Week 15: Revised Post - Underground Comics

What a time the 60s-80s must have been if you were a comic artist. So for this week's reading I took it upon myself to read through a couple different comics on the list that seemed like they'd be best to understand where comics in standing within the last 40 some years in terms of style and cultural imagery. My readings were Gay Comix Issue 01 and Tits and Clits, please excuse the names. The titles were eye-catching enough if it weren't for the typical colorful and saturated imagery used on the covers. Not too mention the sexual innuendos in the imagery gave me a small chuckle. Comics back then appeared to not be "shy" with their use of incredibly explicit imagery. 

As an LGBT identifying person myself, reading these comics was really fascinating. To be able to read comics which took place in such an interesting time range in our culture I was able to see how the LGBT community saw itself back then and how it was treated through the stories drawn out. Many of the stories in the Gay Comix issues were relatable and were cool to read because even back in the heights of the 60s or 70s LGBT people weren't too different from the community today. Although the comics were strife with the usual stereotypes that even still exist today most of the imagery were presented positively. If it seemed offensive the image was probably intended as a social critique since back then if you were outed as LGBT you were more likely to be discriminated against or harmed. It was all the more power to the comic artist to express their sexuality in such an oppressive time.

I think it was also very important for comics such as these to exist at the time. The LGBT movement was starting to really pick up after the 60s and it exploded in the 80s due to the AIDs pandemic and other cultural issues. Comics like these were a good way to educate people and share the experiences of queer-identifying individuals who faced certain struggles in a time where the idea of sexuality was really being fought against. LGBT comics were also a good way to help bring more visibility to the community which has obviously been a success seeing as LGBT in comics today are even more present and seen in a more humane and positive light.

Week 14.2: Transmetropolitan In-class Response

1 1.   Are there any prominent symbols in the story? If so what are they and how are they used?

a.     The most prominent symbol that I was able to catch while reading through Transmetropolitan was the three-eyed yellow smiley face. Almost strangely similar to the smiley face seen in Watchmen, the symbol here is used, in my opinion, as a sort of political symbol for the Transient movement in the comic. The symbol has three eyes and is obviously used as a universal image used by those who are transient, or partaking in the major transhumanism event taking place within the city in the comic. It looks like it was meant to symbolize a non-human person through using a very well known image/emoji as it's base to connect with people who view it.

2.    What connections did you make with the story? Discuss the elements of the work with which you were able to connect.

a.     I was sort of able to connect with the protagonist of the story, Spider Jerusalem. He’s cynical but his distrust and general antagonistic attitude towards other people was strangely understandable seeing as he was a very hardcore journalist. Journalists get into the thick of things when it comes to general political movements, mass disasters, etc. It’s their job to get as much out of a story as they can so they can give it to a news broadcast or someone to get the word out. Maybe Spider just saw too much while he was a journalist and it got too him and that’s why he hid away for so long? Or maybe he’s just a cunning jerk of a journalist. I’m not too sure yet since I haven’t gotten too far into the storyline of the comic.

3.    What changes would make to adapt this story into another medium? What medium would you use? What changes would you make?

a.     Mostly editing and watering down the story to fit it into a more watchable medium like television or a movie. The visuals would be doable though costly, but since it was originally a comic it would have to be widdled down for the sake of being able to make it into a move or television series. I have no doubt that the visuals would be doable, if not as outlandishly stylized and detailed as what’s seen in the comic at least. Some mature content may also have to be cut from the story as well depending on if it’s made into a movie or television show. The MPAA loves to tear at anything with content like Transmetropolitan so it would have to be carefully crafted so the essence of the story and its characters would still be translated into another medium form.

Week 14: The Future Of Comics

     The future of comics is a bright one as far as I can see. With many people moving into the digital age it's no surprise that the creation of webcomics has kicked off so well. By now too there're so many webcomics to look at that it's become quite daunting as to what to choose. The only downside I can see of course is that with the continuing rise of webcomics we'll probably see a drop in physically produced comics at some point. Of course physical comics paperbacks and graphic novels will always be desired so they'll still be produced but I can see that maybe the demand to produce them may be dropped some bit since so many people use the internet to read now.

   For this week I took it upon myself to once again read the magical and, ahem, perverse webcomic known as Oglaf! Oglaf is an incredibly funny and well witted (ha see what I did there!) comic that features a short sets of panels every week showcasing an often hilarious or sexually filled event featuring incredibly funny and often likable characters. While it's very NSFW at times it's definitely worth a read if you're not afraid to see certain genitals and bare chested peoples. The comic is usually updated fairly quickly. The creator is very connective with their fan-base so there's always a lot of funny instances in the comic that the fans can understand and appreciate, especially with the pop-culture or fantasy trope references that are thrown in.

