Reading and Writing about Comics ala McCloud, Part 1

After poking around the net for a while for a funny comic I just decided to use one of McCloud's. You can check out "Junk Bar" here:

http://www.scottmccloud.com/comics/mi/mi-19/mi-19.html

The first thing evident about this comic is the shape. I doesn't just read from the left to right side of the page and then down to the next line. I would describe the shape as more "snake-like." McCloud says "we seldom change direction except to re-read or review passages. It's left-to-right, up-to-down, page after page" (105). This particular comic doesn't allow the reader to choose the direction of the story, per say, but it does offer some variation that draws the readers attention.
The second thing I noticed about this comic is the number of similar panels in a row and the strategically placed gutters. In reference to the amount of time a reader may spend looking at a panel where a pause is being represented, McCloud poses the question "But if the creator of the scene wanted to lengthen that pause, how could he or she do so?" to which he answers, "One obvious solution would be to add more panels" (101). The top row of panels has three of Frank in virtually the same position, which tells me Stu didn't give Frank "The usual" immediately after he asked for it. On the sixth row (from the top) of panels, you see a gutter between Frank and the mysterious color man, let's call him. On the seventh row, that gutter is gone. This may not have to do with time but it certainly means that mysterious color guy has been engaged at least non-verbally by Frank and Jimmy, as opposed to before where he was separate.
Lastly, mysterious color guy wouldn't have a name if it weren't for his one distinguishable characteristic: color. McCloud states that "The surface qualities of color will continue to attract readers more easily than black and white..." (192). I'm sure I could try and determine what the mysterious color guy symbolizes, but that would take too much effort. I know for sure that he sticks out just for the simple fact that he's in color, and the others aren't.