Week Fourteen

I read “What the Birds Know,” a web comic. I was a little skeptical at first. I wasn’t quite sure of the time period at first because the characters used modern language but were in a more medieval setting. Their relationships were very modern as well. The way that parents acted towards their kids wasn’t exactly how adults treated their children in medieval times.

However, I enjoyed the story a lot. The eggs were really weird at first and I wasn’t sure on how it was going to go. And I couldn’t understand the relationships between the three girls at first, especially between the bossy one and the blond one. However, their backstories did explain a lot. It was a very interesting concept: having the jelly creatures turn you into part of the other dimension. Since the story was so intriguing, I kept reading.

A long time ago, I read my first web comic. It was called “After School Military Activity.” It was by a korean artist. The cartoon depicted a korean high school class that needs to fight as soldiers when Korea is invaded with weird alien spheres that kill people. It was a fairly captivating piece. The story was told documentary style. The characters would in an interview with the narrator throughout parts of the story. The artist was very good at showing how war transformed people. The students started off with emotions ranging from skeptical to excited. When the war ended and all the killing spheres were shot, the students were all weary and depressed. I recommend it.

I think everything is moving towards self-publication. Web comics will become very popular in the next several years. I know of one web comic that got turned into a manga because the story was so good. Web comics will get artists and writers discovered. It’s the beginning of a new part of the industry.

The Killing Joke

The Killing Joke was very well written. It didn’t use more words than it had to. In my experience, some comics have very long wordy descriptions about what is happening that can make me lose my interest. However, Alan Moore let the pictures do more of the talking. The story was also very compelling. The suspense was nicely built up to something you didn’t quite expect. I didn’t expect the Joker to be an imposter or Barbara to get shot. I also expected the Commissioner to go fully insane. I think Alan Moore’s choice to make the Joker photograph Barbara after getting shot fully captures the Joker’s insanity and loss of humanity. It completely solidifies his character. Batman’s character is also interesting too. You get to see his increasing self doubt and desire to understand the Joker.

The ending is very ambiguous because it seems like Batman will spare the Joker’s life but then again, maybe he will finally kill off the Joker for good. It’s strange how the Batman and the Joker have almost developed a compassion for each other. Batman says that the two still don’t know each other after fighting for a long time, but it doesn’t seem like they completely hate each other when Batman offers to rehabilitate the Joker. Many heros and villains develop some kind of relationship after years of fighting. I think that Lex Luthor has collaborated with Superman to defeat a greater evil. Also, Catwoman has an interesting twisted relationship with Batman. This reminds me that villians don’t consider themselves the villains. They’re the protagonists in their own stories and aren’t being evil for the sake of being evil. They are trying to accomplish their own goals. However, the Joker admits that he’s doing immoral things to get a rise of Batman. He lost his sanity so he’s being evil for the sake of being evil.

I could make this into an animated TV show . However, it would move at a much faster pace and the viewer wouldn’t be able to catch all the small details like the circus posters on the tent when the Joker first enters. Miss Burkiss probably wouldn’t make an appearance because it wouldn’t add anything to the episode. There are some things can only be shown in pictures. However, if it was animated, you would be able to see the impact of the bullet hitting Barbara. You would also be able to hear the sound of the insanity ride as the Commissioner goes through it. You also don’t have to show the Joker’s face on the ride. You could only hear his voice which would make it more disorientating.

Week Thirteen

For Reconsidering the Superhero week, I read “Arkham Asylum.” I was immediately surprised by how dark it was. My experience of superheros mostly come from TV shows. I watched the Warner Brothers kids channel when I was younger. I watched Teen Titans and the animated Batman. I also watched Young Justice and Justice League. I also watched Marvel movies like Avengers and the new Spiderman. Therefore, my impression of superheros were that they were all about justice. They were all good. They never did anything immoral. They never wavered in their decisions.

Then, I was really surprised when I read “Arkham Asylum.” The drawing style struck me first. The lines are chaotic and frenzied. Nothing is crisp and clean cut like the older style superhero comics. The panel boundaries were barely there. I could hardly keep track of the order. But I think the artist wanted to do that on purpose because the story is about how the characters went insane.

