Monday, September 22, 2008

Blood in the Gutter (U.C. Ch. 1-4)

I think that McCloud does an excellent job using a graphic format to study and explain comics/graphic novels.  His drawings are simple, but he uses others' work effectively to back up his claims.  

At first I was a little wary of someone telling me HOW to read something - I learned to read in 1st grade, thanks.  McCloud is not condescending, however, and his style is relatively easy to read.  I admit that there are bits that get a little boring, but for the most part I learned a lot about comics - specifically about "the gutter."  

Chapter one did little for me - I feel like he wrote it more for himself - to prove that what he was writing about had merit.  He totally won me over in chapter two, however, by starting with the painting "The Treachery of Images" by Magritte.  It happens to be one of my favorite paintings, and I thought it got his point across beautifully.  It helps me to get into a text-book if I feel that the author is at least as smart/worldly/travelled as I am.  McCloud has convinced me, at least for the time being.  I am also intrigued by the idea of an image/icon as entirely separate from the object/noun it represents.  There is a very basic truth to that.  The graphic on pages 52/53 is AWESOME - the concepts (like high abstraction) are not that easy to wrap one's mind around, but this graphic does an excellent job of SHOWING (rather than telling) what these terms mean.

Chapter three may have been my favorite, not least because of the name.  The "gutter" in comics relates (in my mind) to things that go unsaid in traditional novels or short stories.  Sometimes, what is NOT said (or drawn)  is imminently more important than what is said.

Do y'all think that McCloud was right to use a graphic format for his textbook?  Was it easier/harder to read this text compared to textbooks from your other classes?  Is there anything that he's said that is still unclear to you?

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