Scott McCloud never fails to impress. The creator of the wonderful Zot! and the scrutinizing and enlightening mind behind the trifecta of comics scholarship Understanding Comics, Making Comics, and Reinventing Comics, McCloud made sure that he brought his signature method of thinking to his TED conference discussion.
Using a quick series of flashing pictures to help tell the story of his life, McCloud draws laughs from the crowd and slyly sets them up for the second part of his 17 minute lecture, where he effectively sums up his major work in Understanding Comics. Of course, never one to slack, McCloud takes advantage of the new medium of presentation offered to him (moving slideshow) to illustrate concepts that he just couldn't in comics -- namely, experiencing the "infinite canvas" explored by some enterprising comics creators.
By the end of the 17 minutes, you will be stunned to discover that everything he mentioned, every detail that seemed like a massive diversion from the topic, contributed to his theory and topic. He's sneaky like that.
Check it out for yourself:
