Octupus Prime

I read Octopus Pie for my web comic. I'd normally say I've read web comics before but I feel after reading Octopus Pie, I'm not so sure that statement holds up.

I say that on the basis of only reading short little one offs like Cyanide and happiness and similarly short one offs with rotating characters like Penny Arcade. Octopus Pie felt like a different format altogether, albeit still a web comic.

Luckily for me, the author had just finished a story arc where the "gang" goes camping. So I had a digestible little bite of the pie. (I'm so sorry) From what I can tell, its a fun mix of this happened to me and my friends mixed with a bit of cartoonish antics with a hint of the author's view of themselves projected on the page. I would even say it felt more like an illustrated blog of sorts, and I like the feeling of it. Of the similar things I've read this year, like Asterios Polyp, this felt really genuine and reflective than auto-biographical. I suppose that comes from the ongoing, evolving nature of the strip. Moment to moment happenings and less that the the story is contained in one arc.

Girl Power

I know I say it a lot on here but, WEIRD.

I'm not sure what I was expecting, and I'm still not sure. Its probably the mix of hard working city girl with devastating dominatrix and the lack continual story with the intercuts of sexual technique that left me kinda uneasy. It's a different story even without the very segmented and individual little scenarios that play out in such a short time.

I'm doing my senior thesis about a blowup doll. This is still pretty weird to me.

Although weird, I enjoyed the episodic like sequencing in each book. It felt almost like a a variety show. Here you have some story, here you have your how to's in feminine hygiene and male castration. I had a chuckle at the clever little paper doll gag near the beginning and I think its that attitude thats the most endearing. Taking a taboo and placing it in a medium where its more digestible.

As for being a comic for women by women, as a male, I can see where it happens. The contrast of the inner dialogue of making casual grocery and to do lists while running the dominatrix routine feels pretty there to me. It was also there for me when the character was just lazing about the house talking about Tom Petty, cookies and ice cream, being unconcerned with her appearance.

It was a fun one off read, I just wished there was a bit less mutilations of the genitles, That part of the story didn't sit well.

Asterios Polyp

Asterios Polyp was a fun read. It was a little tough in the get go, not knowing what the book was supposed to focus on, but that discovery was apart of the fun. I only read it through the once, but after a few pages in I sort of ascertained the style and flow of what was going on. Weird stuff was going on. The narration by the unborn twin brother was weird. The almost Tarantino style of telling the story was weird. The different styles of art for the characters was weird. But all those weird things were really cool.

One weird thing that kept happening was all the little details that kept appearing and disappearing. It took a while for me to start letting go of these little hangups of things that seemed important at first introduction, but then left the story never to be heard about again. Primarily the twin brother idea and the video recording of everything came and went without much consequence. I can see it as character building and growth for Asterios to let someone in that deep, but that could have been just about anything else.

I was also a little weary abstract ways the author decided to start each chapter. The illustration there felt really whimsical but didn't quite resonate with me right away. Not like certain scenes where Asterios became hard blue lines not unlike his blueprints and Hana became pink organic shading, those were a great way to show their personalities in contrasting and harmonic ways. I also enjoyed the contrast between the university area and the midwest area. For a shorter story, much was done in the basic art style to do some heavy world building.

Overall, I was very surprised at the ending but enjoyed it none the less. The art was fun and the story compelling and I would recommend it to others. Specifically others who are full of themselves.

MANGA

So I haven't really read manga ever. I've watched anime before an are somewhat familiar to the outlying genres. But this was my first foray into the actual medium ever. I chose to read Dororo by Osamu Tezuka and I loved it.

It follows a story simple enough for what a very raw manga reader like myself can follow. A power hungry man sells the pats of his unborn child to demons for power. Having no limbs or appendages they give him up. The child is found and raised by a sword smith who fashions the child limbs and such. They start having to fight off demons who want the rest of the child. The child then leaves to vanquish the demons to regain his parts, using sword arms. Thats pretty metal.

On the way he meets the titular Dororo, whom is also an outcast with a tortured past and despised by most of the nearby villages. They form somewhat of a brotherly bond and travel together.

Like I said, I enjoyed it. I'm not sure what specifically was the crutch of it, but the idea is just so strange in that a blind, deaf young man with swords for arms is traveling the countryside looking for demons to kill. Its pretty hardcore, but adding the Dororo character opens it up to be much more relatable. being relatable is often of fickle thing in what anime I've seen. It's always some grandiose quest or scheme with wacky characters that will sometimes slow down and do something regular or have juggle everyday life with protecting the earth. I think I prefer the more natural feeling Dororo character. He's just struggling to fend off human urges while under the scrutiny off those around him. He just also happens to have a friend with sword arms.

