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.

DRAWRING

Here are a few quick comics I have made concerning things that happen to me on wednesdays. I think the simplicity [and therefore clarity] of the four panel one works loads better than the second.

Love & Rockets - No. 1

Love and Rockets No. 1 by the Hernandez Brothers tells the tale of the Ti-Girls, the Fenomenons, and their search for the troubled Penny Century. The most notable component of this comic is the focus on the role of women. Thinking back, I can't recall a single male character in the entire Ti-Girls comic. I found this to be particularly interesting considering that the authors are both men.

The first prominent feminine theme that defines the story is the competition between stereotypes. Despite the fact that all of our characters are super gals in one way or another, we have a constant tension between the Fenomenons--slender, flashy, beautiful women who attract [or steal] attention--and the Ti-Girls--old, overweight, unconventional hero types. Although they eventually find a way to cooperate and save the day, their multifaceted interactions are an exaggerated portrayal of the female psyche in real life. Members of the audience do not have super powers, but can nevertheless relate to the way these women act because there is an aspect of reality in the character development. Women are competitive, judgmental, and make assumptions about other women based on nothing more than their appearance, which the Hernandez brothers pay keen attention to and use as a storytelling element.

Another motif throughout the comic is motherhood. More specifically, we see a demonstration of different mother-daughter relationships, and the power of maternal instincts. Penny Century's entire ordeal is based in the fact that she lost her daughters, and is thrown into blind rage by their separation. This too is based on some level of reality: readers can easily understand the possibility of a woman reacting severely to such a situation. The authors take this subject to another level later in the story when the Ti-Girls somehow "give" maternal instinct to one of the heroes in order to aid her in locating Penny Century's daughters. Again we see motherly tendencies, which are a very real part of most peoples' lives and are often unexplainable to a point, being exaggerated to add interest to the barrier that the characters face.

Sandman - Neil Gaiman

In addition to reading Neil Gaiman's Sandman #5, I did some research on his life and other work to gain a better understanding of his influence on the world of comics. In short, his success is far reaching, and his comics demonstrate only a part of his ability as a writer. But regardless, his graphic work has earned tremendous recognition, which I would argue is due to the fact that Gaiman is so versatile. Gaiman's experience ranges from children's books to venues beyond the visual arts such as poetry and prose. In short, his multiplied success allows him a greater understanding of what will appeal to any given audience.

Sandman's mystical subject matter was what struck me the most while reading it for the first time. Such topics are easy to butcher, so it is impressive to witness a thoughtful treatment of magic and myth paired with quality design in his comics. In the video we watched during this week's class, Alan Moore [whose work I think clearly relates to that of Gaiman]discusses the necessity for successful fantasy to remain a derivative of reality in some aspect. Despite its fictitious qualities, the reader remains grounded in parts of Sandman such as the zombie figure receiving a ride from a usual woman in a usual car, or our empathy that results from the same character having lost his mother and using that as a driving force for his actions. Overall, Gaiman's knowledge and care in his own work are what allow him to so eloquently execute comics that resonate with a great number of people.

Asterios Polyp

Asterios Polyp by David Mazzuccheli--for lack of a less dramatic phrase--changed my life. Initially the visual aspect of the graphic novel struck me unlike any other graphic piece I have encountered. The use of color and varied typography as more in-depth storytelling elements was highly sophisticated, and because of their addition to the collective story, the characters are more developed, which results in greater audience interaction with the story.

Beyond the visual artistic components I was highly impressed with the intellectual content of Asterios Polyp. Mazzuccheli found intriguing ways of illustrating abstract concepts that surround the subject of thought and intellectual limits. In other words, this novel dealt with the core of Asterios' inner wiring which serves as an examination of greater human kind in general. For example, in one section of the book we see a diagram resembling some kind of atomic structure with the statement that Asterios is the center of his own story. We see his face very large in the center next to his wife's [which is considerably smaller] with other prominent people in his life in varying positions around them on the atomic track. Not only does this illustration give us insight as to the flaws in Asterios' character, but we also better understand how he operates due to the fact that we can place ourselves in his position from the structure of the panel to see that if we are honest enough with ourselves we will probably see that our own personal diagram would be similar to Asterios'.

Soon after we see this panel, Mazzuccheli presents another version of the social diagram after telling the readers of Asterios' divorce with his wife. At this point his head has shrunk, the atoms have been blown off their track, and the viewer sees a chaotic version of what had previously been shown to them. This of course signifies the importance of being level headed by pictorally representing Asterios' struggles after finding himself more or less alone.

Overall, I felt that this novel was successful because it paired stunning design with an honest examination of human tendencies. It could be my personal sympathy with Asterios, but I truly felt that by reading Asterios Polyp I was reading about some abstract version of my life, or peoples' lives in general. Sounds lame maybe, but what can I say? My interest in graphic novels has skyrocketed in these past few months.

Persepolis

Marjane Satrapi's work Persepolis stood out to me among the novels I have read thus far this semester because of its context. The plot follows a decent chunk of Marjane's life, and although other works such as Blankets does the same, Persepolis seemed to have so much more information within the story.

I read the entire novel in two days, and considered stopping several times due to other work I had. I thought "I have a good enough idea about what is going on that I can finish this after Thursday." However, luckily I persevered and discovered that there are important developments in Satrapi's tale throughout the plot. My greatest connection with this novel is not one of deep analysis, but of quantity. After completing the novel, I felt like I had just lived her life with her and experienced those same struggles, as opposed to merely observing it.