In his analysis of comics– in the form of comics– McCloud challenges the conventions of message and media. Rather than the medium being the message, McCloud asks us to search for the message without discriminating against the medium. We normally take for-granted our assumptions about the role of the media in the formality or importance of the message. For an academic argument we expect to see a specifically formatted article with citations in APA or MLA depending on the disciplines, perhaps a book with dense single spaced paragraphs, or a power point in the most casual circumstance. However, we would never expect to find an academic argument to take the form of a comic. One could argue that our formatting convention exist for good reason– it makes it easier to find the information one needs when one knows exactly where in the article to look. But one could also argue that we are stuck in the old fashioned notion of complex diction and syntax being a sign of complex thought. McCloud defends the art and the sophistication of comics by using them as a way to make a nuanced and complex argument accessible (more accessible than an academic article) but still vigorous and informative. He proves that one can change the medium and preserve the academic value. In fact, why not make an argument more accessible when it can be done without compromising the message? McCloud also traces the use of comics throughout history to demonstrate their currently-unappreciated importance in literacy and narrative-making. Though I have been to many museums and seen many of what I now know are comics, I had never learned to read them– for example zigzag or bottom to top. There is a notable deficit in the academic appreciation for comics, and the potential it holds for understanding sequential pictorial images from today and from ancient times.