Literature of Comics and the Graphic Narrative Course

Week Fourteen: The Future of Comics I was AMAZED by the comic that I chose – it was in the same format as other online comics, however this was known as a GIF comic called 'Trash Mountain', which I didn't even know existed. It's such a refresher because not only does each panel move, but it's interactive as well!! It's maybe not the prettiest drawings because they look like each of the drawings were made very sloppily with the paintbrush on Photoshop or even on Snapchat, but when thinking about creativity – this is a gold medal. It could be like a motion design thing, maybe they are just GIFs that were made on Photoshop as very short animations but that is so cool! I have to say as well, I don't know if I fully understand the comic as a whole, it's kind of just absurd and random but I think that was the creators intent to the audience in general. I also didn't expect there to be nudity in it either, it didn't cross my mind, but everything is

Week Thirteen: Changing Landscape of Licensed Characters I decided to read the first Marvel comic, it was about 'the Human Torch', the Angel', 'Submariner', and the 'Masked Raider' – I could only think by first glance that this could be about Fantastic Four. Also, it was really strange, the first page of the comic was like a silly black and white random comic called 'Now I'll Tell One', that I wouldn't have expected to be in this comic like I would in Archie's comics for example. When reading the comics I realized that this was comprised of 4 different heros and they weren't in the same story. I know that the human torch told me that this was probably going to be a Fantastic Four comic, but the other 3 characters I have no idea who they are. The Angel actually looks like Superman in a cheap way. The Submariner is like a blue Avatar mixed with Aquaman, and the Masker Raider is a cowboy with a mask on his face. Those characters wou

Week Twelve: Comics by Women  For this week I read the article by BuzzFeed titled '16 Comics By Women Only Other Women Will Find Fucking Hilarious'. It was comprised  of some comics and short stories by women. Now, these comics and stories weren't created for artistic merit or quality – they were just created for the content. But, I was able to relate to these because I am a women, and they all deal with scenarios that I think all women deal with such as periods. So, these are all relatable to women, I wouldn't see a man being relatable to this other than the cranberry strip where the girl thinks the other girl is drinking a cranberry vodka or something – it could be a gay friend. They're cool because they're very personal and about internal thoughts of a women that we don't like to talk about necessarily . Like self conflicting themes. It's a lot like the other comic that I read, also written and created by a woman author  Marjane Satrapi. It's a

The Killing Joke what was your reaction to the text you just read? It really reminded me of watching the movie ‘The Dark Night’, with the man who acted like the joker died during the middle of their filming. It was like I could hear the sound effects and it felt like I was watching the live action movie, it felt a lot more realistic than the classic Batman comics or compared to the movie that we watched in the beginning of class that I think was made in the 60s. I felt like I was actually getting into it, the characters had a scarier and more surreal factor to them that made me feel a bit creeped out. I didn’t feel like I was really reading a graphic novel, I felt like I was watching the movie, especially with the flashbacks, and how they transitioned the panels between one another and contrasting the colors. It really felt like it was the way it would have been filmed. 2. What connections did you make with the story? Discuss the elements of the story with which you were

Victor & Yasmina  Optic Nerve So, this comic was very similar in style to the video clip that we saw at the beginning of class - in the way that it is very simple and it is very analytical of life. It reminded me of the new Netfilx series, 'You', where there is a guy who's kind of like a 'loser' and works at a library - similar tot his where he works at a boring job. In a way it is similar because they are both invested in creeping, or even stalking this one girl that they think they can change. There is love and death involved, very extreme events. This graphic novel is in black and white, goes well with the story because it gives it a sort of nostalgic mystery in a way. Asterios Polyp This graphic novel is very different from the first one, in the sense of it being very analytical of self rather than analytical of outsiders/ others. In this graphic novel it is very simple yet it deals a lot with different compositions as well as shapes (geomet

Tonkaradani Mongatari Manga It's very interesting, I never really thought about manga and anime, other than them both being Japanese cartoons or something. But with some research I realized that manga and anime have a lot of overlap whenever talking about them. I always thought that mangas and animes could be comic books as well as movies/ series but the only difference between them were that one was more realistic than the other. Obviously in the West we see manga and anime as very generic terms when we refer to Japanese art in general; at least that's how I saw it from others when growing up. But when I actually researched about anime and manga it appeared that they were really similar to how cartoons are made in the US, or in the west generally. When I looked up the term anime it literally means 'animation' in Japanese which refers to the Japanese animated cartoon videos/ movies/ series. The term anime and manga can get confused because there are stories that

