How do comics work?" asks Scott McCloud in his book Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art.
This quickly leads us to: "How do we work?" Why can't we help perceiving a face in a circle, two dots, and a line? Why does a drawing of Batman mean more to us than a photograph of Michael Keaton as Batman? Why do our minds race to make sense of the transition between two panels, or of the relationship between a picture and its caption?
McCloud pulls comics apart in front of our eyes, drawing them so that the marionette strings are in full view. And even while you're looking at the mechanisms that he's made visible, his comics keep working. Like any good deconstruction, his work is enlightening and funny at the same time. And unlike a lot of books about perception, Understanding Comics is written in a medium that makes semiotics simple.
This is not a book about comics. It's a comic book about comics. "It's a powerful tool for making a persuasive point," says McCloud. "Comics do have an edge. Images have a peculiar power to fuse themselves with an idea and help the idea stay anchored."
If you think this sounds McLuhanesque, you're not alone. Under-standing Comics raises questions about perception that concern creative people in all manner of new media. Apple Directions, Apple's developer newsletter, called this a "truly useful book on interface."
The accolade doesn't surprise McCloud. "The most brilliant semioticians in the world," he says, "are working for Apple."
Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art, by Scott McCloud: US$19.95. Kitchen Sink Press: +1 (413) 586 9525.
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