Week 12: Women's Comics

Since I never got around to reading the new Ms. Marvel, I'm glad that I was finally able to read it. Having never read an issue of even the original Ms. Marvel comics, I'm glad my first experience with this series was a memorable one. This reboot takes a major step in not just comics, but in today's society. The new Ms. Marvel is a young Pakistani girl, Kamala, who lives outside of Manhattan with her Pakistani family. In today's current politics/society, we are taught to look down upon these people and their cultures because of how the media portrays "all the ethnicity," specifically Muslims.

Everything from Kamala's postmodern mindset (she's a super heroine who reads superhero fan fiction) to the elegant line work makes this a comic for the discerning reader. The reboot was written by G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona. Wilson, who is a Muslim, distills the enormity of the culture shock into a few potent incidents. A notable example, "Your headscarf is so pretty, Kiki," a blonde princess tells Kamala's best friend. "But, I mean...nobody pressured you to start wearing it, right?...I'm just concerned." Alphona triumphs too, giving Kamala an expressive face and a normal girl's physique. Kamala has no use for the typical heroine outfit either, finding that the original Ms. Marvel costume givers her "an epic wedgie."

Wilson, has plenty to offer readers; she cleverly folds Kamala's Muslim heritage and teen angst into her emerging hero identity. With the comic's delicate color washes and wildly varying realism, the art bears far more resemblance to "alternative" comics than to typical superhero books. This issue is largely dedicated to establishing Kamala, sketching out her life and family and documenting her transformation. Aside from a few intimations, the "big bad" doesn't make an appearance until the very end. This individual, dubbed The Inventor, is suitably horrid. Kamala's personal struggles with her parents, her friends and her own body are simply more compelling than the archenemy. I enjoyed it, and appreciated the fact that it wasn't just another same old superhero origin story.

Week 14: Web Comics

I'm not one that's big on reading web comics but I thought that Johnny the Homicidal Maniac was a different, interesting read. Everything from the art style, lettering, and story, it's all different, which stands out the most to me. I wouldn't say that I like the art style and the intense lettering, but I do like that it's different from other web comics that I've seen.

The art style, along with the lettering, is very intense, with very wild, sketchy, hard pen strokes. While appealing to the eye, it also can be distracting to someone who is picky about certain art styles.  The art style seems reminiscent of Invader Zim with it's sketchy, creepy appeal. It's easy to comprehend what's going on in the panels, though the lettering is at times somewhat difficult to make out: more so when a certain word is bolded.

The overall story is downright creepy, but that's what sells it. I'm personally not a fan of these kinds of comics. In one segment, a woman calls Johnny "wacky looking." I thought this was ironic since all of the people in this universe looked "wacky." This comic is very weird and at one point, it seems to be serious but then turns comedic when Johnny threatens the woman that called him "wacky," with a spork; the woman responding calmly, "my taco is getting cold," not worried at all for what's to come. The scene turns into this crazy outrage with the panel showing the taco restaurant with screams coming out. Vaguely, you can see two people standing by the taco place and one of them says, "let's get pizza."

This comic is an overall great read, specifically if you're looking for something different and maybe even on the creepy aspect of things. If you miss Invader Zim, then this has all the vibes of it.

Week 11: Comics as Contemporary Literature

For this week, I read Strangers in Paradise. This comic feeds off an Archie/Riverdale vibe, style wise, but for a more mature audience with crude humor. The art is decent enough for the "newspaper funnies" type section that it seems to be going for. This is odd for me to say because I'm not someone who particularly likes certain styles, but this one works well considering the type(s) of story it holds. I'm also not one for reading black and white comics since sometimes it's hard to differentiate what's going on in the panel because either all the black values are too close to one another or there's too much white value, not enough black. This comic balances that issue quite well. It's not that the art is specially fancy, or eye-catching, but the fact that the artist, Moore, has a knack for conveying enough emotion through facial expression, which is something not often seen in these types of comics.

That particular skill is key for this kind of story. The story is all about the relationships between a handful of characters. What's more, some of the tension in the story comes from the fact that the relationships are non-traditional (gay, lesbian, polyamorous, etc.) The characters in this story have problems. Real emotional problems that they're trying to resolve. They have people the love, and they're trying to have good, healthy relationships in spite of the emotional baggage they're carrying around. They're often confused, they treat each other unfairly. And it is, honestly, a lot like what people go through in real life.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading something like this that deals with real world problems instead of a typical nonstop violence book; even though that's something that I tend to gravitate more towards, but this was a treat. The comic isn't preachy or anything, it just shows people trying to have relationships and struggling, and some of those relationships aren't boy-girl relationships. Truthfully, the story stutters a little bit early in the series, and I think that was just the author's way of getting his sea legs, learning to write.

