What's in a comic book? Scott McCloud on 'The Sculptor'

Scott McCloud changed the comic book world forever in 1994.

"Understanding Comics," his work of graphic non-fiction, offered a friendly breakdown of the complexity veiled in simple comic strips. It helped explain why comics have such a loyal, passionate following.

McCloud's new graphic novel, "The Sculptor," is a striking read about love, death and sacrifices made in the pursuit of great art.

The book's protagonist, David Smith, is given the power to sculpt anything he wants with his hands by the grim reaper. However, on the flip side of that, he will only have 200 days to live.

The story takes place in New York, but Smith comes from the Lansing area. No, McCloud doesn't have any Lansing ties. He says having Smith come from mid-Michigan "just felt right."

"I liked the idea of him coming from a university town," McCloud told the LSJ. "Also, there's a repeating hand motif in the book. As anyone from Michigan knows, if you're going to tell someone where you're from, the hand comes in handy. That's one of the book's hidden motifs."

McCloud makes a stop on his book tour Monday at Schuler Books & Music in the Eastwood Towne Center. It's his only Michigan stop.

"I am beyond geeked for this event, because I used Scott's books 'Understanding Comics' and 'Reinventing Comics' as sources for my dissertation," said Whitney Spotts, who is the author events coordinator at Schuler and also has a master's degree in 20th century literature from Goldsmiths, University of London.

"He's a legend in the industry, and with this being his first graphic novel, it's a huge deal in the comics world," she said.

Ahead of the gig, McCloud chatted with the LSJ about the evolution of "The Sculptor," the power of social media and what he hopes people take away from his latest work.

Q: What message are you hoping to convey in "The Sculptor?"

A: With my books, people usually discuss the big themes of the book and what it has to say about art and life and death and love, but the message I would really like to get out is that my first job — the most important when I started tackling this thing — is to make it a good page-turner. Above all, I'd like it to be a good story. I'd like people to discover the joy of reading with my story.

Q: I read you had the idea for "The Sculptor" for a long time. What took so long for it to come to fruition?

A: The basic idea I had for decades. It's been in my back pocket. I shied away from it a bit, because I've been trying to move away from power fantasy stories, and this is almost like a superhero story, because there's a sort of superpower, but I liked the story and it kept tugging at me. I decided to take a run at it several years ago, and in the end, it took five years to finish.

Q: In "The Sculptor," the artist gives up his life for his art. Is that meant to be an analogy for the artist's life or your life?

A: In a way. Every time an artist decides to sit down and work at what they're doing rather than go out with someone they love or go see a movie, they are trading their life for their art. So, we're always making that decision. It's a strain on a lot of relationships. How many hours do you spend in front of a drawing board or working on that symphony or making a sculpture or writing a play? These things take hard work and dedication, and life can pass you by while you're working on it. Every artist makes that decision all the time.

Q: You have a super strong social following. How does social media help comics in 2015?

A: Social media is word of mouth written large when it comes to art and entertainment. Before, there were gatekeepers, and it took a while for word to get out on important stories or works of art. Nowadays, work can spread very fast. It's a tremendous multiplier of the power of word of mouth. In some ways, the buzz on social media is more effective than any single form of broadcast medium. I suppose there are some exceptions. I'm sure there are some traditional old media that make a big difference, but generally speaking, if the work doesn't excite interest among ordinary readers, it's probably not going to get very far. If it does excite interest, the word is probably going to spread. We're not at the point where the quality of the work is the only arbiter of success, but we're getting there.

Q: You're often called the "Marshall McLuhan of comics." What do you think of that comparison?

A: I can't really claim it, because I learned so much from Marshall McLuhan. If you were inspired by someone, you can't claim to be quite like them. But he was an influence on my thinking, along with a bunch of other people, of course. I think the reason I get compared to him or other thinkers is because I tend to cast a pretty wide net and am interested in many different things and like to find connections between different forms of art and different fields of study. I see things connected.

If you go

• About the event: Talk and signing with acclaimed comics author and illustrator Scott McCloud

• When: 7 p.m. Monday

• Where: Schuler Books & Music in the Eastwood Towne Center, 2820 Towne Center Blvd., Lansing

• Free

• Online: www.scottmccloud.com and www.schulerbooks.com.