Comics-v-Virtual Reality

“As the goal of ‘coming alive’ is fulfilled more and more by sound and motion which represents time through time—comics’ multi-image structure—the portrayal of time through space—become superfluous, if not a nuisance, and isn’t likely to endure” (210). Scott McCloud confronts a touchy issue, posing the argument that perhaps “old” media forms, like comics, are simply good as stepping stones to newer media, like movies, video games, and ultimately virtual reality. The question seems to be about the competing human interests of progress and familiarity, in which case familiarity is simply a matter of emotion getting in the way of progress, making the case for comics a weak argument.

McCloud would argue on the side of comics as a persistingly important art form, claiming it has “root strengths” (213) that will become apparent when the long-awaited virtual reality finally arrives, thus relieving the pressure of comics to become VR-esque. To me, this implies that, however great VR is, it will not fulfill all needs, leaving voids that can be uniquely filled by comics. This uniqueness is perceptible even now. What is unique about comics? McCloud’s explains, “The heart of comics lies in the space between the panels—where the reader’s imagination makes still pictures come alive!” (1). Perhaps, the “simplicity” of such still pictures is essential simply because it stimulates the reader to compensate for the unidimensionality of the comic; as McCloud explains, comics requires only one sense (the visual), but it utilizes all senses through evoking lifelike emotional response from readers through the singular ability of comics’ lines to implicitly carry emotion (2). This seems to suggest that comics are ergodic in their own way, a way that cannot be replaced by new technology.