I think Batman is one of the most interesting superheros. He is the only hero I know that has no superpower. He can’t fly or shoot lasers or read minds. His only powers are his incredible intelligence and wealth. I guess Robin is the same way. Batman also has this incredible sense of morality. However, I feel like since he doesn’t have any real superpowers, he’s forgiven if he wavers in his way of delivering justice. But at the same time, I feel like he’s also held to higher expectations since he has to keep up with Superman and Wonder Woman.

In Justice League, he was always the outlier. He was the one who would be the safety net if the others went astray. And he has the capability to take down all the superheros. I think the Joker is also an interesting character because you can’t figure out his motivations. He’s insane. He plays with Batman. He does things just for the effect for being cruel. I read up on him more and found out that he cut off his face and wore it as it rotted. That’s why I think he’s such a captivating character. He’s so unpredictable. You just want to find out more about him.

Week Twelve

For the comics by women week, I read “This One Summer” by Jillian Tamaki. I found it to be very interesting because the character was so relatable. Because the artist was a woman, she drew issues that normal women faced. You don’t talk about menstruation and miscarriage in most comics by male artists.

Also, in most comics, particularly superhero comics, the women characters are very flat. They’re just accessories to look at. They’re obedient, comforting and yielding. If they are the villains, the female characters are hysterical and seductive. This is kind of what Anita Sarkeesian said in her video. Female villains use their sexuality to be evil. And that’s all they are.

However, in “This One Summer,” the characters are very real. The women are not flat and perfect. They have very real flaws. They make real mistakes. And they develop throughout the story.  

And I relate so much to the main character because I’ve done so many things that she did. I remember the confusion of going through puberty and dealing with crushes. The curiosity she has about the teenagers is so real. When I was around twelve, all I was interested in was growing up. Tamaki captured that feeling of not feeling right in that age so well.

Week Eleven

Asterios Polyp is another example of how the comic book works as an effective medium for biographies. Pictures are infinitely more descriptive than words. It reminded me of Blankets where the artist used symbols to show different aspects of his inner thoughts.

The pictures are a really telling way to show the relationship between Asterios and Hana. When they are in unison, their drawing styles merge. At the faculty party in the beginning of the story, Asterios and Hana begin to talk to each other and the blue and pink lines begin to melt together. When the two are fighting, the differences are stark. When Asterios first tells Hana about the video camera in their bedroom, his lines are straight and ordered and blue. Her lines are wild and alive and pink. It feels as though the two styles can never compromise into one piece.

Each character has their own speech bubble style as well. Asterios talks in all squares. The font is geometric and crisp. On the other hand, Hana’s script is curved and flowing in round speech bubbles. Meanwhile, Asterios’ mother talks all in cursive.

You can feel how Asterios dominates Hana. He takes up most of the space in the scene. His speech bubbles are bigger. When he first visits Hana’s studio, a spotlight literally moves to shine on him. The only time that Hana dominates is when they fight about Willy Chimera. For the first time, Asterios is taken aback.

The ending was interesting. Everything just ended. I assume they died. I thought that I would be dissatisfied with an asteroid killing everyone off but I wasn’t. They reconciled and that’s all that mattered to me.

Week Ten

For the week on Manga, I read Astro Boy for the first time. The thing that immediately struck me was how Tezuka was inspired by Disney. I could see it in the round forms and large eyes of the characters. For the longest time, I always thought that Disney was inspired by manga. It’s also amazing how Tezuka inspired the entire manga industry.

I find it really interesting how shoujo and shounen manga have basically rocked the young generation of Asia. I know because of shoujo, many Asian girls have an ideal image of a pretty chivalrous perfect guy who can’t exist in real life. Meanwhile, shounen manga has given men a way to enjoy action comics as they get older. Comics in Asia are not just for kids. They’re enjoyed thoroughly by grown adults.

I watched a documentary recently about the decreasing birth rate of Japan. Young Japanese men and women are getting married less often. Women are also having babies at a later age. Part of the reason is the extremely strong work ethic that rings through Asia. People will put their career in front of dating. However, the narrator also interviewed Japanese women on why they think that not as many people are getting married. The women said that Japanese men were disappointing. They did not seem mature enough.

