Out of the McCloud reading, I would have to say my favorite chapter was Chapter 3, that is not to say that i necessarily disliked the other chapters, but rather to say that Chapter 3 resonated with me more than the others did. I've never been the biggest comic reader, therefore it is sort of a foreign world for me. I really enjoyed reading the third chapter, however, because it gave me some insight into what my brain is actually doing when I read a comic. And I thought that was pretty damn cool. McCloud introduces this whole idea of closure, and blood in the gutters.
Closure is where the reader actively fills in the blanks with their own imagination in order to make sense of the two panels through which they are navigating. It is a chance for the reader to actively decide what has happened between the first panel they see and the one that follows it. The gutters give the reader a sense of authorship, and some responsibility in forming the story. I particularly like the way that McCloud puts it on page 68, "Every act committed to paper by the comic artist is aided and abetted by a silent accomplice. An equal partner in crime known as the reader. I may have drawn and ace being raised in this example, but I'm not the one who let it drop or decided how hard the blow, or who screamed, or why. That, dear reader, was your special crime, each of you committing it in your own style." This concept, that the reader is an active participant in the writing and understanding of the story is essential to understanding this medium and how it is read and comprehended by readers. Each person may read the same text, but they will have read a different story because no two people will fill the gutters in the exact same way--no two people will interact with the text in the same fashion. This is best demonstrated by a series of panels on pages 84 and 85, in which McCloud shows the difference between what is put on paper by the comic artist, and what a person's brain might actually read the text as. It beautifully illustrates the way in which the reader takes what is given to them by the artist and embellishes it (closes it) to fit whatever story their mind has formulated.
So I had a comment completely typed up, and Internet Explorer decided to delete it. How lovely. Anyways, I will try and hit all the same points again.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I have not had much experience with comics. I was introduced to McCloud last year briefly when my class read parts of one of the chapters, but most of the information was new. The point about closure surprised me the most, but in a good way. The reader is constantly creating and adding to the story inbetween comic frames, which I failed to mention in my blog post. I thought your point on 'authorship' was spot on. Perhaps this sense of 'authorship' is why comics are so popular for many different people - they can 'create' a story without actually creating anything, they don't need to write anything down, draw, or figure out layout. This makes me wonder if anyone 'reads' the same story as the author or as any other reader?
Fun Fact: I am trying to comment on your post right now, Katrina. And it simply isn't letting me. And to be completely honest I am too god-damned tired to try to figure it out. So I am going to post it as a reply on here, and if it works to post it on your blog tomorrow, I will transfer it over!
DeleteThis post brings me back, very distinctly, to a blog post that I wrote for my LIT438 class. In this post I talk about how different mediums tell different stories, and how readers cannot compare them to each other with any merit for they are not the same text. For more on that, you can go to the following url: http://megankevanslit438.blogspot.com/2014/09/two-different-mediums-two-different.html
I also like thinking of comics as complex. That's not way I'd ever really thought of comics, so I like forcing my mind to go there. Comics are outwardly "simple" so that the most people can connect to the characters, setting, and story. The vagueness with which the authors sometimes draw the scenes and characters allows the reader to fill in the blanks with their own imagination. This is exactly what makes the text complicated, however. When a reader has more control over the way the text reads than the text itself does, the content immediately gets infinitely more complicated and interesting.
I think you've pointed out a very important thing here. Reading comics and other sequential visual art is a highly interactive process. The reader isn't just receiving and also isn't just perceiving either--the form really leads the reader to create. This is one of the things I really like about comics. Often when I read novels or watch movies it feels like an escape, but when I read comics I feel like an active participant in the creation of a story. With McCloud I've noticed I feel a little more like I've been engaging in a conversation with him than I might if it was straight text.
ReplyDeleteHey Megan,
ReplyDeleteSo your post got me thinking about just hot much authorship the reader is actually given. I mean, I agree with McCloud and you in that the reader has some authorship included in the piece, but what happens when, later in the story, the axe-muderer is still alive and his victim is dead? We as a reader assumed that it was indeed the axe-murderer who dropped the axe and the victim who died, but the author is confirming it for us through the continuity of his story. I guess then I would put the author/reader responsibility of telling the story at about 60/40 because the author is the one deciding WHAT happens, but by giving us the gutter, the reader is allowed to decide HOW it happens. Does that make sense? Just sort of theorycrafting based off of your post.
The second part you discussed about pages 84-85 reminds me of discourse communities as the reason why everybody would interact with the comics in a different way and draw meanings in a different way. Every person's reaction is unique, and that's probably the crazy things about art and writing is that once it's out there in the public, it can be interpreted by anyone as just about anything and there's nothing you can do about it.