Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud

One of the most interesting insights that Scott McCloud introduced in his comic was how we as humans see and recognize human faces in cartoons vs in real life.  It's interesting to see how the human brain can recognize a face in common object you see everyday.

I never thought about how, when talking to others, we're always slightly aware of what ourselves look like during the conversation.  I also never realized that we over simplify our faces in our heads, since we never actually seen our own faces in person (aside from reflections but that is much different then seeing yourself in conversation without staring at yourself in the mirror.)  This makes a direct connection to cartoons and how we see them as ourselves.

  Scott also goes into other reasons we see ourselves in comics through simply-made characters that pull themselves away from realism.  It makes a lot of sense, since comics and cartoons are often used by readers/viewers as a form of escapism from real-life.  People don't always want to see a highly-realistic story, but something more light-hearted since it is easier to listen to and absorb.  Scott states that, "When you see a realistic face drawing of a face, you see it as the face of another.  But when you enter the world of a cartoon, you see yourself."  Being aware of the 'messenger', or author, can take a reader out of it and make him/her less likely to take in the story or lesson.  It's really fascinating to understand the science behind why people are so interested in the cartoon/comic world.