Scott McCloud's talk on TED

Mr. McCloud's talk on TED was an interesting and informative talk on where he believes comics are headed in this new digital age, and where comics originated from. My personal favorite part of his lecture was when he introduced and showed, partially, a work by Daniel Merlin Goodbry, which really caught my attention. His "hyper comic" drew me in and kept me in for a good 45 minutes before I realized it had been more than a minute. With a sprawling narrative, and a dozen or so side narratives it is what, in my mind, I would see as a really good comic.

The hyper comic reminded m

e of my childhood and those choose your own ending "Goosebumps" books. However, it did so while seeming fresh and inventive. Mr. McCloud's lecture ended with the idea of using a computer and the web, to create an "infinite canvas" for comics, so as not to disrupt the natural flow of time and sequence of a visual story, which is the case with print comics.

Mr. McCloud's lecture was delivered in a multi-media presentation, which made it easier to understand the quick pace, and large amount of matter within his speech. His lecture was like his comics, or his idea of comics, unbroken and linear. It was not hindered by thesis, supporting ideas, and antithesis. Instead he went from subject matter to subject matter with concrete connections in between, which allowed him to cover a much larger amount of information, while in the end still relating to the beginning.

Our keywork for the day, the Bayeux tapestry is a wonderful tapestry which covers the events leading up to and including the Norman Invasion. It is 231 feet, and covers the story in a linear fashion, granting, like McCloud suggests, space in relation to time. The Bayeux tapestry shows this story without disruption, or break for page. The Bayeux tapestry is a great example of the orgin of comics, as well as a great example of what McCloud and other comic enthusiasts would like to see be taken into the computer generation.