I think that the passage by Scott McCloud does provide the reader with useful information about images and the written word. First, McCloud is able to explain the concept of how the written word and images have changed over the course of time. Next, he is able to implement the important point that as time went on, images and the written word eventually collided into a modern version of what we have today. After this introduction of main points, McCloud was then able to show his audience how images and words interact to form the basis of comics that are present today. However, this combination can change greatly depending on the artist, and how they go about arranging their comic. In addition to this concept, when a comic artist decides to implement the different styles that are available to them in their work, it can have a great impact on the comic.
I think that McCloud made a good point when he explained that artwork and the written word do not need to be separated. For example, he uses the example of early civilizations that used pictures very frequently. These pictures are representing early forms of language, which clearly shows that words and pictures were connected very early in history. As the written word evolved, it started to become a separate entity from images. Eventually, many different forms of artwork evolved, without words, that tried to express certain themese or concepts depending on the artist. This artwork further separated images and words, but in the near future this was going to change for a few different factors.
Later on, some artists who were known as Dadeists, Futurists, and others tried doing something different. They began to use words in their artwork, which added a new approach to the world of art. Interestingly, today comics area good example of this mix of pictures and words. However, there are different methods that can be used to implement the words into the artwork, without making them unrelated. Some of these methods include word specific, picture specific, due-specific, additive, parallel, montage, and inter-dependent. Depending on which method the artist decides to use, they each have a different affect on the comic itself, due to the fact that words and images are integrated differently into each style. I thought that this was an interesting point, because when I was younger I did read some comics and I noticed the different strategies that the artists were using in their work. I never really thought that these styles had specific names or purposes, due to the fact that they are present in many different types of comics and tend to go unnoticed.
Another interesting point that McCloud made was that when the comic artist uses these elements in the correct way, it will show in their work. He believes that when each part of the different types of styles is correctly integrated into the comic, it will allow the comic to be traced back to the art work that is regularly integrated into them. I think that this point makes a lot of sense, because with any form of writing, comics in this case, the author must know about the different styles and methods that must be done in the correct order and with the right amount of time to produce a good quality work. Thinking further on this point, I have come to realize that in any form of the writing process, steps can not be skipped or done half-way or the end result such as, a comic, paper, etc., will not be a very good work. I believe that this passage provided many interesting points about the integration of the written word and images, and not only their affect on comics, but on other works of art as well. It made me think about how much language has affected people, especially due to its early presence in ancient civilizations. Their combinations of symbolic pictures and characters, signs, etc., is further proof that images and the written word can coexist together in works of literature, or art.
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