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.