MVR: MENTAL VIRTUAL REALITY OF COMIC BOOKS

MVR: MENTAL VIRTUAL REALITY OF COMIC BOOKS

Before Virtual Reality there were video games. Before video games there were comic books. All of them allows the sci fi fan to mentally delve into the environment of the story like the participant is really there. But in the case of comic books, there is a certain mental acuity required for total immersion.

Training your mind to virtually be at the scene in a comic book depends on how well you visualize the art as the words are logically ballooned before your mind. It takes skill and practice, a form of mental development not required in the physical VR.

First, there is the great art work and phenomenally depicted scene from an artistic perspective that catches your imagination. As you peruse the single square you have to intently focus on every detail to see what's going on. FYI, you have to focus on that one square, not the entire page. Intensity of focus and mental immersion is the key.

Your place in the scene as a reader of a comic is special, in that, you are a participant in the scene just like the characters are. That is the magic of the comic book artist.

Having the ability to accomplish this type of mental focus allows for a concept I call, Mental Virtual Reality.
I fully believe it requires a certain intellectual acuity, the same as any other thought process of science or math or writing. For some, it's an acquired thing, but everyone has their own level of perception that can grow with time and practice.

In the case of Marvel's super-hero mags, artists like Deodato and Marquez have the special gift of pulling our minds into the perceived mentally virtual scene like we are actual participants in the fight that is happening on the page. But, it's also happening in your mind.

Mentally Virtual!

Off The Page Note: First of all, I hate the term, "comic book". I prefer the tag of graphic arts magazine, but few people yet in today's world can relate like we, the fans do.

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