I definitely think it's worth a read. It's especially wroth reading if you want to see something different in comics. This is one of the great indie classics in genre, in my opinion.

Week 9: A Wide World of Comics

For this week I read Ranxerox, a futuristic, punk style story about a robot that was programmed to have emotions. In one panel, his supposed girlfriend states to a man who eventually kidnaps her, that she can control her boyfriend if she wanted to. Ranxerox is more so a futuristic version of Frankstein's monster, and with the underage Lubna, they are like a bizarre Beauty and the Beast. She proceeds to take off the top of his skull and unplugs a switch that turns him off.

The art style is very edgy and kind of off putting with the amount of shading; the coloring looks very blurred and gritty, which complements the story/genre really well, but is otherwise unpleasant to look at. The story is unusual and somewhat disturbing. There's a scene with a young girl who is handing out flowers and she offers one to Ranx and he crushes the young girl's hand. Bystanders applaud the robot for crushing the girl's hand.

This kind of comic is very wild, over the top, can be a bit silly at times, and overall, it can be offensive. Though I find that the comic is close to how the world is, such as dealing with drugs, violence, and sex; though I find that comics such as this were a bit of the norm in the early 80's considering a lot of things that were going on around that time were "weird" and "new." Though it's not for everyone for it is a sick, twisted, humorously dark comic, if that suits you, then it's definitely worth a read. As for me, I'll stick with the classic/cheesy superhero comic or anything of that norm over something like this.

Week 13: Reconsidering the Superhero

As a long time superhero fan, I was glad to have finally read Alan Moore's Batman: The Killing Joke. I've heard so many good things about this work from friends and comic book writers alike. As I'm sure like most people, I saw the animated feature of The Killing Joke when it premiered in theaters a year ago. It was definitely quite the experience, as this feature was rated R and from what I've heard from my friend, it's pretty accurate to the comic.

What really makes this comic stand out, is the artwork and it's way of telling of story with storyboard imaging with no words in the intro of the comic that shows Batman arriving at Arkham Asylum to talk to the Joker.

As the story continues on, it shows to be very dark and violent. More so towards Barbara, Jim Gordon's daughter. The Joker arrives at the Gordon residence unannounced and has a gun at his daughter who answers the door. While smiling that sinister smile that we all know, he pulls the trigger and the bullet hits her waist. Joker takes her father while she's suffering/gasping for air on the ground. Later we learn that the Joker not only shot Barbara, but he also undressed her and took pictures of her.

I really enjoyed how they touched base on the Joker's past; how he, a once sane person, became to be the infamous serial killer. Not only do we see who the Joker was before becoming insane, we also see him and Batman sort of meet for the first time where Batman mistakes him for the villain Red Hood. It isn't until after Joker falls into what seems to be an acid tank, that he is revealed to be a new person: the Joker. I thought it was clever how in the past, the Joker wanted to become a comedian and now since his horrific accident, he's hysterically insane, a lunatic, and is always pulling "pranks" of all kinds; anything for a good laugh. It's ironic that he's achieving his dream of being a comedian by becoming an insane villain that's always laughing with his really dark sense of humor.

The ending of this story will always baffle me. The fact that the police are on their way to get the Joker, and here's Batman and the Joker himself, face to face, laughing hysterically. I still don't know if the Joker slipped something to Batman that made him laugh so hard or if that was actually Batman laughing. He's fought the Joker for so many years that it's not hard to believe that he would snap with laughter from trying to take him down and keep him in Arkham. I think that this story is important because it shows how strong Batman and Joker's twisted "relationship" is with one another. Batman doesn't kill, but if certain circumstances come to that, he will.

Questions:
1. What is your reaction to the text you just read?
Answer: The text of this comic opens up wordless, with Batman arriving at Arkham Asylum to visit the Joker. The text is subtle when Batman is talking to who he thinks is the Joker.

