Week 3: Understanding Comics – Xavier Juhala

From reading the first 4 chapters of Scott Mcloud’s book Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art I really began to realize how intricate and detailed a comic book can actually be. Prior to reading this my perception of what comic books were was that they were a little bit childish and didn’t convey as much meaning or information as say a book or other form of media. I think a lot of people actually have this perception of comic books and it’s unfortunate because it really is an undeserving perception. I liked when he explains how previous societies such as the Romans and Egyptians used comics or a form of these to convey stories and how intertwined in our history and culture comic art actually is. When he starts to explain how a comic allows the reader to more greatly use their imagination to interpret the story being told I was a little bit skeptical because this seems counterproductive as if there are pictures in my mind I imagined that that meant that you would have less space for imagining in your own what characters and settings looked like. But then I realized that books do a lot of this too in the way that they don’t so much illustrate a picture but they tell you exactly what a character is doing and saying, thus limiting your imagination in that way. Thus both mediums are able to provoke critical thinking and imagination through different forms and that what makes them so special. After reading this I now realize how amazing comic books really can be in interpreting and showcasing a story, just as good, if not better than a book.

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