   Webcomics are definitely going to bring comics forward from now on seeing as how easy it is to make them and put them on the web for all to see and interact with. Compared to a physical comic, webcomics are easier to produce and plan out so long as you have the right programs. With different products coming out to help would-be comic creators as well like comic based digital design programs and how-to books almost anyone can make a comic/webcomic now. I mean one of the most popular comics on the web right now involves well written dialogue and stick figures. Never think you can't make a comic! It's becoming easier now more than ever.

 

Week 13: Reconsidering The Superhero

   "Who watches the Watchmen?"

   As a long time comic reader I've went through so many cookie cutter comics and characters it gets a tad tiring. A number of comics follow the safe route and try not to offend or shock their audiences, but with Watchmen well it's done the exact opposite and I couldn't be more thankful for it completely dismantling the idea of what it means to be a "superhero".

  Alan Moore's Watchmen is definitely one of my all time favorite comic books.I picked up the graphic novel as a teenager and I can say that it's ruined superheroes for me. I mean this in the best way possible of course. Watchmen is an incredible comic due to it's complete deconstruction of the superhero genre. Every character in the story appears to fit one of the usual hero archetypes you're used to but then they completely flip it around. In this way though I feel that Alan Moore has created a comic which features incredibly realistic "heroes" that would feel more appropriate for the time they take place in. 

  Most characters we see in comics aren't too complex. They're quite likeable and sometimes even mary sue/stuish at worst. With Watchmen you have gritty characters who's personalities differ greatly in a way which each makes them so unique and real. You wither like them or a little or you hate them by the end of the comic. That I feel makes a comic really great to read. I feel more invested in characters when they feel more real. 

  I also love how Watchmen eradicates what the usual comic reader is used to when it comes to the whole good/bad morality scale. In this comic no one is truly good or bad. It's an incredibly gray moral area and I feel that just makes it so much more interesting to read. You aren't really sure of what a character may do or what they're capable of.

Week 12: Comics By Women

   Since their conception, comics have admittedly been a very male-dominated area in the creative industry. Of course that was before and this is now. More and more today young girls and women are getting into comic books and overall the comic industry is really becoming more open and changing to adapt to readers of all genders and comic creators as well. We're starting to see and hear about a lot of notable women comic creators, artists, and writers coming into the comic-scene and I for one could not be happier.

  In terms of reading for this week I took a look at Noelle Stevenson's Lumberjanes. Lumberjanes is an incredibly fun and well written comic with a mostly female cast that follows a young group of girls who encounter a number of interesting supernatural events while away at camp. I'm also a big fan of Noelle's work since I've followed her back when she was starting out on tumblr. Her comic work is really quite good and her humor and characters are adorabley drawn and on point.

   Lumberjanes has been well acclaimed by the comic audience and I believe it's now an ongoing series. I for one am glad to see and read comics like this because it shows how women can write/draw an interesting comic just as much as any male creator. I've seen a few instances of people complaining about female creators and how the comic industry should be a male-only niche. But seeing as how comics have grown to such a wide audience now it's important that as a creative industry that it should reach audiences of all ages and genders regardless of who dominates the market, which by the way is almost half and half I believe and is coming to be a lot like the gaming industry now where almost half of the gaming audience is female and many developers coming in are female. By spreading out and appealing to a more diverse audience representation is also being distributed more which is something the comic industry has really needed.

  

   

Week 11: Comics As Contemporary Literature

   The graphic novel, or comic, is in my opinion a definite form of literature. It's just more directly visual of course than it's word-only counterpart. Honestly by now graphic novels and books are really pretty similar, it's just the stories are told through different forms. For this week I took a look at Daniel Clowes's Ghost World. I remember watching the movie when I was younger but finding out it was a comic surprised me a bit. It makes it interesting to see it jump from one medium to another like that.

   Ghost World was an interesting read and it really flowed like any other story you might read on paperback. The only real difference of course is that you have a lot of drawn out panels to look at and take in along with the character's dialogue to understand the story. I can see how the graphic novel is becoming such an appealing form of literature by this point. Ghost World feels a lot like any other drama I've read but the visual aspect of it's comic form gives it so much more than a simple word-based book would have. Following the ventures of Enid and Rebecca in the novel was much easier and I felt more connected to the characters thanks to the visual help of the graphic novel. I feel that this is also one other aspect graphic novels have over books and why they can be successful. Through the use of visuals the reader can form an easier connection to what they're reading by seeing similar imagery or anything of interest.

