Final Blog Repost

          The comic strip is one of those things that we all remember as children. I personally would always wake up in the morning and see the newspaper on the counter and rummage through it looking for the comic strips. To think of the comic strips as these things that have affected the way the world thinks or how we grew up is almost impossible to believe, but for some reason now I believe it. I really enjoyed reading these comic strips overall. The comic strips I read were "Little Nemo" "Calvin and Hobbes" and "The Peanuts". I don't remember ever reading the "Little Nemo" comic strips until now, but I did of course read "The Peanuts" and "Calvin and Hobbes". I feel that they are timeless classics that can be brought into not only the comic strip, but in even television and film. And the comic strips are some that have conquered both realms very well.

          The "Little Nemo" comics I will admit were a little strange, but what dreams aren't strange. Winsor McCay really captures the essence of a dream through this little boy who ha such great adventures in his "dreamworld". I do find it really fun how Nemo wakes up in whatever situation he left his dream at. In a way it makes you wonder if his dream was real or just a dream. In some ways I guess I feel that way about the strip because I have also seen the animated film "Little Nemo" and I remember even in the film Nemo wakes up in the same fashion as he left his dream. Some of the illustrations even were very dream-like. Almost as if Nemo was on drugs (sorry for the humor). But almost all dreams seem strange and almost unreal, but that is what makes them dreams.

          "The Peanuts" I think are comic strips that everyone can remember. They were so fun and very entertaining as a child and even till now that I am 21 years old. It also shows how a comic strip can be timeless being that I read them as a child and my parents remember reading them when they were younger, and the comics still have that comic humor in them. Each character was very different and special in their own way and they kept those personalities through the mediums that "The Peanuts" were carried through. From the strip to television. I think one thing that always made me laugh was how almost adult the quarrels between the characters were. They handled the situations almost as if they were young adults. Very funny and always a timeless classic in my book.

          And last but not least is "Calvin and Hobbes". This comic strip for some reason has always been one of my favorites. They were both such fun characters. I feel that I really related to this strip because I myself had a favorite stuffed animal that was a Tiger doll that I got from Disney World when I was a kid. In a way it was odd, but funny too. I really could understand how Calvin really confide so much with Hobbes and shared so much with him. The strips make you believe so much that Hobbes is real and when you see him in some strips as just a stuffed animal you are a little baffled and taken back and you want to see him real again. We in a way become Calvin and really want to connect and be with a friend like Hobbes. This strip really shows how some one can have a special friend and have fun with them all the time even if they are just a stuffed animal. A side note that I need to point out is I love how sometimes Hobbes is Calvin's voice of reason and sometimes vice versa. But mostly Calvin has these grand ideas and wonders and thoughts and Hobbes is almost there to tell him how it is or they go and discover the answer together. Really a wonderful strip and one of my all time favorites.

          After reading all of these comic strips I feel that I have been brought back to my childhood. They have been so familiar to me it makes it seem as if I read these comics only a few days ago. I mean technically I did, but it just seems so surreal that after all these years I would be reading them for a college class assignment. These comics have been around for a long time and for good reason. They are timeless classics that have been shown to children the world over. "The Peanuts" I remember mostly because of the holiday episodes they would show on television and I remember "Little Nemo" mainly because of the film. But I can honestly say that I remember "Calvin and Hobbes" strictly from the comic strip series and surprisingly it is my favorite. Overall I love a good comic strip every now-and-then and I can see where so many other clever strips get there inspiration.

Octopus Pie

For this post I read Octopus Pie. This one was actually very funny. Just some of the facial expressions that they characters have and the situations that they are put into are really funny. Like there was a part where they were showing different ways to avoid "the sidewalk shuffle". It was really funny to see the different things that they came up with. The "lost love" one was my favorite. The characters are definitely the ones that made the story because though it had themes and story arches it was definitely more comedic and almost like a Family Guy episode when they describe a situation and show the situation actually happening in a funny way.

