Understanding Comics

Understanding Comics was a vastly informative introduction into the worlds of comics; while many of what McCloud said was just pure fact, I feel as though a lot of what he was telling the readers in Understanding Comics was an understanding achieved from the knowledge and observation he accumulated throughout the years. It takes a true comic fan for that level of insightfulness. There were a lot of interesting points that McCloud pointed out that I had never really considered or thought of before. He also touched base on a few things that I'd always had looming in the back of my head, but never really was able to articulate my thoughts in the same level he was able to.

What I found particularly interesting was when he started pointing out the differences between American comics and Japanese manga. Of course, this is obvious as Japan and America are two completely different cultures - what Japan emphasizes as important for a story, an American comic reader may not understand or enjoy. Or what Western comics do in order to keep the pace of a story entertaining, the Japanese may find too rushed. But despite the differences, it's interesting to see the influences both Eastern and Western comics have done for each other. Especially today, where we see manga and comics slowly integrating into modern comics today.

Another intriguing thought from McCloud was when he discussed the universality of the face. While the details make one unique person, the fact that cartoons create faces in order to be relatable to anyone is an impressive facet only applicable to comics. It's much easier to read the emotions of a simplified cartoon face than look into the details of a realistic looking face.