To me stereotypes in comics is an example of an artist who is not creative enough to come up with compelling characters. Stereotypes are easy to do because we see them all the time. They are what we "expect" to see. But because we see them so often they start to become very unoriginal. At the same time I believe that stereotypes do not really help anything. Yes it allows the artist to be able to create characters very easily but for what? It does not do anything for the reader when we have these shallow small depth characters. By having these stereotypes incorporated in our pop culture it only reenforces them. This is not the mindset that the artist should be giving people who view their work.
We should be using our medium to making people see past the typical stereotypes. Art can be used and I think should be used as a way of communicating positive messages to the world. Stereotypes only exists I believe because they are similar to viral videos, in that once there's the image of a stereotype, some people just seem to buy into it and believe it.
Looking into the future I hope that comics will throw away the stereotypes and enforce the use of not having any stereotypes. It's possible with the newer generation who for the most part, we seem to be more open to things such as this, will be the ones to rid the stereotypes. But at the same time it is hard to predict what will happen because I believe that the stereotypes have become somewhat ingrained into our society, even if the majority of the people do not like them.
Saturday, November 28, 2015
Week 3 - The Comic Strip
Little Nemo
What grabs my attention the most about Little Nemo is that we are experiencing the character's dreamworld. Anything can happen in each comic strip. At the same time though as a reader you can somewhat expect there to be a little bit of consistency between each comic because they all end in the same way. Every Little Nemo ends with him waking up out of bed, signifying that everything that was shown previously was a dream. Both the consistency yet unknown (being a dreamworld where anything can happen yet knowing that it is a dream) is what would draw me back to read the comic on a routine basis.
What grabs my attention the most about Little Nemo is that we are experiencing the character's dreamworld. Anything can happen in each comic strip. At the same time though as a reader you can somewhat expect there to be a little bit of consistency between each comic because they all end in the same way. Every Little Nemo ends with him waking up out of bed, signifying that everything that was shown previously was a dream. Both the consistency yet unknown (being a dreamworld where anything can happen yet knowing that it is a dream) is what would draw me back to read the comic on a routine basis.
Friday, November 27, 2015
Week 9 - A Wide World of Comics
Persepolis
Since this comic is an autobiographical comic it feels as though it's similar to a comic documentary. It is interesting to think of comics used as a form of non-fiction almost. Most of what's in this comic I knew nothing about so I think that this comic does a good job at informing people. Because this is a autobiography I feel as though it's the best way to really get a sense of what it's like growing up as in Iran during the Islamic revolution. This is more effective to me when it's written this way versus being a fiction story because it feels more genuine and accurate. It's like a history book but with more visual images and less text. Precise and to the point. I believe that this comic would be effective at even teaching the younger Islamic generation what there past was like. It would be able to reach a very broad audience since the writing in this comic is not too advanced.
When it comes to different religions and beliefs having simple line work and black and white images help to convey information that may be more difficult for us to understand. Their beliefs can seem so vastly different from our own that it can be hard to comprehend why they do the things that they do but when it's presented in a comic format that is easy to understand, I can make sense of unfamiliar things easier.
I think it's interesting how we see how bad she wants to be a prophet no matter what anyone tells her. This makes us connect with her because we too want her to accomplish her dreams. Slowly her desire to be the prophet gets put on the back burner as the revolution becomes the main focus.
Since this comic is an autobiographical comic it feels as though it's similar to a comic documentary. It is interesting to think of comics used as a form of non-fiction almost. Most of what's in this comic I knew nothing about so I think that this comic does a good job at informing people. Because this is a autobiography I feel as though it's the best way to really get a sense of what it's like growing up as in Iran during the Islamic revolution. This is more effective to me when it's written this way versus being a fiction story because it feels more genuine and accurate. It's like a history book but with more visual images and less text. Precise and to the point. I believe that this comic would be effective at even teaching the younger Islamic generation what there past was like. It would be able to reach a very broad audience since the writing in this comic is not too advanced.
When it comes to different religions and beliefs having simple line work and black and white images help to convey information that may be more difficult for us to understand. Their beliefs can seem so vastly different from our own that it can be hard to comprehend why they do the things that they do but when it's presented in a comic format that is easy to understand, I can make sense of unfamiliar things easier.
I think it's interesting how we see how bad she wants to be a prophet no matter what anyone tells her. This makes us connect with her because we too want her to accomplish her dreams. Slowly her desire to be the prophet gets put on the back burner as the revolution becomes the main focus.
