Understanding Scott McCloud cont.

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“What do you think of the comparison?” I asked.

“Oh, I just like crazy prophets like McLuhan,” said Scott. “It’s fun! It’s a fun way to look at the work.”

His other influences include Yale professor emeritus, Edward Tufte, U.C. San Diego professor emeritus, Donald Norman, and British science historian James Burke, best known for his BBC series, Connections. (For links to their sites, see below.)

“All of these guys love a good debate,” said Scott.

“You said something that caused a bit of a debate between yourself and John Lowe, chair of SCAD’s Sequential Art Department,” I said. “You had said that comics on the web were more intimate, but John disagreed. I’d have to side with John on that one. I’d say more immediate, but print is more intimate.”

“Well, maybe in that sense of isolation, print wins,” Scott replied. “But the web creates more intimate relationships between the creator and the reader. There a direct connection between the two, where a creator can post the comic, and twenty minutes later, read someone’s posting on the message board. The feedback is instantaneous.”

“But in that sense, aren’t web comics appealing to the crowd of iconoclasts (see Making Comics for the definition),” I said, “since they can just open up a new window and send off a quick-fire nasty-gram? I mean, do you think this contributes to a healthy debate? Or does it lead to a game of I.M. one-ups-manship?”

“Well, you can always weed out the trolls and filter one from the other, but even that doesn’t negate the value of a more thoughtful and well-crafted critique,” said Scott.

“In that sense,” I said, “could we make the comparison that print is to Modernism as web comics are to Post Modernism, in this way: with print, the artist and writer create a complete work. It goes to print. Six months later, it finds its way into the hands of hungry readers. The creators, in essence, issue the edict and, with the exception of someone taking the time to type out a letter in response to the work, the work remains complete, and by-and-large, silent after the cover is closed. With web comics, especially in these days of blogging and lightning fast exchange of info, the screen barely has time to refresh before a gut reaction is launched into cyberspace and the link, like gossip, spreads like wildfire to friends and family.”

“Well,” said Scott, “That’s just this cultural moment. The DNA of the web is absolute access to absolutely everything.”

“But is it as satisfying as that refreshing breath the reader gets to take as the cover of a well-written, well-drawn graphic novel is closed?” I asked. “Where the reader places her hand on the cover one last time before (hopefully) placing it on the shelf?”

“Well, we don’t have to hold a movie in our hands, or cradle a symphony,” said Scott. “There are aesthetic experiences that we don’t have to touch, which touch us. It’s just that we associate printed comics with that [sense of touch].”

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