What are comics?

What are comics? Some people might describe comics as being stories with pictures, but, if that's the case, then do picture books qualify as comics? The answer is no --- picture books and comics are not synonymous. So, there is a lot more to comics than just pictures. This is how artist and author Scott McCloud defines comics:

"Juxtaposed pictorial and other images in deliberate sequence, intended to convey information and/or to produce an aesthetic response in the viewer" (Understanding Comics, Scott McCloud).

(From McCloud's Understanding Comics)

McCloud also refers to comics as "sequential art," or panels containing a combination of images and words that are set in a specific sequence to tell a story.

Check out the following interview of Scott McCloud. He discusses a lot about his view of comics.

                                    

"I try to learn from everyone... I try to follow no one..." --- Scott McCloud