This One Summer

Jillian Tamaki wrote a comic called "This One Summer" which I thought was an interesting read. I felt more like a average television show you would find on abc family or something rather then a comic to me. I guess I thought this because when I think of comics I think of either humor or action in a comic, not a everyday girls day. I liked it though, it was different then a lot of what we read in this class. It shows how a young girl deals with her parents slowly separating, spending the summer with her best friend, and crushing on an older guy that might of got a girl pregnant. It is really relatable with me because of how the parents are always fighting, so I felt more attach to this comic more then something like "Archie." I liked the drawing style as well, how they drew each character with clean lines. How she really drew the clothing with pattern and the background with detail to really understand where the character is and the time. My favorite scene that she illustrated was the one with rose just chilling in her bedroom on the bed reading a magazine. Just the detail in the rug, the objects on the floor, and how she translated the blanket folding but with simple lines. Also another panel I loved when her friend Windy is dancing and she did not break each move in a different panel but rather on the same panel, with a figures moving a sequential order. It brought humor and movement in that moment. Most of the book was in black and white, but I also saw some blue ink used. I really enjoy the simple color use as well, I think it benefits in this way more then it would if it was in color. The overall character shows how the younger mind of a girl works, bringing a little bit of innocence to the comic.

In class we talked about how women comic book artist have a distinct area that classifies their work all together. I do not really think that women artist should all be classified in a subject together. Different artist bring different things to the comic world. In the comic I read done by a woman artist I see of only a woman being able to achieve it, but only because of the concept of the comic. It would not make sense of a man writing about a young girl and her love interest in a older man. I mean he could, but the perspective coming from a woman that went through possible is way better. Just because woman are way more emotional and can bring that to art in a famine way.

Authority

I read Watchmen by Alan Moore, and it was rather interesting, but not a favorite. Watchmen in which many people know the idea behind the title "Who will watch the Watchmen", but not everyone has read this acclaimed novel. As the title suggests it is a graphic novel that deals with the idea of who exists to watch the superheroes if they go out of control. And really, part of my problem with reading this novel is that when a hero goes out of control you get a villain. I don't subscribe to the idea of the anti-hero like many people. I believe in absolutes and as such I think that the hero is the character who performs more good than he does evil. 

In the end of this novel the whole idea of what Watchmen is really trying to convey wraps together. It's really about psychological conflict, about Nihilism and about the Jungian shadow. Many psychological theories I do not subscribe to but find useful to use as discussion points. Because I do not believe that the world is all full of darkness and evil when you strip it down as Watchmen appears to portray. I believe that there is much evil in life but that there is also hope and light for anyone to see. 

The comic "Authority" is a superhero themed comic filled with action of good and evil. When reading the two volumes, the class was asked a question about the comic. Which was, "are there any prominent symbolism the story and if so, what are they, and how are they used?" When reading the volumes I really did not look for symbols, so when going back to look it over again I really did not see many. A big symbol is good and evil, how their is this group of all sorts of heroes trying to keep all the universes from being taken over by this evil group that wants to turn, well at least one I know of, into a rape camp. I do not know if this was a symbol or not, when examining the clothing on both parties I notice they both consisted of a circle in some way. How the evil man had a circle, but with three dots breaking it up, kinda reminds me of how they are trying to break this peaceful state that society is in a cycle of. Though, then the superheroes had a circle on their clothing, but also a triangle. I do not know what that really could stand for honestly, because later on in the second volume Jenny Sparks has a new outfit on. Also another symbol I saw was Apollo and the Midnighter and how they are dark and light, or more what I see as ying and yang. Because they are a pair, always together, and when Apollo used all his energy and was drained, Midnight was very worried and held him, but they are different from each other. The guy is like his other half, a brother, or lover if you will.
 Next question we were asked to answer was " What connections did you make with the story, and discuss the elements of the work with which you were able to connect?" It is kinda hard to connect with a story based on superheroes, since I have no super powers. Though my connection is kinda with my dad. How I wanted to go to an art college and I had to keep fighting and fighting him to let me carry on my dreams. So in a way its like how the authority league is fighting evil to keep their place of peace that they dream of. Another connection would be to Apollo and Midnighter, because it kinda reminds me of my best friend lena and me. How I am more like midnight the dark kinda rebel one and she is like the pure and innocent one, how me and her are ying and yang, different, but need each other.
"What changes would you make to adapt this story into another medium, what medium would you use, and what changes would you make?" I think the only other medium I could see this comic in would be and animation or a film. It kinda has that face pace action that I think would show very will with face pacing shot scenes. Some changes thought would be more detail in areas, it seems to me that the comic jumps a lot around and the quickly to where I am sometimes lost. I would kinda have more of flashbacks of the main characters to understand who they are and how they got there. I was really confused on everyone when reading this comic, I did not know what they did really until they were thrown into and action shot and I had to really look at it to know what they did. Sure they say like oh Apollo "the sun guy", but that is a very vague description of the man. I would though keep the idea of how the characters designs are present the way they are and the use of opec colors is eye catching.

