When I read McCloud’s Understanding Comic, it really expanded my understanding of comics. In chapter one, I was really fascinated with the definition of comics. Juxtaposed pictorial and other images in deliberate sequence, conveying information to produce the visual or sound response in the viewer. Maybe that’s why we love comic so much. Using simple words to stimulate the senses of the readers. After reading this, I thought of a great comic book I read before. It is Father and Son. This book using simple words or even no word to convey its information. Just by the small changes of the character’s facial expression, we got the what emotion or attitude the writer what to convey. Maybe that’s why we love comic so much, simple but impressive.
Another word attracted me is the word icon. Before I read this book, I thought that icon is used only to describe people. But after I read this I found that icon can be used to represent many other things. Also, I was surprised to find that our lives are full of icons, it has already become a part of our lives. I even imagine in our future we can see the 3D icon in our daily life, walking on the street and be part of our community.
In chapter three what impresses me most is the word the concept of closure, the “phenomenon of observing the parts but perceiving the whole”. This makes me rethink the space between the comic. I found that the space is really important. It can let readers further think what the writer wants to convey in the former picture and have got a clearer understanding of the next picture. This chapter also made me think that also the comic is really simple, every detail does count a lot. Small changes in one picture may result in a completely different feeling of the readers.
I was also deeply fascinated by chapter four. By reading this I understand why word balloons are used in comic. Although our eyes view the panel as a snapshot of a single moment in time, the conversation depicted in the word balloons makes it clear that the events occur over several moments. So although the cartoon is flat, it can still give people a sense of space and time. Also together with the sound effect added to the duration of a panel which strengthens the reader’s feelings.