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi Persepolis is about a girl's childhood and adulthood of growing up in Iran during the Islamic revolution which came out in France. I didn't read the novel first, it's interesting, I actually watched the animation of it about three years ago. It's interesting because the graphic novel is non-fiction and brings out the life of how the author's childhood was – especially being in black and white, I thought that it gave the book the essence of the time of when she was a kid, as well as the environment and the event that was taking place during that time. I linked with this because although I did not personally go through it, I had family members and people I knew who went through the same things the author went through at this time. Such as, repression, warfare and loss. Because I grew up in the Middle East, but in a country that did not go through such tough circumstances such as Syria, Palestine, Iraq, Egypt, Libya and Oman. There ha

Will Eisner and Craig Thompson I first read the graphic novel Habibi  by Craig Thompson, and then I read The Contract with God  by Will Eisner. I first read Thompson's novel because I resonated with it as soon as I read the name of the book. I felt a connection with the word because it's a part of my daily life. I always say it to my friends and loved ones, and it literally means, 'my love' in Arabic – it can be used with friends, just as a caring noun for someone. I use it because I'm Jordanian, and I even taught my friends in the US the word as well as other Arabic words. So, we all have that sort of connection. I also thought when I first read the title that it was a graphic novel version of a book that I have previously read in middle school that was also called Habibi  but it was written by Naomi Shihab Nye. I realized that it wasn't the same story once I read it. It was strange how I connected with it, although it was about the Muslim Arab world back

Stereotypes and Ethics – Notes Stereotypes and Cliche´:   Both terms from printing that refer to techniques that facilitate the speed and lower the cost of production through the use of pre-set images or phrases.  Will Eisner "In comics, stereotypes are drawn from commonly accepted physical characteristics associated with an occupation." "Certain human characteristics are recognizable by physical appearance in each of the above, the reader evokes a message out of the stereotypical image in this where he shows Hitler youth as well as a bad guy having a back problem." Jim Crow Christy Minstrels Stereotypes:  Are not a metonymies (figures of speech, ex: i have a new set of wheels (i have a new car)) like most caricatures but are representation of idealized and character types that are not based on observation, but on previous representations.  Jim Crow in Dumbo 1941 Robert Crumb Matin Luther King by Ho Che Anderson None

Underground Comics - Gay Comics I actually didn't know that underground comics were a thing – man I mean it took time and effort to make comics. So I couldn't imagine just making comics for the hell of it. I didn't know that in the 1980s they would especially make comics about explicit stuff. I knew that they would probably have sexual innuendos or sexual symbolism but not tho this extent. They would show teens and what they probably went through in school and had crushes on people. It was like some of the shows today except that even today they aren't as explicit as they are in these comics that were made over 30 years ago.  It was also in black and white which I thought it would probably be in color – considering that their flag is the rainbow one. However, it was probably too expensive to print the comics in color. But it was also cool because the styles were different inside and they didn't just tackle the stories and topics about gays but they showed l

Maus - Art Spiegelman Firstly, just the cover of the comic made me think of Nazis and World War II. I wouldn't expect that with just thinking about a mouse, but the book is titled 'Maus' not mouse. In the beginning he quoted Adolf Hitler, "The Jews are undoubtedly a race, but they are not human". So incidentally the creator made his characters animals that are small, and morphed them with human like characteristics, in a way so you could tell it was like they were being alienated or dehumanized. He showed some very explicit things very subtly and the characters didn't even have expressions on their faces, but you could tell the morbid truth of what they were going through. Spieglman created 'Maus' in a way to depict his conversations with his father, going from present to the time when it was crucial in WWII. It showed the times going into WWII and the experiences of two Polish Jews, Vladek as well as his wife Anja were killed by Nazis. You could

Mickey Mouse Dailies 1942 Vol. 13 I read through some of Mickey Mouse Dailies which were in black and white. I loved how in every frame there was not a moment when it was boring or the characters looked static. There was action, and you could tell that something intense was happening – especially with Pete. In a way it felt like Mickey and Mini were detectives, or Indiana Jones or something. They always seemed to be the ones who people went to about their troubles. I also found it interesting that since it was a thing at that time, there was a lot more smoking involved – and some sexual innuendos or like sexualized imagery that I wouldn't expect from a Disney comic. Like there was a woman who was super curvy and her cleavage was shown. Also, when she was looking for something, Goofy was looking at her behind. Another thing is when they were going after this bad guy with a wrapped head, Goofy had a gun to him – which is very inappropriate considering the context of who the charac

The Arabian Nights - Sergio Toppi So I read, or at least tried to read Sergio Toppi's comics 'Arabian Nights'. I couldn't read it exactly because it was in Italian – but I actually liked it because of the composition of the pieces. I was actually introduced to Sergio Toppi's work when I was studying abroad in Florence, I also learned about another comic artist  Moebius-Jean Giraud. I also saw Lorenzo Mattotti's work that were like comic scenes with no text within the illustrations.   But I actually really enjoyed his imagery. He made each of his pages very dynamic. Sometimes he would section each of the scenes by boxes, the classical way – but other times he would divide it in a very cool compositional way with the artwork which went from one scene to the next in one full image. He also used very limited colors like blues and greens or purples and reds. It was a watercolor kind of quality with his amazing line quality of work. The attention to detail was exqu