2.What connections did you make with the story? Discuss the elements of the story in which you were able to connect.
Answer: What really stood out was Barbara getting shot and the Joker undressing her and taking pictures of her. This is a representation of rape/humiliation of someone when they are out cold/drunk. But in Barbara's case, she was shot and thus will remain paralyzed from he waist down. There are so many consequences/effects this one scene has and tells so much from just one showing. The writers' way of discussing rape and its victims was well executed and a good subject to focus on since we live in a time where so many people, young women especially, are being raped while they are out cold and then humiliated with pictures/videos of the innocent. Barbara, however, becomes useful for Batman; even though she gets permanently stuck in a wheelchair for life, she is still useful with her amount of information for discovering the truth about criminals and where they are and why they did what they did. She doesn't become useless; she doesn't become one of those characters that disappears after something horrific happens to her. She's determined to show the Joker and everyone else what it is that she can really do.

3. What changes would you make to adapt this story into another medium? What medium would you use? What changes would you make?
Answer: The only changes that I would make to the story is to get rid of the unnecessary song that Joker sings after he kidnaps Jim Gordon. When I first saw this in the theater, I thought it was unnecessary and a waste of time. As a Batman fan, I understand that it's the Joker, he's always gonna do something crazy and different, but to me, this song just seemed out of place. Instead, I would've had the Joker just show pictures of Barb that he took of her undressed after she was shot to show how "looney" he is, instead of just singing about it like a really weird Disney film.

Week 10: Manga and the Japanese Comic Tradition

For this week, I read Battle Angel Alita "Last Order." This particular series reminds me of another robot/cyborg series Ghost in the Shell. Battle Angel follows a strong female lead named Gally; the interesting thing about this series and its main character is that Gally isn't overly sexualized like most manga female characters, especially lead characters. She doesn't have an insanely busty body, she's more muscular and lean. I think it's good that this series is approaching a different take on the stereotypical female role in a manga.

During action sequences, the style becomes very loose and fast paced with dark line marks representing motion. It's very interesting how manga pursues motion and sequences; not many American comics nowadays show that fast paced line of action during fighting sequences. Back when superhero comics were just starting out in the late 1930's, there was more of that line of action represented during action sequences. American comics are more so close ups of the hero/villain's faces and looks like that they're just standing still facing each other when really they're moving. Manga action sequences are all over the place, that sometimes tend to drag out but otherwise keep you interested because of the ever changing scenes and dynamic line of action. Little to no talk can be seen when they are fighting when compared to American comics, hero/villain tend to "talk about the fight" while fighting. One thing that bothers me about manga, is that when they're in action sequences, they show close ups of their body parts which is sometimes hard to tell what that body part is and what's exactly going on since there's also multiple dark line marks representing the amount of motion that's going on in the fight.


Another thing that I've noticed about manga, is that a lot of their characters, preferably males, tend to look like girls. I remember when I was younger and read Naruto, I noticed that one character looked entirely like a girl but was actually a guy. I find that Japan has this fascination with making guys look like girls and making girls look like guys as a way of saying that society "doesn't need labels." In this issue of Battle Angel, Gally is fighting another cyborg. This cyborg has really long, flowing hair and a slim, muscular body. At first glance, this character looked to be a guy, but until another character asked the main character if they were sisters, it through me for a loop since this new cyborg isn't busty at all.


I'm not one for reading manga or watching anime, but this was definitely a surprise for me. The story was very engaging, lots of twists from the characters and information pertaining to the story as to how they accomplish the cyborg.

Week 8: Stereotype and the Ethics of Representation

For this week I read the first book of March by John Lewis himself. The book is about the Civil Rights movement that took place in the 1960's. It starts out in an office on the day Barack Obama is scheduled to be sworn into office, a historical day for everyone. John Lewis is seen getting ready for the big day when a woman and her two young boys come knocking on his office door to learn about John Lewis's legacy. The entirety of the story takes place in flashbacks starting off when Lewis was a little boy on a farm in the south. He talked about how he loved chickens and how when he grew up he wanted to be a chicken farmer but instead decided to grow up to be a pastor because he was passionate about the word of God.

The issue continues on with flashbacks of his journey to how far him and his fellow African Americans have come to gain the same freedom white Americans have. The story is really well outlined and is explained in great detail of each historic event that took place in the 1960's with the rising Civil Rights Movement.

Week 7: Maus and the Legitimization of the Graphic Novel

Art Spiegelman's Maus, is an illustrated interview where he asks his father about surviving the Holocaust. The story is dramatic, emotional, and gripping. Spiegelman presents his father's story in a straightforward cartoon way, with Jews represented as mice and Nazis as cats. The simple mouse masks make it easy for readers to empathize with the protagonists. Along with the eloquent visual storytelling, they make the book easily accessible to non-comic readers. The cartoon style and anthropomorphic allow the reader to approach otherwise horrific situations in a direct way, without the use realistically explicit images, while still retaining the power of the experience.

