Understanding Comics

I first read Understanding Comics in high school, and the part of it that always stuck with me was on page 36 where Scott McCloud discusses how simplified cartoon images can make a reader see a reflection of themselves.

At the time in high school, my best friend and I were having an argument because she swore that she disliked all animated movies. As a future computer animation student this really annoyed me. Her argument was that because cartoons don't have real people, they're impossible to relate to. I disagreed with her. In fact, sometimes I found myself relating more to animated characters than characters played by actors in a gritty realistic setting, but I could never put my finger on why.

I think Scott McCloud's idea is really compelling. When we think about memories, we never get a clear visual right in front of us, but a fuzzy picture in our brains. If someday technology lets us transfer memories straight to a film, I think they would look very simplified and blurry.

When I'm reading a comic, the first thing I "read" tends to be the face. If it's a simple face, I can read the emotion faster. That means that I will empathize with the character faster. Comics with very simple styles tend to be things you can read quickly but still get a lot out of. Comics with very realistic and complex art styles, such as The Arrival, might take more than one read to get the most out of them. The Arrival was more about the journey and used atmosphere to put the reader in the shoes of the main character. If a comic uses too simple of a style, the reader won't be as invested in the environment the character lives in. It's all a matter of what style works best for a particular story.