Mox Nox

Joann Cornell's graphic novel Mox Nox was a delight to read. Some where really humorous to me, but others were alittle to graphic which lead me not being able to enjoy it. Cornellà is a brilliant artist. He is genuinely insightful and witty without being at all pretentious. He is focused on his art and not on his image. Great bold bright colors through out the comics adds to its humor and makes the comic for the young generation. He is a minimalist, conveying exactly and only what needs to be shown. He understands that there is no need for fluff or filler in great art. His minimalist approach is refreshing; I do get bored of photorealists drawing meaningless, complicated dragons and shit. Mox Nox does not seem at all manufactured, forced, rehearsed or 'thought up'; it feels natural and like Cornellà is giving a part of himself to his art. It is raw and vulnerable. The brilliant, short comics make abstract, sometimes riddle-like comments and inferences about human nature and culture. The recurring characters are archetypal and memorable and the facial expressions Cornellà draws are simple yet timeless. A favorite most defiantly. 

Dockwood is a contemplative glimpse into an otherwise uneventful Fall day in a sleepy town somewhere in the UK. You spend the first half of the day following a young kitchen porter as he prepares and delivers meals to the residents of the nursing home where he works, while a section of the afternoon is spent with a high school paperboy as he goes around Dockwood delivering the local evening newspaper.
Yeah, not much happens in terms of a plotline, but then again, you get the feeling that complicated plots were never the point of this graphic novel. Capturing everyday life, as quiet, uneventful and even boring as it might be sometimes seems more in line with the purpose of Dockwood, and in this aspect, the novel succeeds most brilliantly. The color schemes used by the artist are stunning and complement the Fall spirit of the novel entirely. I particularly like the “silent” moments of some of the panels, the ones in which the two main characters simply stop what they are doing and take the time to appreciate simple things, such as tree leaves or a starry sky. But humans are not the only protagonists in Dockwood, and I found the numerous panels depicting nature and the animal life of that quiet town really enjoyable too. 
That being said, it is fair to warn that Dockwood is an unusual book and that it is certainly not everyone’s cup of tea, but if you tend to find beauty in the ordinary, it might just be the thing for you. 

The french film we watched in class was also a delight to watch. I love the style of art it had through out the film. How each character was drawn, the dog being round so he is friendly to the audience and the evil man have sharp edges making the audience to know they are not friendly. The muted dirty colors made it seem like a older piece then it is, and I loved seeing that sketchy feel all around. This art style is the kind of style I love to see in art. I would recommend this film even though we sadly never go to finish the film in the class.

Contemporary Literature Comics

Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli, was more amazing to look at then to read in my view. I love the use of colors in the piece, like the bright blues, purples, yellow, and pinks, but also use those colors muted as well. Anything with color is more interesting to me then just black and white. A lot of white space is used in the artwork. He almost uses it to frame out the characters and objects that identify the background. Kinda makes the art have a abstract or geometric work. He uses different styles throughout the comic, their is some minimalist work and then some sketchy aspects. Even though he introduces different styles throughout it all seems to work still as being one. They story is about a professor named Asterios Polyp who taught at Cornell University, but leaves after being hit by lighting in his apartment. He moves to Apogee to become a mechanic. Then the story starts to show his past about his childhood with his still born twin, then into his bad marriage, and continues on into dreams. I think it was a very interested story and never really read anything like it. I would recommend everyone to try it and read it. I have been told by my friends that they love reading it over and over again, so it seems timeless.

