McCloud #1

After reading Scott McClouds, Understanding Comics, I took a look at his website and read a few of the comics he wrote. The comic I was most intrigued by was called "Zen Dating." The comic has thirty-nine frames, and is an excellent recreation of the dating scene. The man comes to the woman for a date. He brings flowers; she says the petals are soft, but the thorns are sharp. She is already finding fault. He says that it's almost time for the movie to start; she comments about how many previews there will be. He suggests a video instead. She tells him to choose any video he would like. He gives some options; she is does not like any of his suggestions. She tells him that the door is open and basically, "don't let it hit you in the behind." He says, "Same time next week," and leaves dejected. Oh, the hard to please woman!

In this comic, the man and woman could be any man and woman. They are simply outlines of male and female faces. The characters are intentionally drawn with no identifying characteristics. McCloud writes, “…when you look at a photo or realistic drawing of a case—you see it as the face of another. But when you enter the world of the cartoon—you see yourself” (McCloud 36). By not identifying a specific character, the reader is able to better identify and place themselves in the situation, either as the male or the female character.

In frames four and five of the comic, McCloud bridges the two frames together by drawing flowers in the “gutter” between the two frames. The gutter is the space between the two frames. This is normally where the mystery of what happens between the frames is up to the reader’s imagination. He says, “Here in the limbo of the gutter, human imagination takes two separate images and transforms them into a single idea” (McCloud 66). In this particular instance, McCloud is taking that the imagination away from the reader and letting them know that the man handed the woman flowers.

In frame 23, McCloud uses lines jutting out around the man’s face to show that his character is becoming distressed. There is nothing in the writing that would indicate his distress, but the jutting lines are a symbol of his distress and are just something I recognized without being told that with words. McCloud writes, “If enough artists begin using the symbol, it will enter the language for good—as many have through the years” (McCloud 129). This is obviously a symbol that has caught on and is easily recognized.

The reading of Understanding Comics made the interpretation of the comic I read much easier and interesting.