How can comics be defined?  Why do we identify with abstracted images of the human figure so easily? What makes some comic artists more naturally successful than others?  Scott McCloud answers all these questions and more in his amazing piece, Understanding Comics.  One point McCloud discusses is what exactly makes certain comics stick and resonate with their readers over others, taking into account six steps of the comic-making process: Idea/Purpose, Form, Idiom, Structure, Craft, and Surface.  A comic creator may become caught up in one or more of these steps and unintentionally ignore the others, producing a comic which, for example, might look very aesthetically appealing but lack substance in the story.  Artists need to not only be able to draw well, but also know what they have to say to the world and how they can best express it. Without this introspection, a comic artist risks creating something they don't truly believe in, thus giving readers the disadvantage of entering a world with no heart.