Bone by Jeffery Smith is a childhood favorite of mine. This comic brings back memories of me just sitting on the couch, flipping through the pages as fast I can so I do not get caught by my mom to start my homework. I read the color version which I though was the only version of the comic, I never knew it was in black and white first. I am glad they made a color version because it just added so much to the art and brought the story to life even more.Jeff Smith wonderfully takes three cartoon characters and puts them in a land of mystery and adventure, taking the reader from amusing, comedic anecdotes to an epic war for the fate of the world! While the Bone cousins are surely simplistically drawn, Smith develops their characters to a level of richness that blends them naturally with the detailed, flourishing environment that perhaps visually contrasts their appearance. Coming of age, loss of innocence, faith, love, and truth which are all major themes of this story. It is a must read for anyone that enjoys comics or just a great story with playful characters. 

In class we looked at some comics in more of a book form. I really enjoyed looking at Ice Haven and the one that came in a box with many different ways presented (I did not remember the name, sorry!).

Osamu Tezuka Buddha and Chynna Clugston Scooter Girl

I read some volumes and discussed Buddha, a manga by Osamu Tezuka, with my brother. I could not find all the volumes of this manga series and knowing my brother he read them, he can give me a quick summary of the rest. We also talked about the characters and how the religion buddhism is represented throughout the series. How they include Siddharta, which is known the be the iconic buddha. He though is not really a big part in the series for that the is a newborn. The main characters seem to be the pariah Tatta, the brahmin Naradatta, the slave Chapra, and his mother. We do not actually learn her name in the series. The story focuses on their journey more then Siddharta's. Mostly Chapra's goal is to rise up from his slave caste, even though it is forbidden. The book is full of characters with interesting personalities and morality's. For example our heroes may be good. But some will kill if they feel it is needed. The General who adopts Chapra is shown to be a horrible person at times, but is also shown as a loving father who accepts Chapra, even when he learns that he is a slave. The book is very well written with a lot of drama as well as a bit of humor. The humor me and my brother both agree that it is kinda corny, so some jokes seemed not so funny. Also just to through out there is that the series to me seems like it has a lot of 80's lingo as well, making it out of date to know days. The art in the series is very clean and uses black and white correct, making it still readable even with the heavy use of black in some areas. Many little details in the clothing, characters, background and more. It is a great read that I had fun rereading.

Another quick manga I read was Scooter Girl by Chynna Clugston. This was a disappointment. Everything about it kinda was a disappointment. The art in some panels was good, but other then that the manga was bad. Super cheesy plot line, predictable, and not humorous one bit. I had to really get myself to finish it and not slam my laptop shut and walk away. It was basically a typical story of a guy trying to get a girl, like cat and mouse. The only slight twist was that bad things start to happen to the main character, the boy, and believes the girl is a curse. For example his scooter gets ruined over, his dad becomes bankrupt, and all his friends start to hate him. Even though it had this twist I kinda did not think it helped, I thought it was actually out of place in this concept. I remember reading some of Chynna Clugston's Blue Monday work and that was a whole a lot better then Scooter Girl. Maybe going into this reading I had higher hopes and that made me more disappointed in the end. Overall I would not recommend this reading.

Stereotyping, March, and Exit Wounds

Before I get into the readings of this weeks, I wanted to touch on stereotyping. My view is that 99 percent of the time I do not realize stereotyping is happening in films, books, games, and etc. This is because I grew up seeing it thousands of times so my brain is register to think that it is normal. Though I do not agree with stereotyping. Being a woman I hate seeing a woman that is super skinny with a big butt and big breasts. Majority of woman are not shaped like that or presented as eye candy for men. Me being a woman I am more effect on stereotyping for women then African American stereotyping. Though how I feel about how women are stereotyping is probably the same way they feel about stereotyping. Its accepted in the world right now, but if the envelope is pushed to much I could see things going bad.

Now on to the reading for week eight. March by John Lewis is a book that will challenge you, that will make you think, and that will hopefully leave you a bit better after you've read it. This is a book that everyone should read, and then reread again. And then pass on to others to read. This is a part of history that we should not let die, remember, and honor those that created it.

