The Ideas of Scott McClouds Understanding Comics Essay

The Ideas of Scott McClouds Understanding Comics - Essay Example McCloud makes the reader understand the relationship between words and images. He begins with the explanation, how the words develop from images and later become the communicating ideas. The message giving process may lay emphasis on words or picture. These are used in children’s study books and comics. The children love the play and jugglery of words and the picture-images, as they fulfill their hunger for fantasies. The relationship between words and images is quite exciting. McCloud argues, â€Å"Words — are the ultimate abstraction."(47)Carefully planned and placed headlines and similar inter-titles kindle curiosity of the reader about the contents of the article. McCloud is aware of the strength of the words and images in the print and electronic media, and how they can create ripples in the minds of the readers. Read this title on the front page of a newspaper relating to a financial scandal. â€Å"Millionaire Brown is in million dollar jam!† McCloud has r ightly pointed out that use of words and images are like dance partners who know their roles. They support and challenge each other to create the magical effect. For example, a caricature of corruption may convey more than what is stated in a full-length article on the subject. It has the capacity to strike hard at the societal ills in a satirical style. It gets to the point and gives the message, without hurting. McCloud asserts that we have only scratched the surface of the relationship between words and images. Their relationship is profound and it generates credence to the progression of action in the story. An artist sees art in most of the human activities, whether they are big or small, and extracts something special from them and provides meaningful interpretations either through words or pictures. Such interpretations are not part of his academic knowledge; they are the just spontaneous overflow of his ideas! Spectacular results are obtained and presented before the audienc e, the effect of which may last for generations, depending upon the latent potency of such combinations by the genius artist. The potential creativity of the comics beats the effectiveness of the painter and the writer; it depicts and says something without hurting which results in fountains of joy. The creator of the comics blends the aesthetic response in them and enjoys being in the role of a clown rather than a troubleshooter hero. This clown often reveals profound truths, often in a satirical form. His messages are the true reflections of the goings on in the society, and he pictures them without malice to anyone, without fear or favor. The criticism is often enjoyed by the one against whom it is directed and the societal response to his actions is light-hearted. The comic demands less space but the ‘built-up’ area within it is massive. McCloud writes, â€Å"Space does for comics what time does for a film!"(7) The word has a specific meaning, but a million viewers of the comic enjoy an equal number of interpretations.