I really enjoyed the illustrative style of this comic. It definitely helped with the story and the comedy of the story. In some places it really reminded me of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World because of the illustrative style and the dialogue between characters. I was chuckling at points because its one of those comics that you can read by yourself and laugh because you would ask yourself the same kinds of questions they ask themselves or say some of the same things. Some of the secret agent stuff was really funny. It was one of those things that made you think twice and be like, "That's ridiculous......but funny at the same time." So I definitely describe this as a ridiculously funny comic and if you like Scott Pilgrim vs. The World you will like this.

Watchmen

For this reading I chose Watchmen. First off, the movie was amazing,and second off the comic was even better to my surprise. It was definitely a crazy take on a superhero story. I really enjoyed that the characters were actually normal human beings with extraordinary attributes, except Dr. Manhattan. I love how it really delves into the minds of the heros and makes you see what is behind all of the caps and masks. It shows how we can really look up to these amazing people and see that they have some of the same problems, if not bigger problems. Silk Spectre finds out her father is basically the maniac that she despises, the Comedian, Silk Spectre II's father, dies at the beginning of all of this madness, Dr. Manhattan is pondering bigger, outer worldly problems rather than the coming nuclear threat on Earth, oh and his girlfriend (Silk Spectre II) might have cancer from having sex with him. 

The story is amazing and very well done. I really like how it was set in the time period of the Cold War and how the world had a lot of big problems which added to the stress of the heroes already stressing lives. The artwork alone was amazing too. Beautifully drawn and amazingly thought out. One of my favorite reads this semester by far. One of my favorite parts was when they told the beginning of Rorschach's story and how he became as almost heartless as he seems in the story. He becomes this very rugged and dark person who seems to think that being a hero can't help the world that he lives in. Which almost makes you think how the world would react to having a super hero to protect them. Would we react in a positive way or would we reject them thinking they were a possible threat to mankind?    

The Impostor's Daughter

For this week I read a little of The Impostor's Daughter. To be completely honest what drew me into this comic was the font that they used for the title of the book. It is one of my favorite fonts. But to get on topic it was actually very interesting. I can't imagine finding out that the person you look up to so much is actually and basically a liar. Her father tells her all of these great tails of his past and all the great accomplishments he has made in his life making her want to do great things and be just as great of a person as her father. In a way I can see that it was almost a clever way to get his daughter to do amazing things in her life, but why would you want to lie to someone that badly. I mean lying about your life to your child; it's insane. I can only imagine what would go on in my head after finding out that one of my parents have been lying to me. It just makes you wonder what else they are lying about.

The artwork of the comic wasn't my favorite. It was probably some of my least favorite artwork i a comic this whole semester, but the story overall took it back up because it made me really interested.

Asterios Polyp

The reading for this week was interesting. I really liked the style of it first off because the cover reminded me somewhat of graphic design which was cool. Although, I'm not sure any graphic designer I know would produce a cover like that, but it was still interesting to me. This guy seems to go through a lot for one person. His house is burnt down, he leaves his original job as a professor, and becomes a mechanic. That seems like a bit of a downgrade to me. But I enjoyed how we went back in time at points in the story. Like things that happened in his childhood and his troubling marriage. 

It almost seemed like his life really related to his background in Greek and Italian descent. The Roman/Greek gods kind of destroying his life day by day. It reminds me the original Hercules story how Hera keeps sending monsters for him to fight which we really ruin my day if you ask me. But it was a different and interesting read for sure. 

Manga and the Japanese Comics Tradition

For this week I read a little Astro Boy. I feel that I wanted to read this more than any other manga just because I remember watching the television series, but never really gave the comic a shot. I'm glad I did because it almost brought me back to a place of nostalgia, just like when I read the comic strips a few weeks back. I like the idea of this almost Pinocchio like story of this boy who is clearly a robot, but wants so hard to fit in. It makes it even harder for him to fit in when we see he has these powers, like he is a super hero.

I felt a little bad at times when I read how he was built by Dr. Tenma but then rejected because he was able to fill the void of Tenma's dead son. So in a way it was a sad version of Pinocchio. It definitely got happy though because they take your mind off of that a little with Astro having to fight different villains like robot hating humans or aliens. In the television series I remember Dr. Tenma being Astro's main enemy and then he finds out later in future episodes that he is his creator. Overall I liked Astro Boy. Sometimes I really think it's because of the drawing style too, but mostly because the story is really awesome.

