Web Comics

Kate Beaton's Hark! A Vagrant is a web comic that I've loved for some time now, I love history and this series is all about poking fun at it. It is structured more like a comic strip, in that there is no set chronological narrative, its a very easy read and its humor gets me every time. 

I would recommend this strip to my friends who would probably understand it, being a history-centric comic, there are some somewhat obscure literary and historical references that you've got to know to understand it. 

Another web comic with some historically references that I really enjoy is Patrik the Vampire by Bree Paulsen, it's alright humor but it has some really nice moments once you get going with it. 

http://patrikthevampire.tumblr.com/

And here is a list of some other really good ones:

The Glass Scientists

http://www.theglassscientists.com/

About Merpeople (Megan Dong does a lot of mini comics like Kate, suuuper funny)

http://aboutmerpeople.tumblr.com/

Watchmen

I've only recently read Alan Moore's 'Watchmen'. And I feel bad about missing out on it for so long. It was a very interesting experience full of many themes artfully woven inside the dystopian New York scene. The one of the themes that I observed was the representation of God as Dr. Manhattan. Manhattan's character represents God in the sense that he does not care for petty problems or disputes, since they don't affect him. I also enjoyed that Watchmen gave me more than just capes and fanfare, it also gave me what it's like living behind the mask.

It was also really great listening to Alan Moore's Mindscape, ah he's living my dream of making art and being a wizard. But on a real note a lot of what he said stuck with me, a lot of it ringed true and what a world we would live in today if more people thought the way he did. 

Comics by Women: Fun Home & This One Summer

I really enjoyed the experience of reading Fun Home, Alison Bechdel really knows how to reel you into her life, I was only expecting to read a couple pages and then move onto to something else but before I knew it I had finished the whole thing. I'm not sure if it was the fact that the comic was made by a queer artist, targeted to a queer-friendly youth, but I felt very connected to the reading and felt attached to Bechdel throughout most  situations in the story. Although I've not had the experience of growing up with a closeted and/or sexually unsure parent, it was a really interesting view I'd never seen portrayed in narrative before.

This One Summer has got to be my favorite graphic novel currently, without a doubt. Jillian and Mariko Tamaki have created both a visually stunning and compelling piece, that makes you realize things about yourself that you wish you could have known earlier. I would have loved to have been able to read this book when I was a preteen, it would have helped a lot. It's a beautiful coming of age novel that even now when I'm twenty is sort of easy to relate to if I look back at memories I've had of past vacations. This book is one that I own personally and recommend to friends all the time, but I love it so much I can't bring myself to let them borrow my copy haha.

Asterios Polyp

Asterios Polyp is amazing, David Mazzucchelli really knocked it out of the park with this in my opinion. Really great read, I was first introduced it to via my illustration teacher who thought that I'd enjoy the color schemes and was very taken with it right off the bat. It is a gem of a graphic novel, this is probably one of the most visually appealing comics I've seen. Asterios Polyp follows the life of the main character, of the same name, and his struggles with going through life. It deals with his relationships with various women in his life-- his first wife, being the center of one of the book's longest arcs. It also deals with Asterios' relationship with himself, and the brother he never had-- a twin named Ignacio who died in the womb, but he still holds to dearly. Every detail about him, from how he’s drawn, to how he views the world, to what he says is so void of any emotion and logical that I find it very difficult to relate to him, and tired of his dialogue very quickly. His treatment of other people is also very logical and shrewd, and his whole character just irritates me. His wife, on the other hand, I was very sympathetic toward. I like how the artist differentiated Asterios and his wife with sharp lines, angles and blocks of color and then spheres, curves and shading. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone interested in getting into graphic novels.

Anime and Manga

Growing up I was a huge fan of both anime and manga, I remember being first introduced to it by my Dad putting on Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke and it kind of changed me forever. I'm still am a fan of manga, despite my fervor for the genre having its ups and downs for a bit until getting to college. I was once into many shonen comics such as Naruto and Bleach, they were just full of stories that really fascinated me. I also came to love many of the older movies like Akira and Ghost in the Shell, I feel like the content was just so much more enjoyable compared to what I had been so used to seeing in western animation. I’ve always loved animation.  Even as a kid, I wanted variety in what I watched; Cow and Chicken, or Power-puff girls, as good as they were, never really had the emotional impact on me like this did. Japanese animation’s appeal, to myself, often stems from the fact that it covers almost anyone’s tastes, whether you're into action, drama, super creepy stuff or horror, its pretty much got everything.

Watching Scott Pilgrim in class reminded he that its also one of my favorite movies, it had been so long since the last time I'd seen it. It's got so many sweet references and it feels great to be able to say "Oh man I know where that's from!" I enjoy all the video game references too, especially in the movie when the Fairy Fountain theme from the Zelda series began to play in Scott’s dream. I like how realistic it is in how the characters interact with each other, but also enjoy the fantasy aspects that come alive when the plot starts picking up.

Maus

At first glance I thought that Maus was going to be like most of the books on the Holocaust that we had read in grade school, like Boy in the Stripped Pajamas or Night, but after reading some of it I was very impressed with how it was done. It was so captivating, and what really got me the most was the simplicity of everything especially the features of the characters. They are so simple and void of defining features that they became more like symbols, such as what was talked about by Scott McCloud. It narrows down the distinction to just outfits and different species of animal, and this becomes the vehicle for the message.

With each of these different types of people being depicted in varying animal groups, its interesting to see the author’s own prejudices come out, for example the Polish being depicted as pigs. Even though  the characters for the most part are very simple there is still some uniqueness to them, it was very entertaining to get to know them through each of their quirks. Through these quirks the reader can sort of relate to the characters, and it allows the reader to feel reminded that this happened to real people. 

