Web Comics

I had a lot of fun this week exploring all the different web comics out there. There are so many different kinds, it becomes hard to choose which one to sit down and spend the time to read the whole thing. The web comics I decided on were, The Perry Bible Fellowship and Tiny Kitten Teeth. 

The Perry Bible Fellowship was hilarious! I really enjoyed how each comic strip was short and got to the punch line quickly. The humor it had was right up my ally, it was witty and didn't require a whole lot of deep thought. It became rather addictive going through the list of them- I didn't know when to stop so I just read them all! Each one had a unique quality to them, for example- "Woovles" was so ironic and was great showing the classic saying 'a wolf in sheep's clothing' from a different perspective. Some were just down right funny like "Rainbow" - what if all rainbow were just giant monster's eyes? It just put a whole new look on things that I don't really give much thought about.

Tiny Kitten Teeth- I chose this web comic because of how beautiful the art was! The colors and style was absolutely gorgeous! The story itself was confusing to me.. the main cat I could relate to greatly because he was just as confused as I was. It was also interesting how some panels just cut to one big panel of something completely random going on. For example, the panel of the two kittens and it says 'how did you get up there?' I didn't think this really had anything to do with the comics main story. Regardless, the art of this comic is what kept me drawn in. Im still in the middle of reading this one, so hopefully it will begin to make sense soon.

Watchmen

I have heard so much about this comic, but I never had the time to actually pick it up and read it. Now that I had to read this one I'm so glad that I did! Watchmen was so fantastic, the plot was so deep and kept me interested the whole time. I love that the story is in an alternate reality of our world, but set at an earlier time- the 1980s perhaps? The idea of outlawing superheros made for a great plot. It reminded me of The Incredibles in that aspect, which I thought was humorous. I loved Rorschach, I found his character to be so interesting and I was always excited to see what he would do next. Rorschach's character design was also my favorite- I love his trench coat and masked face that changes with heat! It was so simple yet, I loved it. Doctor Manhattan was also a very cool character in my opinion, I felt bad for him when he was accused of giving his friends cancer. When he left Earth I knew problems were going to arise! The death of The Comedian was a cool plot line and I loved how it ended up involving why Doctor Manhattan was exiled. The ending was well executed and I felt that it led up to something spectacular. I was heartbroken when they killed off Rorschach! I also liked how the left it open to the line that Doctor Manhattan said "Nothing ever ends." So it seems that Veidt was stopped in the end- hopefully. All in all, I really really enjoyed this comic- it was probably one of my top favorites! 

My New York Diary

I don't really have much to say about this one. I picked it up thinking that it could possibly be a good read, but I didn't really like it as much as I thought I would. I found that visually the panels were hard to process- there was way to much going on in each one and I had a hard time finding the focal point. The words even got lost in some of them. As for the story, it didn't really appeal to me very much. It was very dark and had way to much depressing points, in my opinion. Like when Doucet gives love a second chance- her new boyfriend turns out to be psycho and she had to try and get rid of him. Or when the boyfriend before this one tried to commit suicide. It was just way to intense for me. I like comics that aren't so gritty and upsetting, I read comics to be happy- not to remind myself of all the pain going on in the world.

Asterios Polyp

This week I read Asterios Polyp- as soon as I looked this book up and saw the front cover I was captivated! Just the design and set up of this comic is fascinating and so graphically appealing. The color choices and bright and draw my eyes around the page. The way that on some pages they would play with the shapes of people and different designs was very unique- like when Hana attended her first facility party, each person was designed a different way! Just by doing that it made the panel a hundred percent more interesting. The story itself is also intriguing, the beginning was very sad to me- having to read about this poor guy who lost his living quarters and leaves to find his way in the world. I did however enjoy how it would switch back to past events in his life. Like how he dealt with his brother and how his marriage wasn't the greatest. By doing this I got more attached to Asterios Polyp and I began to understand him better. When he questions his flaws, I felt it was just human nature in some cases.    

