The Vocabulary of Comics

1: Reading Response: The Vocabulary of Comics

Either comic’s leading theories “or a deranged lunatic,” Scott McCloud is an expert in modern-day comics (About, 8). From creating his own works to providing the public with an academic perspective on comics, McCloud is one of the world’s foremost speakers on how and why comics are perceived the way they are. This expertise is illustrated in McCloud’s nonfiction comic book “Understanding Comics,” where the various tools and subtitles of comics are explained through a comic. The second chapter of this book, “The Vocabulary of Comics,” focuses on how images and words interplay and affect the reader. In this discussion, McCloud focuses on the idea that the level of detail in comics changes how a reader relates to the story.

Initially, he analyzes how the art styles of comics and the varying degrees of simplification influence the reader’s perception. This discussion focuses on how a reader can recognize an object despite its lack of realistic detail. For example, this image of a face drawn in multiple styles is referenced repeatedly (Vocabulary, 29). McCloud utilizes it to visually explain how a person can identify a familiar object, the face, regardless of realistic detail. Namely, this phenomenon results from how people attempt to relate to what they read and see. A person, when interacting with a story, will initially attempt to put themselves into the story. Specifically, they will work to understand the characters by seeing themselves as the character. This means that an audience will actively be working to see themselves and their world within the story. Consequently, the images used to tell a story can be extremely simple and still relate to the reader.

Furthermore, since the audience will naturally relate to the story, any details that add grounding to the story will be noted. In this way, as McCloud discusses, adding realism to a comic’s art can take away from a reader’s engagement. As details increase, the story becomes more of a reflection of the writer’s reality. Unfortunately, this reality can be very different from the audience. These differences then keep the reader from fully being able to apply their world to the story and relate it to themselves. As McCloud words it, the reader becomes too aware of the art that is transmitting information to fully understand the information (Vocabulary, 37).

McCloud’s discussion of how details in images affect the reader’s perception raises numerous questions about how and why people latch on to the images that they do. For example, comic book readers tend to have their own favorite styles of art. These styles all provide a different level of detail, and why a certain person favors a style may say a lot. Particularly, the level of detail they favor could be seen as a reflection of how much their life matches that of the creators. Additionally, beyond comics, the art and images that people prefer serve as a similar reflection of how much they have in common with the author. To illustrate this, two of my favorite works of art are “Landscape With The Fall of Icarus” by Piter Brugel and “School of Athens” by Raphael. Both of these works use the motifs and familiarity of Ancient Greece and Rome to emphasize their primary ideas. Brule directly references the mythological story of Icarus to portray his commentary on people’s irrelevant to one another; similarly, Raphael uses Roman-inspired architecture and clothing to emphasize the greatness of those he is portraying. My favoritism for these pieces speaks a great deal to the culture I grew up around. In my childhood, the myths, greatness, and power of Ancient Greece and Rome were common trends. I grew up learning that these cultures were the foundation of great, timeless art and knowledge. Without this background, I would not be able to relate to the stories these paintings tell. Hollsitically, McCloud’s discussion of how detail influences perception extends beyond the images of a comic panel to every interaction one has with the visual world.

Word Count: 655

Works Cited

“Landscape with the Fall of Icarus.” British Library, British Library, https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/landscape-with-the-fall-of-icarus.

McCloud, Scott. “About.” Good Morning, Comics, https://www.scottmccloud.com/5-about/index.html.

McCloud, Scott. “The Vocabulary of Comics.” Understanding Comics, William Morrow, an Imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, New York, NY, 1993, pp. 24–59. 

School of Athens, MVSEI VATICANI, https://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/en/collezioni/musei/stanze-di-raffaello/stanza-della-segnatura/scuola-di-atene.html.