#zot!

But did you know that Scott McCloud is also a fucking beast at drawing comics?

Zot! No. 7 - Common Ground

So my personal opinion is that if you really want to get into comic books, you should read Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art by Scott McCloud. It's a great book to really start getting into the weeds of how comic books do what they do and to get into comic studies. You really can't get into a comic studies discussion without Understanding Comics or Scott McCloud coming up. The thing was, I personally had never read McCloud's comic work outside of Understanding Comics and its sequels, and in some ways that felt like a disservice. So when I was at my local library and saw McCloud's most notable work, Zot!, it felt like the right time to fill that gap.

Look, I knew McCloud was an Osamu Tezuka fan just from reading Understanding Comics and how he broke down some of Tezuka's paneling, but Zot! really made it clear how much of a fan he was. Or maybe just how inspiring Tezuka's work really is. Zot! will likely become something I point to when I talk about inspiration over just trying to copy. Because while it might be easy to point out the similarities in the art style and the fact they are black and white, those are just surface-level things. You can see the influence in how McCloud sets up his panel, in who he chooses, in what the frame is, and in how it balances lighthearted tones with deep emotions. It's even in its progressive theme. And it feels like McCloud isn't just copying but understands what makes Tezuka's work, well, work. Which makes sense that after this, McCloud went on to actually write Understanding Comics.

To talk a bit more directly about the comic itself, Zot himself was really fun to follow in his adventures with his maybe girlfriend Jenny. The stories were that of a typical superhero but with a little more reflection of humanity. This is actually one of the few stories where the love triangle of Zot, Jenny, and Woody works. Because Zot and Woody don't ever really fight over Jenny, they respect her and want her to be happy. And I honestly would have been happy if she ended up with either of them.

Zot, in his over-chipper and optimistic ways, got himself into trouble by charging ahead, and Jenny was there to balance him out and pull him back. Like when he nearly "sells out," Jenny objects and tells him this isn't just him making money; he's an example people look up to. Zot also helps Jenny see the beauty of her home, Earth.

On the flip side, Woody is more reserved, and it's Jenny who pushes him to do good, particularly in writing an article about homophobia in their school. And Woody is always there for Jenny, supporting her and admitting when he hurts her. Woody is the most mature of the three, in my opinion, and it is best shown when he decides that he's not comfortable being the "other" boyfriend anymore. All three stay friends. I mean, I honestly might have liked to see Woody and Zot fall in love and we get a real couple going on, but eh, it was the 90s, and I'm sure the issue that focused totally on a side character questioning their orientation was pushing it.

Introspection is the word that comes to mind. Not just in looking at McCloud himself but also in the characters of Zot!, particularly in the last third of the series in copy of Zot! The Complete Black and White Collection I had called "Part 2: The Earth Stories." To the point, McCloud had kept us mostly in Zot!'s 'utopia,' a futuristic world where there were still problems and villains, but there were people like Zot himself who weren't afraid to stand up. And a major conflict subtly boils under the surface of the story. Jenny is deciding not only which boy to pick, but also which earth she wants to live on. She feels pushed towards Zot's earth because of all the problems the side characters highlight in "The Earth Stories," but at the end of the day, it's Zot still standing up and telling her he hasn't given up on her world, so she shouldn't either.

To answer the question the end of the series posed, I don't think it's wrong to want to live in a more perfect world, and everyone has the right to want something more. It's key to remember Zot's world is not perfect; it still has people like 9-Jack-9 and The Blotch. But it also has people like Zot, who are working to protect it and keep making it better. It's not to want a better place, but we all are born where we are no matter how unfair, but we all have the power to change things for the better.