Week 14: WEBCOMICS

This is what I’ve been waiting for all year. I absolutely love webcomics because they are both convenient and free. I don’t even mind the fact that the story isn’t all there at once, because I actually keep a log of when which webcomics update. I read so many that I don’t know where to start, but I’ll start with one that you had already recommended.

Hanna is Not a Boy’s Name is spectacular. The layout of this comic is ridiculous, yet not so much so that it becomes crowded. The colors and textures are also a sight for sore eyes, and the whole look of this comic astounds me, especially the typography. I actually had the chance to meet Tessa (we both live in the Dallas area), and she is quite a chill character. Her characters are so original, and its such a nice spin on supernatural creature comics that I find it extremely saddening that she seems to have stopped updating it. But that is something that happens often in webcomics, one of their main downfalls.

Octopus Pie though, is my absolute favorite webcomic. I’m really glad you like it as well. Nothing else has ever made me want to grow up and live my life as an independent individual EXCEPT THIS. This sort of webcomic is the cream of the crop for me. I absolutely love slice-of-life drama with this level of comedic cleverness. And everything is so relatable to people my age. I have a friend that I can relate each and every character to, and I see a lot of myself in Eve. From her conventional way of seeing things to her way of dealing with sillier, more laid back friends, it is like watching myself in these situations. The most recent arc, where Hanna and Donovan begin to quarrel over the Occupy Wall Street movement, I find hilarious primarily because I have recently witnessed a almost identical debate between my own friends, and everything just seems so real to life.

One more.

Perhaps the most risqué one on my list is Oglaf. There is a warning when you first visit the site that says outright that this is basically sex humor in comic form, and it’s very true to its word. But there are a lot of things this comic did right. One, it updates consistently and when it does, it isn’t ever one page at a time unless it is supposed to be a oneshot. And for the most part, each “episode” is really witty. And even better, it’s not all porn. There are a lot of non-pornographic oneshots in this comic, and they are just as good as the ones with dirty material. Another thing I like about it is that it is a good example of porn that isn’t meant to turn you on. It is purely comedic at its essence. It is hard to find comics like this, where the sex is there for the punchline, not to be erotic.

Week 13: Watchmen

Perhaps the best way to describe this book is a more mature version of the Incredibles. I personally found the idea of outlawing superheroes to be absurd, simply because the people with superpowers would obviously have the power to rebel. But I digress. Watchmen is not exactly the kind of comic I like to read. I am drawn to simplistic styles and a more comedic take on drama, and though Watchmen had its share of comedy (for example, the sex scene between Nite Owl and Silk Spectre was awkwardly comedic, and Rorschach being awkward in general), it was much darker than I usually enjoy reading. Despite this, it was still entertaining. The concept of vigilantism does interest me, but the capes and fanfare does not. Watchmen gave me capes and fanfare, but in the context of what has changed about the idea of a superhero, which I thought was a more interesting take.

Week 12: Habibi

There a lot of feelings I have for Habibi, and despite its strongly graphic topic, I find it to be a tender story. But the strongest part of the graphic novel for me was when Dodola and Zam are talking about being together, and Dodola admits she wants to bear a child with him. He then reveals that he does not want her to go through that again (relating back to her previous experience with having a child), and has prevented it from ever happening by making himself a eunuch. The idea of having such strong feelings of protection towards an individual that you deny yourself a very basic and natural human function is very powerful. I was thoroughly moved by Zam’s sacrifice. The ending, when they sacrifice they’re new life so that the slave girl for sale can live a happy life, is also heart wrenching.

Week 11: Asterios Polyp

This is probably the most visually appealing comic I have ever seen. The main character, Asterios, I immediately recognized as the kind of person that has the opposite personality of myself. 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.

Week 10: Persepolis

The thing I really like about Persepolis is that despite the Islamic revolution in Iran, Marjane is still extremely relatable. The family dynamics are very powerful and just as relatable, and as Marjane grew up, I felt I was growing up with her. Her rebellion of cultural norm that happened when she left Iran made me reflect on my own experiences away from home, and how much I have changed in my time in college and war. Another thing I really liked was the relationship between Marjane and her grandmother. I really liked how realistic her old woman quirks were, such as filling her bra with lavender petals so she’d smell nice.

