Thursday, December 8, 2011
Re-visit
In continuation with reading books about stereotypes, I read "Shortcomings " by Adrian Tomine recently. This particular novel follows a man who has a great interest in mainly dating white women even though his actual significant other is Korean like himself. The book explores his own thought process and decision making, leading up to the eventual demise of his own relationship. I feel this book deals with the idea of stereotypes in a different way than some of the other things I had read. More to the point, this story deals with the idea of fetishism based on stereotypes. The characters in this story are very varied, ranging from the seemingly quiet girlfriend who takes off for what she claims to be an internship, to the outrageous best friend who seems to be the most adapted to the main character's personality. Tomine's art style is clean and simple, which works well and leaves the book to be more focused on the actual story than on the artwork. As with some of the other works I've read this semester, I see this as an examination of a relationship. Although this one focuses more on watching a relationship dissolve, it's still interesting to see how these characters get to where they are in the relationship and start to better understand their thought process.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Webcomics +JTHM
I'm going to start off by talking about the webcomics I read over the past week then get into Johnny the Homicidal Maniac after that since I may have more to write about with that.
When I Am King: This story was full of surprises for me, and produced a very interesting narrative. First thing that I noticed is how well it lends itself to a web-comic format. The navigation through the pages is one unique to that of electronic media. Most of the panels are extra-wide and require the reader to scroll through until they find the next button. Further on into the book they run separate story lines in separate sections of the page, and hitting the next button will advance the proper story. I also appreciated the use of the wordless comic, a good throwback to where we started at the beginning of the semester with the Arrival. Overall, although confusing at times, I did enjoy reading through this story. I feel like out of all the works I read this week this was the one that lent itself best to being a web-comic, using graphics that are clearly computer generated (using very perfect geometric shapes), utilizing the browser as part of the reading experience, and moreover creating an experience only really possible using electronic media.
Octopus Pie: I really enjoyed reading through this story. I like reading things from the start, so I managed to push through about the first 100 pages of this. Eve is immediately seen as a character that can be related to easily. Going through the struggles of dealing with invasive parents, annoying roommates, problems with the boss, etc. To be more specific, the characters feel very true to life. The situations feel the same. I feel like even though this is based in Brooklyn this story is very universal. As far as the artwork, I can appreciate the emulation of a more traditional style, utilizing textured fills and working entirely in black and white. I am personally more interested in the idea of having physical book to hold and seeing printed media, however this is a nice kind of in-between.
Bad Machinery: Continuing on with reading more of Katherine's suggestions, I took a look at Bad Machinery. What I found most interesting about this particular comic was the intertwining story lines that exist in it. I feel like it does capture that whole age group fairly well, rather, the never-ending curiosity that exists in adolescence. It also is a nice way of viewing similar situations from my own experiences, but in a different context since it is based in the UK. Again, I feel that this is another story that is very universal; the story at its very base is about the trials and tribulations of being in high school. The variety within the cast is great, every character is really distinguishable. With the art style I find that the use of color is really well played, including the general shifts in color schemes dependent on the characters present. I feel this was something more necessary with the private school setting, as it really is taking as many opportunities as possible to break up the conformity. I would definitely continue reading this story.
Moving on to Johnny the Homicidal Maniac...
I was first exposed to this when I was 12 or 13, after I saw one of my friends reading Squee in 6th grade Spanish class. Now that I'm older and have had time to really read (and re-read) the story I can appreciate it a lot more than how I did the first time I tried reading it. I decided to go through the book again this week and I find that there's always something new that I will find. Part of what I really enjoy about this particular book is the way that Jhonen throws these very tiny but relevant bits of text into the corners and blank spaces in the panels. They're usually little one-liners and always are ironically cheery, but it's making light of something that is usually seen as something really serious. I think the most important thing I've noticed is how Nny is in a way a very considerate serial killer. The most obvious would be to note the way he at least attempts to help and protect Squee, although in very unconventional ways (I.E. dissecting the child molester to show him that he's just human and not something to have nightmares about). Something I picked up on more this time through is his relationship with Nailbunny, Mr. Eff, and Psycho Doughboy. Rather, I really started to better understand their motives, and how he was actually affected by each of them. Overall I really do love this book. Although it's extremely violent, and to be fair a little gross at times, it has a lot going for it. The storyline is very smart and carried out through the lengthy passages of dialogue, the artwork is fittingly dark and harsh. Even the short passages of Happy Noodle Boy, the comic within a comic crudely drawn by Nny are fitting and hilarious, albeit difficult to understand at times. I feel I get more out of this book every time I read it, so I'm glad I had an opportunity to take another look at it.
When I Am King: This story was full of surprises for me, and produced a very interesting narrative. First thing that I noticed is how well it lends itself to a web-comic format. The navigation through the pages is one unique to that of electronic media. Most of the panels are extra-wide and require the reader to scroll through until they find the next button. Further on into the book they run separate story lines in separate sections of the page, and hitting the next button will advance the proper story. I also appreciated the use of the wordless comic, a good throwback to where we started at the beginning of the semester with the Arrival. Overall, although confusing at times, I did enjoy reading through this story. I feel like out of all the works I read this week this was the one that lent itself best to being a web-comic, using graphics that are clearly computer generated (using very perfect geometric shapes), utilizing the browser as part of the reading experience, and moreover creating an experience only really possible using electronic media.
Octopus Pie: I really enjoyed reading through this story. I like reading things from the start, so I managed to push through about the first 100 pages of this. Eve is immediately seen as a character that can be related to easily. Going through the struggles of dealing with invasive parents, annoying roommates, problems with the boss, etc. To be more specific, the characters feel very true to life. The situations feel the same. I feel like even though this is based in Brooklyn this story is very universal. As far as the artwork, I can appreciate the emulation of a more traditional style, utilizing textured fills and working entirely in black and white. I am personally more interested in the idea of having physical book to hold and seeing printed media, however this is a nice kind of in-between.
Bad Machinery: Continuing on with reading more of Katherine's suggestions, I took a look at Bad Machinery. What I found most interesting about this particular comic was the intertwining story lines that exist in it. I feel like it does capture that whole age group fairly well, rather, the never-ending curiosity that exists in adolescence. It also is a nice way of viewing similar situations from my own experiences, but in a different context since it is based in the UK. Again, I feel that this is another story that is very universal; the story at its very base is about the trials and tribulations of being in high school. The variety within the cast is great, every character is really distinguishable. With the art style I find that the use of color is really well played, including the general shifts in color schemes dependent on the characters present. I feel this was something more necessary with the private school setting, as it really is taking as many opportunities as possible to break up the conformity. I would definitely continue reading this story.
Moving on to Johnny the Homicidal Maniac...