The present day sequences give us an unsentimental portrait of this survivor of the death camp. Spiegelman doesn't glamorize his father as some sort of hero. Vladek, his father, comes across as irritating, manipulative, exasperating, and even bigoted. I wasn't expecting some humor, but it was there, though often wry and situational. It's a very rich, well-rounded book that opens your eyes more about the experiences that survivors of Auschwitz and other death camps went through to tell their amazing, emotional stories of life and death.  

Week 6: Underground Comics

Robert Crumb's Whiteman is about a family going camping in the woods and the father takes his two kids out to explore nature. While the kids are wanting to stay out longer and look for "bigfoot," they leave their dad behind because they claim to have seen a footprint of the creature. The dad is left alone in the woods chasing after his children when out of nowhere a hairy creature kidnaps the Whitman in sack and brings him back to his pack. Sexual encounters are had between the man and the female yeti. The man falls in love with the yeti and wants to stay with her.

The story reminds me a bit of Peter Jackson's King Kong with how the giant ape was fascinated by a female human. Instead of unimaginable, sexual encounters ensuing with that of Whiteman, the beast falls to his death. I've read another piece of Crumb's and I have to say, he's pretty out there. I read one story of his where he talked about his life, basically bragging about his current life, and takes us back to when he was in his mother's womb (literally.) We are treated to a graphic birth of Crumb submerging out of his mother's womb. The mother proceeds to have sexual encounters with her newborn baby but luckily the father walks in and asks what the mother is doing and she immediately stops (looking upset that her husband was home.) Newborn Crumb tries to escape literally back into his mother's womb but the father pulls him back out and tells him that he needs to get a job. Crumb is then kicked out and cries as he has to look for a job.

I don't think I'll ever understand Crumb's disturbing, crude, sexual, works as he is said to have taken LSD and claims to not like drugs after his experience with it. I beg to differ.

Week 3: The Comic Strip

For this week I read some Calvin and Hobbes. Growing up, I never got around to reading these sort of classic "newspaper funnies;" I was thrilled to have the opportunity to finally read a well known classic that has always intrigued me. This is undoubtedly one of the most popular comic strips of all time. Calvin, a young precocious little boy who's imagination runs wild, while sharing the world and adventures around him with his stuffed (imaginary) best friend Hobbes.

What's attracted me the most to this multitude of adorable comic strips, is that it's not written for kids. It's completely appropriate for children but there is so much depth and subtlety to the comic. There's a lot of culture criticism, commentary, and focus on the media and the environment. The kid is outright sweet but mischievous with an imaginary best friend. But there's a darker element to Calvin and his tiger. At times, the strip makes you wonder: is there something wrong with Calvin? Should he be receiving some kind of therapy?

I've gone through and read a lot more of Calvin and Hobbes recently, one particular story that felt unsettling to me was where Calvin begins receiving letters from an unknown writer; they come marked with a skull and crossbones and the must be decoded. And what happens is that the letters are actually coming from Calvin's own house. Which means that Hobbes wrote and sent them. Which if you recall, is impossible, because Hobbes is an imaginary tiger. And Calvin honestly does not remember writing and sending these messages to himself, which means that he probably has a serious case of multiple personalities disorder. So the question becomes: what sort of tragedy has Calvin suffered that has fractured his personality thusly? It's a troubling question, for me, at least.

Calvin and Hobbes captures a type of magic. The humor dances between many levels, brilliant visual comedy, erudite observation, poignant insight, laugh out loud slap-stick, and just feel good stuff that touches everyone who has really lived.

Week 5: Body Talk: Eisner and Thompson

Will Eisner's A Contract with God is a collection of four short stories set in the 30's era fictional Bronx neighborhood. In Eisner's world, the denizens of the Bronx gossip about their neighbors, scheme to escape the terrible realities of tenement life, and hang an endless supply of laundry to dry. Families fall apart over the weekend and drunks fling their infant children across rooms in drunken rages. A whole page is even devoted to the word "Shaddap!" There is a surprising sexual frankness in three of the four narratives. Women are objects and sex is either portrayed as infidelity, desperate attempts at personal gain, or attempted rape.

