Understanding Comics Reading

In Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics he discusses the idea of how we see things as icons. I really was intrigued with this part of the book because what he says I feel is very true. He discusses how we see things in such a realistic form, but when we view it back in our minds we see it as something so simplistic.

He discribes to us about how we view a face. I agree that we do always think of a truly artistic piece to be something that is almost lifelike in a way. But that can't really be an iconic image because if something is so realistic we can only mark that person or thing to one specific being. But when we take that realistic image and make it more simplified we begin making something that is much more relatable to a broader audience.

I also think this is true because when we watch a cartoon or read a comic, we tend to attach our lifestyle and way we want to be with someone that is well versed in that cartoon or comic. We try to make ourselves be more relatable with our favorite character, but what we don't notice is that the character we are trying to be like was made to be relatable to a wide range of people.

I was also very fascinated when McCloud brought up how our eyes can make a face out of a circle two dots and a line. We know that a face doesn't look like that, but yet our eyes and minds are able to make a face out of those shapes. I feel that we can do that because even as children when we would draw on paper we would make faces out of very generic shapes. So when we see a face like that drawn out we can easily read it as a face.  

Class 1 - In Class Reading

In page one of the story it seems as though this woman is a witch or magical creature of some sort with the way she is positioned. The chicken seems to give her eggs which may be she is collecting at the moment.

Page two seems a little more odd to understand. It looks as if the girl has died or is a sleep and a giant rooster man is watching the girl as she sleeps. The rooster stands in wonder I'm guessing of the woman that lies on the stone tablet.

In page three we see that the girl is in fact dead and is being buried by two giant roosters in a European cathedral. On e rooster seems to be more of a man in form than the other who seems to be more rooster like. They both seem to be sorrowful of her death. 

Page four seems to be the two giant roosters discussing something in the cathedral about the woman they just buried.

In page five it might be something like a flash back. Like one of the roosters was married to this woman and he found her dead in her room.

Page six seems to be a woman dancing as her maid, mother, or sister watches in enchantment. And again the giant rooster makes an appearance in the scene. 

The Arrival by Shaun Tan Review

I was surprised that our first story was a book with no words in it. It was weird though. The story still seemed easy to understand what was happening in a way. The illustrations of the book were almost storyboard-like in a way that you could tell frame for frame what the writer wanted you to know. 

In the beginning as the man was packing his suit case, the images were shown in a way like a film would. Showing the setting so you could see who this man is in a way and then showing us what is actually going on. I feel that when I got to the images with things like the dragon tails and the giant cat in the city, I could have used a bit of an explanation on why those things were there. I could tell that the man was going on a trip somewhere away from his family, but to where was the question. It was almost an imaginative world he went to. 

I felt that the illustrations were also very engaging which help a viewer/reader be more willing to go on in the book. I feel that is where complex stories can be told in a book with no words and only images. If the images are interesting enough and show key parts of the story, the story can be read even easier. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words. So I think a book full of them can tell a story.