I was first exposed to this when I was 12 or 13, after I saw one of my friends reading Squee in 6th grade Spanish class. Now that I'm older and have had time to really read (and re-read) the story I can appreciate it a lot more than how I did the first time I tried reading it. I decided to go through the book again this week and I find that there's always something new that I will find. Part of what I really enjoy about this particular book is the way that Jhonen throws these very tiny but relevant bits of text into the corners and blank spaces in the panels. They're usually little one-liners and always are ironically cheery, but it's making light of something that is usually seen as something really serious. I think the most important thing I've noticed is how Nny is in a way a very considerate serial killer. The most obvious would be to note the way he at least attempts to help and protect Squee, although in very unconventional ways (I.E. dissecting the child molester to show him that he's just human and not something to have nightmares about). Something I picked up on more this time through is his relationship with Nailbunny, Mr. Eff, and Psycho Doughboy. Rather, I really started to better understand their motives, and how he was actually affected by each of them. Overall I really do love this book. Although it's extremely violent, and to be fair a little gross at times, it has a lot going for it. The storyline is very smart and carried out through the lengthy passages of dialogue, the artwork is fittingly dark and harsh. Even the short passages of Happy Noodle Boy, the comic within a comic crudely drawn by Nny are fitting and hilarious, albeit difficult to understand at times. I feel I get more out of this book every time I read it, so I'm glad I had an opportunity to take another look at it.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Watchmen
This week I read a decent chunk of Watchmen. My previous experience with Watchmen has only really been that of seeing the film adaptation of it a few years ago. However, I did notice immediate links between the two as far as storylines and setups. To be fair I don't really read a whole lot of comics in the superhero genre, I grew into liking comics through Archie and the like. However, I did enjoy reading Watchmen. What struck me immediately as interesting was the color palette used throughout. More to the point, the emphasis on color throughout the comic was different. Most comics I have read recently stick to a very controlled palette, where as Moore uses a very broad and strong selection of colors. Concerning the storyline, Watchmen employed multiple forms of narration and storytelling. Most notable were the sections where the characters from the story took the lead of narration. Rorschach's journal was the most widely used during his series of interrogations and research into the death of the Comedian. I also found Dr. Manhattan's style of storytelling to be unique. Specifically, his jumping around between notable moments in his own personal history. Although at first it seemed a little random, it eventually tied itself in with the chronological order of events. Overall I feel this was a good jump into superhero comics, as it seems to follow a more non-traditional viewpoint of the superhero motif, wherein they aren't necessarily praised for their actions, or at least their actions do have consequence. I hope to at some point finish reading the book.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Mister Wonderful + George Sprott
This week I read Mister Wonderful and George Sprott. I've had some experience reading Clowes before, but none with Seth.
Mister Wonderful was in some ways very similar to Ghost World, but at the same time a very different setup. I was already used to Clowes use of dialogue heavy writing, but I felt one thing that was very interesting was how he placed it within the frame. At times it's cutoff by the edges of the frame, but one of his more constant themes has been using thought boxes that completely overpower the actual audible dialogue in the story. Because Marshall is so completely self-conscious and overthinks every situation he's in, it overtakes reality and it seems like the stories being played out in his head become more important than what surrounds him. Although this story really only documents the span of one night, he plays it out to be this gigantic event. As a character Marshall has his ups and downs; at times he can be very collected and quiet, but then he can have explosive moments (such as when he screams at the homeless man or when he blacks out and gets in a fight with Noah at a party). However, the ending brings him finding someone who can accept his inherent flaws and still enjoy his company regardless. That is something that I believe to be at the core of most relationships, albeit not necessarily to the extent that exists with Marshall and Natalie. They both feel like they have a lot of baggage but it's enough for both of them to handle. I feel the strongest part of this book is the way that Clowes arranges his panels and text boxes. The wider format creates an almost cinematic feel to some of the scenes, which makes perfect sense as these scenes are very common in film (I.E. first date at a restaurant, party scene). Again, the overlapping text is what I feel to be one of the most interesting parts of this story, and how it really explains more about Marshall and how he's viewing the situation.
George Sprott is my introduction to Seth's work, and I'm very interested in reading more of his work now. This book also happened to be in an unconventional format, I had to pull it from the oversize section of the library. However, the amount of space is necessary for how much information he needs to squeeze into these boxes. The story reads as a series of interviews with people associated with George, a deceased television show host. One thing I noticed by the end is how little they actually show about George doing anything with the broadcast. I feel that this is pushing the idea that a career does not necessarily define a person, but instead it just happens to be a catalyst for the other events in his life to unfold. Each person identified George by two things: the way he treated them, and the place they associated with knowing him. This ranged from the arctic to the diner that he ate at regularly until the day he died. A lot of this story also focuses on the idea of modernization and how that has affected things that were thriving in the 70's. What I find most interesting about this is the method of storytelling; it's a biography, and the character being written about does make appearances in small flashbacks, but we learn the most about him not through his own actions but through the descriptions of his friends and family. I thought the ending was pretty funny, interviewing the stereotypical obsessive collector as a final remembrance of George. I also enjoyed the role of the narrator, who is at times very passive and reserved with what he feels he needs to share with the audience. I think that this is what is the backbone to this story: the selective nature of the storytellers. Because George himself doesn't tell the story, it is really up to the reader to decide which people to believe, and for that matter it's entirely up to the interviewees to decide how much they want to tell everyone and what sort of an image they wish to portray of George.
--David
Mister Wonderful was in some ways very similar to Ghost World, but at the same time a very different setup. I was already used to Clowes use of dialogue heavy writing, but I felt one thing that was very interesting was how he placed it within the frame. At times it's cutoff by the edges of the frame, but one of his more constant themes has been using thought boxes that completely overpower the actual audible dialogue in the story. Because Marshall is so completely self-conscious and overthinks every situation he's in, it overtakes reality and it seems like the stories being played out in his head become more important than what surrounds him. Although this story really only documents the span of one night, he plays it out to be this gigantic event. As a character Marshall has his ups and downs; at times he can be very collected and quiet, but then he can have explosive moments (such as when he screams at the homeless man or when he blacks out and gets in a fight with Noah at a party). However, the ending brings him finding someone who can accept his inherent flaws and still enjoy his company regardless. That is something that I believe to be at the core of most relationships, albeit not necessarily to the extent that exists with Marshall and Natalie. They both feel like they have a lot of baggage but it's enough for both of them to handle. I feel the strongest part of this book is the way that Clowes arranges his panels and text boxes. The wider format creates an almost cinematic feel to some of the scenes, which makes perfect sense as these scenes are very common in film (I.E. first date at a restaurant, party scene). Again, the overlapping text is what I feel to be one of the most interesting parts of this story, and how it really explains more about Marshall and how he's viewing the situation.
George Sprott is my introduction to Seth's work, and I'm very interested in reading more of his work now. This book also happened to be in an unconventional format, I had to pull it from the oversize section of the library. However, the amount of space is necessary for how much information he needs to squeeze into these boxes. The story reads as a series of interviews with people associated with George, a deceased television show host. One thing I noticed by the end is how little they actually show about George doing anything with the broadcast. I feel that this is pushing the idea that a career does not necessarily define a person, but instead it just happens to be a catalyst for the other events in his life to unfold. Each person identified George by two things: the way he treated them, and the place they associated with knowing him. This ranged from the arctic to the diner that he ate at regularly until the day he died. A lot of this story also focuses on the idea of modernization and how that has affected things that were thriving in the 70's. What I find most interesting about this is the method of storytelling; it's a biography, and the character being written about does make appearances in small flashbacks, but we learn the most about him not through his own actions but through the descriptions of his friends and family. I thought the ending was pretty funny, interviewing the stereotypical obsessive collector as a final remembrance of George. I also enjoyed the role of the narrator, who is at times very passive and reserved with what he feels he needs to share with the audience. I think that this is what is the backbone to this story: the selective nature of the storytellers. Because George himself doesn't tell the story, it is really up to the reader to decide which people to believe, and for that matter it's entirely up to the interviewees to decide how much they want to tell everyone and what sort of an image they wish to portray of George.
--David
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Asterios Polyp + Ghost World
This week I read Asterios Polyp and re-read Ghost World, which ended up being a worthwhile refresher.
Asterios Polyp was something I had been meaning to read for a while, so I'm glad I finally had a chance to get to it. I really enjoyed the way that the storyline moved. Mostly I was interested in Asterios' personal growth throughout the story, and how he completely changes once his life is humbled. The other characters that associated with him throughout the story were a lot like him; very intelligent, almost to a fault at times, and always trying to impress other people. I feel this gets most exemplified when he's forced to associate with the theater director. This in turn makes his issues with his Hana become much more apparent. Another one of the more interesting struggles he goes through is with his stillborn brother Ignazio, someone who he actually meets with throughout the story in dream states. I feel that this was a great way for Asterios to start looking at his own life. Although the circumstances for his sudden change were unfortunate, it was more beneficial to him in the end, including the rekindling of his relationship with Hana. With the art style, Mazzucchelli primarily used color as his way of changing the scene/mood. Most notable for me was when he meets Hana, and it shifts into her personal back story and away from the cooler-toned theme of the party.