In this story, Eisner figuratively draws his characters and situations in this very sketchy line work. Some of it is pleasing to look at, while other parts of the story's line work is just hard to make out because the lines are used for the values as well. Simplistic lessons abound: honesty is good, greed is bad, and no man is above God. His characters emote hugely and gesticulate wildly, often with a fist raised to the heavens.

Week 4: The Comic Book

For this week I read Action Comics #1; the first time the world is introduced to the Man of Steel, Superman. This comic featured a few separate stories, only the first of which featured Superman. This was also the first appearance of Lois Lane, the reporter at Daily Planet who becomes a staple of most Superman stories. A difference that I noticed in this story compared to the more established Superman histories: Superman's alter ego, Clark Kent, works at the Daily Star newspaper, not the Daily Planet.

The Superman story in Action Comics #1 gives the first details of Superman's origins, explaining that he is from another planet and was sent by his scientist father to Earth in an attempt to save the infant Kal-El's life from their dying planet, Krypton. On Earth, he is discovered by the Kents, who raise him as their own and name him Clark. There's a scientific explanation for Clark's amazing strength, in the form of ants and grasshoppers.

While it's true that Superman's adventures only last 13 pages, much is accomplished in them. His powers were a result of him being millions of years more evolved than humans, while the planet he came from (which the name is never mentioned neither his birth parents' names,) is said to have died of "old age," indicating that the people of this world have been alive much longer than humans.

Siegel and Shuster, Superman's creators, would have no idea how successful their character would become. He would go on to inspire other heroes like Batman, Captain Marvel, Martian Manhunter, and many more. In truth, every superhero ever created owes their existence to the Man of Steel and this comic.

Week 2: Understanding Comics

In Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics, he examines comics as an art form. Understanding Comics is truly a comic book written about comics as a literary and artistic medium. He explains the fundamentals of genre, including the passage of time, depiction of motion, and broad interpretation by the reader as elements unique to comics. 

He also provides a detailed history of the medium, along with examples of various styles and strategies used. He provides the book with examples of the works of some of the most well known comics artists in the world, along with the techniques that make them notable in the evolution of comics. McCloud provides plenty of visuals in order to demonstrate each concept he introduces. He contrasts the work of both Eastern and Western artists, and points out the influences of many non-comics artistic masters, including Picasso and Monet.

The six steps involved in creating any art form are examined in detail. Although he insists that all artists will follow some variation of this formula, he also makes the argument that only creators choosing to focus on ideas and concepts over form will actually elevate the medium to a higher level. There are brief discusses of the pros and cons of using color to illustrate images, especially by means of the traditional four-color process used in the United States.

The influence of Expressionism on comics is also reviewed. Examples are shown of ways in which different comics artists convey mood and appeal to the readers’ senses. Emotion through use of different images is analyzed, either with or without the addition of word balloons and sound effects.

Week 1: The Graphic Narrative

Shaun Tan's The Arrival is truly captivating. There were no words in this graphic novel. No dialogs, no written sentences, nothing. But as I realized throughout my read, they weren't needed. The mesmerizing art was enough. Never have I read such a graphic novel before without the use of words with all the emotion in the illustrations! The story was poignant and I loved how realistically it portrayed immigrants and how metaphorically and fantastically the author drew the world-building and settings.

A man says goodbye to his wife and daughter, and sets out, taking only a suitcase containing a precious photograph of his family. He leaves a dark and ominous city for a journey across the sea. Days pass, each depicted by a drawing of the sky. The ship enters the harbor and a strange new world is revealed. The man is examined, catalogued, and labeled. Then he ventures forth into an amazing city. He is bombarded by new sights and sounds; everywhere he looks there is something he's never seen before. Even the food is strange. He doesn't speak the language and must draw pictures of what he needs.

Aside for the graphics and settings, what I loved the most was the fact that, not only we could see the main character's experience at traveling and changing completely of surrounding, but also the people that he meets on his way and that gave him some support. It was breathtakingly captivating. My only complaint is that I felt was too short. It could have been longer, because every scene lasted less than two minutes or so. That did give some unrealism to the story - not including the settings which I like to consider well-fitting. It would also have been interesting to get to know his wife and child better, with some more scenes including them.

Adults will appreciate the simple story of a stranger in a foreign land, while children will be enraptured by the amazing drawings of fantastical creatures that populate this magical world. This is just a wonderful book to be looked at again and again, and a powerful reminder that we are all immigrants here.