Webcomic

This week I will be discussing "Homestuck". Homestuck is an online webcomic that was introduced in 2009 and finish in 2016. Unlike regular comics, Homestuck is an interactive, long comic founded by Andrew Hussie. It revolves around John Egbert and his 13th birthday. The end of the world comes and he has to team up with alien beings to take down the enemy who wants to take over and destroy the universe. Homestuck it a futuristic webcomic and is filled with satire and rhetoric. I've been reading this comic since 2012 and I find it humorous and entertaining. The creator chose to go with simple designs for the characters since it is a 1,000+ page webcomic. Overall, I believe it has influenced the way I perceive animation, comics, and illustration in general. I find it fascinating comics can evolve to how they are now. While Homestuck does not resemble the normal comics you would pick up, it has it's own twist to the comic world that I find fascinating. This webcomic opens up the doors to what comics are.

Pretty Deadly

1.) What is your reaction to the text you just read?

       When I read Pretty Deadly, my first reaction was feelings of shock. I was shocked when I read the comic because from the first page, I didn't suspect any blood or death to be shown. The title indicates that there might be some violence in the comic, but because I never suspected to be exposed so early on in the comic of the violence, I read it with suspense and shock. It is a pretty morbid piece, with blood scenes and killing. The art style enabled me as a viewer to keep reading and stay interested. There was no overkill in dialogue, and I was able to understand and follow the story with ease. Overall, I was fascinated with the story, but since I wasn't expecting so much action in the beginning, I would say the comic was intense for me.

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

       I connected with the phrase "death fell in love", because it can be used as a metaphor and I have seen different types of stories on how death falls in love. I connect to it because it is something that is not common, and it holds a bit of serenity and elegance. Death has the connotation to be negative, however, when "death fell in love" it ultimately created this story, in which a child was born when death was in love.

       I also can connect with the creator. The creator was female and I am female. It holds power to me because women have been oppressed, and the creator of "Pretty Deadly" is able to showcase the power she has to make a comic. In this comic, strength, elegance, and knowledge is showcased. 

       I connect also to the art style. When I read the comic, I was instantly drawn to the art style. It reminded me of my own art style. I am intrigued by why the creator chose to draw out the comic in the way that she did. It is more of a mature style, and can maybe hide a small symbolism of power given to women.

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 definitely like to see this as a film. I think the story about death falling in love and creating a child would be good to make as a film. It would allow viewers to feel more of the story. It would also increase the intensity of the story. For example, violent scenes would be much more intense when it is played as a film than on paper. If it were to be a film, I would change the length of the comic. I would expand it so that the viewer can take in every single detail and not just 40 pages. 

Manga and Japanese Comics

This week I read Inuyasha "Turning Back Time" manga. Essentially, the manga focuses on the life of 15 year old Kagome and her encounters with a magical well that transports her back 500 years in the past. There she meets Inuyasha and their adventure to recover the Shikon jewels starts. I remember reading this manga when I was younger and loving the story and art style. Manga has more of a cartoonish approach in their mangas which appealed to me. I would say manga has definitely impacted my style as an artist and enabled me to further experiment with my style. Even to this day, I believe my style is influenced by manga. Manga is much more fictional and adventure driven in my eyes. Even to this day, manga is everywhere. Many students love manga and take influence from it.

Moebius Stories from Heavy Metal

This week I read Moebius Stories from Heavy Metal. It contains many small comics that are image driven. Most of these comics have more images than dialogue. These images can be simple black and white style, or more enhanced and vibrant colors. Some of the comics also incorporate surrealism. One of my favorite from the few was "Free Fall" which is a simple black and white textless comic that incorporates surreal ideas and images. It was a simple comic with no real representations or text, but ultimately shows the beauty behind the concept of comics. It tells a story without the use for words or color. It allowed me to view comics as a form of art and craftmanship.
As an artist, we desire to explicate concepts, ideas, or stories through the form of visuals. What I got from this week's comic is that this style or decision for fantasy in comics help enable the development of graphic science fiction and expand the fantasy spectrum.

Stereotypes and the Ethics of Representation

What is your opinion about the use of stereotype in comics, animation and gaming narrative? Is stereotyping ultimately a necessary strategy in character design and representation?  Do you think you have personally been affected by stereotypical representations?

While I was heavily exposed to stereotypes in comics, I do not necessarily agree that stereotypes are needed. In my opinion, I find it to be a facilitator to comic creators. I say it is a facilitator because creators use stereotypes so that: viewers can understand or have a connection to a new character, reduces the hassle of making characters. For example, if a comic creator made a character with a plaid shirt and overall holding an axe, we as the viewers would assume he is some sort of lumberjack.
Stereotypes are all around us, but we are so exposed to it that we become desensitized to the exploitation of it. I believe I have been affected by the representation because I fall under categories and labels. I am an art student, and usually people perceive art students to be insomniacs and drug users. While the stereotype isnt always expressed in comics or other visual media, it still lingers.

Maus

This week I read Maus and it's about the holocaust and WWII. It starts with a mouse going to meet his father and asks him to talk about his life. The comics is about the father's flashback of the holocaust. What's interesting about this comic is that the beings in the comic are represented as mice, cats, or pigs. Jews were represented as mice, Germans were represented as cats, and the Polish were represented as pigs. The way the creator wants the viewer to experience the comic allows us to somewhat feel for the scenes we are seeing and feel as if we can relate. It is a very powerful comic, and its imagery is intense. It is a well written and drawn out comic that enables us to view the art of comics and story telling more profoundly and appreciate it more.

The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers

I read The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers and their story of their shootout at the county slammer. It revolves around the characters Freewheelin' Franklin, Fat Freddy, and Phineas. Before they raid the jail, they smoke drugs outside. This underground comic is mostly associated with drugs and how sometimes that topic may be taboo. In this comic, the use of drugs is associated with the characters, and actually defines them.

Though the story is short, it is long enough for the reader to gain an impression of the characters and the plot. Though we don't know why the brothers wanted to raid the jail, we get a sense of personality from them that indicates why they would want to. They have a care-free attitude that is defined by their use of drugs.

Though the comic revolves around drugs, it does not make the comic unappealing. In fact, it just shows how characters can be connected to real life and real people. The  art style is simplistic, yet adds enough detail to each character, with exaggerated features and scenery, so that you understand what is happening. There is no color, however that does not hinder the comic in any way.

Overall, I would say the comic is well written with its character development. The comic did not make me feel uncomfortable, it was actually entertaining. The comic ends with two brothers attempting to kill the third brother. The readers do not know what happen to the third brother or if they all get caught. What we end with is how the brothers were under the influence of drugs.

Underground comics tend to touch on topics that are considered taboo, or uncomfortable to talk about freely. This comic was easy to read with good panel sizes and dialogue, with about 6 panels on a page on average. Though short, the comics was able to touch on a topic really well, and the art style fits well. It is a more simplistic cartoon take on comic style, but nonetheless a good comic. A