Scott McCloud, "Show and Tell"

Abstract
In his book "Understanding Comics" author Scott McCloud examines comics as a form of art. The book itself is formatted as one big comic book and it is written about comics as both a literary and artistic medium. He provides a detailed history of the medium, along with examples of the various styles and strategies that are used. McCloud believes that comics have been in existence for centuries and that some works of art are mistakenly categorized as other forms of art instead of comics. He also includes examples from some of the world's best comic artists and describes how their techniques have contributed to the evolution of comics.
Bibliographic Information
Title: Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
Author: Scott McCloud
Edition: 25
Publisher: HarperPerennial, 1994
ISBN: 0613027825, 9780613027823
Length: 215 Pages
Subjects: Art, Cartooning
Key Concepts
The chapter "Show and Tell" shows how art and words can interact with each other. The chapter begins with a brief history of words and pictures. He shows us that the earliest words were in fact just stylized pictures. Some languages have held on to the visual roots, while other languages-- such as English-- simply represent sounds and do not resemble the visible word. McCloud states that while words and pictures in combination may not be his exact definition of comics, the combination has had tremendous influence on its growth. Specifically he says, "A huge range of human experiences can be portrayed in comics through either words or pictures. As a result--and despite its many other potential uses--comics have become firmly identified with the art of storytelling. Finally he lists seven basic frameworks for the interactions of words and pictures:
1. Word Specific - the pictures simply illustrate the words
2. Picture Specific - the words are basically just a soundtrack
3. Duo Specific - words and pictures combine to give a specific meaning
4. Additive - words amplify/elaborate the image or vice versa
5. Parallel - words and pictures follow different courses without intersecting
6. Montage - words are integral parts of the picture
7. Interdependent - words and pictures go hand in hand to convey an idea that neither could convey on their own
Examples
Each example number corresponds to the numbers above
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Keywords
Affordances
Citations
McCloud, S. (1994). Show and Tell. In Understanding comics: The invisible art. New York: HarperPerennial.