Story and art play a vital role when reading comics. Both must be connected in order to understand the message of the writer and illustrator. An intriguing comic book comparison to make is between Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics and Nick Sousantis’ Unflattening. Both works are refreshingly original in their plot and motivate readers to learn more about the comic book medium. The works are beautifully designed from the moment one opens the first page and dives into the material. McCloud recounts his encounters with a friend and his attempt at understanding and describing the comic book medium and it all comes to life as the author uses the comic book panels to shift our attention from one part of the narrative to the next.
It’s McCloud’s belief that the use of these panels is a large part of what motivates readers to follow along and delve into the writer’s world. Sousantis, on the other hand, takes a much more abstract approach in the creation of his comic, as some panels are small, and others take up an entire page. Unflattening, the metaphoric tale of machinery and technology controlling reality eerily resembles modern American life at home and in the workplace. The use of black and white coloring reminds readers of certain stringent realities that we all face as the internalization processes take place in our daily lives. The swirling letters, shadowy figures, and large characters all seemingly jump out at the reader as one turns each page.
The works are very different, but they exist under the comic book umbrella and cement the notion that the medium has enough room for all types of comics. Like art, music, and film, comics is a medium that can encompass all sorts of genres because creators have found a way to capture reader attention and move plot along each page. Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather and Peter Jackson’s Fellowship of the Ring are very different films, yet they both have a place under the film medium because their creators have found new and beautiful ways to engage audiences. McCloud and Sousantis are prime examples of opposites coexisting in an artistic field.
References
McCloud, S. (1993). Understanding comics. Northampton, MA: Kitchen Sink Press Inc.
Sousanis, N. (2015). Unflattening. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
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