Wed 11 Aug 2004
I just finished reading Scott McCloud’s seminal book, “Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art“. It is a very powerful/deep book, and I am now kicking myself for never going to see him lecture at GDC…
While I was never big into comics growing up (I think I spent all my loose change on coin-op games), I was interested in the book as a means to understand some of the parallels between comics and digital games. That is, they are both seen by many as useless, purient, artless and with no socially redeeming value (all things I obviously disagree with). Also, in the sense that they are both realtively new forms of expression that are constructed from other bits of expression (ie, words, pictures, etc), but that require their own unique understanding.
As the book has been out for over a decade, I am sure you can google for a much more in-depth summary and analysis of what McCloud is positing.
What I found particularly smart is that the book is actually a comic itself. A really ingenious move to help the reader better understand the points he’s making… While there are some great books that are just now scratching the surface of what digital games are (eg, “Rules of Play“), it would be truly insightful if someone was able to build an actual video game the would explore the meaning of games ;-)
August 11th, 2004 at 3:39 pm
You should read “Reinventing Comics” too. It’s far more controversial, but quite thought provoking.
The other interesting parallel between comics and games is that they are both media that are seen by many people as “for kids”. This explains partly why there is so much moral outrage when a violent game pops up in the media. Just as happened back in the day with EC comics. People who thought of comics as a medium for kids were shocked when they found that artists were creating adult stories. Industry self-censorship followed with the Comics Code and creativity was stifled… for a while anyway.
So perhaps all the uproar about Doom and Columbine and the more recent Manhunt news is part of what we have to live through on the way to greater cultural acceptance of videogames.
August 11th, 2004 at 3:49 pm
Right, great point re: “only” for kids. This is starting to change, interestingly enough, due to the moral outrage… That is to say, the more coverage there is about mature games, the more the public will come to realize that games are not just for kids (one would hope, anyway).
The challenge is to use the lessons learned from the comics folks, and avoid a Comics Code style meltdown… Despite the great progress comics have made, I’d say they are still way behind the acceptance curve…
August 12th, 2004 at 8:12 am
For me, “Understanding Comics” was one of the most significant books I read and realised that it had a relevance for creativity in many media other than comics. It was an excellent analysis of how the comics medium worked and how the role of the creative fit within that.
I was very disappointed with “Reinventing Comics” because it felt to me that McCloud was using his previous success to dictate his own ideas of how comics should be in the future. While some of it was relevant, other sections came across as more than a little dictatorial.
Many withing the comics industry see McCloud as a visionary, while others see him as simply an excellent analyst.
I’m afraid I find much of his actual comic work a little tedious and so am very wary of his true value beyond his first book.