Analysis of Understanding Comics/ Picture This/ ”The Chinese Written Language”/ “How to Read Nancy”/Maus

Pick three of the authors we’ve discussed (Alan Watts, Paul Karasik/Mark Newgarden, Scott McCloud, Art Spiegelman, and Molly Bang), and explore the connections between their approaches or perspectives. I’d like you to address (in an integrated essay, rather than separately) questions like this: What are these authors attempting to do? What’s their point of view, and how do they support their claims? Where do their projects and perspectives connect? How are they distinct from each other?

While you will undoubtedly want to refer to some of the terms McCloud has coined in an attempt to analyze the comics medium, it’s important that you explain those terms in your own words, and that you mark off any specific language used by McCloud that you include in your paper. The same goes for Bang’s concepts, though the terms used in Picture This aren’t quite as specialized as the ones in Understanding Comics.

Note: please do NOT recap Understanding Comics chapter-by-chapter, as I’m asking you to demonstrate your ability to take a more synthesized view of the material in ALL six chapters by identifying and connecting the larger thematic threads. In my view, separate chapter summaries do little to demonstrate your overall comprehension; such an approach is likely to result in a lower grade for your paper. Consider placing your discussion of these ideas in the broader context of activities and other examples and discussions in this class (such as close readings of cartoons by Saul Steinberg, or comics like Robert Crumb’s comic “A Short History of America”).