Week 10 - Manga and the Japanese Comics Tradition
Battle Angel Alita Volume One
A scifi manga. These are my favorite type of mangas as they always seem to bring up topics that make you think. In Battle Angel Alita it is no different. The first volume starts off with two scientists trying to bring back a person using an advanced form of technology and science. I find it interesting that at first they are disputing about whether to bring back this person or not. The friend of the scientist asks the scientist why would he bring someone back who is his enemy. This stood out to me because the scientist is not only acting as a god by bringing someone back but he is bringing someone back who has killed him before. I think that this says a lot about his character and what he believe it means to be someones enemy.
What sticks out to me about manga versus other types of comics is that it is usually very cinematic. They also tend to have very long stories that feel similar to the greek epics. The thing I love about them is that they feel like they have the scope of giant blockbuster narrative films yet they have the format of episodic television shows. Battle Angel Alita in particular starts off that way. We have this epic scene where we see the scientist bringing the girl back to life while at the same time there are these two kids walking across the desert trying not to get shot or blown up by land mines. At the end the scientist finishes making the girl and she wakes up. I believe this is to get you interesting and wanting to read the new volumes.
A scifi manga. These are my favorite type of mangas as they always seem to bring up topics that make you think. In Battle Angel Alita it is no different. The first volume starts off with two scientists trying to bring back a person using an advanced form of technology and science. I find it interesting that at first they are disputing about whether to bring back this person or not. The friend of the scientist asks the scientist why would he bring someone back who is his enemy. This stood out to me because the scientist is not only acting as a god by bringing someone back but he is bringing someone back who has killed him before. I think that this says a lot about his character and what he believe it means to be someones enemy.
What sticks out to me about manga versus other types of comics is that it is usually very cinematic. They also tend to have very long stories that feel similar to the greek epics. The thing I love about them is that they feel like they have the scope of giant blockbuster narrative films yet they have the format of episodic television shows. Battle Angel Alita in particular starts off that way. We have this epic scene where we see the scientist bringing the girl back to life while at the same time there are these two kids walking across the desert trying not to get shot or blown up by land mines. At the end the scientist finishes making the girl and she wakes up. I believe this is to get you interesting and wanting to read the new volumes.
Week 11 - Comics as Contemporary Literature
Asterios Polyp
Asterios Polyp has a very pop art vibe going on. There's a selective use of colors that is very visually appealing. The color purple is the main color while often times there will be one other color thrown into the mix. Other colors such as yellow or blue will be used to sort of guide our eyes visually to what the artist wants us to pay the most attention to. Pink seems to be used primiarily during love/romance parts of the comic. This is a great use of the medium and uses the restrictions of the medium to ones advantage, beyond what has already been done before.
There's an interesting concept throughout this comic that is presented as "What if reality (as perceived) were simply an extension of life?". I feel as though this accurately represents the theme of the comic. Throughout this comic there are a lot of big concepts about life and our ways of thinking intermixed with the main character's narrative story. I would consider this comic to be a very philosophical comic in the sense that we get several different people's opinion on life but in a very detailed way. We really get into the main character's ways of looking at life. A memoir of his personal perspective on life would be a good way to put it.
The line work to me compliments the deeper meaning of the comic in that it is very simple line work contrasting with big concepts. This puts more importance on the words than it does on the actual images.
Asterios Polyp has a very pop art vibe going on. There's a selective use of colors that is very visually appealing. The color purple is the main color while often times there will be one other color thrown into the mix. Other colors such as yellow or blue will be used to sort of guide our eyes visually to what the artist wants us to pay the most attention to. Pink seems to be used primiarily during love/romance parts of the comic. This is a great use of the medium and uses the restrictions of the medium to ones advantage, beyond what has already been done before.
There's an interesting concept throughout this comic that is presented as "What if reality (as perceived) were simply an extension of life?". I feel as though this accurately represents the theme of the comic. Throughout this comic there are a lot of big concepts about life and our ways of thinking intermixed with the main character's narrative story. I would consider this comic to be a very philosophical comic in the sense that we get several different people's opinion on life but in a very detailed way. We really get into the main character's ways of looking at life. A memoir of his personal perspective on life would be a good way to put it.
The line work to me compliments the deeper meaning of the comic in that it is very simple line work contrasting with big concepts. This puts more importance on the words than it does on the actual images.
Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Week 12 - Comics by Woman
This One Summer
This comic feels a lot like the movie The Way, Way Back. Similar to the movie, I feel as though this comic is about the story of people discovering who they are. It's a teenage coming of age drama story. Rose wants to grow up already. Everyone around her age in the story is talking about much more mature themes. She goes to the store to rent a dvd and then other people are talking about blow jobs. She picks out the R rated horror film. Rose talks about how sick she is with watching cartoons and that's why she likes the horror films. Then she brings up oral sex. It is very evident that she wants to be grown up and do mature things. We see her talking about the older boy working at the store and if he is old enough for her.