Congressman John Lewis is an iconic figure within the Civil Rights movement, and the last surviving member of the “big six leadership.” He rose from being the son of sharecropper, to marching with Martin Luther King, and to the halls of Congress. This first book in a planned trilogy covers John Lewis’s youth in rural Alabama, his first meeting with Martin Luther King, the birth of the Nashville Student movement, and the battle for desegregation on the steps of City Hall. And it comes to an end all to quickly. I finished the book saying "but, but...I want more! I need the rest of the story now!" And that's such a great way to leave readers, clamoring for the next part of the story. It’s a powerful and moving story to see a firsthand account of the triumphs and sorrows of being involved in this time period in history.One of the problem that I normally see with autobiographical stories, is that they often try to give the reader to much information or even sometimes not enough information. They forget that we aren’t all familiar with the history of an individual. But this book doesn’t suffer any such problem. We move expertly between past and present, as John Lewis gives a tour to children from his district and explains his past. It’s a great way to set up the story. And more importantly you don’t ever feel like you’re missing out on something.

Nate Powell’s artwork is absolutely gorgeous. It’s done in his typical grace/style of capturing the human form oh so perfectly and it seems like this time he’s gone even further in his use of shading to give us the beauty of all different types of skin tones, each character’s is unique. His artwork is perfectly suited for this story capturing the range and intensity of emotions--the sorrow, the joy, and the fear that sends chills down your spine. That intensity, that feeling of life that he captures in their faces really makes them come alive.

You can’t help but feel moved by this story and you can’t walk away unchanged. The combination of story and art works perfectly in capturing this event and this time period. I’m predicting this book will be one of the best graphic novels of the year, perhaps even one of the best books of the year. I started recommending it to my faculty as soon as I heard about it. And one that I can’t wait for them to teach from. I defiantly recommend the book for someone to read, ten out of ten.

Exit wounds by Rutu Modan was another read I did for this weeks comics. Now this comic is one comic that I was kinda like meh with. Nothing really empowering and nothing really memorable about it. I am not bashing about on it, it was a good book, but compared to what I have read in this class it is probably on the bottom of the list. What happens in the comic is that a taxi driver in Tel Aviv is confronted with a mystery involving the potential death of his estranged father. In the process he gets to know a young woman who is the daughter of wealth.

Something that I did really enjoy about the comic were the illustrations. Modan's illustrations are crisp, and clean, with bright, stark color work. The characters are well fleshed out and absolutely imperfect. In some ways the story feels inevitable. In other ways it takes some unexpected turns. The character of the father comes to life in a somewhat surprising way. I would not really recommend this book, I would recommend reading the March over Exit Wounds.

Barefoot Gen

While watching the film Barefoot Gen in class, was like being on an emotional rollercoaster. I went through so many emotions, like joy, anger, and most the time sadness. I would not think this film would make me feel all of those emotions, for that anime style movies never really touch my heart like that. Yes, going in to this film I was not excited. One being that it was in the style of anime, not my cup of tea. Secondly, it contained subtitles during it, making it hard for me to follow along while also trying to read all the words being presented on the screen. 

The subject of the movie shocked me also, taking the view of a suffering family during the war and bombing at Hiroshima is different. Sure I have seen many movies based off that time and era, but never the way Mori Masaki did it. Since being born and raised in America, I was going in being on the American side, but I saw myself crossing over the the other side. I felt bad that innocent people were attacked and lost loved ones during that time. Even in the movie the father never wanted the war and thought it was stupid that the people started it. I really enjoyed how Masaki made me change sides during the movie and made me understand how even citizens of Hiroshima felt about the war. 

Now lets get to the art, since I am an art student. No again as I stated before anime style is not my cup of tea, though I liked how it was handled in this situation. How the characters a bubbly and playful, so when their upset you become upset. I think the film had a simplify style during the film, but had enough detail to understand what the object, place, and person Masaki was trying to represent. Now it does get graphic when the bomb hits and the after effect. How the boys slowly burn, fall apart, melt, and basically rot. How children in the river die because they can't swim. Walking burn victims down the streets. Also how the artist shows breasts a lot during the film, I know that really it is not a really big deal, but growing up in a Catholic home it is for me.

Overall, I would recommend this film.