Although I have read Ghost World before, it was good for me to go back since my more recent experiences with it have been the movie adaptation. For that reason I do find it most interesting to see how well the comic translated into the movie form. Enid especially I feel is a character that changed quite a bit in the translation. Although she still is very cynical in both, I feel that her aggression comes out more in the comic book. Rather, her personality seems a lot stronger, and the way she reacts to Becky seems a lot less tolerant. However, what I find to be the most interesting is the relationship between Enid and Becky. Primarily, the attachment of Becky when the reality of Enid moving to college comes to light. Although they are just leaving high school, it's an interesting view of how distance, or at least, moving away from home can affect even friendly relationships as is such in their case. Albeit they jokingly discuss the idea of being lesbians together, their platonic relationship is something that is highlighted throughout the story as something much stronger than what we might see as normal bonds. I feel this is one of the more important messages brought up in this story.
--David
Asterios Polyp was something I had been meaning to read for a while, so I'm glad I finally had a chance to get to it. I really enjoyed the way that the storyline moved. Mostly I was interested in Asterios' personal growth throughout the story, and how he completely changes once his life is humbled. The other characters that associated with him throughout the story were a lot like him; very intelligent, almost to a fault at times, and always trying to impress other people. I feel this gets most exemplified when he's forced to associate with the theater director. This in turn makes his issues with his Hana become much more apparent. Another one of the more interesting struggles he goes through is with his stillborn brother Ignazio, someone who he actually meets with throughout the story in dream states. I feel that this was a great way for Asterios to start looking at his own life. Although the circumstances for his sudden change were unfortunate, it was more beneficial to him in the end, including the rekindling of his relationship with Hana. With the art style, Mazzucchelli primarily used color as his way of changing the scene/mood. Most notable for me was when he meets Hana, and it shifts into her personal back story and away from the cooler-toned theme of the party.
Although I have read Ghost World before, it was good for me to go back since my more recent experiences with it have been the movie adaptation. For that reason I do find it most interesting to see how well the comic translated into the movie form. Enid especially I feel is a character that changed quite a bit in the translation. Although she still is very cynical in both, I feel that her aggression comes out more in the comic book. Rather, her personality seems a lot stronger, and the way she reacts to Becky seems a lot less tolerant. However, what I find to be the most interesting is the relationship between Enid and Becky. Primarily, the attachment of Becky when the reality of Enid moving to college comes to light. Although they are just leaving high school, it's an interesting view of how distance, or at least, moving away from home can affect even friendly relationships as is such in their case. Albeit they jokingly discuss the idea of being lesbians together, their platonic relationship is something that is highlighted throughout the story as something much stronger than what we might see as normal bonds. I feel this is one of the more important messages brought up in this story.
--David
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Persepolis 2 + Ordinary Victories
For this week I read a good portion of Persepolis 2 since I had read the first book previously, and Ordinary Victories.
Persepolis 2 was a little different than Persepolis 1. Where Persepolis 1 seemed to focus more on Marji learning through her own mistakes, where as in this 2nd book she's starting to figure out things without having to be reprimanded for it. I feel that her story really mostly focuses on being separated from family for the first time, and how to adjust to these new freedoms, both due to being away from parents and from being out of Iran. This book reads very much like a novel and is very dense in text compared to some of the other works I've read. However, I feel in this book it is necessary for her to use more because she really is documenting heavy internal struggles with her friendships, relationships, living situations, and just general response to her environment. I wasn't able to get to the end of this one, but I plan on finishing it up soon. I feel one of the key moments that I was able to relate to was Marji's return to Iran after having her plans crumble at the hands of her cheating ex, and suddenly realizing how different everything was. As a student from out of state, returning home for me after spending the first semester here was a strange experience, because although it was a familiar place it still felt very foreign.
Ordinary Victories was a story that started out light-hearted enough but fell into some darker themes throughout. Marco is very stubborn, very attached to the way things are currently and not exactly looking to rock the boat anytime soon. Most notably his strangely endearing back and forth with his brother, calling each other by George, and through his relationship where he feels like he's rushing by moving in with his girlfriend. For the most part to enact any change he needs a pretty big catalyst. The first really truly noticeable change in him happens when Adolf gets shot by the overly aggressive and protective farmer near his house. At this point his shift into being able to change and listen to other people becomes pertinent to the story moving along. I feel what I was most able to relate to in this story was his actual career path as a showing gallery artist. The difference between personal connection and perception of others regarding artwork, especially photography, can be a tender subject. Although he is very proud of his work, specifically because it is different and close to him, the documentary photographers he looks up to don't see it as something even remotely interesting because it doesn't deal with any sort of international upset. I feel as though sometimes we are expected to work towards what everyone else wants to see rather than what is of personal interest to us. However, the perseverance of Marco to continue to not only shoot but really learn more about his subjects was a great viewpoint on how the world of documentary photography really should be. I don't believe that photography has to be something that deals with social causes necessarily, although it may inadvertently do so. I really enjoyed reading this book, and I'm definitely interested in reading the 2nd book.
Persepolis 2 was a little different than Persepolis 1. Where Persepolis 1 seemed to focus more on Marji learning through her own mistakes, where as in this 2nd book she's starting to figure out things without having to be reprimanded for it. I feel that her story really mostly focuses on being separated from family for the first time, and how to adjust to these new freedoms, both due to being away from parents and from being out of Iran. This book reads very much like a novel and is very dense in text compared to some of the other works I've read. However, I feel in this book it is necessary for her to use more because she really is documenting heavy internal struggles with her friendships, relationships, living situations, and just general response to her environment. I wasn't able to get to the end of this one, but I plan on finishing it up soon. I feel one of the key moments that I was able to relate to was Marji's return to Iran after having her plans crumble at the hands of her cheating ex, and suddenly realizing how different everything was. As a student from out of state, returning home for me after spending the first semester here was a strange experience, because although it was a familiar place it still felt very foreign.
Ordinary Victories was a story that started out light-hearted enough but fell into some darker themes throughout. Marco is very stubborn, very attached to the way things are currently and not exactly looking to rock the boat anytime soon. Most notably his strangely endearing back and forth with his brother, calling each other by George, and through his relationship where he feels like he's rushing by moving in with his girlfriend. For the most part to enact any change he needs a pretty big catalyst. The first really truly noticeable change in him happens when Adolf gets shot by the overly aggressive and protective farmer near his house. At this point his shift into being able to change and listen to other people becomes pertinent to the story moving along. I feel what I was most able to relate to in this story was his actual career path as a showing gallery artist. The difference between personal connection and perception of others regarding artwork, especially photography, can be a tender subject. Although he is very proud of his work, specifically because it is different and close to him, the documentary photographers he looks up to don't see it as something even remotely interesting because it doesn't deal with any sort of international upset. I feel as though sometimes we are expected to work towards what everyone else wants to see rather than what is of personal interest to us. However, the perseverance of Marco to continue to not only shoot but really learn more about his subjects was a great viewpoint on how the world of documentary photography really should be. I don't believe that photography has to be something that deals with social causes necessarily, although it may inadvertently do so. I really enjoyed reading this book, and I'm definitely interested in reading the 2nd book.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Phoenix Vol. 2 + Bakuman Vol. 1
This week I read Phoenix Vol. 2, or "Future", and also read through the first volume (or first seven chapters) of Bakuman.
