Asterios Polyp

Asterios Polyp is about a man who struggles with his own flaws. It is a story about the relationship between free will vs. fate. He is of italian and greek decent and relates parts of the odyssey with his life. I like when he talks about how the ancient religion of greek gods explained the randomness of the joys and tragedies in life. They were powerful beings that did things upon feelings. If they didn't like someone they would doom them. The ancient gods were very human. So is it a religion based on god or is it a religion explaining human nature. I do believe that life is 50/50 when it comes to free will vs. fate. Fate happens but we always have a choice in how to deal with it. Situations can destroy us, or make us stronger in terms of how we choose to handle things. As human we are flawed and so are relationships and there is no helping that. Asterios is self-centered and insensitive and his wife is very passive. Their flaws get the better of them which leads to their separation for a period of time. I do like the ending when he does make it back to her and they start to patch things up. I liked it's hopeful wishful thinking ending. Relationships won't always be wonderful. But, we live for those special moments when we can really connect with someone else. Relationships are work and people don't want to always compromise. But I feel if you really love someone you'd do anything for them. You'd swallow your pride just to be with them. Sacrifice is a big part of love and I think that is a major theme in this story.

Manga

When it comes to Anime/ Manga I am very indecisive. As an Illustrator am told that Anime is a dirty word. However, I don't think that it is. It is easy to copy characters and as a young artist to learn how to draw the human form. I used to draw Anime characters all the time when I was in middle school. However, I really don't like that much Anime. I feel that most the time it goes too fast, its too over the top and too out there. I tried watching more Anime shows and reading manga outside the Amereican mainstream. I didn't really like anything. The only shows/ comix I liked are Sailor Moon and Miyazaki films. I find the story telling style to be more relaxed. I also liked a short Anime called Gravitation and that was a yaoi animation. I read some of the Yaoi on the website. And I have to say as a gay man I eat that stuff up. I wish that more comics in America or even shows featured gay male drama a little more at least. Even though these comix are mainly focused an women readers I like them more than the gay manga comix for men. Because I like the romance of yaoi. It is very passionate, romantic, and intimate. Where as the men's comix are all about sex. Which is boring. Most yaoi doesn't even have sex, but if it does, it isn't graphic at all. If the characters don't have sex, it is a better story. To quote Andy Warhol, "The most exciting thing is not doing it. If you fall in love with someone and never do it, it’s much more exciting." Which I think might be true to a point. I don't think never doing it is out of the question. I mean come on we are all human. But I think waiting for the perfect moment or the right time for sex is definitely is more exciting, it's more romantic. What's the fun in just doing it? Where's the chase? Where are the feelings, where is the story? 

Persepolis

I've been wanting to read this "graphic novel" for a long time now because I heard it was so good. Everyone was right it was terrific. I think that a lot of teenagers and young adults can benefit from reading this comic. It explains the situations in Iran that could be understood better, also it shows how teenagers and children are similar to those of American ones. Identity is a big theme in Marjane's novel.  Not only does she discuss her own identity but the women's identity suppressed by the regimin in Iran. Her punk style and attention to punk culture started when she was in grade school. The older genration was not accepting of the new style as of those in Europe later on in the novel. I like the changes that she goes through in the novel trying to find herself by cutting her hair and changing her clothes to fit the punk style. She has a hard time fitting in at points of the book which I can relate to. But more than anything she experiences racism for being Iranian. When she is staying with the nuns they scold her for being Iranian and uneducated. Which is horrifying because nuns are suppose to be holy figures but, they are just as ignorant and insensitive as anyone else. However, I like how she shows how educated she is about them asking them if they were prostitutes before they became nuns. There is another instance where a boy is flirting with her and he asks what she is, and she says French. Everyone has told a lie at one point or another to fit in with a crowd of people and if not they are lying. We all want to be accepted and appreciated and instead of showing people who we really are we lie and tell people what they want to here. But as we get older the more we begin to accept ourselves as we are and care less of what others think. All in all Marji may have her faults every once in a while but she is a badass character. She steps to be beat of her own drum and isn't afraid to speak her mind or put people in their place. Although she maybe too stubborn for her own good at times, it is also her strong point. I really couldn't imagine living as she did. Living in Iran with a corrupt government and then being sent away pretty much to live on our own without the help of your parents. She does struggle with loneliness and depression for most of the book and she has a hard time connecting with people. I think that one of the great life lessons in this book is that at times we may feel like we are alone but we never truly are. Her grandmother is my favorite character besides Marji she is full of wisdom and like experiences I adore her. She is the best mentor and tough yet sweet. I like when Marji comes to visit her and Marji is still wearing the veil and she tells her to take it off. Marji forgets she is wearing it, her grandmother says never forget you are wearing it. She says something like, they will try to take your identity but never let them. Which is still significant today. Today, the most important thing is to be yourself. Which is a new movement that is stressed in America's younger generation. It probably started with the gay rights movement.