A Wide World of Comics

This week I read Persepolis remembering that it was nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Short, I figured it must be a good comic to read. I actually liked it. I do have to admit it wasn't one of my favorites, but I can see the appreciation for it. It deals with a lot just with Marjane's struggle in Iran. She is only a child and it seems like a rough way to live compared to living a moderately healthy lifestyle in the United States. She has experienced living in a country that has to deal with war and that alone I feel can make a child go insane early on in their lives.

The black and white I feel was a good choice both in the animated short and the comic. It gives that vernacular  of being influenced by the Middle East. Even the cover of the comic was very well designed to suggest its roots even just on a bookshelf. I was pleased that I took the time to read some of it and see what the comic was about. It definitely made watching the animated short a little more interesting.

Stereotype and the Ethics of Representation

For this blog post I read Stuck Rubber Baby by Howard Cruse. This comic was definitely different compared to what I thought of when taking the class. But I can honestly say that I've been surprised by a lot of things that are considered comics. Besides the point I really enjoyed this comic. At points I find myself wanting to call this one a book because it felt so strong in story and character development. It deals with strong issues such as social equality and even sexual equality. This subjects at first seem kind of intense for a comic book, but I think that it is and was very appropriate for the time it was released.

The artwork was very well done for this book as well. It seemed to be very appropriate again for the time period. It seemed like this comic was published during the Civil Rights movement, but in fact it was published in 1995. The drawings to me seemed very old style. Not that it was a bad thing at all because it made me want to read more because of how well the artwork related to the time period, which I don't think was a mistake. Another thing is that the drawings had some realism to them. They weren't super animated and cartoony. They were drawn to have a realistic type of look which made them seem more like real people in a real hardship situation.

Overall the book was very well rounded and had a lot of drama which made things pretty intense like when Ginger becomes pregnant or when our Toland says he is gay which was suggested, but still a bit of a surprise. A very powerful read and strong subject for the time period for sure.

Maus

This comic was definitely something I would suggest to read. After reading it I feel I can understand the Holocaust in a different way I guess you could say. Like many people would say, we have learned so much about the Holocaust that we feel we already know so much about it. But the thing is not many of us have heard about the Holocaust from people who lived through it and survived. I've seen movies and read books about it in school, studied it in history, and there have even been video games and of course comics that have been built around the subject. So many different ways to learn about the subject, but this was definitely a more digestible way to hear about it.

Maus was very descriptive in ways such as its maps of the concentration camps and the death chambers. It almost made you feel scared in a way to where you were seeing the real thing almost. And the images of the mice being hung were just disgusting to me. I really felt my heart break a bit. That is another thing that was really done well, the way they used cats and mice for the characters. It almost showed how this whole ordeal was very animalistic and barbaric. The cats rounding up the mice and killing them all together. It was something you would expect from something like a real cat and mouse, but even they aren't that brutal and soulless.

To think of and even hear this horrible story from the father was very discerning. He went through so much that I really can't blame him for being as anger as he was in this story. He went through this whole ordeal and survived, but then had to deal with his wife committing suicide and having to raise his son. I feel that if I went through something like this and all the heartbreak I wouldn't be able to survive, but he kept pushing on and didn't let anyone or anything get in his way of living his life.

I really enjoyed the style of the drawings. They were rough and sketchy, but in a way I felt that it was on purpose to get a stringer message across. In motion design we chose different mediums to get a certain message across, whether it be stop motion, traditional animation, or computer animation. So understanding that, I feel Art Spiegelman drew in this way to bring his father's message across stronger. Overall, a very powerful story and graphic novel. I definitely think I'll be reading it again to just let it sink in even more.      

Underground Comics

The underground comics I checked out were Air Pirate Funnies, Tits and Clits, and Gay Comics. These comics were definitely very crazy. Sometimes they didn't really make since to me because like in the Gay Comics there would be points where the main character would be thinking, but then you would go into the main narrative. I understood what they were trying to do, but at points I got really confused. They were definitely different from your usual comic and I think that might be a main reason why I wasn't really interested in them. I kind of figured they would be a little absurd, but I guess I was just thinking of a lot of sex talk and boobs and all that kind of stuff. I wasn't expecting to get lost so much. I was hoping for more narrative, but I didn't really get that. The Air Pirate Funnies were definitely funny and very twisted in a way. I never expected to see some of my favorite Disney characters in that subject matter. The Gay Comics had a little more narrative than the other underground comics, but again I still got kinda lost. I guess I can see why they were unground comics. They were very funny, but very obscene and a little too much to be selling to a wide audience.