I was a little wary of going out of order with Phoenix, but since the first volume is out of print and hard to find/expensive, I went with the 2nd volume. Thankfully I found afterward that the stories all are separate but intertwined by the universal theme of the godlike Phoenix which appears throughout the entire series. I have to say I was really entertained by this particular story. The themes of the story that I saw were mostly dealing with the idea of technology, evolution, and how those two can either help or hinder each other. In the main sequence of things the idea of idolizing technology as a holy figure and something infallible is shown to be the demise of the human race. Even going further in a level, the Moopies being idolized as perfection was something that ended up being destroyed as well because it was falsifying reality. Overall I think Tezuka is mostly playing up the idea that an over indulgence in technology will ultimately lead to our own destruction. I have to say I did not expect the complete restart of evolution over the course of billions of years. As far as format it was nice that in this particular edition of the book it still read left to right, but it threw me off because I expect to read manga the opposite way. As far as character development, I felt Tezuka handled the relationship between Masato and Tamami very well, again with some surprise twists near the end.
The other manga I read was titled Bakuman, a story about two junior-high aged boys who wanted to become Mangaka. This story obviously took a more humorous approach, very much playing up the awkwardness of adolescence. Saiko and Takagi are portrayed as two of the smartest people in their 9th grade class in the midst of midterms. Of course, along with their intelligence also comes a severe amount of over-analysis of every single situation they're in, especially with each other. It's almost as if they're trying to constantly outwit the other one but also impress them. Takagi seems to think that since Saiko has manga in his bloodline that he has to really impress him all the time. Their goals are also lofty at best, primarily Saiko's desire to get married to Azuki and make her the voice actor for his anime once their manga takes off. All in all it's pretty hilarious, considering how quickly they go from being completely unsure to actually producing a manuscript and being free of worries about getting into a good high school. The art is fairly standard, although the idea of having all the stages of a manga within the manga itsel is pretty unique; sort of a way of breaking the fourth wall. I think this is actually a good standout from a lot of the high school based manga and anime I've seen or at least heard of. Rather, the main story of following the path of a mangaka is what is keeping this story more interesting. Given enough free time I would consider reading through more of the story to see where it goes since the first volume leaves off at a crucial point in their "career path" of sorts.
I was a little wary of going out of order with Phoenix, but since the first volume is out of print and hard to find/expensive, I went with the 2nd volume. Thankfully I found afterward that the stories all are separate but intertwined by the universal theme of the godlike Phoenix which appears throughout the entire series. I have to say I was really entertained by this particular story. The themes of the story that I saw were mostly dealing with the idea of technology, evolution, and how those two can either help or hinder each other. In the main sequence of things the idea of idolizing technology as a holy figure and something infallible is shown to be the demise of the human race. Even going further in a level, the Moopies being idolized as perfection was something that ended up being destroyed as well because it was falsifying reality. Overall I think Tezuka is mostly playing up the idea that an over indulgence in technology will ultimately lead to our own destruction. I have to say I did not expect the complete restart of evolution over the course of billions of years. As far as format it was nice that in this particular edition of the book it still read left to right, but it threw me off because I expect to read manga the opposite way. As far as character development, I felt Tezuka handled the relationship between Masato and Tamami very well, again with some surprise twists near the end.
The other manga I read was titled Bakuman, a story about two junior-high aged boys who wanted to become Mangaka. This story obviously took a more humorous approach, very much playing up the awkwardness of adolescence. Saiko and Takagi are portrayed as two of the smartest people in their 9th grade class in the midst of midterms. Of course, along with their intelligence also comes a severe amount of over-analysis of every single situation they're in, especially with each other. It's almost as if they're trying to constantly outwit the other one but also impress them. Takagi seems to think that since Saiko has manga in his bloodline that he has to really impress him all the time. Their goals are also lofty at best, primarily Saiko's desire to get married to Azuki and make her the voice actor for his anime once their manga takes off. All in all it's pretty hilarious, considering how quickly they go from being completely unsure to actually producing a manuscript and being free of worries about getting into a good high school. The art is fairly standard, although the idea of having all the stages of a manga within the manga itsel is pretty unique; sort of a way of breaking the fourth wall. I think this is actually a good standout from a lot of the high school based manga and anime I've seen or at least heard of. Rather, the main story of following the path of a mangaka is what is keeping this story more interesting. Given enough free time I would consider reading through more of the story to see where it goes since the first volume leaves off at a crucial point in their "career path" of sorts.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Fun Home + American Born Chinese
This week I read Fun Home and American Born Chinese, two stories that deal with a family story but in very different respects. Fun Home takes the path of a semi-autobiography that deals with sexuality and relationships with parents, while American Born Chinese focuses more on how others perceptions of a race. I really enjoyed reading both of these books, but for different reasons.
Fun Home was originally suggested to me by Nellie as something similar to Blankets but with a very different storyline. To say that the way that Bechdel portrays herself is different from the way that Thompson portrayed himself would be a great understatement. While Thompson's work is extremely self-centered, Bechdel shows how her father had affected her childhood, how he molded who she is now, and how their relationship unfolded. At first I felt the book was becoming more focused on her father than it was on herself with the way that she goes on about his obsession with their house and keeping it perfect. What makes her story so compelling is the hardships that she endures throughout her young life, and again, how those shape her. The story switches between her younger years and the time of her father's funeral. The title in itself is a clever play, and is further solidified when Bechdel begins to ask questions such as "who embalms the embalmer when he dies?". It also brings up the question of how much her environment has numbed her to such events, spending much of her childhood staying with family in a funeral home. What took me the most by surprise is how developed her relationship had become with her father once she started to appreciate literature in the way that he always had. For what seemed like a much closer, personal connection near the end, Bechdel took his passing in a surprisingly calm manner. Further, what I found to be a strange but still valid connection was her father's own sexual exploits being outed. Although what he was doing was terrible, it at least gave him something of a grasp on what Bechdel was going through when she came out. In this particular scene, she gains something of an acceptance from the parent who was the image of perfection throughout her time growing up. I really enjoyed reading this story, and Bechdel's very blunt and straightforward storytelling really shines in this book.
American Born Chinese dealt with stereotypes in a very different way. While the layout of the story was slightly confusing at first, the way that everything came together in the end was very well done, albeit completely unrealistic. The opening scene of Jin's first day at school immediately brought to mind reading the Boondocks anthology earlier this semester. Very much like Riley and Huey, Jin was prone to the misconceptions of the heavily white community that he had moved to. The stories of the Monkey King and Danny and Chin-Kee were more outrageous, but served a purpose to really bring home the point of the story. More specifically, reading through Danny and Chin-Kee at first read as borderline offensive. However, I still found these sections humorous based on the fact that it was really just poking fun at an exaggerated stereotype. In the end having Chin-Kee serve solely as the reminder of Danny's true heritage was a brilliant way of helping bring him back to what he should truly be concerned with. I felt that moreover this story really dealt with the idea of being an outsider, but growing to accept and appreciate said fact. What each separate story really concluded to was that there's no reason to hide who you are because it comes back to bite you in the ass regardless. Yang's use of the three converging storylines is beautifully done, and created a very pleasant read.
