Chapter 2: In the second chapter of McCloud’s “Understanding Comics”, what most caught my attention was how McCloud expressed that our brains were programmed to see human faces in everything. He used the examples of doodles, cars, and electric plugs. I found it extremely interesting because it is true, I often think about how “mean” or “friendly” a car looks based on its headlights and bumper. I have sometimes even used this information to gauge the character of the person driving it, even if I can’t see them. It seems ridiculous, but it is a common occurrence amongst people. When McCloud expressed that we couldn’t convince our brains to not see a face when presented with a traditional smiley face, I tried to stare at it long enough to see if I could identify some other figure, to no avail. However, I do not necessarily agree that these attributes make us self-centered beings. Faces do not belong exclusively to humans. Most animals and insects also have faces consisting of two eyes and a mouth. When I look at these objects, such as the car, I do not necessarily see myself in them. In fact, I think I relate them more closely to other creatures than I do to humans. I do, however, understand the concept of having some objects as an extension to our bodies, as the car example. However, I think this is more directly connected to the fact that, in our subconscious, we are aware that if something touches/hits the object we are on or holding, we will feel it. If someone hits our car, we feel the impact. If someone knocks down a cup that we’re holding, we feel its absence. This awareness is what I think causes that mental extension of our bodies.

Chapter 5: In the fifth chapter of this reading, McCloud expresses how lines are used to represent emotions, and both visible and invisible phenomena. The concept of iconic symbols used to depict a variety of these phenomena grasped my attention. It is true that many of the symbols used in comics are picked up by many artists, as McCloud expressed with the example of the flies in rancid smells. However, I had never noted the difference between the phenomena that existed, and those that were exagerations. With the example of the smoke from the pipe and the smell from the trashcan, in my head both of their visual depictions were accurate. It wasn’t until McCloud pointed out that smoke is, in fact, a visisble phenomenon in real life, while smell is meant to be invisible, that I realized the difference. I believe this is due to the literacy of the language of comics that McCloud discusses. As more artists use the same symbols again and again, they become normalized in our minds, making their differentiation from real-life phenomena harder. He uses the examples of the sweat beads in the forehead, exes for eyes to signify death, and such elements, which are all familiar to us.