Blankets

I read "Blankets" for this week and I have to say it was a little girlie. I enjoyed reading it, but at points it was kind of romantic and lovey-dovey. It seemed very much like and autobiography about the author. I looked it up and saw that it actually is an auto biography about the illustrator/writer. I can really feel that he his telling us his story of how things in life happened to him. How he loved this girl and wanted to be with her. And also how he was coming from a very religious family and how he was very instilled with this Christian faith and wanting to go to heaven and to just be happy for the rest of his life. In some fashion I feel that he takes the emotions he was feeling and really forces you to listen to him. He deals with what almost every kid deals with like bullying, sibling rivalry and closeness, parents that drill their opinions into you, etc. But he puts it into a way that you want to know his story and how he deals with it. I love how he goes through all of this time to try and have a strong relationship with someone and almost finds it with this girl Raina, but even that doesn't work. He really goes back to his roots and finally connects to his family and his brother which I really feel is where a lot of people go back to, in my opinion. We really see that we can rely on our family and that the relationships that we have to look for probably aren't the best ones to be in. I feel that after reading this I can understand how a relationship is ment to be and how we can really have strong bonds with people if we let them happen.  

Tin Tin / Comic Book

Tin Tin was definitely a very fun comic strip to read. I read the "Tin Tin: Explorers on the Moon" and found it very fun and exciting. I really felt points of fun and laughter, adventure and peril, and even fright for the characters when things would seem to be a bit of a tussle to deal with. I enjoyed the illustrations a lot of the characters. The characters seemed to be really simple and fun, but the backgrounds seemed to be a little more detailed and realistic at times. Overall it seemed to pull the whole story together for you to really be brought in and want to see more and know more of what is about to happen in the story. One thing that I found really fun in particular was the quarrel between the Captain and Tin Tin after the Captain was floating off into space. Tin Tin almost seemed like the adult in that situation and made the Captain seem like a child. Although I'm not entirely sure if Tin Tin is a child or a young adult. Sometimes they make him seem very mature so I think that is why I think he might be a young adult. I also think it is really fun how the dog is almost always with Tin Tin it shows the companionship with a man and his dog. This is really a fun strip and very adventurous. I have yet to see the movie, but after reading the comic book and seeing the trailers for the movie I can really understand the fun adventure and almost comedic fashion of the story and I definitely understand why they would want to make this into a movie. There is so much substance there that you can't resist not making a movie about this guy and his dog.   

Comic Strips

I really enjoyed reading these comic strips overall. The comic strips I read were "Little Nemo" "Calvin and Hobbes" and "The Peanuts". When I was younger I always read the newspaper comic strips. Although I don't remember ever reading the "Little Nemo" comic strips until now, but I did of course read "The Peanuts" and "Calvin and Hobbes". I feel that they are timeless classics that can be brought into not only the comic strip, but in even television and film. And he comic strips are some that have conquered both realms very well.

The "Little Nemo" comics I will admit were a little strange, but what dreams aren't strange. Winsor McCay really captures the essence of a dream through this little boy who ha such great adventures in his "dreamworld". I do find it really fun how Nemo wakes up in whatever situation he left his dream at. In a way it makes you wonder if his dream was real or just a dream. In some ways I guess I feel that way about the strip because I have also seen the animated film "Little Nemo" and I remember even in the film Nemo wakes up in the same fashion as he left his dream. Some of the illustrations even were very dream-like. Almost as if Nemo was on drugs (sorry for the humor). But almost all dreams seem strange and almost unreal, but that is what makes them dreams.