Fun Home was originally suggested to me by Nellie as something similar to Blankets but with a very different storyline. To say that the way that Bechdel portrays herself is different from the way that Thompson portrayed himself would be a great understatement. While Thompson's work is extremely self-centered, Bechdel shows how her father had affected her childhood, how he molded who she is now, and how their relationship unfolded. At first I felt the book was becoming more focused on her father than it was on herself with the way that she goes on about his obsession with their house and keeping it perfect. What makes her story so compelling is the hardships that she endures throughout her young life, and again, how those shape her. The story switches between her younger years and the time of her father's funeral. The title in itself is a clever play, and is further solidified when Bechdel begins to ask questions such as "who embalms the embalmer when he dies?". It also brings up the question of how much her environment has numbed her to such events, spending much of her childhood staying with family in a funeral home. What took me the most by surprise is how developed her relationship had become with her father once she started to appreciate literature in the way that he always had. For what seemed like a much closer, personal connection near the end, Bechdel took his passing in a surprisingly calm manner. Further, what I found to be a strange but still valid connection was her father's own sexual exploits being outed. Although what he was doing was terrible, it at least gave him something of a grasp on what Bechdel was going through when she came out. In this particular scene, she gains something of an acceptance from the parent who was the image of perfection throughout her time growing up. I really enjoyed reading this story, and Bechdel's very blunt and straightforward storytelling really shines in this book.
American Born Chinese dealt with stereotypes in a very different way. While the layout of the story was slightly confusing at first, the way that everything came together in the end was very well done, albeit completely unrealistic. The opening scene of Jin's first day at school immediately brought to mind reading the Boondocks anthology earlier this semester. Very much like Riley and Huey, Jin was prone to the misconceptions of the heavily white community that he had moved to. The stories of the Monkey King and Danny and Chin-Kee were more outrageous, but served a purpose to really bring home the point of the story. More specifically, reading through Danny and Chin-Kee at first read as borderline offensive. However, I still found these sections humorous based on the fact that it was really just poking fun at an exaggerated stereotype. In the end having Chin-Kee serve solely as the reminder of Danny's true heritage was a brilliant way of helping bring him back to what he should truly be concerned with. I felt that moreover this story really dealt with the idea of being an outsider, but growing to accept and appreciate said fact. What each separate story really concluded to was that there's no reason to hide who you are because it comes back to bite you in the ass regardless. Yang's use of the three converging storylines is beautifully done, and created a very pleasant read.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Maus
This was my first time reading Maus, and I worked my way through both sections of it. Spiegelman switches between present day and flashback throughout the entirety of the story as his father re-tells the story of his life during WWII. This style of storytelling lends well to something that Spiegelman didn't personally experience, while it still further examines the main characters in present day. Vladek's penny-pinching tendencies are well explained as he goes through his stories of when he was rationing bread as currency to keep himself alive. What spoke to me the most was how clever and resourceful Vladek was throughout the entire story. Even when he managed to pull himself into danger (I.E. falling for the scam of being smuggled into Hungary only to be shipped off to Auschwitz), he still keeps himself and Anja alive through his connections, his learned crafts, and ability to properly bribe. What I found even more interesting was the contrast of how this tendency instead caused a rift with his 2nd wife Mala, who saw this more as him being a hoarder and a control freak. Spiegelman manages to paint a picture of his father that is not necessarily idolizing him, but stays respectful of his past and his life stories.
One thing that Spiegelman likes to do in this story is call back on past references within the story. Vladek runs into countless friends and former associates from his time in Poland before he was sent to Auschwitz both during his hiding period and when he ends up in Auschwitz. By using his connections he shows how his unchanging character and integrity have paid off. However, Vladek also tends to keep many of these characters to just a few panels, introducing them then briefly explaining what happened to them afterward (usually ending up dead). Spiegelman uses repeated themes throughout the story, further exemplifying the number of people affected by the Holocaust. One that I noticed in particular was the repeated imagery of smoke stacks to signify a dead friend. Because these people were killed at the camp, most likely in the gas chambers, Spiegelman's choice of imagery gives the impression that although these were Vladek's friends they really became nothing more than numbers, and all saw the same fate. On pages 50 and 54 in Maus II, Spiegelman uses the same image twice with a significant difference in the latter as a transition to explain how monotonous the procession had become. Although his character designs clearly distinguish the different groupings, he gives the impression that they were all mice regardless once they were in the work camp.
Before this class I also read another graphic novel where animals were used to depict a particular nationality. This book was titled "Elmer" by Gerry Alanguilan, where chickens live in a world where they are slowly but surely trying to work their way into normal society. The largest difference I can see between these two is the fact that Maus chooses to represent all of its characters as animals, where in Elmer chickens become a new race at the same intelligence level as humans, although they still have to work towards gaining full acceptance. Although very obvious, the "cat and mouse" game that gets played throughout Maus is very successful, furthering the fact that it's the actions that are important, not necessarily the fact that it's humans doing so. Although Elmer is fictional, it does tell a story where the standout characters are the ones who want to help and push the equality between the two races, even though their direct orders are to kill and cook the chickens. Using animals as another race alongside humans encourages the idea that regardless of differences we all deserve to be equal.
One thing that Spiegelman likes to do in this story is call back on past references within the story. Vladek runs into countless friends and former associates from his time in Poland before he was sent to Auschwitz both during his hiding period and when he ends up in Auschwitz. By using his connections he shows how his unchanging character and integrity have paid off. However, Vladek also tends to keep many of these characters to just a few panels, introducing them then briefly explaining what happened to them afterward (usually ending up dead). Spiegelman uses repeated themes throughout the story, further exemplifying the number of people affected by the Holocaust. One that I noticed in particular was the repeated imagery of smoke stacks to signify a dead friend. Because these people were killed at the camp, most likely in the gas chambers, Spiegelman's choice of imagery gives the impression that although these were Vladek's friends they really became nothing more than numbers, and all saw the same fate. On pages 50 and 54 in Maus II, Spiegelman uses the same image twice with a significant difference in the latter as a transition to explain how monotonous the procession had become. Although his character designs clearly distinguish the different groupings, he gives the impression that they were all mice regardless once they were in the work camp.
Before this class I also read another graphic novel where animals were used to depict a particular nationality. This book was titled "Elmer" by Gerry Alanguilan, where chickens live in a world where they are slowly but surely trying to work their way into normal society. The largest difference I can see between these two is the fact that Maus chooses to represent all of its characters as animals, where in Elmer chickens become a new race at the same intelligence level as humans, although they still have to work towards gaining full acceptance. Although very obvious, the "cat and mouse" game that gets played throughout Maus is very successful, furthering the fact that it's the actions that are important, not necessarily the fact that it's humans doing so. Although Elmer is fictional, it does tell a story where the standout characters are the ones who want to help and push the equality between the two races, even though their direct orders are to kill and cook the chickens. Using animals as another race alongside humans encourages the idea that regardless of differences we all deserve to be equal.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Underground Comics
This week I read parts of Mr. Natural, Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers, Hytone Comix, and Mother Oats Comix.
Speaking from a very broad point of view the biggest difference I've noticed between these comics and everything else I've read so far is that they don't hold back or restrain their thoughts at all; they know it's vulgar and if anything they embrace it.
Mr. Natural seemed to be the most tame of the things I was reading. He takes the role of the wise old man, who is quite famous but predominately appears in the life of Flakey Foont. From the portions I read, I found myself slightly intrigued by how he is very focused on Flakey. Throughout some of the stories Crumb lets on to how famous Mr. Natural really is. Notably this was seen when he ditches Flakey for a while, finds himself surrounded by diehard fans, and tries to disguise himself to go undercover for a while. Of course, at the end we find that he goes back to being Mr. Natural and uses that fact to get laid. Crumb utilizes exaggeration in his work, especially when it comes to women and how big their breasts are. Every woman seen in these comics wears tight clothes and has abnormally large breasts among other things. All of Crumb's work seems to embrace absurdism and guiltless living. The absurdity is carried on throughout Hytone Comix. These stories seem to push boundaries even further, notably with the comic "Horny Harriet Hotpants", a story about an "oversexed" woman who seems to constantly crave sexual interaction with men at all times. Even their PSA styled ads which seem to poke fun at those that are seen in mainstream comics push the barriers, using a talking toilet that reminds everyone to wipe their ass and "join the clean asshole club". It's hilarious, but also explains why it would never exist in mainstream comics.
Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers was more focused on the drug scene. The series follows three drugged-out hippies named Franklin, Freddie, and Phineas on their drug fueled adventures. The characters are all very convinced that whatever reality they're hallucinating is actually real life. The opening comic was especially telling of this, as it saw them attempting to break their friend Cowfreak out of prison, when in reality Freddie had just eaten all of their hash cookies and was getting his ass kicked for it. It also jumps back and forth between the main storyline and small comic-strip styled excursions about Freddie's cat, who carries a "don't take shit from anyone" sort of attitude; he doesn't let himself feel weaker or less than any human. The brother's stories are generally short lived, mostly dealing with whether or not they were running out of drugs or how soon they could get them. However, the story that carries on the longest is that of their eviction and eventual splitting of paths to find a new home. I found this to be one of the more interesting parts of this story; the author explores what happens when they're each left to their own devices.
Mother Oats took the drug craze in a different direction. While Furry Freak Brothers were more interested in finding drugs, characters in the stories in Mother Oak were shown experiencing their hallucinations. Although very abstract, I thought that some of the better illustrations from underground comics were in the vivid imagery of the drugged-out mind. The 3rd piece of this comic was particularly interesting to me, where the main character started to visualize different aspects of his psyche (I.E. his ego, his conscience). It's a different viewpoint of self-examination. I think illustrating what goes on in one's head is something that is going to be abstract to begin with, so the way the main character ends up interacting with his drug trip is something that stood out to me from these comics. While these comics are beautiful to look at, they can also be very overwhelming. There are large patches of text, combined with very complicated and strong visuals. It becomes difficult to focus on just one thing, and it really completely overwhelms me as a reader. I think that I would need to spend more time really taking a closer look at these to really understand them better.
Speaking from a very broad point of view the biggest difference I've noticed between these comics and everything else I've read so far is that they don't hold back or restrain their thoughts at all; they know it's vulgar and if anything they embrace it.
Mr. Natural seemed to be the most tame of the things I was reading. He takes the role of the wise old man, who is quite famous but predominately appears in the life of Flakey Foont. From the portions I read, I found myself slightly intrigued by how he is very focused on Flakey. Throughout some of the stories Crumb lets on to how famous Mr. Natural really is. Notably this was seen when he ditches Flakey for a while, finds himself surrounded by diehard fans, and tries to disguise himself to go undercover for a while. Of course, at the end we find that he goes back to being Mr. Natural and uses that fact to get laid. Crumb utilizes exaggeration in his work, especially when it comes to women and how big their breasts are. Every woman seen in these comics wears tight clothes and has abnormally large breasts among other things. All of Crumb's work seems to embrace absurdism and guiltless living. The absurdity is carried on throughout Hytone Comix. These stories seem to push boundaries even further, notably with the comic "Horny Harriet Hotpants", a story about an "oversexed" woman who seems to constantly crave sexual interaction with men at all times. Even their PSA styled ads which seem to poke fun at those that are seen in mainstream comics push the barriers, using a talking toilet that reminds everyone to wipe their ass and "join the clean asshole club". It's hilarious, but also explains why it would never exist in mainstream comics.
Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers was more focused on the drug scene. The series follows three drugged-out hippies named Franklin, Freddie, and Phineas on their drug fueled adventures. The characters are all very convinced that whatever reality they're hallucinating is actually real life. The opening comic was especially telling of this, as it saw them attempting to break their friend Cowfreak out of prison, when in reality Freddie had just eaten all of their hash cookies and was getting his ass kicked for it. It also jumps back and forth between the main storyline and small comic-strip styled excursions about Freddie's cat, who carries a "don't take shit from anyone" sort of attitude; he doesn't let himself feel weaker or less than any human. The brother's stories are generally short lived, mostly dealing with whether or not they were running out of drugs or how soon they could get them. However, the story that carries on the longest is that of their eviction and eventual splitting of paths to find a new home. I found this to be one of the more interesting parts of this story; the author explores what happens when they're each left to their own devices.
Mother Oats took the drug craze in a different direction. While Furry Freak Brothers were more interested in finding drugs, characters in the stories in Mother Oak were shown experiencing their hallucinations. Although very abstract, I thought that some of the better illustrations from underground comics were in the vivid imagery of the drugged-out mind. The 3rd piece of this comic was particularly interesting to me, where the main character started to visualize different aspects of his psyche (I.E. his ego, his conscience). It's a different viewpoint of self-examination. I think illustrating what goes on in one's head is something that is going to be abstract to begin with, so the way the main character ends up interacting with his drug trip is something that stood out to me from these comics. While these comics are beautiful to look at, they can also be very overwhelming. There are large patches of text, combined with very complicated and strong visuals. It becomes difficult to focus on just one thing, and it really completely overwhelms me as a reader. I think that I would need to spend more time really taking a closer look at these to really understand them better.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Eisner + Thompson
This week I read A Contract with God, Blankets, and Habibi since I had ordered it and wanted to read it anyway.
Something across the board with all three of these novels is the attachment to religion in their writing. Eisner establishes this pretty quickly, using his first character to actually scribe the physical contract. Then of course there's the questioning of the religion and beliefs, followed by the eventual demise. From this point forward the story really became more about the tenants and people associated with the apartment building. I appreciated the way Eisner split things into individual character studies; having a group of smaller stories held together as a whole by a unifying factor. It helps to really understand their individual personalities, while still carrying out a narrative relating to them. I can really appreciate his attention to detail with illustrating all walks of life.
I have read Blankets before this class, but I enjoyed re-reading it and re-evaluating the storyline. Thompson's autobiography jumps back and forth in time throughout the major part of the story, really as a point of referencing his childhood, his relationship with his family, and how that has affected him. Thompson's take on religion in this novel is very quirky: Although he never really loses faith in God or in his own religion, he does question some of the ways that it's brought down to him (Most notably the pastor who is continuously trying to convince Craig to go into the ministry). His relationship with Raina is one all too familiar to the world of teenagers. The whole idea of outcasts finding love between each other, coupled with the inherent problems of first love, mixed signals, and separation is almost a perfect description of high school romance.
Habibi took a much darker route than what I had expected after having just read Blankets. Although Habibi is heart-warming in some respects, it's also a very heavy story to take in as far as content in concerned. Again, Thompson utilizes religious passages and stories interweaved with the storyline of the book. This makes a very clear and obvious relationship between religion and the characters' path. What I enjoyed about this story is how well Thompson immerses the reader into the environment, but at the same time can throw you off and take you somewhere that seems completely different but is still the same. The relationship between Dodola and Zam was something very delicate and definitely strange, something I can't say I've seen done in comics or graphic novels before. Some of the subject matter is pretty gruesome and a bit harder to take in. What makes this book so wonderful is how delicately Thompson handles these situations; nothing seemed overkill or out of place. I just feel that this book had the space or at least good purpose for having as much of the darker material, rather than with Blankets where these heavier situations seemed to fall few and far between.
Overall I think these books were a good starting point for a discussion of the Graphic Novel format of writing. These were longer stories that needed to be told in an uninterrupted fashion. Eisner's work showed a great sense of connectivity between their characters who never really interacted with each other. Blankets and Habibi both carry on stories that focus on a relationship, and how the characters are able to handle themselves in it, while continuing a narrative that spans many years. Overall the long format is ideal for all three of these works.
