McCloud

Using Scott McCloud's website I found a web cartoon called “The Right Number.” Originally written in 2003 this comic covers relationships, sex and the obsession of finding the right person in two separate parts. The main character believes that there is a relationship between phone numbers and characteristics of the person on the other end, after he miss dials his girlfriends number by one number and finds incredible similarities. The web comic covers an adult storyline not the typical Marvel variety comic, which shows the great versatility that comics can produce

The comic is done largely in a subject to subject format. By this I mean that frames stay with in the same idea or scene, but it takes the readers involvement in the story as McCloud defines in his book Understanding Comics. In order to show time, McCloud uses multiple frames of similar scenes with no dialog in order to indicate thinking or the stretching out of time (100). These are just a few of the techniques that McCloud places not just in his book but also his web comic.

Because it is a web comic and is shown only one frame at a time, the reader is unable to literally see the “gutter” of the story. By this I am referring to actual space between frames. Since in “The Right Number” the frames transition from with in one another there is no space. The gutter can give ideas for time space and an idea of how to read the comic. With the web comics format the gutter is not seen but moving within the frame onto closeup for greater effect is available. At one point the frames move in from a complete setting to closer and closer to the main character, until we end on the single eye of the main character. Which creates a symbol of seeing things from the characters view for the next scenes.

McCloud shows that there is much more to comics then originally meets the idea. Again and again he shows that comics are not just for children. Comics have an ability to greater show reality by being less realistic. As McCloud says “By stripping down an image to its essential “meaning,” an artist can amplify that meaning in a way that realistic art can't” (30). The story line of “The Right Number” could be explored in another medium but the comic version allows it to give greater meaning by forcing the readers to take part in the understanding of the comic.

McCoud points out that comics have been apart of the world for centuries from the walls of ancient buildings to pottery. That while what we consider to comics may not have become popular until the early 1900's. They have continued to evolve and most likely will continue to do so. There is much more to comics then meets the eye.