I wonder if the ideal perfect imaginary men in manga lead to higher expectations for women. The documentary also explored the world of “digital girlfriends,” where Japanese men bought an anime game for their phones and a character would basically become their boyfriend. This eliminated their immediate need for dating. This also made me see how Japanese women could see Japanese men as immature.

It’s just interesting how Asian cultures have developed a very specific ideal image for their men and women. I know that Korea is also suffering from a low birthrate. I wonder if it’s because of similar reasons to Japan. Also, Korea has an influential K-POP and K-Drama industry filled to the brim with perfect ideal men. That is why the plastic surgery industry is also booming.

I also finally read Bakuman after so many years of my friend telling me to. It taught me that becoming a mangaka is not an easy task. It is hard as any artistic job.

Week Nine

I read Incal this week. I really enjoyed Incal because the storyline was fascinating. I enjoy post apocalyptic stories. I noticed that Europe is not that squeamish about nudity and sex, while Americans want to censor everything. I also heard that corresponds to the movie realm as well. Interestingly, European movies don’t like to show extreme gore and exploding guts, but are completely fine with depicting with full-out nudity. Meanwhile, American movies thrive on the exploding guts, but freak out when a rogue nipple is exposed. This carries over into the advertisements. When I was walking through Paris, I saw so many ads with fully nude models who didn’t try to cover up anything. I feel that Incal was an interesting comic because it was targeted for adults. It covered issues like social class and abortion. It was a story that kids could definitely not understand. The story wasn’t the typical superhero saves the city from the evil villain storyline. You can see how because European artists weren’t forced to follow the censorship of comics, the medium was allowed to develop and evolve.

I also grew up reading Asterix the Gaul comics. I just thought that Obelix was an extremely funny character. The way that Goscinny has with his words is brilliant. All the names of the Romans and non-Gaul characters are a play on words. I feel like the narrative style is also pretty conversational at times. It’s hilarious how no Gaul fears the Romans. The whole concept is so comical of how the Romans are supposed to be controlling the Gauls, but in reality, it’s the other way. I think that’s what appeals to all the readers. I think we also like a world where everyone can get into fights but never get killed. They tussle every story and heal almost instantly. They always end a fight one way or another. No one dies. There’s always a peaceful ending even though they’re technically at war.

Week Eight - March

I read John Lewis’ March this week. The first thing that I noticed was that the comic book medium is a very effective way of communicating events in history. We were able to picture these events much easier in our minds if we are given images. We receive more information.

In the presentation, Eiser said that comics depend on stereotypes but I disagreed with him. I feel like artists use archetypes instead of stereotypes. Only the ignorant artists use stereotypes. They think that all people can fit into one category. On the other hand, archetypes are the base character that people are based on, but then, their traits branch off that and they become more diverse. Archetypes are used so the audience has a starting point where they know a little of what to expect. They are most basic kind of character and don’t have any specific traits. While stereotypical characters only have the traits of the stereotype and nothing else. As an animator, I try to use archetypes when I make my characters. It makes the character very recognizable. It makes it easy for the viewer to read right away. However, I’m going to add more personality to the character so it’s more than just a bland archetype.

However, I agree that there is a method to walking the fine line between archetype and stereotype. The artist cannot depict one archetype differently from the rest of the characters. Then, it becomes a stereotype. John Lewis did this very well in March. All of the characters were rendered very realistically. The whites were not drawn differently from the blacks. Everyone is their own individual The artist of Maus also managed to do this well by taking away the human faces altogether. Every character had an animal face which takes away the chance to stereotype the groups by their physical features. The contemporary artists have embraced this method, like Charles Shultz.

