McCloud 60-93

The title of this reading by McCloud is called blood in the gutter, by gutter McCloud is talking about the space in between the panels of a comic strip. The gutter is the part of the comic that incorporates the mystery that the artist is attempting to provide. That little space in the middle lets the human mind take the pictures on both sides and put them into one idea. As an artist goes from panel to panel when creating a story within the comic there are different transition techniques used. Moment to moment, action to action, subject to subject, scene to scene, aspect to aspect, and non sequitur are indicators of a transition in the story. Action to action is the most common mode of transition used followed by subject to subject, although this does not mean that the rest of the transition tools aren’t used often. McCloud talks about how comics are a form of mono-sensory which relies on readers to see an image and convey the rest of the senses through just looking at an image. It is in the panels that we receive visual information, while between the panels no information is conveyed. It is up to the reader to incorporate their own thoughts from the previous panels and the future panels to continue building the story in their mind. This reading was helpful in a sense that it shows the relationship between the artist and the reader and how they trust each other to read the story. The senses can be conveyed through an abundance of pictures and actions or the absence of pictures and actions. Sometimes the less you offer the more the reader can take in and comprehend what is being said. The reader is expected to use their imagination to follow the comic and the characters involved within the story.