Blacksad

This week we look a comics found around the world... I picked up Blacksad. Let me start this off and say that I'm not a furry or into furries! However, I found this comic to be extremely enjoyable! The art was beyond gorgeous, I mean, the details found in each of the panels was breath taking. The anthropomorphic animal characters I thought was a nice break from the human centered comics I have been reading lately. The film noir style was also very attractive, I have always found film noir to be very dramatic and very attention grabbing. All in all, this comic was just screaming to be read.. so I did. John Blacksad, I found to be very down to earth, and realistic. He shares many problems that normal people have everyday. He ran from the police since he was young and grew up in a bad part of town, now he runs around doing detective type work. He is a very intense character and that's what I love about him. I thought this comic was also very well thought out in that all the animal species are specifically picked and have something to do with defining the character. For example, the officials are portrayed as German Shepard's and the bleak and dark characters can be reptiles. When I picture a cop, I automatically think of a guard dog or a blood hound.. This comic is so clever in this aspect. It really make the positions these characters are in believable- even though they are animals!    

Astro Boy

   Now, I want to first start this post off by saying that I'm definitely not a huge fan of Manga.. and Anime in general. I never got into it when I was younger, and as I got older I never found it very appealing. I don't understand the need to emphasis the emotions in such an exaggerated form, and why most of the Manga comics out there seem to be so far fetched. This is all my opinion of course- I know plenty of people who love Manga and I respect that! I just never got into it and probably never will. So with that said when this week rolled up and we had to go out and find a Manga to read I had a very hard time choosing. I ended up deciding to go with Astro Boy.

I felt that Astro Boy had more of a generic simplistic plot- the boy is a robot, lets watch him fight bad guys. Simple right? Well, as I dived into it the plot became more interesting-- if not disturbing. A father who is also a scientist looses his boy to a car accident and decided to recreate a robot of him to fill the void. Sounds a lot like the movie AI to me.. but I digress. The father soon finds out that his new robot son cannot fill the void of his lost son and rejects him. Astro boy ends up in a circus for some time before he is found by a man who is the head of the ministry of science.. from there on out Astro Boy fights crime and saves the day! Not super involved, but I will admit that I didn't put the comic down- I finished it. I didn't feel like this was the best comic I ever read.. but it defiantly wasn't the worst. I guess I'm just not cut out for Manga.. or at least not right now.

I will point out however-- that I have watched Wolf's Rain and found that anime very enjoyable! So don't take me as a hater, please. 

American Born Chinese

This week I chose to check out American Born Chinese. The stereotyping can be seen just in the title of this comic- blatantly labeling this character with his race. I enjoyed the fact that his comic has three different sections to it, with them all combining in the end and effecting each other. This helped keep the plot interesting, and prevented boredom. The tale that I found most intriguing would be the second tale with the boy, Jin, I thought his struggles and daily challenges caused by his stereotype was very heart wrenching. His crush on Amelia was very touching and cute and I appreciate the fact that she didn't let the cultural differences change her thoughts and feelings for Jin- unlike their classmates. I seem to find out right stereotyping so hard to watch-- or in this case read. Especially, when we are all human- we all make the same mistakes and have feelings. The other two tales dealing with kung-fu and Chinese folk lore was also a nice touch- it gave me a cool incite into some of the cultural aspects in China. The next thing that stood out to me was the style found in this comic- I adore the simplicity of the characters. I believe this makes it easier for me to relate to them, and to create an attachment to them. It made me really feel for Jin and all his obstacles he had to face. In the end, I thought this was a very good read.