Underground Comics

After flipping through the recommended readings, my overall statement is that, these comics are pretty fun. They don’t very much appeal to me personally, and I don’t find them particularly exciting or inspiring at all, but I think they’re definitely an important part of the history of comics. I think that in they’re own way they stand for the freedom of print and freedom of craft, and if it wasn’t for these crazy comics I don’t believe we’d have the comics we have today.

Overall I didn’t really mind the how clunky and grotesque these comics were, because they were meant to be that way, though I can see how some would easily find offense in them. It kind of made me feel like I was doing something bad by reading it, like that feeling you get when you're a kid sneaking into a rated R movie, and you have to check over you're shoulder just to make sure no ones around.

 I think that this time in comics history was a good entry point for young up and coming artists to let loose and nudge at the reader’s inner self and dare you to look deeper. 

On Will Eisner

Both The Spirit and Contract with God are really outstanding reads as well as incredible pieces to look out, and that's what I love about Will Eisner's work. He doesn't take story lightly, and so the writing for his comics always turns out extraordinary. If story is intense and suspenseful, Eisner tells it in a way that is gripping and compelling, if the story is morose or melancholy, then he write's it in a way that moves the reader immensely.

In Contract with God, each of the stories are written in a way that really opens up the lives of all the different characters, we see them thrive, we see them fall, and sometimes we see them commit atrocious acts. The way Eisner moves us through their lives really reels us in, and I loved it so much I inhaled it all in almost just 5 minutes.

I think that Eisner is brilliant in the way that he prioritizes story over art, I think it really says a lot about him as a person, as well as an artist. I've seen so many beautiful movies and shows that looked absolutely incredible, but the writing was so bad that it killed what could have been a wonderful thing. Eisner values writing, and it really shows in his work, it's obvious that he didn't have an ego that many individuals, companies, and studios have today where visuals are the golden child and the script gets put on the back burner. He realizes the need for a harmony between the two to really create something meaningful.

The Comic Strip

Out of the several comics we were given in class, I really enjoyed the work of Winsor McCay best of all. I found both Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend and Little Nemo in Slumberland to be beautiful comics, especially in comparison to other comics of the time that we looked at like Krazy Kat. Not that I disliked Krazy Kat, I thought Herriman's work was funny and entertaining, but I think that McCay's strips were more a lot more appealing to me visually, as well as from a storytelling view. 

I found the characters in McCay's strips very interesting and leave you wanting to delve into their lives, especially so with Nemo in Slumberland. This goes back to my last entry on Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics on the subject of readers identifying with  simpler characters, and I believe this is exactly what happens when reading about Nemo's adventures, I mean they really giving you something to latch onto. He's also very cute and innocent, and so of course the reader is going to be concerned about him and so they become inthralled and keep reading.

An artist whose work I've been following for a long time has actually been working on visually developing the Little Nemo in Slumberland story as if it were going to be an animated film, and its really really great stuff! I had never looked at the original strip for this class and I think it's interesting looking back on it with all the things I know now, I'll link it in the bottom!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BBbWTkAImSk/?taken-by=sunmininn

On Understanding Comics

Something that McCloud talks about in Understanding Comics that really resonated with me was when he touched on the subject of the reader projecting themselves onto the characters. This is something that I haven't ever really thought much about, but when McCloud contrasts characters that are realistic vs ones that are plainer and more cartoony it makes so much sense. Because of the lack of detail in a plain face, readers tend to add their own features subconsciously with out realizing. Sure even with a detailed character a reader can still sympathize based on experiences and emotions, but when we can actually read a comic that seems to literally be  us it's a completely different experience.

McCloud goes on to say that's why we identify with cartoons so much in our childhood, which I completely agree with. I would much rather have watched Scooby Doo over any live action children's show any day, because it felt easier to latch onto those simple characters and project yourself onto them and their adventures. I didn't care about the live action characters who's actors were the same people you saw on other stations or movies, that ruined the magic for me, all I wanted to know was who the Creeper turned out to be and what Scooby was going to do next.

He also says that if who the character is matters less, what they'll say will matter more. I think this is an outstanding way to think about it, and it makes so much sense. It makes me think of why I enjoy reading comics by one of my favorite current artists Emily Carroll. Her characters are so simple and plain looking, making it so that when they go through their lives whether they encounter tragic circumstances or a somewhat happy end, we can project ourselves onto what they are feeling because the reader can easily put our face onto the features of her characters.



Here is her website!

http://www.emcarroll.com/

How the Arrival tells a story without words.

Shaun Tan's uses of storytelling through his drawings are the number one reason why the comic does not require words. It's obvious to the reader what is going on throughout the panels because he is so clear with getting his ideas across.

Tan is brilliant when it comes to focusing on what details are important for advancing the story, and so even if there are no words to direct what the reader should be thinking about, the images are straightforward enough that it’s unmistakable.

Tan’s use of staging is also an essential reason why words aren’t necessary, he is basically storyboarding us along with various small panels to lead up to large establishing frames, which all are well-defined, some with various subtleties. These panels are all very coherent with such strong visual narratives that they speak for the characters themselves.

The acting and emotions shown by the characters is also very telling of what is happening. Their expressions are drawn so that the reader can always tell what it is they’re feeling without question, and this something that is just as significant for storytelling.

Tan’s story requires not translation; with these elements the reader gets a sense of the actions that are going on wordlessly. The fact that there is no dialogue in the first place seems to be mimicking the circumstance that the protagonist can’t quite communicate with the new people in his surroundings, so the wordless language in the images are what have to carry the weight, and they do.