Something across the board with all three of these novels is the attachment to religion in their writing. Eisner establishes this pretty quickly, using his first character to actually scribe the physical contract. Then of course there's the questioning of the religion and beliefs, followed by the eventual demise. From this point forward the story really became more about the tenants and people associated with the apartment building. I appreciated the way Eisner split things into individual character studies; having a group of smaller stories held together as a whole by a unifying factor. It helps to really understand their individual personalities, while still carrying out a narrative relating to them. I can really appreciate his attention to detail with illustrating all walks of life.
I have read Blankets before this class, but I enjoyed re-reading it and re-evaluating the storyline. Thompson's autobiography jumps back and forth in time throughout the major part of the story, really as a point of referencing his childhood, his relationship with his family, and how that has affected him. Thompson's take on religion in this novel is very quirky: Although he never really loses faith in God or in his own religion, he does question some of the ways that it's brought down to him (Most notably the pastor who is continuously trying to convince Craig to go into the ministry). His relationship with Raina is one all too familiar to the world of teenagers. The whole idea of outcasts finding love between each other, coupled with the inherent problems of first love, mixed signals, and separation is almost a perfect description of high school romance.
Habibi took a much darker route than what I had expected after having just read Blankets. Although Habibi is heart-warming in some respects, it's also a very heavy story to take in as far as content in concerned. Again, Thompson utilizes religious passages and stories interweaved with the storyline of the book. This makes a very clear and obvious relationship between religion and the characters' path. What I enjoyed about this story is how well Thompson immerses the reader into the environment, but at the same time can throw you off and take you somewhere that seems completely different but is still the same. The relationship between Dodola and Zam was something very delicate and definitely strange, something I can't say I've seen done in comics or graphic novels before. Some of the subject matter is pretty gruesome and a bit harder to take in. What makes this book so wonderful is how delicately Thompson handles these situations; nothing seemed overkill or out of place. I just feel that this book had the space or at least good purpose for having as much of the darker material, rather than with Blankets where these heavier situations seemed to fall few and far between.
Overall I think these books were a good starting point for a discussion of the Graphic Novel format of writing. These were longer stories that needed to be told in an uninterrupted fashion. Eisner's work showed a great sense of connectivity between their characters who never really interacted with each other. Blankets and Habibi both carry on stories that focus on a relationship, and how the characters are able to handle themselves in it, while continuing a narrative that spans many years. Overall the long format is ideal for all three of these works.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Comic Books
For this week I read through a few of Carl Barks' Donald Duck comics, some stories in Weird Science, portions of TinTin, Captain Video, and Jon Juan.
Starting with Donald Duck, the first thing I noticed is that like the comic strips we were reading there is a main cast of characters that stay constant. With this longer format, they are able to switch out the situations and other primary characters very easily. Barks also really plays up the ridiculous factor in his scenarios. I enjoyed that although his nephews were capable of causing him torment, that wasn't their primary purpose in the story. A lot of the time it looked like they ended up being merely observers of the ridiculous things that Donald was doing.
Weird Science was not exactly my cup of tea, but I can also appreciate the way that it operates as a series of short stories. Each story starts with a conflict, finds a resolution, but of course that resolution is not something that really lasts forever. It's always interesting seeing how people in the 50's thought life would be in the future. Some of it is very standard fantasy of flying cars and time travel, but sometimes they do have some basis for how they feel like will play out. Specifically, they mention history repeating itself. In that sense these comics act almost as a warning or reminder.
I read through portions of Explorers on the Moon, which kept itself interesting by having the characters feel completely unfamiliar with space travel and how that affects them. I found their reactions to the gravity shift to be really funny. The whole denial of even being in the situation they were in was key to this. The whole idea of being thrown into a situation and having to figure out how to cope with it on the fly seems to be the basis of this particular comic.
Captain Video and Jon Juan shared qualities of the superhero. Predominantly there was the obvious build of the characters, and the very "take charge" attitude that they both possess. I felt more drawn to read through Jon Juan, and found that his character really does resemble all qualities that men are expected to desire for themselves. He's extremely strong and charming, he escapes all of his obstacles, and he has all the women fawning over him. More to the point, he's labeled as "The World's Greatest Lover". Although completely unrealistic, it's setting a standard. Most men want to be seen as attractive and strong. Jon Juan seems to embody both of these thing to an excess. However, his situation is still more normal than what I can remember from reading standard superhero comics. Rather, he doesn't have any sort of superpowers, he just happens to exist and be better than you.
Starting with Donald Duck, the first thing I noticed is that like the comic strips we were reading there is a main cast of characters that stay constant. With this longer format, they are able to switch out the situations and other primary characters very easily. Barks also really plays up the ridiculous factor in his scenarios. I enjoyed that although his nephews were capable of causing him torment, that wasn't their primary purpose in the story. A lot of the time it looked like they ended up being merely observers of the ridiculous things that Donald was doing.
Weird Science was not exactly my cup of tea, but I can also appreciate the way that it operates as a series of short stories. Each story starts with a conflict, finds a resolution, but of course that resolution is not something that really lasts forever. It's always interesting seeing how people in the 50's thought life would be in the future. Some of it is very standard fantasy of flying cars and time travel, but sometimes they do have some basis for how they feel like will play out. Specifically, they mention history repeating itself. In that sense these comics act almost as a warning or reminder.
I read through portions of Explorers on the Moon, which kept itself interesting by having the characters feel completely unfamiliar with space travel and how that affects them. I found their reactions to the gravity shift to be really funny. The whole denial of even being in the situation they were in was key to this. The whole idea of being thrown into a situation and having to figure out how to cope with it on the fly seems to be the basis of this particular comic.
Captain Video and Jon Juan shared qualities of the superhero. Predominantly there was the obvious build of the characters, and the very "take charge" attitude that they both possess. I felt more drawn to read through Jon Juan, and found that his character really does resemble all qualities that men are expected to desire for themselves. He's extremely strong and charming, he escapes all of his obstacles, and he has all the women fawning over him. More to the point, he's labeled as "The World's Greatest Lover". Although completely unrealistic, it's setting a standard. Most men want to be seen as attractive and strong. Jon Juan seems to embody both of these thing to an excess. However, his situation is still more normal than what I can remember from reading standard superhero comics. Rather, he doesn't have any sort of superpowers, he just happens to exist and be better than you.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
In Class - Dream of the Rarebit Fiend & Krazy Kat
Reading through a few of these strips of Dream of the Rarebit Fiend, I've noticed more than a few common themes and devices used. One constant is that each of them end with the dreamer waking up. The text leaves not too much to the imagination, as it really does spell out most of the information from the scene. Each starts with some sort of issue that they spend the remainder of the comic trying to solve, but something always goes wrong and they end up waking up. The style of the comic is very simple; mostly linework, little to no shading except to define dark clothing and some shadows. The panels jump around between scenes spastically as do many dreams. I think the point of these comics is realizing our own fantasties or fears, but at the same time understanding that reality has to kick in, and you have to wake up. For that matter, you can escape whatever problems you may have encountered in your dream state by waking up.
Krazy Kat confused me mostly because of the spastic style of sequencing and writing. The dialect takes a double take to really start to understand. We can expect that Krazy Kat and Ignatz Mouse are literally playing the cat and mouse game, and of course the tables are turned as well. It's expected that in the end Ignatz's plan is going to fail miserably. Krazy Kat also seems to take Ignatz's plans as affection. While watching the animated version of Krazy Kat I started to notice more that he's very dense. Again, this whole idea lends itself well to the comic strip format because it's a story that can be continued on without end.
--David
Krazy Kat confused me mostly because of the spastic style of sequencing and writing. The dialect takes a double take to really start to understand. We can expect that Krazy Kat and Ignatz Mouse are literally playing the cat and mouse game, and of course the tables are turned as well. It's expected that in the end Ignatz's plan is going to fail miserably. Krazy Kat also seems to take Ignatz's plans as affection. While watching the animated version of Krazy Kat I started to notice more that he's very dense. Again, this whole idea lends itself well to the comic strip format because it's a story that can be continued on without end.
