scott mccloud

In class today serious emphasis was placed upon Scott McCloud's differentiation between comics and cartoons. His analysis was limited by his perception of juxtaposition. However, I am curious as to why it is necessary to contain single panel illustration and text combinations within the definition of comics. Can't they exist as separate narrative devices?

Looking at the Chapman essay, the Scott McCloud comic becomes more than just its surface story. Considering the strange locations in which McCloud's comic takes place, we have to infer the existence of a new and unusual world. But, especially these days, we are used to this sort of "no place" that exists separate from any actual location. The film strip comic running vertically down the side of one page is not an actual piece of film; the globe is not meant to be a planet.
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