McCloud Chapter 6

The main takeaway for me comes from a single word: “Complementary.” I can convey all the meaning I need to with an image that tells the whole story (is a photo not 1000 words?), and I can tell an entire story with paragraphs and sentences. However, it’s when neither is completely filled that an interesting story can unravel. By showing fragments, such as the pouring streets rather than wet rainboots, the reader can place themselves in that soaken environment. By amplifying a specific fragment, such as a creepy look, our sense of “creepiness” can be attained. As McCloud describes, I tend to think of masterful writing and art as separate calibers. A beautifully written essay can use figures and photos in it, but the language takes center stage. Challenging this opinion is what I take away from this reading. A result can be more than the sum of its individual parts. This image from a Harry Potter black-out poem quite literally takes renowned writing, adds imagery of a character, and finds new meaning within the words on the page. By utilizing a children’s book, we don’t expect the dark moment that haunts the character drawn on the page.