Maus

It think that making the Jews mice and the Nazis cats is great symbolism. Obviously cats eat mice, but making the characters animals show survival and everyone is for themselves. Even though the characters are drawn mice it is still pretty horrifying because it is attached to a very real event that effects people still today. Even though that the story is about the Holocaust, the story is mostly about the relationship between a father and son. Even though the son never was apart of the Holocaust (he was not born yet), he still feels guilty he wasn't there. Why? He also talked about what if he was there. He was even talking about which parent he would save if they had to send one to the ovens. Which is horrifying. Traumatizing events that you hear about or experience will get you to think about things you would never consider. Its funny how dogs are represented as Americans. Americans want to do good they are loyal, but kind of ignorant. I am not sure why Polish people are represented as pigs or why the French are frogs. Is the author trying to say that the French are not useful? I think that representing humans as animals have a lot of symbolism in it. Also, I think that the author chose to do this because animals are easier to read about because it takes the horrifying humanistic trauma out of it. Also it helps divide the people based upon species, to really show how people were divided during the holocaust. I like the art style it is bold and simple which gives more power to the story rather than the drawings.

Underground Comics

I can see why parents at the time wanted to ban pornography from comics. Of course children would be handing around comic shops and seeing these graphic images. But, while some are just for pornography's sake, sex is only a minor aspect of the comic's story. However, I found that the comic where a couple goes flying and as they are, fornicate and fall out of the sky and land in the lake upon climax. Talk about a weird fantasy. But not as weird as when the white man, in Crumb's story, has sex with a Yeti. But, that isn't the main purpose of the story. Even after being rescued from the wilderness the man still goes back with the yeti. I think that the story implies that we are all still animals weather we like it or not. We all desire comfort and security and perhaps the modern life is way too complicated to be appealing. Crumb also creates a lot of religious stories, like when the man is entranced by the golden fish necklace and his religious experiences cures his illness for a short period of time. He also creates the comic version of the bible. And everyone knows that there is sex talked about in the bible, however, Crumb shows it. I think that as people are concerned talking about sex is some-what appropriate  however, showing it, is out of the question.  The big shocker for people at the time were the gay comics, since homosexually was still taboo. The stories are interesting about how each person goes through their life challenges.

Eisner

Eisner and Thompson aren't just comic book artists, they are narrators. I enjoy Contract with God and the different characters stories and how in depth they are. However, Eisner tells human stories, where Thompson tells stories with subhuman characters with surrealistic settings. I have to say I was shocked that Thompson made up this adventure in, Doot Doot Garden, where two characters go floating down a diarrhea river and eat poop. Quite disturbing. But, perhaps he was trying to make commentary about something that was going on at the time.

I very much like Eisner's drawing/ pen and ink work. His characters have a lot of expression in the character him or herself, without the words to explain. In Contract with God his stories take place during the depression in New York City. Many of his characters in this story have a deep depressing story attached to them. You can tell that life during that time must have been very hard.
In his comics there are also lot  of reflection and going from past to present. I also like how the page is open to text and the image as well, and not confined to panels. Such as when the Jewish man looses his daughter to sickness and he comes back to the present to explain why he is breaking his contract with God. Of Course Eisner, writes for a mature audience because he writes about sex, scandal, and drugs in his comics. During the time he must have had a hard time selling his comics because comics were frond upon, not only that but mostly kids were thought to read comics. He must have been apart of this sort of underground comic book readers club.

Blankets is a very compelling story about how this characters goes through periods of changes in his faith and his art and also how his religion affects his art. Also about he is afraid to tell his parents that he is no longer a christian. The little things are stressed the most in this graphic novel and they seemed to be the most important things in this character's life. There is a precious moment where him and his brother are trying to catch the static electricity in the blankets. Fairies they called them. This is one of the moments that this graphic novel is named after. It also could be referring to loosing his virginity to the beautiful girl from his summer camp. It also could be referring to hiding under the blankets. Because he is a very sad and afraid teenager, because he is grunge and his high school is out in the country filled with cowboys who bully him. It also could be a symbol for being blind or ignorant. One other thing i can think of blankets symbolizing is to seek and want comfort and security in life.

Both stories are very heavy and not a light read at all. Both having a conflict with faith in god themselves, and humanity.

The Comic Book

The difference I see between Carl Barks, and Tin Tin; and Ec comics are the age differences. Carl Barks and Tin Tin are for the younger age groups; and Ec are for a mature audience. The way Donald Duck and Tin Tin are drawn in a whimsical fashion with bright colors and lots of fluidly drawn movement and action; and unrealistically drawn. Where as EC comic books are stagnant, detailed, pen and ink work; realistically drawn, and the text speaks for most of the action portraid. The format for the Ec books is more on the lines of a graphic novel with the story at the top of the page typed like a novel and  the drawing is on the bottom of the page. It pretty much is a traditional written novel with a illustration on each page. The comics are mostly told through speech/ speech bubbles. Also the context of the comics with Donald Duck and Tin Tin the problems in the comic are light hearted and slap stick. Where as the Carl Barks comics are murder mysteries. As you grew up during this time I think you would read Donald Duck comics first, then Tin Tin, and then Ec. Tin Tin is the sort of in between the two it has the light heartedness of Ec with the mystery of Carl Barks, but doesn't go as far as murder. As the number of pages differed from the Ec Comics being the shortest and Tin Tin and Ec being the longest comics. I think Carl Barks had a shorter number of pages because the audience which is children would have shorter attention spans which ment less time reading.