Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics: Picture and Word Combinations

During my readings, I have found a good book called Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics and  in it based on my pursuit for seeing who I can get across my story through comics. He was addressed a series of pictorial-text combination. In Chapter 6, pages 138 to 161, he discusses about the different combinations of how words and pictures can be displayed in a comic.

Word specific - mixture where pictures illustrate but they do not add to the overall idea described in the text.

Picture specific - text adds not very much to picture that already clearly conveys. all it can do is provide some audio to the scene.

Duo specific - the pictures and images basically state the same message that each form is trying to convey. In my opinion this can be much as I would prefer one medium to convey a series of idea rather than both. This video clip from Futurama help understand explain why it does not work.

However in the context of this video, it works for comical effect.

 McCloud describes how a children the event at school where we provide something for show and tell, we use a series of images and description to "transmit a series of interconnected ideas" (1994 p. 152)

Additive - Basically this combination shows an image and the text aligned with it helps emphasis the visuals or develops it into further detail. This can be done either way.

Parallel Combination - the text and images don't connect to each to her but they do follow their own path.

Montage- allows the text to become part of the image itself.

p.155

Interdependent combinations- These are where the two pictures and text must work together in order to convey the idea which can only be conveyed with words and pictures.

McCloud says that words and pictures take turns to lead because if both do this then it could lead to problems to achieve the comics goal. (1994 p.156)

 He goes on to say that if the pictures provide enough clarify there is more freedom for the text to "explore a wider area"(McCloud 1994 P.157)

 "there are other approaches to this such as show sections of the scene and be more specific on particular words. you can even go for  abstract segments to enhance the words. There can also be some important emotional moments that can work with teh words and image combined together. (McCloud 1994 p. 160)

Reference

McCloud, S. 1994. Understanding comics. New York: Harper Perennial.