MAUS

MAUS

Art Spiegelman

I've seen this novel sitting on the shelf at the book store on many, many visits. I never really had a reason to pick it up- it seems like a rather depressing book from just the cover. Now, that I've been giving a reason to give this book a try, I'm so glad that I did. The initial idea of the book is a story from the Holocaust, except that the Jews are portrayed as mice and the Germans as cats. This difference in species is very important, in my opinion, because it visually shows that the Germans saw a huge difference between them and the Jews- so much so, it was like the Jews were a different species. I also was researching this and found that he idea for Jews as mice was taken right from Nazi propaganda- they would make the Jews out as "vermin" that needed to be eradicated (truly disgusting if you as me). You learn right off the bat that the author of this book wants to tell his fathers Holocaust story. The book is actually split into different parts based on time- things that happened in the past to Vladek and things going on in the present. There for the book has two different storylines happening- Vladek's experiences during WWII and the relationship he shares with his son. It seems that Vladek is haunted by the Holocaust even after it is over and done with- he makes many comparisons to the Holocaust to his son through out the story- for example: when Art was a boy and fell on his roller skates and his friend continues on without him. Instead of Vladek being a normal parent and comforting his child he decided to relate this incident to when he was in the Holocaust. Another big theme I noticed in this book is all the feelings of guilt that Art has about the things going on in his life, like his guilt about his mother and not being the best son. There is also guilt that Valdek and Art both seem to share about the Holocaust- Valdek by living through it and surviving and Art by growing up with two parents that survived the Holocaust. Besides the thrilling storyline there is also the images going with the words- Maus seems to have a very distinct art style that is very gritty and simplistic. I believe the simplicity is very important to this book, in that, it makes it very easy for the reader to get lost in the story and truly walk in Art's or Vladek's shoes. In turn, the reader fully understands all the underlining meanings and feelings found between the panels. I also like that it is in black and white- I think this also helps with keeping the harsh, cold feeling that can be found in this book. The black and white print reminds me of prison colors- which the mice were prisoners so it fits. In the end, I believe this book is really a great read- truly inspirational, but also very emotional and depressing. You can really learn a lesson or two by reading a book like this.

 

Blankets

I found Blankets to be a very different comic book then what I was expecting.. I went into it thinking that it would be a simple, cute love story about a guy and a girl- boy, was I wrong. The first thing I thought was wild was that the main character is the creator as a young boy. So, this is the story of his adolescence. I also found his struggles in his love life and his religious views to be intriguing. There were some parts of the comic that I found some what disturbing and was shocked to see- but I guess its a good thing because it causes me to keep on reading. I found the break up in the end to be inevitable and quite sad. From an art stand point I found the style to be very simplistic and pleasing for the eyes. It's art like this that inspires me to one day make a comic of my own! The drawings are iconic enough that in some cases in the story I could put myself in the characters place and really relate to him/her. The set up of the comic was another reason I found this to be a great read- it was never hard for me to follow, but it almost had some of its own unique ways of telling the story with crazy looking panels. All in all, even though I found some of it shocking, I did come to realize that this is really an awesome comic book.

Carl Barks and TinTin

The first comic I decided to read was from Carl Barks- it was one of his Donald Duck comics called "Have Gun, Will Dance". I found it to be very humorous and entertaining, it was also good to see a classic much loved cartoon character be the center of attention. I felt already attached while reading because I've known Donald Duck for so many years. I found that these comics also had a lot of dialog in them- which caused me to question who the target audience would be? I'm not sure a young kid would understand all the dialog in this book, although the pictures would be sufficient to keep their mind busy, the actual story would be lost. All in all, I really enjoyed reading Carl Barks and will continue to read his comics when I come across them.     

Next, I read Tin Tin- which I found to be a very fun comic. It does have a lot of words,  but it has a good plot line which keeps me interested and willing to read more. I thought the style was very intriguing, how the backgrounds were very realistic looking, in yet, the character's had a very simplistic cartoon style to them. Overall, a very good comic that I will defiantly read more of. 

Class Discussion 9/8/11

Dream of the Rarebit Fiend
 
Winsor McCay uses a lot of exaggeration and crazy scenarios in his dream panels and at the end of each strip the character is shown in bed waking up from this crazy dream. In the bed panel the character is usually in a position that hints back at what he was doing in his dream. Winsor's style is very gritty and rough, he uses just ink- no color. The comics seem to all be pretty outrageous and extreme- for example, in one of the comic's a man is run over by a vehicle multiple times and gradually looses his appendages. When it cuts back to the man in bed, you see just his head- which is recalling back to him loosing his body parts. 

These comics seem to be about how random our dreams can be. Winsor obviously makes these comics for comedy purposes. 

Krazy Kat

Immediately I got the impression that this comic is very slap stick- characters throwing things at each other, etc. The panel transitions are very reliant on the reader using there minds in some points to fill in the gutter, but then in other scenes the panels are seamless. The story going on in the comics can be hard to follow in some situations and the dialect can be quite strange. The style is very sketchy and reminds me of the Mutts comics in today's newspapers. This comic is also done in just ink with no color. The words and the actual pictures are very closely related- they look like they were done both by hand so they carry the same qualities. 