Literature of Comics and Graphic Novels Blog

Week 7: Maus I found it interesting that the artist used mice to depict Jews. However, it makes sense in this story about the Holocaust because the war was all about identifying people. Animal faces are the easiest way to communicate different groups of people to the reader. Yet, it also gives some stereotypes to the characters. The Jews are mice who are meek and weak. The Germans are cats who prey on the the mice. They’re depicted as cruel and brutal. The Americans are dogs who clash with the Germans. The Polish are pigs. The French are frogs. I imagine that some people might get offended by that because there are negative connotations attached to some animals. This was a deeply personal story, like Blankets. It was fascinating to read because it really illustrated someone’s life. When the author added the parts about when his father went to the supermarket and is counting his pills. These little anecdotes added more personality to the characters and made the story seem like a real living person’s story. I also appreciated how we learned more about the narrator and his family. All the background came through in bits and pieces, intriguing the reader. It answers all the questions we have about why the father has peculiar behaviors. We really get to piece together who they are. Whenever the artist wanted the dad to keep talking about Auschwitz, I felt the same impatience and urgency. I just wanted to know what happened next. The author was good at making us adopt his feelings and emotions. This comic has also made me realize that there can be adult comics without drugs and sex and violence. This story was too intense for kids to understand. It also related to adult readers because they understood the complexity of maintaining a relationship with a parent after childhood. The moment when the artist wonders about how he is going to depict the relationship with his father really spoke to me. I am starting to question how I interact with my parents. I compare it to the relationships I have with other people. The dialogue the characters used sounded like it was verbatim from the sound recorder. The comic was really an ink depiction of real life. It was extremely fascinating to me when I learned that Maus was one of the first comic books to win a literary award. This work led the comic book world into legitimacy. It paved the way for other comic book artists to count as real artists and writers. It became  a socially accepted medium. However, this wouldn’t have been possible without underground comics. The author of Maus grew up in the end of the underground comic era. So he learned to adopt the “tell it like it is” style that the underground comic artists had. He was so brutally honest about his past and family. The great literary scholars and reviewers embraced that with enthusiasm. The irony is striking. They used to condemn comic books, especially the underground ones, yet they commend the work that is directly influenced by the underground comic books. It reminds me that art develops faster than the public’s taste. When Monet and the other Impressionists started their new artstyle, they were scorned. Interestingly, they also scorned the next new art era. This is just a reminder that you should never really be encouraged or discouraged by what people say about your art. You just make it with your purpose and you keep making it. Week 6: Mr. Natural I was really shocked when I started reading Mr. Natural. There was really no censorship at all in the comics. The artists drew all kinds of naked bodies. They also made them very detailed and realistic. However, I have to respect the artists for getting the courage to push it really far. There always needs to be someone who tests the limits just to show how far the boundaries are. This doesn’t mean that the artwork can be considered bad. It’s just different. I know I’m not used to it because I’m too innocent for this generation. Then again, I can’t claim to understand the modern art movement either, where twisty paint lines are considered masterpieces. Yet, I’m not going to dismiss it. I can understand that there were people who enjoyed these comics and some followed them fervently. Therefore, the comics accomplished the purpose of art. It expressed and entertained. I noticed that they broke the fourth wall a lot. There was one part when Mr. Natural was trying to get with a girl but she stopped him, saying that they couldn’t show that in a cartoon. In a way, they were mocking the censorship of comics. They made fun of the safe and clean comics that were allowed. In Air Pilots, they really made fun of the safe comics. They picked the cleanest and most family friendly thing they could find, Disney. I definitely wasn’t a fan of it because I love Disney and hold it to a very high esteem. So it shook me when I saw something that parodied it in an erotic way. However, just because I don’t like it doesn’t mean that it should be banned or disappear. It is fascinating to me that after the 60s appeared the way it did. I associate the 50s with prim and proper wholesome American families. Then, it seemed like in the 60s, an entire generation decided to rebel. The culture and underground comics display their rebellion. However, I think that if we didn’t have underground comics, the cartoon world couldn’t have evolved the way it did today. Week 5: Blankets and Contract with God Reading Blankets was more like seeing paintings move. It wasn’t the typical comic style that I’m used to reading. There was no set panels of frames. When Craig narrated the thoughts that were going through his head, the images completely broke the