Week 10: Manga

    I can bet you my entire comic collection that most avid comic-readers these days have at least one manga issue jammed somewhere in their shelves. It's not a surprise that the Japanese comic has become such a huge market across the globe and has become such a big niche in the US here for many comic readers.

   Manga is an incredibly interesting and unique style compared to its American counterpart. First, they're usually much smaller than the average comic book. Mangas are usually pocket sized so they're really easy to buy and carry around to read. There are also many interesting genres of mangas available to read like harem, shonen, shoujo, etc. The usual visual style of manga is also unique as it sticks relatively close to the anime standards seen from Japan. The main difference I've seen though between Japanese comics and American though is that in Japan manga tends to have very well drawn environments and smoothly drawn actions in the panels. Not to mention the sound effects are usually cleverly drawn in to match the style of the comic too. Did you know that you could also purchase a giant magazine style preview book for manga as well? Believe me it's awesome.

   As for Manga I've actually read, I've read too many!!!! Though for this class I decided to read Battle Angel Elita, a classic in my opinion and a really good manga to get into. The artwork is amazingly detailed, the environments are really well drawn, and the action in each panel is pretty incredible. Reading through the story is like watching a scifi movie come to life!!!!

Week 9: The Wide World Of Comics

    Comics come in all sorts of shapes, colors, languages and intense story-driven imagery. All over you can probably find a comic most anywhere in the developing world. While not as incredibly big in the US, comics are also popular reads in Europe, Asia, and elsewhere. I'd like to focus on Europe for the rest of this post though because while the US was pumping out superheroes in gosh knows how many different comics Europe had its own thing where they practically made comics into event more of an art form than what it already was.

    From most of my readings of European comics I've come to realize that the form and dialogue in many of them is much more diverse and serious at times compared to US comics. I feel this might be because of how much more lax Europe is than the US when it comes to dark or complex topics and depictions about certain issues or events. 

    The main thing that I've always noticed is that the art quality is incredibly beautiful and unique. That's not to say the US comic industry is any less intricate but one can only take so many superheroes in spandex suits fighting bad guys. European comics can range from so many incredible styles and languages. Many comic creators experimented with the visual form so you were able to read through some incredibly visually rich stories that don't always rely on just dialogue to help tell a great story.

    For this week I had read Moebius. Definitely one of my favorites and an incredible work of art. It's a comic that in itself is what I think is a pure work of art. Although quite bizarre at times the stories told in Moebius are filled with fascinating ideas and complex metaphors or dialogues. The line-work and colors in the series are something completely unique compared to the other comics I've had the pleasure of reading. Going through Moebius is like looking into someone's dream as cheesy as it may sound but it really is an amazing visual feast that not too many comics are able to accomplish. I highly suggest giving it a read though. 

Week 8: Comic Stereotypes and Representation

     As a long time reader of comics it's not at all surprising by now to have seen more character stereotypes than you can count. Of course these stereotypes can be problematic or partially harmless depending on context, characterization, etc. Our culture is chock full of proper and improper representations of different genders, races, etc. From movies to comedy routines, there's a stereotype for anyone and anything. 

    In comics we see a ton of stereotypes in the visualization and personality of the characters within the pages we read. From the big, muscle-bound super-powered male to the meek and fragile female protagonist. While I understand that using stereotypes makes it easier for people to label and allow the reader to understand a character more easily through the use of visual details and characterizations that pertain to a certain stereotype that most people can associate with(example: prude, sexually repressed virgin or a fat, burger-napping American) they're not always a positive tool in the long run and I feel like they really take away from proper characterization. Not too mention how easy it is to fall into an area where a stereotype just flat out becomes racially charged interpretation(ex:the angry black woman, the "spicy" latina, etc.).

     Falling back on stereotypes can limit one's creative ability in being able to create interesting and lively characters. Stereotypes are often repetitive and sometimes incredibly offensive or can do more harm than good when it comes to proper representation. It would be better for any creative artist/writer to use stereotypes to their advantage by completely deconstructing them. Take the usual tough, macho-male protagonist and make him an emotional but heartfelt person who embraces his feminine side from time to time. Doing stuff like this can breath a lot of life into a comic or any story really and it helps by showing that characters, like us, have dimensionality. 