I like how visually this comic was black and white when the world in which the characters live in seem to be the exact opposite. I do not think that color would have enhanced the comic as I feel it would have instead taken away from the comic. The line work makes the comic have sort of a timeless feel in that any generation could read it and it would not feel that dated. I also noticed that there does not really ever seem to be that much drawn in the panels. To me this is showing us exactly what's important and not stuff that just fills up the empty panel space. Sometimes I would even notice when characters would be talking to each other there would just be white blank space behind them.
This comic feels a lot like the movie The Way, Way Back. Similar to the movie, I feel as though this comic is about the story of people discovering who they are. It's a teenage coming of age drama story. Rose wants to grow up already. Everyone around her age in the story is talking about much more mature themes. She goes to the store to rent a dvd and then other people are talking about blow jobs. She picks out the R rated horror film. Rose talks about how sick she is with watching cartoons and that's why she likes the horror films. Then she brings up oral sex. It is very evident that she wants to be grown up and do mature things. We see her talking about the older boy working at the store and if he is old enough for her.
I like how visually this comic was black and white when the world in which the characters live in seem to be the exact opposite. I do not think that color would have enhanced the comic as I feel it would have instead taken away from the comic. The line work makes the comic have sort of a timeless feel in that any generation could read it and it would not feel that dated. I also noticed that there does not really ever seem to be that much drawn in the panels. To me this is showing us exactly what's important and not stuff that just fills up the empty panel space. Sometimes I would even notice when characters would be talking to each other there would just be white blank space behind them.
Week 14 - The Future Of Comics
Johnny the Homicidal Maniac
I recognized this art style right away from the show I used to watch, Invader Zim. This comic seems to adapt the same type tone as the tv show. The world is bleak yet somehow the character's are relatable in a dark twisted kind of way. The art style feels very similar to Tim Burton's style. I like that all of the people's eyes are exaggerated and that you can get a sense for what emotions they are conveying just by the way the artist draws the eyes. I think it's interesting how lanky and long people are. It feels as though they are all skeletons which I feel adds to the horror feeling of the comic.
We do not actually see any of the parents faces in the comic. This gives you the impression that they are not really there for their child and perhaps are not the best at parenting. We see the son approaching both his mom and dad because he is scarred yet they both dismiss him away. His mother literally says "Mommy's ignoring you honey" as she is laying on a bed. When he goes to his father he says "I have to work to keep you alive. To feed you. I haven't smiled once since you were alive. Go to sleep."and then makes the son go away.
Once the son goes back to his room he hears a sound in the bathroom so he goes to investigate. Here is where we see an interesting perspective of the son. He starts talking to his bear about his parents. I find it fascinating that he tells the bear that he has to protect his parents. Even though his parents ignore him and do not really seem to pay that much attention to him, he still wants to protect them. I think that this says a lot about his character and who he is as a person. Then he starts arguing with his bear about how he parents really do love him and don't mean it when they tell him to get kidnapped.
From here we are introduced to Johnny. To me I got the impression that the young kid is like a younger version of himself. Both of them can talk to the bear that the kid owns. It feels as though Johnny is the version of the kid when he grows up if the kid's parents continue being the way that they are. I feel as though if the kid gets neglected enough he will end up becoming Johnny.
The Private Eye - Volume One
This comic's style is very colorful. It feels as though it is a superhero comic because of how many colors there are. This to me contrasts however with the tone of the comic. I would say that the tone is very reminiscent of film noir set in the future, similar to Blade Runner. The themes are for a more mature audience.
I really like the concepts that this comic conveys in the narrative. They talk about how everyone used to store everything on the cloud and then one day it all got leaked. Everything about everyone was available and out in the world. I think that this is a really interesting idea about what could actually happen in our future. This is what intrigued me most about reading this comic. A rising issue that we seem to be facing today is the protection of our online personal data. When the main character goes to the library to find data is looks as though it is a prison. Barbed wire fences are surrounding the outside while guards patrol the inside. All to protect people's data. In the future people's search histories are federally protected. This is what destroyed people's lives in the past so now it is a huge deal.
I also love the fact that the main character's grandpa represents someone who was living during out our time period. He's always trying to connect to the internet or use his old cell phone but none of it works anymore. The internet is even referred to as an old fad.