panels. When Raina asked Craig to paint a mural on the wall, the pages transformed into surreal scenes of the characters weaving through the trees. This is hard to do in a movie because the sudden change of environment will confuse the viewer. Craig Thompson also used abstract drawings erupting from the mouth to show when the character Craig loses his childhood. Whenever the panel frames disappeared, the line quality became swirlier. The images felt ungrounded and fleeting because there were no solid black lines. This helped reveal Craig’s feelings about how his joys vanish so easily. You have to make sure you appreciate them. This graphic novel was an autobiography which was a new way to me to read about someone’s life. It didn’t have any superheroes or evil plots. It just had pure real life experience. Because it was so personal, it made the reader able to relate to the character Craig. Everyone has felt anxious and confused like him before. Young readers can especially relate to the difficulty of trying to navigate the complexities of growing up. We’re just trying to figure out who we are and where we belong. Also, whenever, an artist creates a piece about themselves, it feels like they’re giving a part of themselves to us. It’s not an easy thing to do. Therefore, the reader feels honored and cherishes the piece of the artist’s soul they were given.  Will Eisner’s Contract with God was about real life as well. However, it was colder and harsher. There wasn’t any happiness in the characters’ stories. They were bitter and had the wrong motives so they just suffered. Therefore, I couldn’t relate at all to the stories. The drawing style was fitting for the story theme. Eisner was very good at making the characters’ faces show emotion. They stretched out their eyes and mouths into ugly faces for their ugly feelings. There were times when Eisner used the whole page for one panel. He did that in the first story, Contract with God. The father is grieving about his dead daughter. The big drawing has space to contain lots of detailed lines, thus making you stop and study it. Afterwards, you feel the grief because you’ve looked at the picture for a long time. It slows the story pace down.  Both artists were skilled at using the page format to show emotion. They used their line quality too. They effectively delivered real life stories.  Week 4: Tintin, Black Panther, Tales from the Crypt, Bugs Bunny I read Herge’s Adventures of Tintin, more specifically, the issue called Tintin in Tibet. It was very similar to another comic I follow called Asterix the Gaul. However, the drawings are simpler. Tintin’s face is abstracted to two dots for eyes, thus making it easier to relate to. The comic format is very suitable for the adventure genre because the action can be shown easily. Herge makes sure to break up all the dialogue with surprise actions that are happening off screen like when Tintin’s sidekick eats the spicy pepper in Dubai. Herge also uses a lot of irony for his comics. An example is when the sidekick is scoffing at people who walk blindly into things, but later he does exactly that. Finally, Tintin ends up in a lot of dangerous situations but he also pulls through so the reader never really gets worried for him. She just eagerly waits to see what creative solution he will come up with. Meanwhile, Jack Kirby’s The Black Panther in King Solomon's Frog moves at a completely different pace. The drawings are harsher. The characters have dark hatch marks on their faces for shadows. They have well defined jaw lines and shoulders to show power. The Black Panther rarely takes any breaks in the action while Tintin took place over several weeks. The panels are drawn in dynamic angles and perspectives to make the action feel more dynamic. Since the panels are small and can’t fit a lot, the captions describe the action happening most of the time. Lastly, the Black Panther was shorter because it ended on a cliffhanger. I can see why this style of superhero comics became popular because it doesn’t require a long attention span or careful reading. Another comic I read was Tales from the Crypt No. 2. The narrator broke the fourth wall by talking to the reader during the doctor’s story. These stories were very short but suspenseful because they fed the reader information a little at a time. The drawing style was similar to Jack Kirby’s. A common theme for all stories is that when someone committed a terrible crime, they would die a horrible death. I also read Bugs Bunny in Football Luck. The drawing style is very round and appealing. This is also another comic that you don’t need a lot of attention span for because the stories are very short. Therefore, you can keep reading many of them. Bugs is also the cocky and charismatic kind of character that readers are drawn to. They enjoy the antics and how he manages to thwart authority. Bugs is the character that many people wish they could be more like. Week 3: Nemo in Slumberland, Krazy Kat, Peanuts and Calvin and Hobbes My initial reaction was surprise that Nemo and Krazy Kat were not formatted in a way that I expected.  