Web Comics

For this week, I focused on reading Octopus Pie.I found the format of web comics to be particularly intriguing since, as we discussed in class, they are becoming more popular due to the accessibility both to artists and readers and are and indication of what the future of comics is going to look like. This comic in particular has no outstanding story line, two women living in New York and struggling as many people have, but the avenue which is used to portray it is well thought out and very effective.

Going back to our original idea of the icon in comics, the characters are more or less very generic looking, which of course leaves room for us as the readers to place ourselves and our friends in their place. The use of humor is also beneficial to the delivery of the story. Perhaps it is because few of the other selections I have read focus explicitly on their comedic appeal, but I found myself breezing through the reading simply because it was entertaining, clever, and enjoyable. One scene in particular that resonated with me was where we see drunk Eve with a group of her friends at a bar. They look across the room to see two people they know making out, at which point they all make remarks on how gross/inappropriate/undesirable the scene is. Eve, however, slurs with eyes wide open "But guys...Love is so beautiful." I think that a majority of the audience has probably experienced a drunk friend confessing their love in one way or another, which is what makes this portion of the story especially memorable. If anything, from this comic and what I have learned this semester, I can conclude that successful comics keep the reader in mind: both with the clarity of the message and including elements that people can relate to. Creating interest is what will keep people reading a graphic novel, and personal appeal is key in establishing that connection.

I also looked briefly at Tiny Kitten Teeth. The rendering and illustrative qualities are obviously beautiful and quite unusual as far as the comics I have seen go. However, I did not spend much time reading through it because honestly, I am not a cat person, and was having a hard time enjoying looking at cats so much. A lame excuse, I know, but it is the truth.

Unlovable

Over Thanksgiving Break I took the time to read Unlovable by Esther Pearl Watson. The two things that stood out to me about this book were the style of drawings in their historical context and the premise under which the graphic novel was made. The book states that the author and Mark Todd found a diary in a women's restroom on a road trip from Las Vegas to San Francisco belonging to Tammy Pierce. After reading it, they based Unlovable entirely on its contents, and developed a visual accompaniment for the written text. I find this to be a really intelligent use of resources. Artists often put their own lives into their work, making it more or less autobiographical. However, this is arguably overused, and I believe that it is often difficult to truly evaluate our own lives and depict it in the most entertaining way possible, whatever that may look like. But with unlovable, Watson was able to take someone else's diary and interpret it at her own will. This therefore resulted in a dramatized, but humorous and unusual depiction of a teenager's life in the 80s.

This lends itself to the other aspect of this book that I particularly enjoyed. The drawings that made up each page were, as the title may suggest, horrible. Horrible not in their craft or skill, but in their honest illustration of the unusual characteristics that parallel themselves with teens appearance, the 80s, and youth in general. Tammy, adorned in 80s patterned clothes and permed hair, continually has lopsided nipples, arm pit and leg hair, bright makeup and other slightly disgusting traits. However, from her descriptions of her life in the text, I infer that if Tammy were to draw herself instead of Watson, she would look quite glamorous. This difference shows the creative freedom of working on someone else's story. I enjoyed seeing the crudeness of the characters, and thought that their embodiment of the time they lived in was captured in a way that it was unusual and interesting enough to catch my attention, but in a way where the panels and story line was still clear and aesthetically pleasing.