Mr. Natural, by R. Crumb, was essentially a biography about a man known as Mr. Natural. Seemingly immortal, he's been seen through time as many different faces. After he became popular and rich, he blew all his money and thus became poor. He seems to stumble upon circumstances by wandering around as a nomad, and they way he deals with them almost feels absent minded and naive. For instance, when a mother abandon's her rather large baby on a train, Mr. Natural decides to take care of it and has a very erotic dream about the baby while next to it. Wandering through the desert, he "feeds" the baby by having it suck on his penis, and the rest you can imagine yourself. Mr. Natural doesn't see anything wrong with this. The concepts behind this comic are dirty and controversial, but that seems to be something Crumb does well.
The issue of Girl Fight I read was about a black woman who has amnesia and calls herself Fox. She wakes up next to a man and after a brief conversation stabs him in the chest. Fox goes on to find a female army in the streets and requests they send her back to Africa to meet up with her father's tribe. Before honoring her request, Fox and Captain X engage in lesbian sex. After reading this and then clearly by the name, these comics have a strong sense of feminism. I couldn't help but also notice a bit of racism in this particular comic, seeing as after Fox met up with her father, she decided to live in the jungle, but not after killing a cheetah and making a bikini out of its skin.
The issues of Gay Comix I browsed through, by various artists, were a diverse mixture of stories. They seemed to be what I expected them to be. There were issues of exaggerated elements of the homosexual community, of course, but there were also issues that many homosexuals have to deal with, such as confronting people about your sexuality. The case of religion was also brought up in some of them. The comic Billy Goes Out, for example, covered a few of these issues pretty well.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Blankets
The story Blankets, by Craig Thompson, is a a graphic novel done in a memoir style. The story looks back into Craig's life and shows the viewer some pretty deep things. How exact some of those moments are is unclear, but part of making a great story is exaggeration. The story goes through Craig's life as he grows up and has to make some life changing decisions. We also get a very close look into his character by the way he thinks about things and the situations he's thrown into. Being an indy comic, there is not an element of fantasy or extreme adventure in Blankets that many other comics have. We see a guy who is pouring everything out to us through magnificent artwork, and he does a great job of transferring his emotions to us.
Starting off, Craig shows us how he grew up in a religious household, and some of the things he and his brother went through. He even goes all out and shows us how he and his brother were apparently molested by a babysitter, something that could not have been easy to illustrate, let alone tell the world, especially with how much guilt he seems to carry. The religious upbringing eventually leads him to meet Raina, a girl he meets at a religion camp and eventually goes out with. Without giving too much of the story's details away, he visits her at home after the camp and sees her lifestyle, which is just as complicated as his, if not more. The story goes on and he grows up and moves on with his life. While growing up however, he seems to carry around this guilt, probably brought on by the oppressing views that religion can carry.
The story overall is an amazing piece of art that stirs up emotions and makes you almost feel what the he feels. The way the story ends is somewhat of a mixed emotion itself. It is definitely not a stereotypical happy ending and in fact made me hate the main character for a while. To me, if a story can get that much emotion out of me, then it is definitely a great story.
Starting off, Craig shows us how he grew up in a religious household, and some of the things he and his brother went through. He even goes all out and shows us how he and his brother were apparently molested by a babysitter, something that could not have been easy to illustrate, let alone tell the world, especially with how much guilt he seems to carry. The religious upbringing eventually leads him to meet Raina, a girl he meets at a religion camp and eventually goes out with. Without giving too much of the story's details away, he visits her at home after the camp and sees her lifestyle, which is just as complicated as his, if not more. The story goes on and he grows up and moves on with his life. While growing up however, he seems to carry around this guilt, probably brought on by the oppressing views that religion can carry.
The story overall is an amazing piece of art that stirs up emotions and makes you almost feel what the he feels. The way the story ends is somewhat of a mixed emotion itself. It is definitely not a stereotypical happy ending and in fact made me hate the main character for a while. To me, if a story can get that much emotion out of me, then it is definitely a great story.
Little Nemo, Annie, and Beyond Mars
Little Nemo comics, by Winsor Mckay, focus around a boy named Nemo, who has many adventures in slumberland. The world of slumberland that Mckay shows us, is a very fantastical sort of place full of strange characters and dreamlike qualities. Mckay's art style really makes the world of slumberland what it is. His art nouveau inspired drawings give his characters great detail. Reading through some of his Little Nemo comics made me immediately think of the animator Hayao Miyazaki. I see elements in Miyazaki's work today that looks like he could have referenced Mckay's concepts of fantasy. The only complaint I have about Little Nemo is the character Nemo himself. He doesn't seem to have much importance. I feel like the character could be different every time, and still have the same effect. Other than that, the comics were enjoyable.
Little Orphan Annie is about a little girl trying to get by day to day and deal with the hardships that confront her. It seems she tries to maintain an honest lifestyle, but still has a wild side to her from being on the streets. She also faces issues with the law and other things, which seem to tell me they are commentary about the politics back in the time this was made. Annie also goes on little crime solving and mystery adventures throughout the comics, and deals with them how she sees fit, even if she has to get violent at times.
Beyond Mars is a science fiction comic with a very 1950s feel to it. Starting in 1952, it is no surprise that it has the feel of an old classic science fiction movie. The main problem faced in the comic sets up the main character to be the hero and win the girl, even though she is apparently looking for her husband. The terms used are very general terms such as spacethis and spacethat. The fashion portrayed in the comic also reflects the fashion of the period, the 1950s. The main characters eventually dress in a more futuristic way. I did enjoy what I read of Beyond Mars. It was quick paced and had some good action elements in it.