--David
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Comic Strips
This week I read bits and pieces of Little Nemo, Boondocks, Peanuts, and Calvin and Hobbes. To state the obvious one of the common themes between all four of these is the idea of a child's point of view on the world that they live in. However, they do each have their own ways of exploring their imaginations or at least how they interpret their worlds.
Little Nemo's biggest concern was getting to Slumberland, and the things that happened while he was sleeping. I found it interesting how many pitfalls and road blocks he had put in his own path. It's as though Slumberland is this all-too-perfect world, and he can reach it while he's sleeping but he doesn't want to wear out his welcome there either. What's genius about this particular series is what also lends itself so well to the comic strip form: he uses the base idea of going to Slumberland but can create countless stories that fit in between falling asleep and waking up.
With the Boondocks Huey and Riley are trying to cope with bigger issues stemming from moving from Chicago to a white suburban neighborhood. However, they give complete polar opposite reactions. Huey is portrayed as the kid who is mature for his age and is well educated, while Riley wants to try to enforce his own stereotypes, going so far as to refer to himself as "Riley Escobar" and change all the street sign names in his neighborhood to make them seem less wimpy. The other half of Boondocks is the focus on how their neighbors react to them. Growing up in Suburbia, I have seen people who act in such a fashion to something that breaks the norm of their world. The half-hearted attempt at connecting with the Freeman family is quickly noticed.
Peanuts was something I even remembered reading in the newspapers; Schultz was a household name. Using a small set of characters and defining their personalities quickly through a series of four panel comics, the reader can figure out the characters really quickly, although I noticed that at least in the panels I was reading names were not used too often. The comic revolves around their small disputes within the group of characters, and their quirks and personality traits show through very quickly in each, never to change or develop out. There is almost some comfort in knowing that as much as the rest of the world changes there is always a constant in Peanuts.
Calvin and Hobbes deals more with Calvin's imagination, more importantly how overactive it is. The main problem that comes up is that he's the only one who sees Hobbes as a real, living tiger, and not just a stuffed animal. He daydreams in class about being a space pilot, fighting evil on other planets. This comic really focuses on how Calvin portrays the world, but at the same time it takes glimpses back into reality to let the reader know that he isn't just living in a fantasy world, he just prefers to be living with what he imagines to be real. The comic strip format works well with this idea since Calvin will always have fresh ideas and stories to live out as long as he still has his imagination intact. Even the day-to-day standard conversations he holds with Hobbes can keep the series interesting, because that's Calvin's norm and it feels perfectly fine to him to have things play out that way, even though his family doesn't ever seem to see Hobbes as anything more than a stuffed tiger he keeps with him all the time.
--David
Little Nemo's biggest concern was getting to Slumberland, and the things that happened while he was sleeping. I found it interesting how many pitfalls and road blocks he had put in his own path. It's as though Slumberland is this all-too-perfect world, and he can reach it while he's sleeping but he doesn't want to wear out his welcome there either. What's genius about this particular series is what also lends itself so well to the comic strip form: he uses the base idea of going to Slumberland but can create countless stories that fit in between falling asleep and waking up.
With the Boondocks Huey and Riley are trying to cope with bigger issues stemming from moving from Chicago to a white suburban neighborhood. However, they give complete polar opposite reactions. Huey is portrayed as the kid who is mature for his age and is well educated, while Riley wants to try to enforce his own stereotypes, going so far as to refer to himself as "Riley Escobar" and change all the street sign names in his neighborhood to make them seem less wimpy. The other half of Boondocks is the focus on how their neighbors react to them. Growing up in Suburbia, I have seen people who act in such a fashion to something that breaks the norm of their world. The half-hearted attempt at connecting with the Freeman family is quickly noticed.
Peanuts was something I even remembered reading in the newspapers; Schultz was a household name. Using a small set of characters and defining their personalities quickly through a series of four panel comics, the reader can figure out the characters really quickly, although I noticed that at least in the panels I was reading names were not used too often. The comic revolves around their small disputes within the group of characters, and their quirks and personality traits show through very quickly in each, never to change or develop out. There is almost some comfort in knowing that as much as the rest of the world changes there is always a constant in Peanuts.
Calvin and Hobbes deals more with Calvin's imagination, more importantly how overactive it is. The main problem that comes up is that he's the only one who sees Hobbes as a real, living tiger, and not just a stuffed animal. He daydreams in class about being a space pilot, fighting evil on other planets. This comic really focuses on how Calvin portrays the world, but at the same time it takes glimpses back into reality to let the reader know that he isn't just living in a fantasy world, he just prefers to be living with what he imagines to be real. The comic strip format works well with this idea since Calvin will always have fresh ideas and stories to live out as long as he still has his imagination intact. Even the day-to-day standard conversations he holds with Hobbes can keep the series interesting, because that's Calvin's norm and it feels perfectly fine to him to have things play out that way, even though his family doesn't ever seem to see Hobbes as anything more than a stuffed tiger he keeps with him all the time.
--David
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Understanding Comics - Closure
While reading through Understanding Comics, the chapter that caught my attention the most was the Chapter 3, concerning the gutter between frames in a comic. McCloud went into the difference of visible vs. invisible, and the give and take that is unique to comics. I found myself relating this heavily to the kinds of work I do photographically. My work has always had a huge emphasis on sequence and order. As McCloud pointed out, the viewer is left to decipher what is meant to go in between the frames, using their own familiar experiences and senses to fill in the blanks. I think the use of gutter is something that can be carried over to different media outside of comics and graphic novels. Rather, I feel the idea of finding the right balance of visible and invisible storytelling is something important even outside of comics.
I appreciated his breakdown of the different types of associations one can make in the gutter. It was also nice seeing how these were used across the spectrum in comics, really further identifying the way that the authors sequence things in their head, and furthermore how they might want the reader to piece things together. Again, I think that the idea of closure is something that all artists should have some grasp of when piecing together their works. Especially during senior year when working on thesis, a project specifically geared towards cohesive imagery, knowing how to create sequences that properly use gutter or blank space is key.
--David
I appreciated his breakdown of the different types of associations one can make in the gutter. It was also nice seeing how these were used across the spectrum in comics, really further identifying the way that the authors sequence things in their head, and furthermore how they might want the reader to piece things together. Again, I think that the idea of closure is something that all artists should have some grasp of when piecing together their works. Especially during senior year when working on thesis, a project specifically geared towards cohesive imagery, knowing how to create sequences that properly use gutter or blank space is key.
--David
Monday, August 22, 2011
Shaun Tan - The Arrival
Shaun Tan’s “The Arrival” utilizes wordless sequence as a method of telling a story. The layout of the imagery is varied, some pages containing uniform rows of squares, some with a mixture of sizes and some with a large single image. The style reads as a collection of photographs in a scrapbook, cleverly placed in a readable sequential fashion. As a reader, the aforementioned variance in layout is what makes this sequence understandable. Tan directs the point of focus to characters based on the background behind the images. Throughout a majority the imagery is focused on the main character’s journey into this new land, but as he meets people the background changes to show their journey; I see this as a scrapbook within another scrapbook; a short but necessary diversion from the main plotline. Background change is also used a device to indicate time and mood change. During the scenes where the characters go into hiding, the background shifts to black, indicating a shift to a darker side of the story in this area.
Immediately this pictorial sequencing style reminded me of photographer Duane Michals, who has notably created many works of worldess sequential imagery. While his stories are not nearly as long or developed as Shaun Tan’s, his format remains similar.
--David
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