[dc]M[/dc]onday’s talk and book signing with Scott McCloud made for an evening of enlightening comic talk at my local Schuler Books. Which came as no surprise, since McCloud wrote three books considered essential reading when it comes to comics (Understanding Comics, Making Comics, and Reinventing Comics).
The Interview
Ryan Claytor (Elephant Eater Comics) of the MSU Comics Forum led the hour-long chat, followed by the Q & A. While McCloud won’t be appearing at the MSU Comics Forum this weekend, this event was held in conjunction with the show.
Quick Plug: The MSU Comics Forum Keynote Address with Tom Hart is this Friday and Artist’s Alley is this Saturday (I’ll be there!).
McCloud shared stories about making his new graphic novel, The Sculptor—ranging from his use of full bleed pages to the Pantone color he used to shooting film of models for reference¹. We were even shown images and video of McCloud’s work flow on The Sculptor (he draws in Photoshop using a WACOM Cintiq).
I forgot to take photos. D’oh!
Comics Now
The Q & A segment led to more great discussion, such as what did McCloud like in comics currently.² McCloud mentioned the all ages movement and how more kids friendly comics led to a growing army of future comic-hungry readers.
As someone who tries to keep my own comics all ages (give or take), I enjoyed the news, and it reflected my own experiences lately. As I keep seeing at conventions, younger readers like my cartoons and comics. It’s common for kids to read aloud the punchlines or gags from my mini-comics, watercolor cartoons, or stickers while at my table—and they laugh.
I often struggle with the ‘who is my audience?’ question, and witnessing younger readers enjoy my cartoons and comics always helps remind me to keep them in mind.³
Longer Comics = More Emotion = Reader Connection
Related to the all ages movement, McCloud talked about the growth of longer comics, those in the hundreds of pages. These longer stories, he explained, allowed the artists (and writers) more room to show emotion and build larger worlds for readers.
This is another area I want to toy with: longer comics. I love my short gag strips, but I really enjoyed crafting longer stories, specifically Chocolate Quest (in which I avoided dialog, save for the last two panels).
I have ideas for more multi-part stories, and I want to get to them sooner, than later.
I occasionally get asked if I plan to adapt my Young Adult fantasy novel,The Magic of Eyri, to a comic. I think about it ,sure. Although, after already spending years making Magic of Eyri a podcast, I’m not quick to go back for another version.
This doesn’t mean I won’t try at some point. I liked the results of pushing myself for Chocolate Quest, and I’m eager to give a similar adventure story a try. The upside to adapting The Magic of Eyri: I don’t have to write a new story.
The Most Important Question
As luck had it, I got to ask the last question before McCloud started his signing. Previous questions ranged from his methods to comic theory to advice for young artists to tapping into personal life experiences for stories and more.
And then there was my question: “What’s your least favorite thing to draw?”
Yes, I asked the author of three of the must-read dissertations on comics about his least favorite thing to draw.
McCloud thought for a moment and gave a well-received answer: “Bicycles.”
I have not started reading The Sculptor yet (I may wait until after the MSU Comics Forum this weekend), but the book looks gorgeous.
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¹ Shooting film allowed McCloud to scrub frame by frame so he could, as he put it, see “when a hug became a hug,” and so on.
² There were more questions, but I didn’t take many notes. D’oh!
³ Now, if kids read my comics online is a totally different story.