Little Orphan Annie is about a little girl trying to get by day to day and deal with the hardships that confront her. It seems she tries to maintain an honest lifestyle, but still has a wild side to her from being on the streets. She also faces issues with the law and other things, which seem to tell me they are commentary about the politics back in the time this was made. Annie also goes on little crime solving and mystery adventures throughout the comics, and deals with them how she sees fit, even if she has to get violent at times.
Beyond Mars is a science fiction comic with a very 1950s feel to it. Starting in 1952, it is no surprise that it has the feel of an old classic science fiction movie. The main problem faced in the comic sets up the main character to be the hero and win the girl, even though she is apparently looking for her husband. The terms used are very general terms such as spacethis and spacethat. The fashion portrayed in the comic also reflects the fashion of the period, the 1950s. The main characters eventually dress in a more futuristic way. I did enjoy what I read of Beyond Mars. It was quick paced and had some good action elements in it.
The Arrival
The Arrival by Shaun Tan is at first glance, a very beautiful piece of art. It is a very detailed graphic novel with no words, but still a lot of story to take in. The novel starts off with a scene of a man and his family. The man is preparing to leave somewhere, and once they head outside, we see that the world they are living in is much different from our own. Throughout this graphic novel we get to see and experience this new world, and what the man has left to do. The story has a theme of immigration and being lost in translation, and elements of help and survival. The story moves along nicely, but throws the viewer a twist now and then when elements such as flashbacks and fantastical elements show up.
The story, having no actual words to tell you what is going on, easily plays out in your head if you follow along with the illustrations. Being wordless, there is a certain amount of the story you can make up in your head, which I found really captivating. Being a fan of tabletop role playing games, I really enjoy imagining stories and scenarios for games. I found that when I followed along with The Arrival, I was making up the dialogue in my head for the characters and could hear them speak. Regardless of there being no words, the emotions and scenes portrayed in Tan's illustrations made the subconscious dialogue come naturally.
The world that Tan built for this graphic novel had a heavy air of curiosity. Every little element in his world left me wanting to know more, such as the fun little creatures that people kept around as what seemed to be pets. Showing the differences of different countries really helped build a large world. The man travels to a country that seems to be booming with success, after leaving his country, most likely due to the creeping black tentacle shadows that could be seen all over. Other countries seemed to be in their own state of turmoil also. When the man meets up with an older couple, they tell him a tale of how they escaped their country, which was being attacked by giant men with vacuums. A combination of the wonderful illustrations, the rich story, and the many unexplained elements, made this graphic novel extremely captivating.
The story, having no actual words to tell you what is going on, easily plays out in your head if you follow along with the illustrations. Being wordless, there is a certain amount of the story you can make up in your head, which I found really captivating. Being a fan of tabletop role playing games, I really enjoy imagining stories and scenarios for games. I found that when I followed along with The Arrival, I was making up the dialogue in my head for the characters and could hear them speak. Regardless of there being no words, the emotions and scenes portrayed in Tan's illustrations made the subconscious dialogue come naturally.
The world that Tan built for this graphic novel had a heavy air of curiosity. Every little element in his world left me wanting to know more, such as the fun little creatures that people kept around as what seemed to be pets. Showing the differences of different countries really helped build a large world. The man travels to a country that seems to be booming with success, after leaving his country, most likely due to the creeping black tentacle shadows that could be seen all over. Other countries seemed to be in their own state of turmoil also. When the man meets up with an older couple, they tell him a tale of how they escaped their country, which was being attacked by giant men with vacuums. A combination of the wonderful illustrations, the rich story, and the many unexplained elements, made this graphic novel extremely captivating.
Understanding Comics
Scott McCloud's "Understanding Comics" is a graphic novel dedicated to doing exactly what the title reads, to get you to understand comics. McCloud does this very well in many ways throughout the novel. I particularly liked the segments where he talked about timing and pacing. More specifically, the section where he showed examples of giving the viewer the same amount of information three different ways. He showed an example of where a story was told in many panels, and eventually went down to the minimum number of panels he could use to still tell the same story, successfully.
Another section that caught my attention quickly was one in the very beginning. This section was where McCloud explains how we can take a realistic picture and simplify it, but still be able to recognize it well. Part of the reason we can tell emotions well is because we see icons of emotion everywhere. For example, we see faces in many things, such as the front of a car, because see ourselves everywhere, as he explains. Some of the most effective comics, in my opinion, are those that can use such a simple line and form, but still portray effective emotions and story. Instead of using photo realism to show a very specific story, which we are more or less used to, McCloud explains how using simple forms and cartoon, the comic is more a world of concept.
McCloud could have easily published "Understanding Comics" as a specifically written form, but instead he made the piece a graphic novel. I find this to be much more effective. Many could have grasped his concepts simply by reading them, but many more might have struggled. For example, visual learners, who would probably be the most common readers of "Understanding Comics," greatly benefit from the comic style of the novel. Being in comic form however, both types of learners can understand what he's trying to tell us.
Another section that caught my attention quickly was one in the very beginning. This section was where McCloud explains how we can take a realistic picture and simplify it, but still be able to recognize it well. Part of the reason we can tell emotions well is because we see icons of emotion everywhere. For example, we see faces in many things, such as the front of a car, because see ourselves everywhere, as he explains. Some of the most effective comics, in my opinion, are those that can use such a simple line and form, but still portray effective emotions and story. Instead of using photo realism to show a very specific story, which we are more or less used to, McCloud explains how using simple forms and cartoon, the comic is more a world of concept.
McCloud could have easily published "Understanding Comics" as a specifically written form, but instead he made the piece a graphic novel. I find this to be much more effective. Many could have grasped his concepts simply by reading them, but many more might have struggled. For example, visual learners, who would probably be the most common readers of "Understanding Comics," greatly benefit from the comic style of the novel. Being in comic form however, both types of learners can understand what he's trying to tell us.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