Stereotypes Y'all

Its a double edged sword. Stereotyping is a tool that must be used precisely if at all. The way I see it, implementing stereotypes can be used many different ways to man different affects. It can be used as a story device, it can be used as a story crutch, it can be used joke, it can be used as satire, it can be used as an insult, it can even function as a compliment.

For the most part, I see a lot of stereotypes in the media used in a very lazy way. Introducing a character that just functions as a stereotype and a means to an end. One I see the most of is the angry black captain. At this point it's almost evolved past a basic beat cop story idea to an inside joke of a trope. Its a bit more tame of an example, but it shows the evolution there. Something starts as quirky but insulting characterization and evolves into something self aware and at times insulting but most always lazy.

Is it necessary? Stereotyping may be helpful in some aspects of story telling when it comes to secondary and tertiary characters, but it shouldn't. As stated earlier, its a crutch. Past the face value of insulting summation of an idea, its just lazy to me.

Graphic Novels

Barefoot Gen was a trip. I wasn't sure what I was watching when the movie started rolling. Not being very familiar with either manga or anime, I wasn't sure where the movie was going. I saw the beginnings of a familial story take place, then they started talking about war. Naive me didn't know whether it was a mech war or spirit war, the types that could be solved with a hungry main character yelling at the bad guy. Unfortunately I found out how wrong I was.

When the bomb actually dropped, I still didn't quite understand what I was in for. There was no real winner there. It was all graphic, sad, oppressing and ultimately powerful 

Barefoot Gen was my first real foray into a manga-esque film, outside Dragon Ball Z movies, and it surprised how deep it went. The many ideas it brings up in its story like the struggle of taking care of a poor family, a strong brotherhood under strain, following a government without the best interest at heart are palpable without an atomic bomb and the following aftermath wrecking the entire area and turing the story in its head. It then gets a darker tone and deals with the more darker tones of life after the bomb.

Whats really strong about the film though was the underlying message of life. The struggle of preservation, the struggle of recovery, the struggle for survival.

Underground Comics

People are weird. I'm sure at the time these comics came out, they were the peak of social pariah-hood. A formal publication that followed ideas of drugs, war and sex seems like the taboo of the time. The Vietnam War instilled a large rift in the culture, separating more traditional ideas with radical ideas, with modern ones. Where can comics lie at this point? Underground comics emerged and existed for the rift then created. They symbolized the fringe ideas that came heavy with a stigma very frowned upon. But as I read the likes of Dopin' Dan, I'm only left with a foul taste in my mouth. Not that I find the contents distasteful of deplorable, but kind of immature.

I get it that this was the culture these books were for, the time, the significance. But for me it just doesn't hold up. I couldn't say whether its just not for me or if it doesn't hold up overtime or if just doesn't translate well. Specifically in Dopin' Dan, its stilted towards the military, reserves, crowd, of which I'm not apart of. But I can pick up on the partying, drugs and sexual culture thats apart of the story and it just seems to be their just for the edge of it.

As a whole, that was the attitude I was feeling. Between Dopin' Dan and Mr Natural, I feel like most underground edgy comics of the time were just being different and edgy for the sake of it.

Eisner's Spirit

I was familiar with both Eisner and The Spirit before taking this class, but I didn't know much about either. Eisner was that guy that did Disney stuff and The Spirit was just another hard to follow strip comic like Dick Tracy. After reading both some Spirit and some Eisner, I can really appreciate it more. Will Eisner creates deep stories with very little, and the Spirit feels like a detective noir than a beat cop with mask.

I wasn't sure what to expect from Eisner when I first started a "A Contract With God." The title itself is a very heavy idea and given the size of the entire book I was a little put off. Fortunately when I cracked it open , I very much enjoyed myself. Eisner's status as a master was not unrequited. The illustrations where brilliant in how they took a a large action and distilled its entirety into one frame so easily. This is even more impressive with the characters themselves. In "A Contract With God,"  a lot of emotion is thrown around. The struggle to keep to your faith in odds of the troubled times and a self regulated life style, only to break down and give into lesser pursuits. Thats really heavy stuff to express in writing let alone in illustration. Yet, Eisner shows his expertise in a way that doesn't seem overbearing. In fact the entirety of the piece was dripping with a style that I can now only attribute to Eisner. Characters appear stilted towards their personality in a way one can immediately relate their character just by a glance. Even the text is a handwriting style, loose yet full of character and personality

The Comic Book Rises

Early comic books were far less discerning than comic Book Guy let me believe. While I understand he's a caricature of all thats self righteous in the nerd kingdom, the idea that he sold of early comics being some sort of holy grail stuck with me. Seeing the early strains of the comic book makes for a much more humble beginning.