Week 9: Manga and Scott Pilgrim

Like I’ve said before, I was never much of a super hero comic fan. Even now, the prospect of reading the Watchmen, a classic in the eyes of many, does not excite me. But truthfully, I still am a fan of manga, despite my fervor for the genre having declined as I progressed into college. I was once into many shounen comics such as Naruto and Bleach, which I enjoyed for the cohesive way that the manga-kas use their characters and pit them against each other. Then again, it was never the action sequences that kept me interested, but the character dynamic. Which is probably why I veered off into shoujo territory, where character dynamics shine in very relatable settings (for the most part).

Now, I only recently got into Scott Pilgrim last year, when the movie came out. I had never heard about it before, and I’ve still yet to finish the books. But what I have seen and read I do like very much. I enjoy all the video game references, 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.

Week 8: Stereotypes in Comics

I cannot lie, I merely skimmed this one due to lack of time, but from what I gathered I did like. I too had the same experience as Jin, being the only Asian student in my grade, and there is a lot of truth to how it is interpreted in this graphic novel.

I feel bad that this one is really short, but none of the comics I glanced at really interested me. Perhaps this is the one genre of comic I just am not compatible with :/

Week 7: Maus

As soon as I started reading this, I immediately thought of a monologue from the movie Inglorious Basterds. In this monologue, the German officer is talking about "thinking like a Jew" and how most Germans can't think like a Jew. The officer said that Germans think like hawks, like born predators. But Jews "think like rats", in that they pay up their dignity for survival and hide in the most unlikely of places. Throughout our discussion in class, it was mentioned how the father can no longer relate to his son. I feel like that that's happened because he has sacrificed that human relationship so that he and his son can survive. I read a quote once, "There's no condition one adjusts to so quickly as a state of war", and I think that there's truth to it, especially in Maus. When you're in that situation, you have to do anything to survive, including shut down your emotions.  Because once you're dead, you're gone forever, and even if you've lost a bit of dignity you're alive to tell the tale and build yourself up again.

Week 6: Underground Comics

Oh man, talk about letting it all hang open. I read in class a particularly raunchy retake on The Tortoise and Hare, where both animals are drunkard, angry characters who have a thing for a little bunny with swag. The language is much more adult, and though the style is still very childlike and there's cameos of Mickey and Minnie Mouse, the tone is so much more mature. On a less scandalous note, I read another comic in class that involved very short stories with very simplistic drawings. What made me interested was that it was blatantly labeled as "adult content", and I was expecting something completely different from what I got: some very intellectual humor for adults, not necessarily adult. The only thing to properly warrant that warning was the occasional f-word thrown in for clear dramatic effect. I did chuckle a few times, and I was pleasantly surprised by the contents. It's funny how these two different comics are two very opposite extremes of the same genre.

Week 5: Craig Thompson's Blankets

These are the types of comics I enjoy the most. Graphic novels with emotion and excellent storytelling. Blankets in particular was very heartfelt and easily relatable. I too have gone through many of the same things that have happened in this story, and the whole thing is very personable. There was one seen in particular where he, uh, "has some alone time" and he mentions that whether we believe it or not, that was the only time he did that his senior year. That scene alone is very telling: in most religious sects, it is looked down upon to satisfy yourself in that way. He is in the process of venturing out of religious constrictions. Having feelings for this girl has given him the audacity to do so. It's so personal and in a way feels very raw and powerful, which makes it enjoyable to read.

Week 4: Comic books

I have always thought comic book reading to be a glamorous hobby that I would never waste my money on. Not to say I haven't read them, but comic books are a particular vein of sequential art that I never had too much interest in. And the reason is because I don't like the wording, nor do I like the style of drawing. I know that comic books are targeted toward children, but I feel that the dramatic style of the text is being forced down my throat. I'm being fed all the information, leaving no room for me to think and form my own conclusion. There's drama, but no suspense. I enjoy the superhero mythology, so much so that I've tried reading super hero comics just to experience those stories, but the way it is presented is still not enjoyable for me.

