THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN

ByVictor Sutton

This presentation will be going over the McCloud Concepts and what they mean. This will also show how these concepts are used in the comic issue of, The Adventures of Superman.

This is where I believe the concept of subject to subject transitions are put in play because it shows a conversation between Superman and a civilian while going back and fourth amongst their faces.

The concept shown here is “Subject to Subject” it is a transition in which a sequence will go back and fourth between two characters.

This is an example of “Choice of Frame” it shows different views of the room allowing the reader to get a good look of what's in the room.

“Choice of Frame”, this is what an artist has to decide in order to figure out what his readers will be able to see. Especially when there are details that are important in the future.

This frame shows an example of symmetry. Both sides of Superman's face are essentially the same, from his eyes to his eyebrows. It makes the reader see how much he is like us.

The concept talked about in this section is “Symmetry”. It is part of the building blocks of life. People tend to see most living things in one way and giving them symmetry strengthens that idea.

The concept of facial expressions is put to work here as the reader can tell from the confused look on Superman's face that he doesn’t know why the woman is pouring the salt out.

The concept explained in this panel is “Facial Expressions”. Expressions can help to show a characters emotions or thoughts. If someone is sad you cannot give them a happy look you would need to make them cry or frown.

This is a scene that puts the concept of body language in to focus. You can tell that superman is being stern by his strait face and the pointing of the finger as well as the clenched fist.

The concept of body language is explained in this panel by McCloud. It gives the reader an idea of the type of person that the character is. It also allows the character to send a message without speaking.

This scene shows the use of words to create sound, and add a clearer environment to the picture by using words to make chewing noises.

This concept is about how words can give a character a voice and can also give the scene an emotion or atmosphere.

The concept portrayed in this scene is the Picture-Specific concept. As you can see in the bottom panel, Superman is confusingly staring at the woman and no words are needed to portray this.

The Picture-Specific concept is used to create a scene without using words. It is essentially the artist ability to make a picture speak without the use of words.

This is a scene that uses a balance of words and pictures to create the scene. As depicted there are people asking for change and superman offers to buy a sandwich for him. The man gets offended and begins complaining about people do that.

The concept used the “intersecting” concept. In which a scene uses a balance of words and picture to create the scene and the environment allowing the reader to easily figure out what is happening.

In this scene there are words used within a picture to give important information to a reader about someone's dad who has gone missing.

The concept that is being used is a “Montage”. A montage incorporates words into a picture to give a reader important information or to create a new environment.

In this scene Sense of Depth is used. The environment picture here starts off clear and gets more blended and smaller toward the back . This creates the scene of a deep environment.

The concept that is covered in this panel is “Sense of Depth”. This concept gives an environment a real feeling because it adds distance and perspective into the scene making the scene look more realistic and not so much of a cartoon.

In this scene you can see multiple Establishing Shots. The dark and eerie scenes are used to allow the reader to see that the story takes place in a bad area and makes the story more suspenseful.

An “Establishing Shot” is used to give the reader an idea of where the story or next few scenes will be taking place. It lets them see the whole area versus what is just shown in a small panel when people are talking or fighting.

This scene depicts another aspect of body language. This shows high versus low body placement and from that you can tell that in the middle scene that superman is the person in power as he is higher (taller) than the other man.

The concept of high versus low is explained in this scene. The idea of this concept is that the character who is depicted higher in a scene is generally more powerful than the lower character.

In this scene you can see the use of the emphasis concept. In the word bubble the woman says “Excuse Me?” and it is bolded. Because of the larger letters you can tell that she is more authoritative when she says it compared to the rest of the words.

McCloud talks about Emphasis in this panel. Emphasis is the enlargement of letters and words to add emotion or to add a little extra something onto the word.

This scene is using the concept of perspective to create a realistic environment. This scene shows a street view in a city and as can be seen the buildings in the distance seem to all meet at a single point as they get smaller and closer.

The concept that McCloud talks about in this panel is that of “Western Perspective”. This is basically the background of a scene disappearing in the distance at a horizon point to add depth to the scene.

In this scene you can see the use of the Action to Action concept. It starts of with Superman and a woman walking down an alley then climbing trough a fence then finally walking up to some people.

The “Action to Action” concept that is explained here is basically a series of panels in which characters stay in a single scene but go throw sequential actions, like from punching to kicking between the span of two panels.

In this scene the use of exaggerated body language is prominent. As Superman is lecturing his attackers you can see that he is very flexed for just yelling at someone. This makes his lecture seem more serious.

The concept depicted in this panel by McCloud is of “Exaggerated Poses”. It is the used to add more emotion or character to the scene making it more “serious”.

This scene shows the importance of hands in a picture. As can be figured out, Superman is getting anxious and a little irritated by the interlocking of his fingers while he waits for his guest to finish her food.

The concept talked about in this panel is the use of hands in body language. They can add deeper emotion or another emotion into the mix by their placement and the actions that the hands are involved in.

Through the course of reading the McCloud book the reader got a better idea of just how much work goes into creating comics, and that its not just about drawing pictures and adding words, but immersing the reader in the world which it all takes place. It also shows how the smallest details can help bring a story forward. All of the concepts that were shown in the McCloud book can be utilized to create better comics. They also can help any artist even if it is not for a comic.