Are Comics Only For Kids?

     This week in class we read, Show and Tell by Scott McCloud. I have never been a big enthusiast on comics or even books with pictures. Sure, there once was a time when I literally refused to even touch a book without any pictures, but as McCloud said, I had to “grow out of it” just like everybody else. After reading this piece, however, I started thinking about why I had to give up books with pictures, in particular, comics. The main objective of solely text-based books, which was slightly discussed in class, is to allow the reader to freely visualize the context with the descriptions fitted by the author. I don’t really have an issue with this, but sometimes authors just fill their books with complex sentences and situations, and diction which is hardly ever used by anyone just so they can express their sophistication. Just understanding the work by some of these authors is a challenge in itself, but then having to use my imagination to actually picture the context just destroys my incentive to even read the book. I’m not saying I hate this style of writing, but it’s good to take a break and read something which provides an excellent line of thinking from the author, but also brings enjoyment to the reader. McCloud even explains the different types of comics and their varying degrees of co-dependence between pictures and text. That just shows there is a type of comic for most people whether they want a more mellow read, or a very serious and thought-provoking read.