For Nemo in Slumberland, there were captions below every panel explaining what is going on.The pictures were clear enough so I could tell what was happening. The pictures were also colored and well rendered. A lot more effort was put into these panels than Krazy Kat and Peanuts. For Krazy Kat, each character had their set archetype personality trait. Krazy is curious and that leads him into trouble. His partner is Ignatz Mouse who only wants to cause trouble for Krazy, but Krazy never realizes it. The same joke of Ignatz throwing the brick at Krazy is used over and over throughout the comics. It gives the reader a recognizable cue to laugh. Also sometimes, the artist doesn’t put frames around the panels. However, he still keeps the cartoons in order by numbering them and keeping space between the pictures. The flow became faster because it seemed like they were connected in one long picture. Meanwhile, Nemo felt more like a picture book. The perspective rarely changed and we mostly had a profile view of Nemo. There were captions below every panel explaining the events which felt like the words that accompany the pictures in a children’s book. His adventures are what imaginative kids like to dream up. The storyline was very similar to Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. Nemo goes into another land and meets otherworldly characters but always comes home safe and sound. On the other hand, Peanuts and Calvin and Hobbes can appeal to adults and children because they deal with deeper and more philosophical topics. On the surface, they have the funny childhood incidents that everyone can relate to. The characters are also lovable and mischievous like all cartoon kids. Yet occasionally, Calvin and Charlie Brown will wonder about family and loneliness and purpose. Especially, Calvin will have long philosophical discussions with Hobbes and end the joke with a typical kid concern. I grew up reading Peanuts because I was introduced to them by my mom’s English teacher. I loved the Peanuts because each of the characters had their distinct personalities. The way they interacted with each other was so true to the their personalities that they felt like real people to me. Week 2: Understanding Comics Unfortunately, I had to count myself as one of those people who didn’t view comics as a very skilled medium. However, that’s only because I didn’t know how much thought went into the process. Luckily, Understanding Comics helped me realize that comics are as much of an art form as other media. Each frame and speech bubble is a choice on the artist’s part. The part about the difference between eastern and western style comics also fascinated me. Japanese manga does have many more subject to subject transitions. They also have non-sequitur sequences. Meanwhile, western comics are more fast-paced and chock-full of action. I feel that animation corresponds in the same way. Japanese animation has more silences and scenes where the characters do nothing and think. Hayao Miyazaki was asked about the main difference between western and eastern animation. He said that westerners don’t have a word for the silence between the claps when someone breaks into applause. Yet, the japanese call that, “ma.” Miyazaki said that he puts “ma” into his films and fills it with thought, feeling and intention. Another statement that Scott McCloud said also rang true with animation. He stated that content needed to be viewed separately from form. Also, that were were different levels to creating comics. Most readers only see the surface when they read comics but comic book artists need to see the craft, structure, idiom, form and idea. Therefore, the art and details can be very skilled and flashy, but if the message is not there, the comic won’t hold up for more than a couple of years. Similarly, a good story is what’s key in animation. The film could be rendered the highest definition you can find but if the characters aren’t relatable, it will flop. Also, like Scott McCloud said, the high level of detail could cut down on how relatable audiences find characters. It is true that people like to see themselves in abstract looking characters. Because cartoons are so relatable, they are the most effective at communicating images. They have no details that exclude one group of people. No wonder why they are the best at becoming international pop culture. Week 1: The Arrival The Arrival takes more effort to understand because the there are no clear words to tell you what is going on. Instead, it gives little hints such as the pictures of immigrants in the beginning or the sequence of packing a suitcase. Shaun Tan alternates between close ups of details like the picture frames and far shots of the whole scene. The zoom out then reveals the big picture. For example, when the main character's friend shows a flashback of getting locked up in a coal working mine, the next large panel then makes the reader realize that it is a whole factory of locked up children working the coals. Another way Shaun Tan effectively tells the story is the use of symbols. In part V, he shows the passing of time by illustrating the birth and death of a flower. In the end, he uses the same images to show that the story has made a complete circle. He shows the same hat and family portrait to show that main character is satisfied and has brought his life back to the same level of stability he had before. You can see the giant sculpture of the bird holding the egg that greeted the main character in the background when his daughter runs into town. Shaun Tan also displays the mood of the characters with close-ups of their expressions. Other times, he uses the sequence of body movements to reveal the emotions. When the old man recalls his soldier days, the frames showing his walking into grime and obstacles mean that the soldier is traveling a long hard way. The motion blur of his running legs pick up the pace of the story. Suddenly, the one key image of skeletons on the battlefield hits home for the reader. The reader recognizes the evidence of death and instantly feel everything associated with war. Finally, just the images of the struggling bandaged leg shows the essence of giving up, but then getting back up.