Summary Of Show And Tell By Scott Mccloud

The Balance of “Show and Tell”

Comic books are often regarded as unique. With the addition of pictures into text, they require the reader to be not just a reader, but a viewer as well. In his graphic essay, “Show and Tell,” comic book artist Scott McCloud questions what really makes a comic book come to life. Written as part of Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art (1993), this brief section points out that a balance of both words and pictures is the answer. McCloud literally and figuratively illustrates the commonly held beliefs of art and literature as being separate. He then shows through his own art and literature that this does not have to be the status quo; words and pictures can be brought together and still be regarded as high art.

He states, “Traditional thinking has long held that truly great works of art and literature are only possible when the two are kept at arm’s length (pg. 740).” Complete with a cartoon version of himself holding books and paintings at “arm’s length”, McCloud reveals what he finds troubling about great art. A painting or a book are separate entities, and under this preconception, they work best when they are apart. “Arm’s length” is the perfect and most essential analogy for this relationship because these two entities are kept somewhat far from each other, but not too far, or too close. This term is vague enough for the reader to imagine a symbolic distance, while still being real enough to illustrate literally. McCloud doesn’t want to keep them apart. He wants to be able to mix them together. He goes on to encourage the practice. McCloud begins to make his point that balancing the two main forms of communication, words and images, leads to the best creative

The interdependence of the scale is another easy analogy for the reader to understand. If the scale is heaving on the “W” side, the “P” side can “go exploring”. McCloud personifies these two so that the reader can see how flexible their relationship is. He then includes examples of wordless comic book situations where pictures are able to give the reader all the necessary information, then illustrates the opposite situation. Even the use of classic comic book italics in "words" and "vice versa" elaborate on what matters to McCloud on a literary level. Once again words and pictures are at the heart of what McCloud has to say. And, since this is a comic book with pictures, the image of the scale is every bit