90 pages • 3 hours read
Scott McCloudUnderstanding Comics: The Invisible Art
Nonfiction | Graphic Novel/Book | Adult | Published in 1993A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Chapters 7-9Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 7 Summary: “The Six Steps”
McCloud seeks to prove that comics share a number of qualities with other art forms and are, in fact, a legitimate art form. He elaborates on what he calls the two basic human instincts: survival and reproduction. His comic depicts a cave man tricking a saber-toothed tiger into falling off a cliff—survival. The relieved cave man sticks out his tongue to mock the tiger—which, McCloud says, is art. According to McCloud, art is the one thing people do when they are not pursuing their instincts: “It’s a happy fact of human existence that we simply can’t spend our every waking hour eating and having sex!” (165).
McCloud believes that art arises from the human need to stand against instinct. Art provides a way to break out of predetermined roles—with rudimentary forms such as drawing, dancing, and singing fostering growth. McCloud posits that the emergence of primitive art led to three important areas of human development: sports and games, self-expression, and the pursuit of truth. Some activities and professions possess more artistry than others depending on their relation to survival. Even then, one cannot say that something is art or not because everything has elements of it.
Artists across genres desire something out of their creations, even if it is simply art for art’s sake. McCloud says that the creation of art follows a six-step path:
- First comes idea/purpose: This is the inspiration or revelation behind creation.
- Second is form: deciding what type of art is going to be created.
- Third is idiom: the particular stylistic elements of the art.
- Fourth is structure: creating an overall vision of how the art will be put together.
- Fifth is craft: using one’s acquired skill and creative intuition to do the work.
- Six is surface: creating the final superficial aspects of the work that will be most apparent to those who initially experience it.
McCloud points out that new art styles tend to invite pretenders, people who attempt to build upon said styles. But since they are focused on the surface of any given work, the underlying layers of skill and creativity are simply not present. Self-examination is key for artists: “...does this artist want to say something about life through his art or does he want to say something about art itself?” (178).
McCloud divides great artists across genres into two groups: One type of pioneer focuses on the form of art, meaning their contributions changed the nature of the genre (think Picasso developing cubism in response to representational art), while the other type focuses on the potential that lies within the form itself to express an ultimate truth (think Charles Dickens writing serial novels in English newspapers to change British penal codes).
Like all artists, comics artists fluctuate between concerns about art in itself and their stories; fame and fortune are also practical concerns. McCloud notes, “When art becomes a job or a matter of social status the potential for confusing one’s goals goes up considerably” (181). He concludes the chapter by stating that all six elements of the artistic process are present whenever any creator in any genre creates art. Though McCloud gives credence to those who concentrate most on form (that is, style), he believes that the underlying idea of the form—the comic genre itself—must be embraced in order for it to be perpetuated.
Chapter 8 Summary: “A Word About Color”
The use of color in comics can be traced back to 1861 when Scottish physicist Sir James Clerk-Maxwell discovered the three additive primary colors—red, blue, and green—which can be blended to create any visible color. In 1869, the three “subtractive colors” (186)—cyan, magenta, and yellow—were discovered by Frenchman Louis Ducos Du Hauron. Both discoveries led to the development of the “four-color process” (187) which allowed mass reproduction of colors in cheap media like newsprint.
Because using color was expensive, shortcuts were taken that diminished the quality and vibrancy of colored ink, resulting in the characteristic cheap look long associated with American comics. To cope with this, comics producers resorted to using bright primary colors that could be reproduced accurately. This limited the potential expressionism of comics but also resulted in the creation of icons: Comic book fans know the colors of their favorite characters and villains.
McCloud notes that the flat, unshaded colors traditionally used in color comics “emphasize the shape of objects” (188), making the reader “more aware of the physical form of objects than [those drawn] in black and white” (189). This creates images and shapes reminiscent of childhood.