I recognized this art style right away from the show I used to watch, Invader Zim. This comic seems to adapt the same type tone as the tv show. The world is bleak yet somehow the character's are relatable in a dark twisted kind of way. The art style feels very similar to Tim Burton's style. I like that all of the people's eyes are exaggerated and that you can get a sense for what emotions they are conveying just by the way the artist draws the eyes. I think it's interesting how lanky and long people are. It feels as though they are all skeletons which I feel adds to the horror feeling of the comic.
We do not actually see any of the parents faces in the comic. This gives you the impression that they are not really there for their child and perhaps are not the best at parenting. We see the son approaching both his mom and dad because he is scarred yet they both dismiss him away. His mother literally says "Mommy's ignoring you honey" as she is laying on a bed. When he goes to his father he says "I have to work to keep you alive. To feed you. I haven't smiled once since you were alive. Go to sleep."and then makes the son go away.
Once the son goes back to his room he hears a sound in the bathroom so he goes to investigate. Here is where we see an interesting perspective of the son. He starts talking to his bear about his parents. I find it fascinating that he tells the bear that he has to protect his parents. Even though his parents ignore him and do not really seem to pay that much attention to him, he still wants to protect them. I think that this says a lot about his character and who he is as a person. Then he starts arguing with his bear about how he parents really do love him and don't mean it when they tell him to get kidnapped.
From here we are introduced to Johnny. To me I got the impression that the young kid is like a younger version of himself. Both of them can talk to the bear that the kid owns. It feels as though Johnny is the version of the kid when he grows up if the kid's parents continue being the way that they are. I feel as though if the kid gets neglected enough he will end up becoming Johnny.
The Private Eye - Volume One
This comic's style is very colorful. It feels as though it is a superhero comic because of how many colors there are. This to me contrasts however with the tone of the comic. I would say that the tone is very reminiscent of film noir set in the future, similar to Blade Runner. The themes are for a more mature audience.
I really like the concepts that this comic conveys in the narrative. They talk about how everyone used to store everything on the cloud and then one day it all got leaked. Everything about everyone was available and out in the world. I think that this is a really interesting idea about what could actually happen in our future. This is what intrigued me most about reading this comic. A rising issue that we seem to be facing today is the protection of our online personal data. When the main character goes to the library to find data is looks as though it is a prison. Barbed wire fences are surrounding the outside while guards patrol the inside. All to protect people's data. In the future people's search histories are federally protected. This is what destroyed people's lives in the past so now it is a huge deal.
I also love the fact that the main character's grandpa represents someone who was living during out our time period. He's always trying to connect to the internet or use his old cell phone but none of it works anymore. The internet is even referred to as an old fad.
Thursday, November 19, 2015
Transmetropolitan - In Class Questions
1.
I believe that the gun is a symbol in the comic. We start off by seeing the main character holding the gun pointing it at the phone while they are telling him that he owes them two books. Usually guns are symbols showing who is in control or not. However in this comic I feel as though the gun is a symbol for the false sense of control. Just because he has this gun does not mean that he actually is the one who is calling the shots. He still has to write the two books. When he gets back to the city and storms into one of the business buildings to see an old friend he points the gun at the friend demanding to get a job at the business. The city editor does not even really act phased by the fact that a man just walked in his office with a gun. It seemed as though possibly a gun might be a symbol for people who are out of control because the city editor still seems to hold all the power even though he does not have a gun.
2.
The connections that I made with the story was the whole aspect of the mountain life versus the city life. Although in the comic this aspect seems to be dramatized more than it actually is in real life I feel as though it is accurate. The city people look down (as seen when spider goes to the toll booth) on the mountain people and the mountain people look down on the city people. I think this is an interesting topic to bring up because it puts both groups (city and mountain) into their own little factions.
In reality I feel as though you always want what you cannot have so mountain people want to live in the city and vice versa. In the comic they place an emphasis on how much worse the city life is compared to the mountain life. To me I connected with this because I believe that this represents how everyone thinks, which is the need for change. He moved to the mountains to get away from the city life. Essentially he was literally running away from his fears by going to the top of a mountain and staying there for five years. I think we can all relate to this. If we all could just run away from our fears without having to face them that would be great.
3.
