McCloud defines closure as the phenomenon of looking at the parts but having a perception of the whole. According to McCloud (61), closure is an act of faith that is based on fragments. It is the act of believing that something bigger exists based on its observable smaller constituent parts. Closure is something that develops over time and is aided by experiences. This implies that if one sees a fragment first and then the entire body or being that the fragment is part of, they get closure. Infants do not have the full ability of closure because they have not had many experiences. McCloud (64) believes that there are simple and complex types of closure. Simple ones include everyday experiences of closure which develop with time while complex ones involve media and electronics such as television and films.
McCloud (70-74) describes six types of closure based on transitions between actions, people, scenes, items etc. The first one is moment-to-moment which requires little closure. Action-to-action features one subject making several actions. The third type of closure is subject-to-subject and involves moving from one subject to another within the same idea or scene. The fourth type is the scene-to-scene. This involves transportation of the observer across considerable distances in space and time. The fifth type is known as aspect-to-aspect. This type is mainly independent of time and explores various aspects of a mood, idea or place. The sixth type of closure is known as the non-sequitur. This type does not offer any logical basis on which to connect panels. In these categories of closure, McCloud (64), views it as the agent of time, change and motion.
Work Cited
McCloud, Scott. Understanding comics: the invisible art. New York: Harper Perennial, 1993. Print.