"The Peanuts" I think are comic strips that everyone can remember. They were so fun and very entertaining as a child and even till now that I am 21 years old. It also shows how a comic strip can be timeless being that I read them as a child and my parents remember reading them when they were younger, and the comics still have that comic humor in them. Each character was very different and special in their own way and they kept those personalities through the mediums that "The Peanuts" were carried through. From the strip to television. I think one thing that always made me laugh was how almost adult the quarrels between the characters were. They handled the situations almost as if they were young adults. Very funny and always a timeless classic in my book.

And last but not least is "Calvin and Hobbes". This comic strip for some reason has always been one of my favorites. They were both such fun characters. I feel that I really related to this strip because I myself had a favorite stuffed animal that was a Tiger doll that I got from Disney World when I was a kid. In a way it was odd, but funny too. I really could understand how Calvin really confide so much with Hobbes and shared so much with him. The strips make you believe so much that Hobbes is real and when you see him in some strips as just a stuffed animal you are a little baffled and taken back and you want to see him real again. We in a way become Calvin and really want to connect and be with a friend like Hobbes. This strip really shows how some one can have a special friend and have fun with them all the time even if they are just a stuffed animal. A side note that I need to point out is I love how sometimes Hobbes is Calvin's voice of reason and sometimes vice versa. But mostly Calvin has these grand ideas and wonders and thoughts and Hobbes is almost there to tell him how it is or they go and discover the answer together. Really a wonderful strip and one of my all time favorites.

Understanding Comics Reading

In Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics he discusses the idea of how we see things as icons. I really was intrigued with this part of the book because what he says I feel is very true. He discusses how we see things in such a realistic form, but when we view it back in our minds we see it as something so simplistic.

He discribes to us about how we view a face. I agree that we do always think of a truly artistic piece to be something that is almost lifelike in a way. But that can't really be an iconic image because if something is so realistic we can only mark that person or thing to one specific being. But when we take that realistic image and make it more simplified we begin making something that is much more relatable to a broader audience.

I also think this is true because when we watch a cartoon or read a comic, we tend to attach our lifestyle and way we want to be with someone that is well versed in that cartoon or comic. We try to make ourselves be more relatable with our favorite character, but what we don't notice is that the character we are trying to be like was made to be relatable to a wide range of people.

I was also very fascinated when McCloud brought up how our eyes can make a face out of a circle two dots and a line. We know that a face doesn't look like that, but yet our eyes and minds are able to make a face out of those shapes. I feel that we can do that because even as children when we would draw on paper we would make faces out of very generic shapes. So when we see a face like that drawn out we can easily read it as a face.  

Class 1 - In Class Reading

In page one of the story it seems as though this woman is a witch or magical creature of some sort with the way she is positioned. The chicken seems to give her eggs which may be she is collecting at the moment.

Page two seems a little more odd to understand. It looks as if the girl has died or is a sleep and a giant rooster man is watching the girl as she sleeps. The rooster stands in wonder I'm guessing of the woman that lies on the stone tablet.

In page three we see that the girl is in fact dead and is being buried by two giant roosters in a European cathedral. On e rooster seems to be more of a man in form than the other who seems to be more rooster like. They both seem to be sorrowful of her death. 

Page four seems to be the two giant roosters discussing something in the cathedral about the woman they just buried.

In page five it might be something like a flash back. Like one of the roosters was married to this woman and he found her dead in her room.

Page six seems to be a woman dancing as her maid, mother, or sister watches in enchantment. And again the giant rooster makes an appearance in the scene. 

The Arrival by Shaun Tan Review

I was surprised that our first story was a book with no words in it. It was weird though. The story still seemed easy to understand what was happening in a way. The illustrations of the book were almost storyboard-like in a way that you could tell frame for frame what the writer wanted you to know. 

In the beginning as the man was packing his suit case, the images were shown in a way like a film would. Showing the setting so you could see who this man is in a way and then showing us what is actually going on. I feel that when I got to the images with things like the dragon tails and the giant cat in the city, I could have used a bit of an explanation on why those things were there. I could tell that the man was going on a trip somewhere away from his family, but to where was the question. It was almost an imaginative world he went to. 

I felt that the illustrations were also very engaging which help a viewer/reader be more willing to go on in the book. I feel that is where complex stories can be told in a book with no words and only images. If the images are interesting enough and show key parts of the story, the story can be read even easier. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words. So I think a book full of them can tell a story.