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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Due to the negative connotation of the word "comics," many comics artists have preferred to be known as ________________________.

2. What is typically the second most common type of transition in the most storytelling technique used in comics?

3. Using the pictorial vocabulary pyramid, Mary Fleener's style is NOT typically comprised of ________.

4. What invention had a significant effect on comics?

5. What is another word for motion lines?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are the three most popular transitions in mainstream Western comics and why?

2. For what do Japanese mainstream comics use aspect-to-aspect transitions?

3. Describe the author's first impressions of comics as a child.

4. What is a Japanese technique usied in cartooning?

5. Does McCloud think that non-sequitur transitions are possible?

6. How do words introduce time into a single frame?

7. Give examples of the three different types of icons.

8. According to McCloud, are comics a hybrid of graphic arts and prose fiction?

9. How do Japanese comics physically differ from Western comics?

10. How is the Egyptian painting referenced in the book considered a comic?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

McCloud notes that "We see ourselves in everything. We assign identities and emotions where none exist. And we make the world over in our image." Personification is a literary device that demonstrates McCloud's statement. Think of a time where you personified an inanimate object or abstract notion. What was it? What human attributes did you give to it?

Essay Topic 2

Eastern and Western approaches to art differ. In graphic arts, for example, Western art often focuses attention to foreground objects only while Eastern art emphasizes both the foreground and the background of negative space. Argue the merits of shortcomings of each approach.

Essay Topic 3

McCloud argues children are fascinated by the simplicity and universal identification of cartoons and that these characteristics allow the viewer to step inside the cartoon universe. Do you agree that by simplifying the drawing style, one allows the viewer to see the message more clearly? Explain your perspective using examples.

(see the answer keys)

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