Week 7: Maus

Art Spiegelman's Maus is a great example of how the comic medium has come so far in being able to present deep social commentary while also being such a great read. Maus is simplistic in it's styling and uses a unique visual depiction of it's characters. Jews are seen as mice, the Germans/Nazi party are cats, Polish are pigs, etc. This interesting choice in character depiction and the simple look of the comic help make it easy to get into the story and gives it a more "welcoming" feel for the reader. Although the content of the novel is very, very dark I felt that the use of making the characters cutesy looking animals to help lessen the dread of what I was reading. Finishing the novel helps give you an appreciation for this visual choice though as the differentiation between peoples as different animals helps give the metaphor of separation between the cultural groups who were involved in WWII in Europe. Such can be understood when you realize that the Jews are shown as mice while the Germans/Nazis are cats. Understanding the meaning behind the relationship between these species, that being one is prey and one is the predator, gives the visual of Maus an even more insidious feeling while reading.

The story of Maus focuses on the retelling of Spiegelman's father's time as a Polish Jew during the height of WWII in Nazi occupied Europe. Spiegelman of course uses the characters of mouse Artie and his father in the novel as stand-ins for himself and his father but the impact of what is told is no much lessened. The story is told through Artie's father as he's being interviewed by his son. The comic goes through his account of how he met his wife, dealt with the building Nazi occupation and anti-semitic attitudes which grew in his homeland, how he and his family evaded capture from the Nazis, and other situations. The story, while containing moments of humor and genuine human moments, becomes incredibly real and hard to read as Artie continues to interview his father's past and more horrible events are brought into light which happened to his father and his family. 

Maus, I feel, is an incredible book because despite how the characters are all anthropomorphized non-human species it's one of the most "human" comics I've ever had the genuine pleasure of reading. The protagonists of Maus are just so incredibly relatable and realistic in their choices and characteristics that even though they look like mice I still felt for them and what they went through. Being based off of true events also adds to this sympathy. Despite the style of the comic what's taking place in the story has happened in reality so it hits hard. You're reading a comic but it's still being based off of true events which are hard to swallow. 

Week 6: Underground Comics

Whoo boy, what a time the 60s-80s must have been if you were a comic artist. Sex, drugs, and rock n' roll as they say. So for this week's reading I took it upon myself to read through a couple different comics on the list that seemed like they'd be best to understand where comics were at within the last 40 some years in terms of style and cultural imagery. My readings were Gay Comix Issue 01 and Tits and Clits. The titles were eye-catching enough if it weren't for the typical colorful and saturated imagery used on the covers. Not too mention the sexual innuendos in the imagery gave me a small chuckle.

As a queer person myself, reading these comics was really fascinating. To be able to read comics which took place in such an interesting time range in our culture I was able to see how the LGBT community saw itself back then and how it was treated through the stories drawn out. Many of the stories in the Gay Comix issues were relatable and were cool to read because even back in the heights of the 60s or 70s queer people weren't too different from the community today. Although the comics were strife with the usual stereotypes that even still exist today most of the imagery was presented positively. If it seemed offensive the image was probably intended as a social critique since back then if you were outed as LGBT you were more likely to be discriminated against or harmed.

I think it was incredibly clever for comics such as these to exist at the time. LGBT was starting to really pick up after the 60s and it exploded in the 80s due to the AIDs pandemic and other cultural issues. Comics like these were a good way to educate people and share the experiences of queer individuals who faced certain struggles in a time where the idea of sexuality was really being played with. LGBT comics were also a good way to help bring more visibility to the community.

Week 5: Will Eisner, Beauty of Movement

After reading A Contract With God I feel like I can appreciate Will Eisner's work even further. Before I can't say I knew much about Eisner's work although I had seen and probably read some of his comics when I was younger. He truly is a comic legend and his approach to making comics is incredible. In much of his work Eisner employs a large amount of body gesturing in the characters he draws in his comics. He does it so well, I believe, that while reading his work you can understand the character and their intentions, emotions, or direction by simply reading the body language.

 Gestures are very ingrained in culture whether you realize this or not. By understanding what gesture applies to what you can use this to your advantage to give your art more life and this is exactly what Eisner did. His drawing style also helps since it's beautifully drawn out ink sketches that are stylistic but still close to realism so you can easily understand what you're looking at.

In A Contract With God the pages are set up differently from the usual comic paneling. The pages are left open with various text or illustrations and most of what you see is taken up by the characters on the page and what they're doing. Most pages in Eisner's novel contained a large amount of characters so using successful body language in the way they were drawn paid off to help carry the story easily along to whoever was reading. While speech bubbles were used for dialogue I feel most of the story was carried through the characters and their movements or emotions shown on each page.

As for the actual story now, I can't say it moved me too much but I did feel a sort of connection through what the main character in Eisner's novel was dealing with. Everybody has lost a loved one and it hurts, and sometimes we turn to finding something to blame to take away the pain. The focus Eisner's story, Frimme, takes out his pain from dealing with a close family death by pouring his anger out on god. Through the novel we see Frimme's anger and pain through Eisner's line-work and well drawn gestures. That I feel was a part of the novel which was really well done.