The changes that I would make to adapt this story into a film would be to make it less on the nose. Right now there is not that much subtext because the main character says and thinks everything that is on his mind. I think that this works great for the comic medium but for film I think that you would have to show this visually. The main character does not like the bar so he just literally blows it up. He almost comes off like a god. His name is even Spider Jerusalem. I feel as though his personality would be very interesting to how as a film character but he would have to be toned down in terms of how godlike he comes off. The first thing that came into my mind when reading this was that it would make a great film noir style film. I think the thing that would have to be emphasized if this were made into a film would be the social criticisms that were apparent in the comic. To adapt the same social criticisms from the comic into a film would make for a very ballsy film. I think that it would be relevant for today because in the comic they make most of the average people seem as though they are just drugged out vegetables. This is super interesting because it is somewhat of a opinionated foreshadowing of what could be a potential outcome for all of our futures.
I believe that the gun is a symbol in the comic. We start off by seeing the main character holding the gun pointing it at the phone while they are telling him that he owes them two books. Usually guns are symbols showing who is in control or not. However in this comic I feel as though the gun is a symbol for the false sense of control. Just because he has this gun does not mean that he actually is the one who is calling the shots. He still has to write the two books. When he gets back to the city and storms into one of the business buildings to see an old friend he points the gun at the friend demanding to get a job at the business. The city editor does not even really act phased by the fact that a man just walked in his office with a gun. It seemed as though possibly a gun might be a symbol for people who are out of control because the city editor still seems to hold all the power even though he does not have a gun.
2.
The connections that I made with the story was the whole aspect of the mountain life versus the city life. Although in the comic this aspect seems to be dramatized more than it actually is in real life I feel as though it is accurate. The city people look down (as seen when spider goes to the toll booth) on the mountain people and the mountain people look down on the city people. I think this is an interesting topic to bring up because it puts both groups (city and mountain) into their own little factions.
In reality I feel as though you always want what you cannot have so mountain people want to live in the city and vice versa. In the comic they place an emphasis on how much worse the city life is compared to the mountain life. To me I connected with this because I believe that this represents how everyone thinks, which is the need for change. He moved to the mountains to get away from the city life. Essentially he was literally running away from his fears by going to the top of a mountain and staying there for five years. I think we can all relate to this. If we all could just run away from our fears without having to face them that would be great.
3.
The changes that I would make to adapt this story into a film would be to make it less on the nose. Right now there is not that much subtext because the main character says and thinks everything that is on his mind. I think that this works great for the comic medium but for film I think that you would have to show this visually. The main character does not like the bar so he just literally blows it up. He almost comes off like a god. His name is even Spider Jerusalem. I feel as though his personality would be very interesting to how as a film character but he would have to be toned down in terms of how godlike he comes off. The first thing that came into my mind when reading this was that it would make a great film noir style film. I think the thing that would have to be emphasized if this were made into a film would be the social criticisms that were apparent in the comic. To adapt the same social criticisms from the comic into a film would make for a very ballsy film. I think that it would be relevant for today because in the comic they make most of the average people seem as though they are just drugged out vegetables. This is super interesting because it is somewhat of a opinionated foreshadowing of what could be a potential outcome for all of our futures.
Monday, November 16, 2015
Week 13 - Reconsidering the Superhero
Arkham Asylum
I thought that the artwork in this comic was really interesting. It seemed to vary heavily from what would be considered a traditional superhero comic. Most of the panels consisted of dark color palettes and not the flashy vibrant colors that I am used to seeing. What really amazed me though was how the artist was able to get such rich textures into the comic. Sometimes Batman is takes up an entire panel and yet does not have defined lines. He almost blends into the background giving the characters this hazy dreamlike feeling. There was this abstract feeling to every panel which I think then supported the theme of the comic.
We get a very unique look at batman in this comic. He comes across as more emotional in this one. versus our typical image of what Batman is supposed to be like. Most of his internal problems are conveyed by the dialogue in which he says. The reader is able to see more of his feelings. The themes in this comic are on the more physiological side which makes sense since he is in a prison that holds all of the crazy people. Also this further supports the dreamlike feeling this comic has.
I thought that the artwork in this comic was really interesting. It seemed to vary heavily from what would be considered a traditional superhero comic. Most of the panels consisted of dark color palettes and not the flashy vibrant colors that I am used to seeing. What really amazed me though was how the artist was able to get such rich textures into the comic. Sometimes Batman is takes up an entire panel and yet does not have defined lines. He almost blends into the background giving the characters this hazy dreamlike feeling. There was this abstract feeling to every panel which I think then supported the theme of the comic.
We get a very unique look at batman in this comic. He comes across as more emotional in this one. versus our typical image of what Batman is supposed to be like. Most of his internal problems are conveyed by the dialogue in which he says. The reader is able to see more of his feelings. The themes in this comic are on the more physiological side which makes sense since he is in a prison that holds all of the crazy people. Also this further supports the dreamlike feeling this comic has.
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