Carl Barks Donald Duck and Hergé Tin Tin Comics I really enjoyed reading the Carl Barks Donald Duck and Hergé Tin Tin Comics. I actually used to read Tin Tin when I was younger because my dad was a huge fan. I even remember reading it in French when I was studying French in school. My dad used to read it to me in French because that was his second language since he grew up in Switzerland and grew up with the comics. I liked both comics, Tin Tin a bit more, but both in general because they were always about adventure. I love to travel and what I loved about these strips were that it was about ordinary kids it seemed and it would be them beating the bad guy or finding treasure – it would be something amazing. But, it used to give me hope as a kid and they used to make me excited in a way. Then later on I used to watch Duck Tales on Disney which was really similar to how Carl Barks made his comic strips except that it was in animation form and started to modernize. 

Little Nemo, Peanuts, and the Comic Strip I thought that the Sunday comics were a huge stepping stone when it came to comics. I remember my grandpa used to tell me about the Sunday comics when he'd get them in the newspaper. There was always a new addition to the story, so whenever the next Sunday came it was always anticipation for the reader like it was a new episode that aired.  I remember learning about Little Nemo by Winsor McCay when I was taking the history of illustration class. It was a really cool comic that was so surreal and could go in so many directions although it was such a simple subject matter. But, I loved it because it was actually so relatable; I also loved the fact that this comic was actually a huge printed book. I loved reading it because I actually had dreams as vivid as little Nemo's dreams in Slumberland. I mean, I didn't have a particular goal like Nemo did, to reach the Princess. It reminded me of Mario, how he tries to get Princess Pea

Hogarth and Topffer William Hogarth (1697-1764) Deters prison 2 panel paintings at University of Cambridge  before and after paintings, before the man was going towards the woman and now the man is trying to steer away from the woman. The theme is moral, not to let lust take over - immoderation brings ill considered entangles. Hogarth is a moralist, many of his works have a moral message.  The Harlot's Progress he would create lotteries to give his paintings and prints away.  1st Panel: Mother Needum: notorious London character, stoned to death Mother Needum is looking at the young woman as a prize.  Band under woman's arm shows that she is a seamstress.  "To my loving cousin in Tems street" The man at the doorway was a rapist, is there a pistol in his pocket Clergyman on his horse, has a letter in his hand "To the high reverend father in London". A letter of recommendation, or a letter or introduction - trying to get a job. The horse

Understanding Comics  Scott McCloud  I really enjoyed Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics  because I used to read comics as a kid as well, but I too asked the same questions as this comic had in it. I loved how this comic was very successful by explaining as well as questioning comics as a comic medium itself, to make it more interesting. There were many topics discussed in this comic and explaining the fact that we can use each panel to our advantage to tell stories in immense detail even with just a couple of panels. McCloud discussed the different aspects of storytelling through symbolism, the exchange of information and visual imagery. It's great how he explains how classic comics have a certain structure to them as well as analyzing how those structures can be tested and changed. He also touches bases on both fiction and non-fictional concepts through the comics and how they have symbolic elements that help create these works. In this comic he shows these ideas th

The Rooster’s Laugh Max Ernst First Panel : There appears to be a gypsy/ beggar woman trying to show some tricks for some money in the streets. She is accompanied by her rooster on top of a golden ball. Along with the rooster there are a basket of eggs. There appears to be a dead figure of a man in the back, below the staircase. Second Panel: It seems as though this is a flashback to when the gypsy was younger. She appears to be asleep while a winged man along with the rooster look down upon her. They seem to be in a dark and mysterious room filled with magical secrets. As though this winged man is creating a ritual or casting a spell on to her. Third Panel: The girl has now died and is being buried in their secret cult like chapel (upside down cross). Being buried by the rooster, now a large scale figure a dark rooster-man and a woman. Fourth Panel: It seems as though as the dark rooster-man and the rooster are trying to hatch a plan to maybe make the girl come to

The Arrival Shaun Tan The Arrival  by Shaun Tan is a very interesting story, told in a comic. The reason why this works so well, is because although Tan does not use any descriptions or any of the characters speaking to one another. This comic worked particularity well because it was very cinematic as well as animatic. Going scene by scene, and sometimes as detailed as frame by frame. In a sense, it can be seen as a silent film – they usually did not have to have dialogue between the characters, it was all inaudible. The majority of how this story worked out was as the saying goes, ‘actions speak louder than words’. So, whenever you’d go to the next frame it would be in a very sequential way of looking at how the story is being played out. Tan even shows the characters in a very close up scale, showing the emotions on their faces and how they react with each other as well as the environment around them. Even the way that Tan would illustrate the scene as