Day 35: RESPONSE TO CHAP 9 McCLOUD

In the last chapter of Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics, the concepts covered throughout the entirety of the book, or comic, are wrapped up, highlighting the importance of understanding how comics work. McCloud, in this chapter, states that the common thread throughout nearly all forms of visual communication is the inability for the messages to be understood in the exact, thorough way that they were intended in the communicator's (or for that matter, the artist's) mind. He describes the messages as having to survive a "journey" through barriers existing between communicator and receiver, and that when artist's master their medium, they are, in fact, mastering the ability to reduce the affects of these unwanted barriers. Another way to lessen the detrimental effects of these barriers, as McCloud proposes, is to learn, and understand the workings of the given medium. Comics, with their usage of mixing media, empty space, closure, etc, have many hurdles to jump before being fully comprehended by the viewer, however, this chapter proposes that the knowledge expressed throughout the previous chapters can lead to greater understanding of the art-form, and thus, greater appreciation for its many complexities.