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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. Who was the woodcut artist known for his silent "Woodcut Novels" of fables?

2. Which comic artist introduced the storytelling techniques used in most mainstream comics?

3. How long is the screenfold of 8-Deer "Tiger's-Claw" that was discovered by Cortes around 1519?

4. How does McCloud loosely define cartooning?

5. What is an example of comics that is not referred to as comics?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is a Japanese technique usied in cartooning?

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

3. What is McCloud's notion of the Picture Plane?

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

5. In the panel with the basketball players, how could you add words while depicting one single moment?

6. What are different ways to portray motion within panels?

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

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

9. How could an artist lengthen a pause in the conversation between two characters?

10. Why is "juxtaposed static images in deliberate sequence" not a thorough definition of comics?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

McCloud writes that when he was a child, he believed that the world ceased to exist unless he was present. As he grew older, he began filling in gaps with assumptions in order to get closure. What are strategies and evidence we use to convince ourselves of the existence of things we have not experienced first hand? To test these definitions, consider whether they would stand up to the question of whether extraterrestrial life exists.

Essay Topic 2

Art can be thought of as any human activity that doesn't grow out of either basic instinct of survival and reproduction. How do you define art? According to this definition, what are examples of what is and isn't art?

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.

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