After reading a few Krazy Kat comics a theme begins to form, the reader knows to look forward to the characters beating on each other and the story to be very comical.

Little Nemo, Krazy Kat, Peanuts, and Calvin and Hobbes

Little Nemo

I found Little Nemo to be different from the other comics found on this list, because it seemed to be very deep and surreal. The comic seems to circle around this boy called Nemo, and what he dreams about. The last panel seems to always be him waking up from the dream, it has a very big Alice in Wonderland feel.. for example, one of the ones I read, he was walking through a garden with Flip and the plants were growing at an unreal rate- towering over Flip and Nemo. It looks like most of the comic strips all have this very trippy and unique style.  I like that it this way due to the fact that it will never get old, there is so much that the comic can do- there are no rules in dreamland.

Krazy Kat

Krazy Kat reminds me a lot of the current comic strip found in today's papers called Mutts- from a artistic aspect. Both strips have a very scratchy low detailed feel, where it is just done in ink very simplistically. It seems to be very slap stick like- characters throwing bricks or dangerous objects at each other. The main character Krazy Kat has a very distinct dialog that seems to be a mixture of different languages- for me this makes it kinda hard to interpret in some of the comic strips. I also had no idea that this was adapted into a cartoon, this I found to be very interesting!

Peanuts

I don't think there's anyone on this planet that hasn't at least heard of this comic strip. I've known about the Peanuts for as long as I can remember- on holiday's I would turn on the Peanuts show adaptions and watch The Great Pumpkin or a Charlie Brown Christmas. There are so many lovable characters found in this comic, there's something for everyone! Snoopy & Woodstock are always the fan favorites, and there's always Charlie Brown & his friends. I find it very cool that they have such a variety of characters- that they can focus on a set few every strip, that way its always fresh and new. Who could forget the skit where Charlie Brown tries to play football, but when he goes in for the kick Lucy is there to take the ball away.. CRASH Charlie falls flat on his back. When all the characters are gathered around the piano dancing to the music. Or when Snoopy sits on top of his dog house with pilot gear on, and flies his house around as if it was an actual plane! The Peanuts, in my opinion, was the beginning of bringing comics into the public's eye. People loved the Peanuts back then- and still do today! The Peanuts are still alive and thriving, and I'm sure for many more years to come.

Calvin and Hobbes

Calvin and Hobbes is probably one of my absolute favorite comic strips. I find the adventures this young boy has with his imaginary stuffed tiger adorable and hilarious. I usually take time to stop and read if I find a Calvin and Hobbes comic lying about. I've always been so fascinated by the fact that Hobbes is just a stuffed tiger to everyone but Calvin, and its interesting that he almost acts as the voice of reason or Calvin's conscience. To Calvin this stuffed tiger is his best friend and you can't help but fall in love with their funny escapades.

Understanding Comics

Scott McCloud's

Understanding Comics

I knew from the start of this book that it would be very entertaining, and not to mention pretty educational. I never realized how broad comics were.. there's a comic for every single person on the planet to enjoy if they just looked. Also, how comics come in so many different ways today- the materials and the way they are presented are endless. Web Comics, for example, are becoming all the rage today. There are also the traditional ways, like inking and printing, which are still around as well. Another point I found fascinating is how long comics have been around for- the examples he gave, like hieroglyphs, I didn't even think of as being comics! This really opened my eyes to how sequential art is literally everywhere. This book made me think in ways that I would have never thought of- example, the icon. I mean, when I see a picture of a planet, I automatically say "That's a planet!' but in reality it's just a drawing of a planet or etc. 

"When we abstract an image through cartooning, we're not so much eliminating details as we are focusing on specific details. By stripping down an image to its essential meaning, an artist can amplify that meaning in a way that realistic art can't. - This line really stood out to me, I found this to be so very true when it comes to cartoons.

