they are crafted in the ways they are.

Scott McCloud’s idea in his chapter “The Icon” stood out to me the most because it depicts the fact that the audience or viewer is almost more powerful than the physical artwork itself. This was an interesting point to understand, as I would think the comic is strictly about what is on the paper, how its drawn, and what is portrays. However, this chapter breaks down the psychology behind comics and how the human mind is strongly involved.

As humans, we naturally brand ourselves into everything and anything we come across, heavily including art. So, although the artwork that makes up the comic consists of unrealistic and extremely simplistic drawings, our minds depict them as humanistic. For instance, McCloud makes a minor point in that when the icons or symbols such as two dots and a line are present, our minds cannot and will not unsee a human face. As I read this point, I mindfully tried to unsee a human face within the two dots and line, I simply could not (I even got up from my cozy bed to turn my head to alternate my view; still saw the damn human face).