In the early 1990s (the time in which McCloud published his book), color was still an expensive proposition, causing most comics artists to retain traditional comic styles. Because color is so eye-catching, McCloud says, “The surface qualities of color will continue to attract readers more easily than black and white [...] intertwined with the forces of commerce and technology” (192).
Chapter 9 Summary: “Putting It All Together”
McCloud begins the chapter by posing the following question: Why is it so important to grasp and understand the importance of comics? He posits that all human beings are isolated, and no person can ever fully know another. The world’s media are all attempts at bridging the gap so people can understand what others experience: “Today, comics is one of the very few forms of mass communication in which individual voices still have a chance to be heard” (197). While the journey to become a comics artist is not easy, it is much simpler than becoming a filmmaker or playwright. McCloud goes on to encourage those willing to enter the field of comics.
McCloud sees understanding fellow human beings as the most important task and wishes to use media to do so. His study of comics as a medium taught him to cast aside any prejudices about comics, to use the simplest definition of comics, and to learn comics’ history. McCloud advises that readers pay close attention to the observations of scholars like Rudolphe Töpffer who wrote about the potential of comics and the poor attitude that hinders them as an art form.
McCloud reminds his readers that comics are privy to the full range of “visual iconography” (202)—from realistic representation to total abstraction, as well as the invisible worlds of language and symbols. He reiterates comics’ ability to use closure to express ideas and realities without showing them, and of their ability to bend time and space.
McCloud closes the book on a personal note, expressing how much he learned and has yet to learn about comics. He invites his readers to find ways to get involved in the world of comics, a world he perceives as continuing to grow.
Chapters 7-9 Analysis
One of McCloud’s most philosophical turns comes in Chapter 7 when he posits that human beings have two basic instincts—survival and reproduction—with anything and everything else being art. He extrapolates that coincidental art was and continues to be of great benefit to humans’ evolutionary development. His ideas are compelling, though some readers might argue that all human behavior is, in some sense, an act of survival.
Later in Chapter 7, McCloud indulges in self-reflection about the forces driving the need to produce art. Though he does not use the term “muse,” he clearly feels the unrequited need to create art and, in the case of his book, express its purpose and possibilities. Many artists across genres wrestle with the phenomenon of creating a work of art that is virtually perfect, yet entirely different from what they envisioned.
Chapter 8’s discussion of color presents McCloud with another opportunity to address the public’s opinion of comics. It also presents the topic of the Sunday newspaper, the means through which most American adults saw color comics in print (during McCloud’s time); weekday comics were printed in black and white as color was only used on Sundays in tandem with color advertisements. Toward the end of the 20th century, some newspapers also began to use color photographs. American adults have very few opportunities to read comics if they are not actively interested in comic books. Due to preconceptions about comics, many adults are reluctant to purchase or be seen reading them because they fear it will imply immaturity—an inaccurate assessment as comics cover a variety of topics and themes.
At the end of the chapter, McCloud writes, “The surface qualities of color will continue to attract readers more easily than black and white [...] intertwined with the forces of commerce and technology” (192). While this statement may seem matter-of-fact, it is worth noting that each of the bold-faced words has particularly poignant meaning for him. “Surface” is the sixth and least significant concern of his six-step creative process. McCloud implies that, while color may attract people to read, the real substance behind comics relies on form, content, style, and craft—an idea accentuated by his informative black-and-white self. “Commerce” and “technology” are the two forces that initially prevented color from becoming a mainstay of American comics. Unless there is profit involved, vibrant color will never be a constant in said comics.
It is somewhat ironic that, in Chapter 9, McCloud extends a plea to those interested in comics to become involved in the process—considering Chapter 6’s elucidation of how demanding and potentially unrewarding a career in comics can be. And yet, such is the path of many a great artist. Furthermore, technology makes careers (digital artists, video creators, etc.) all the more possible to pursue and tools more readily available with which to perfect one’s craft regardless of profession.
