Web Comics!!!

Web comics are friends. Web comics are family.

So for this week in Literature of Comics, we were required to read some web comics, a now popular form of entertainment that predates the internet, apparently. I found this quite unique, and I couldn't wait to get into it. For this week I decided to read such gems as "Amazing Superpowers," "My Extra Family," as suggested be my teacher, but I also read my own favorites, like "Blue Chair" and "Lunarbaboon." These are appealing to me not only because of their art style, which has a certain feeling of honesty and candid stories, but also because they are slice of life comics, easy to identify with, and even easier to laugh with. 

Uhhhhhh...

Soooo, apart from our regular post we also had to answer some questions regarding the comic "Batman: The Killing Joke." I had already read it long before, but it left the same impression on me: this is one of the darkest comics I've ever read.

1.     What is your reaction to the text you just read (Batman: The Killing Joke)?

-Incredible piece of literature. I felt it had a resemblance to the classic question of the unstoppable force against the immovable object, or the Joker and Batman respectively. The Joker’s insane plots will never stop and Batman’s morality will never waver, although at the end of the story, the roles seem to have stopped, both sharing a laugh as they are removed from the view of the audience. Although it has never been confirmed, I believe Batman did not kill the Joker, as that would compromise his integrity, but it could easily have reversed the roles so that Batman finally finished off the Joker. The idea that one bad day will make someone go insane is not far from reality.

2.     What connections did you make with the story? Discuss the elements in the story with which you were able to connect. I mostly connected with two moments in the story, the Joker’s backstory, and Commissioner Gordon’s morality. It’s easy to relate to the Joker’s backstory because it’s such a common tragedy that many could identify with.

3.     What changes would you make to adapt this story into another medium? What medium would you use? What changes would you make? - I would adapt it into a live action movie, somewhat like the "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World" movie, attempting to replicate it shot-for-shot, although if that is the case, it would have to be rated R due to the graphic imagery.

NANANANANA WATCHMEN!!!!!

Move over DC, cause we're...Reconsidering the Superhero!

So this week in Literature of Comics, we were on the subject of superheroes, which in recent years have become more than common knowledge, but part of our popular culture, at least more so than in the past. This week I was introduced to "The Watchmen," a revolutionary comic book series by Alan Moore. Now I watched the Watchmen movie when I was younger, and after getting past the childhood trauma of some of the more graphic scenes, I was surprised with how faithful the movie tried to be to the comic. The comic amazed me in how mature its content was for being a superhero comic.

Comics By Women

Comics for women, by women, for...everyone honestly, a lot of these are awesome reads.

So this week in Literature of Comics, we discussed the contributions of female creators in the world of comics.

Graphic Novels are Books Too!

So this week on Literature of Comics, we were introduced to "Asterios Polyp," a graphic novel by David Mazzucchelli. The object of this reading is understanding the acceptance of graphic novels into literature.

One of the more interesting things I found while reading this graphic novel, was the specific art styles used for each character, which portrayed their personalities really well.

Oh Boy, Now It Gets Weird.

So would I be correct in saying Manga is to Comics, as Anime is to Cartoons? Depends on your definition of analogy I guess.

This time, on LITERATURE...OF...COMICS (dragon ball z reference), we dive into the world of manga, the beautiful Japanese version of comics. This week I began reading manga such as "Ranma 1/2" and "Astroboy." Although I've read a few modern manga, such as "One Punch Man", illustrated above, I gained a better understanding of the genre by reading this slightly older stories. Ranma 1/2 was slightly strange, having a main character turn into a girl whenever doused with cold water, and back into a boy with hot water, but the characters, conflicts, and overall tone of the comic was very enjoyable. Astroboy was also very likable, though I didn't have the same sense of joy or enjoyment as with Ranma 1/2, due to only reading the beginning, which seemed very dark for such a childlike character. It almost had a Pinocchio vibe to it, if Pinocchio was thrown away by Gepetto like yesterday's news.
These helped me understand the vast amount of genres that manga are allowed to dive into.

Stereotypes and the Ethics of Representation

I honestly think that the more we strive to distance ourselves from stereotypes, the more we begin to create new stereotypes of our own. I think that this is inevitable, and often helpful. I think stereotypes are created in the minds of the audience, as they draw their own conclusions and fit the characters into little boxes in order to more easily identify with them.