Week 4: The Comic Book

Comic books have always been something of a love/hate relationship for me. Love in that I adore the medium and I have three large boxes under my work bench back home filled with a couple hundred comic book issues I've been collecting since the age of twelve. And hate due to how much collecting them has killed my wallet. But I digress, I still love to collect them and read them occasionally.

The comic book medium has, in my opinion, been such a great storytelling medium. While I admire simple text and lack of pictures from the many books I’ve read since it left me to using my imagination to fill in the void, comics have made reading a story much easier. This is because comics already have the visuals of their stories drawn out. You don’t have to imagine what the main character looks like or what color the monster of the week bleeds, you get all this detail from the images drawn out in each panel drawn in the comic medium. This I feel makes it easier to read through a story because you don’t have to put extra time into visualizing what you’re reading.

Comic books are also great because the stories told in them are always ongoing unlike most comic strips and you can pick off where one part left off in the next issue.  Depending on how the paneling is done to comic books can really draw in a reader to the story they’re telling. One of my favorite types of comic books is the Japanese Manga. Besides the incredibly diverse stories and worlds presented in many stories told through the Asian comic medium the way in which the action is drawn inside the panels is like the American comic strip on steroids. What the heck do I mean by that? I mean that the art is at times incredibly drawn and the movement is darn amazing. Mangakas really outdo themselves with their work.

Blue Dragon Ral Grado

Week 3:The Comic Strip

I've always been an avid reader of newspaper comic strips since I was a kid. Sunday was my favorite in terms of running over to my grandparent's house to grab the paper to read one of the many comic strips featuring my favorite artists and series. While I've read comic strips from Foxtrot to Snoopy , one of my favorites, especially in terms of comic strip styling, is Bill Watterson's is masterpiece Calvin and Hobbes. 

From its gorgeous line-work to it's witty and endearing humor, Calvin and Hobbes is truly a wonderful example of how well the comic strip has progressed as a visual form of quick storytelling. Like most typical comic strips Calvin and Hobbes follows the basic formula of using 1-4 panels to show a situation that young Calvin and his friend Hobbes gets into. The dialogue is usually funny and childish, but Watterson manages to layer some deeply insightful ideas into his work that any adult would be able to catch when they read his comics.

Besides the dialogue the line-work done for Calvin and Hobbes is one of my favorite among the older comics. The style is incredibly energetic and has a lot of personality. Calvin and his rambunctious and clever personality is shown through how he's drawn. I'm also a sucker for line-work that shows varying weight so of course Watterson's comic caught my eye when I first saw it as a child. The panel work is one of my favorites as well due to how easy it is to read and quickly figure out what’s going on. That’s how most comics are drawn but the content within each panel is what makes it work so well, which is why I think Calvin and Hobbes uses it so well to show Calvin and Hobbes’s various adventures.

Week 2: Understanding Comics

While many diverse and fascinating topics were brought up in McCloud’s  Understanding Comics, I found that one of my favorites involved the cartoon. I’ve always assumed a cartoon was just an animation with catchy visuals and stylized, and usually simplified, designs for their characters, etc. The concept of a cartoon is more so used as a term meaning to simplify something so it’s easier to understand and push the story to an idea to the broader audience in a way that doesn’t lose their attention. This is something that’s carried over to comics pretty heavily, and it’s why cartoons have such a high appeal.

McCloud discusses how we are attracted to cartoons because of their simplicity and how their visuals allow us to see ourselves. I thought this was cool to read because it brings up a lot of interesting ideas about identity and visual awareness that is connected to these “cartoons” that we watch or read. The cartoon, as McCloud said, is a vacuum in which the viewer’s identity and awareness is pulled into it. Whether identifying with a character, object, etc. we the audience put ourselves into what we’re taking in.

           

As discussed before McCloud brought up how people see themselves and concepts within cartoons/comics. We put relatable images and experiences into our work after all so it’s not far-fetched to think that so many cartoons and comics are easy for the general audience to throw themselves into to understand what they’re reading better.

The visual style of the cartoon is also incredibly popular in comics due to it’s simplicity compared to realism, ability to create many visuals which are easy to read, a multitude of different styles you can draw out, etc. The cartoon also get’s ideas across really quick. Take for example the usual comics in the Sunday paper. The comic panels are simple and easy to read and whether or not they contain the scenes or ideas presented are easy to understand thanks to well chosen images and a simplified style.