The parts about how we are such a self centered race was highly interesting, the way we see faces in everything and how when we interact with each other we are always thinking about how we look to them. Even when we look at a simplistic cartoon we see ourselves, no wonder why we are so attracted and engulfed in them. It is also very important to make sure that your audience can identify with the characters- this causes them to care about them and to become wrapped up in the story.

"The Gutter" - It's surprising how much our minds can do- being able to fill in the spacing of a comic with our own life experiences. I didn't know that there was different categories for transitions in comics, like "moment to moment or action to action". The way that our minds work in terms of making one panel into a series of panels is very cool. The process of making comics seems so simple, but after reading this it is quite complex. 

Overall, I found this book to be so helpful when introducing comics. Especially, since I'm honestly not a comic book reader- I found that comics are way more than what I thought they were. They are a very special form of art that has survived for generations and continues to enthrall and entertain people of all ages today.

Transitions

- Moment to Moment: Nothing has changed much between panels

- Action to Action: There is parts to fill in between the panels in the gutter.

- Subject to Subject: Still in the same scene, but there is a development in the scene. Action within the same scene.

- Scene to Scene: Found in films a lot, and mostly found in dialog. Can be quite a bit of change between panels.

- Aspect to Aspect: You start with the scene, and then focus on certain aspects in the scene.

- Non-Sequitur: Not a clear logic from one panel to the other.

Une Semaine de Bonte

Panel One:

There is a lady standing with her arms out wide, while a man lays down dead looking on the stair case in the background. There is also a rooster in front of the woman standing on a ball or egg.

Panel Two:

There is a lady now laying down on a long cold looking bed, while a man with a rooster's head and wings looks down upon her. The atmosphere seems very sad and upsetting. The woman seems as if she is on an operating table or deathbed. There is scientific tools found around the room- books, beakers, etc.

Panel Three:

In this panel, the lady that was laying on the bed before is now being put to rest. The Rooster is still by her side, as well as some new characters- a lady that has no clothing and another rooster headed man who's holding a lantern. There is candles and wreathes found on the table behind the naked lady. 

Panel Four:

Now, we see the naked woman laying down on a wooden plank with a skull and cross bones on it. Next to her a rooster man kneels next to another rooster man- the kneeling rooster is talking with the other about something on a piece of cloth. In the background we see other naked humans laying about. This place seems full of voodoo and witchcraft and/or a surgical type setting where the roosters will experiment and learn about the humans.

Panel Five:

There is a woman who as fallen out of bed and is surrounded by blood. There is a rooster man in the door way who is either highly outraged or extremely happy. There is also two regular looking roosters- one on the bed and one on the floor   beside the fallen woman. Perhaps, the roosters are experimenting on this woman and it ended in her death. This room seems very normal in comparison to the images before being in surgical cold looking places- this room is very warm and looks like a normal bedroom. 

Panel Six:

In this last panel there is a woman who is turning around to talking to a man who is in a very awkward position. He has his back against a wooden dresser- it seems as if he is hanging on by his arm.. he also seems unconscious. Behind the dresser there is a secret passage with a rooster man peeking out. This room is conflicted with warm and cool feelings- the fire by the woman makes that side of the room seem cozy... but the way the man is hanging, he seems dead- which makes that side of the room seem cold.

The Arrival.

Shaun Tan's

The Arrival

   
   I didn't really think much of this comic when I first saw it on the "to read" list, it didn't really perk my interests. Then I started reading watching it.. I mean you can't really read a wordless book now can you? This comic played out in my mind as if it were a movie. The images were all very clear and easy to interpret. The story became very intriguing and caught my attention after the first few pages. I enjoyed how creative Shaun Tan was with his creatures found throughout the comic- I really loved the little guy pictured on the cover. I felt the story had a positive moral about family matters and how a father cared about his wife and child. The struggles he went through in order to meet their needs and find a way to survive. I could just feel the emotion in each of the images- the ending where he finally see's his family again was especially emotional. The image just screamed how happy they all were when they were finally reunited. I also liked how the pictures seemed very worn and old, it gave the story more of a graver feel- the changes of color also helped a lot to tell when the flashbacks occurred. Its really amazing how you can read all these emotions and understand this mans story just from pictures, I guess this just goes to show that a picture really is worth a thousand words!