On: 'Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art' (Chapters 1-4) by Scott McCloud

The most interesting idea i picked up from reading this odd textbook was about the iconic value of images. How we perceive simple objects to contain more then they do through our understanding of the world and its properties. For instance, in a simple drawing of a smiley face we can allow ourselves to relate to the details that aren't there than those that are. In Japanese cartoon art, its common for the villains to be tediously detailed whereas the hero would be portrayed simpler. This is to let the villain have a sense of 'separateness' or 'otherness' while the hero has room for imagination and adaptibility to the reader.