In simple words, different images create a story when placed together. At the same time, comics occupies the middle ground between these two, as the image has a narrative value but only when properly arranged in a sequence. In other forms of visual art, the image has an individual narrative value, while in films, images play automatically one after another, with the value of a single image being diminished. The sequential nature of comics means that this medium depends not only on the artists’ ability to tell a story visually but also on their mastery of organizing images and choosing those that help describe the idea, the process, or the whole story. Furthermore, McCloud describes sequential art not only as a form of the visual depiction of a story but also highlights the importance of arranging and organizing the images since when put in a sequence, they acquire a different meaning (5).

This definition helps understand how comics differentiate themselves from other visual forms of art. However, the author elaborates on Eisner’s definition by adding other important aspects that characterize comics as a separate art form, thus coming with a definition of a comic as “juxtaposed pictorial and other images in deliberate sequence” (McCloud 9).

McCloud borrows this term from Will Eisner, a famous comic artist and researcher of the medium (5). McCloud explains that sequential art means that the story is told not through single pictures and not through the flow of images like in cinema or animation but through a sequence of pictures carefully chosen and put in a specific order by the artist (5-8). One of the first concepts the reader of the book encounters is the definition of comics, as ‘sequential art’. Therefore, in this research, some of these concepts will be studied, specifically the concept of sequential art, the role of simplification in the medium, and the importance of space between the panels. Some of his ideas help to differentiate comics from other forms of art and show the potential of this art form. In his book, McCloud offers a number of interesting concepts that help to expand the understanding of comics as an art and a narrative form. As this work is presented in the form of a comic book, it becomes a unique work of both art and research.

The book Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art by Scott McCloud is a deep exploration of comics, as the title implies.

Understanding comics