It makes sense. Taking a familiar, wanted medium that came very sparingly weekly, then reformatting it and distributing it to its audience. It's just smart business. However, it was strange to me how much was reprinted. The format lends itself very well to taking in strips from the papers, but it feels to me as if a new medium warrants a steady flow of new content, even from old work horses. It was also a surprise for me to see multiple, smaller stories in one collection. That sort of compilation is not one I'm familiar with, but the idea is okay with me. The smaller serials were very digestible and felt more akin to cartoons. A connection that is for sure felt both ways.

Of the books I read, I really loved the Donald Duck ones. The simplicity of the frame, the color, the story made for a very solid read that was both light and enjoyable. I can definitely see why it in particular made for such solid inspiration in comics in general.

Another thing I noticed was the heavy advertising. While I'm used to this in comics, It seemed a bit more universal and unspecific. Not like today's advertising that so laser targeted. But I really did like some of the shirts that were in some of the books I read. Unfortunately when I tried calling the number, all I got was an all expenses paid vacation, bummer.

Krazy Kat

Its a brick. Its the most important plot device in Krazy Kat comics. Its both the catalyst and the resolution in a world where dogs hold a sense of judicial authority and mice just want to see some pain.

Krazy Kat read pretty bizarrely for me. From reading my first one, it was difficult to figure out exactly what was going on. Why was the cat a target for the mouse? Is that police officer supposed to be a dog? Where did the mouse find his fascination for "bricking" people? It was unlike any sort of story I've read in a comic format. Somewhat abstract characters in a very surrealist landscape that changes on a whim felt very abrupt and some what off putting. But when I got down what I understood to be the skeleton of the "plot", find cat, insert brick, I found the allure. A kind of twisted game of cat and mouse that feels more like the only thing that exists in the universe and from the few stories I read, thats the idea. Just a cat and a dog trying to survive a mouse with a brick. Its pretty out there, but thats my wavelength.

It was strange to see how it evolved into actual cartoons. It felt very, very different in tone, more open, more universal. I didnt really like how watered down it was. Boo.

Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics

Coming from reading Shaun Tan's The Arrival, I would say I was feeling a bit more in tune with the subtle nuance of illustration, framing and other unspoken narrative. Really diving in and finding those different complex meanings and themes that riddle the page and ring strong and true without speaking a single word. Then none of that mattered with this week's assignment.

Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics touches on a lot of really solid points of the understanding comics in a very informative . What I found really interesting are the connections he made on a both broad and personal level. Being able to tie in both a large ideas of what comics are as sequential art down to the mastery of understanding the human mind to connect to the characters in the comics. What most resonated with me was the idea that McCloud related on icons and universality of it.

The idea of iconography isn't new to me. I understand creating images to relate ideas and themes, to send a message that can be universally understood and/or recognized. But the idea of connecting to that message through a personal relation is something I never really picked up on till now. Humanity's self love fueling a relationship and understanding with lifeless or inanimate objects is just so absurdly correct, insightful and makes total sense. Whats really great is the idea of this universality relates to all ages, although I'd say the younger you are the more attuned you are to these feelings.

Shaun Tan's The Awakening

Shaun Tan's The Arrival was a very different graphic novel than what I'm normally used to. It being without speech, for one, gave me somewhat of an incite in universal theme-ing that I'm not always paying complete attention to. Specifically, with text based stories, I find myself wrapped up in the literary aspect; pulling at the different strings of reference to come to conclusions of tone and meaning. With The Arrival, I found myself more gravitating to the imagery, of course, and the archetypal characters and themes.  For instance, the allusion of immigration gave me a lot familiar ideas to grasp onto without needing the idea of direct speech handing me the answer, specifically story-wise. Although, at some points in the story I feel as if the metaphor was forced a little to hard as a result of relying so hard on image. Specifically when the father was going through his things when he was in his room and there was a frame of his family in the suitcase. Its pretty obvious what the idea is there, and if it weren't for the overall somewhat whimsical tone of the story, it would be completely out of place for me. The tone, also being somewhat strangely optimistic and simple also through me off somewhat in contrast to the hectic and loaded flashbacks of the characters.

I think having text in this specific story may have taken more away than what it may have added. Again, I would try to find some deeper meaning hidden in the obvious extended metaphor but really just miss the beautiful simplicity of the story. But more importantly, I think the story of immigration and that language barrier inherent adds to the luster of this commutation style in a way text would only detract from. The simple things like having the father communicate with an image in the story itself cements this idea pretty perfectly. I would struggle to find a better example or reason to have a speechless story than what Tan has shown
 us here.