Reading and Writing about Comics ala McCloud, Part 2

For this post I chose to talk about Allison's blog. The comic she discussed was called "The Silencer," a comic about two boys who find a pistol while fishing.

One interesting thing I found about her post was that she discusses the inherent differences between internet and print comics. One point she touches on is how the internet offers more possibilities for comics than printed medium. She explains: "Instead, I would argue that the web allows for "infinite gutters", requiring more closure and direct participation from the reader, not eliminating the need for it."

Now, this is deviating from the purpose of the post a bit, but I found this to be very interesting. Obviously "Understanding Comics" was written before online comics were around (or were at least very popular, accessible, etc). Allison discusses briefly McCloud's idea that there is a big distinction between single panel cartoons and more elaborate comics. Though she later disagrees with her own assertion, she makes the claim that McCloud might argue that her comic "The Silencer" is closer to a cartoon than a comic.

What's interesting about this is the idea that the medium really has changed. McCloud seems to have an almost condescending attitude to cartoons while viewing comics as vastly superior. In the age of the internet web based comics really seem to be changing a lot. Today the medium really has abandoned a lot of the contraints it once had, and allows comics like "The Silencer" to exist. In truth each "panel" of the comic is roughly the same size as a standard three-panel comic you would find in print. This means that each panel is very fractured in terms of time, setting, plot, etc--but in the end each provides a lot more detail that, when taken in larger context, makes the comic as a whole much more enjoyable.

The very design of internet comics seems to go beyond McCloud's definition of "Juxtaposed pictorial and other images in deliberate sequence..." By being able to play around with how readers see each panel, a single comic can really be just about anything.

Allison discusses how "The Silencer" seems to be a blend of realistic and cartoony images--another hallmark characteristic of internet comics. Far more options in terms of design are available to artists, meaning that the scope of comics--as well as the variation of panels within comics--can be extremely broad. This allows a comic like "The Silencer" to play around with how it delivers its storyline.