In between the panels of a comic there is a blank space. This empty area is what is referred to as "the gutter". The artist places the gutter as a means to open the reader's mind to what they imagine has happened. McCloud mentions that the sample images do not show anyone being killed. The reader only sees a man with an axe, and in the next panel a scream. McCloud writes that the effect of this type of sequence forces the reader to participate. From Understanding Comics: "I may have drawn an axe being raised in this example, but I'm not the one who liet it drop or decided how hard the blow, or who screamed, or why" (68). This is also where closure may come into play. You see the parts and create what you perceive to be the whole that would occupy that blank space.
What is the significance of closure in Understanding Comics?
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