Week 3: Comic Strips

Peanuts

I start with Peanuts because it holds a very special place in my heart. One of the very first animated cartoons I ever remember seeing was A Charlie Brown Christmas. This short film inspired me to delve into the comics with an appreciation and fervor that is only comparable to the Madeline books and TV show. Charlie Brown, despite being a giant woobie and all-around kick bag for many of the other characters, I find to be charming and good-intentioned despite his faults, making him extremely relatable. All of the children in Peanuts are relatable in one way or another, and most comics revolving around a bunch of kids at school with funny one-liners easily grabs my attention anyway.

Calvin and Hobbes

I never really read Calvin and Hobbes when I was younger, but I knew the precipice of the strip. I knew it was about a boy and his stuffed tiger, and I knew they got into all sorts of mischief. Reading it now, its very clever: you forget that Hobbes doesn't really talk or exist. He seems like a literal and very real part of the family, which I guess to Calvin he is. I like how the comic takes you sorta into Calvin's point of view and you get to fully experience Hobbes the way Calvin does.


Little Nemo

I watched the movie before I ever read the comics, and even then it was very very long ago that I watched it. But then I took History of Animation and learned all about Winsor McCay. Reading the comics whilst knowing the tediousness of how each panel was done and what it lead to, I was really impressed with how clean the art style was. It's an enjoyable comic to read and despite its predictability plot-wise, its never a dull ride, especially for Little Nemo.

Week 2: Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud

At first this book's format confused me, despite how much I wanted to understand and learn from it. But after I was finally able to understand what I was reading, it became extremely helpful. I've been interested in creating a comic of my own for several years now, and this was the first book recommended to me. The concepts and ideas of how comics are interpreted and how they come about gave me some perspective and insight in how I want the comic I one day make to read.

It also amazed me how the book itself is a large, detailed comic.

Week 1: Shaun Tan's The Arrival

First of all, I had no idea that this book would end up the way it did. You'd think that it would be an interesting historical graphic novel, but then it throws you for a loop and you're suddenly immersed in a surreal fantasy world. Yet it's still relatable because it deals with the very real troubles of immigration and finding a job so that you can move your family with you. I started reading this comic without the prior knowledge that it was wordless, and I was pleasantly surprised by this revelation. The story doesn't need words really. an emotional story such as this can and was easily conveyed through facial expressions and body gestures. The faces in particular were done with much care and detail, which helped the me as the reader follow the story and connect with the protagonist with ease.

I especially enjoyed the flashbacks of the people that the man met along the way, as well as the sequences of clouds and the flower/leaf. It helped to convey the passage of time very well, and though it didn't directly add to the plot, it helped to create the mood.

Max Ernst: The Rooster's Laughter

Panel 1
-rooster, sphere, woman, some malformed shape in the background
The rooster watches as the woman is dancing, while something that could very possibly be a dead body lies in the background. I feel like the rooster is mocking her just by being there.

Panel 2
-winged man-creature, rooster, woman, table or bed,
A winged man-beast is looming over the form of a sleeping woman. They are being watched by the rooster. Originally creepy, then made amusing by the awkwardly placed rooster in the corner.

Panel 3
-rooster, leaning woman, dead or sleeping woman, coffin, rooster man
Two rooster headed men are standing over a coffin in the ground, which happens to have a dead or sleeping woman in it. There is also a naked woman being idle against the back table. The rooster has become more prominent: its duplicated itself and grown the body of a man.

Panel 4
-reclining females, rooster man, rooster woman, skull and crossbones, naked man
Two rooster-headed men are standing by a pit, as if they're scheming. There are reclining naked woman around the room, and a naked man standing on a high ledge. The women and naked man could very well be statues and not actual people.

Panel 5
-dead body, blood, two roosters, rooster man,door, bed
There is a dead body falling out of the bed, and two roosters are just standing around the crime scene. A rooster-headed man is barging in, either screaming or cheering. This looks like murder via roosters. Then again, the fact that roosters are even there takes away from the seriousness of the situation.

Panel 6
-rooster, dancing man, dancing woman, fireplace
A man and woman are dramatically dancing around by the fireplace. There's a rooster hiding and blending in with the wall column, creeping. This is the most confusing to me of all the panels, since I'm not exactly sure what's going on.