Eisner's graphic novel Contract with God, is about the life of a Jewish man who had a relationship with god through a "contract" written on a rock, and because of that, devoted his life to doing good. When his daughter passed, however, the character believed that God did not follow up with the contract, and eventually the character threw the contract away in an alley. The character grows up, and after throwing the contract away, become a cold and brutal person. He eventually tries to form another contact with God, but gets a heart attack and dies.
Thompson's graphic novel Blankets, takes us through the life of two brothers and the difficulty of childhood.
Both Eisner and Thompson develop their characters thoroughly through developing the story for the character, and allowing the reader to see their past experiences. In Contract with God, the readers follow the main character as he grows up from a child, to an adult. We see that as a child, everyone would say that God would reward him and that he was chosen by God. We develop an impression of the character before the main plot hits. Thompson does something similar as well. Before we get the main story, we learn a little bit about the character in the beginning. In Blankets, we first learn about the characters through a bed scene and them arguing. After that, we are taken back to experiences the older brother experiences, and we gain an impression of that character through him growing up.
Wednesday, October 11, 2017
Flash Comics
I recently read one of the first Flash comics. In this comic, the reader finds out how Flash got his superpowers. We also meet an enemy of Flash, someone who had been affected by chemical and radioactive waste, which ultimately altered his physical self.
Flash was just a regular guy before he gained this power. When he gained the power, he was confused but soon used it for things like giving books to his secret love or trying to run to a place quickly.
This comic had more dialogue, and allows the reader to really understand the story. Past comics I have read, dialogue was much shorter and the comic as a whole was shorter. With longer comics, readers can dive into the world deeper and get a better understanding of the story.
The more and more I read, the less I wanted to put the comics down. The art style was more American, with less cute and more realism.
Flash was just a regular guy before he gained this power. When he gained the power, he was confused but soon used it for things like giving books to his secret love or trying to run to a place quickly.
This comic had more dialogue, and allows the reader to really understand the story. Past comics I have read, dialogue was much shorter and the comic as a whole was shorter. With longer comics, readers can dive into the world deeper and get a better understanding of the story.
The more and more I read, the less I wanted to put the comics down. The art style was more American, with less cute and more realism.
Krazy Kat
I have read a little bit of crazy cat, and I love it! I love the simplicity of the comics. The characters grow on you when you read a few of the stories, and the colors are very vibrant.
Krazy Kat has a lot of unusual and weird stories to read, however, the reader can be drawn to its vibrant colors and random dialogue...if you like remakes.
Original Krazy Kat art was black and white with more text. If you like reading, you'll definitely like the older comics.
Krazy Kat is about the love triangle between a cat, mouse, and a dog. It is an American classic with its art and story. It has inspired many artists and comics. I would definitely read more of Krazy Kat on my free time for the laughs and surreal enjoyment.
Krazy Kat has a lot of unusual and weird stories to read, however, the reader can be drawn to its vibrant colors and random dialogue...if you like remakes.
Original Krazy Kat art was black and white with more text. If you like reading, you'll definitely like the older comics.
Krazy Kat is about the love triangle between a cat, mouse, and a dog. It is an American classic with its art and story. It has inspired many artists and comics. I would definitely read more of Krazy Kat on my free time for the laughs and surreal enjoyment.
Little Nemo in Slumberland
Little Nemo in Slumberland revoles around the life of Nemo, a young boy whose dreams take over. In his dreams, Nemo travels to different lands and meets different people. Every night, he has different dreams and different experiences. Usually, the reader will come across bright and surreal lands, with surreal story lines. The comic takes the reader into the mind of the character, and often allows the readers to explore a dreamlike reality. It opens up the creativity and imagination of a young child, and how these experiences can affect him greatly.
Little Nemo in Slumberland allows me to take a step back into the imaginative world, and experience surreal memories again. McCay does an excellent job with color and text. I am impressed that although he did not color the comics, but he knew exactly how he wanted them to be perceived.
Little Nemo in Slumberland always ends with Nemo waking up disheveled in his bed with either him talking to himself, or his mother yelling at him. This ending always gets me because other characters can't understand Nemo. They always yell at him because he either yelling in his sleep, or he is unresponsive. Little do they know what's going on in his mind.
Little Nemo in Slumberland allows me to take a step back into the imaginative world, and experience surreal memories again. McCay does an excellent job with color and text. I am impressed that although he did not color the comics, but he knew exactly how he wanted them to be perceived.
Little Nemo in Slumberland always ends with Nemo waking up disheveled in his bed with either him talking to himself, or his mother yelling at him. This ending always gets me because other characters can't understand Nemo. They always yell at him because he either yelling in his sleep, or he is unresponsive. Little do they know what's going on in his mind.
Thursday, September 28, 2017
Betty Boo
We watched Betty Boo clips during class. When watching Betty Boo, I was able to break down bits and pieces of the animation.
First off, animation is considered a very surreal idea. This clip was created in the 1930s, before cocaine was legal. There are drug references in the film.
When I watched the film, I found the surrealism very intense. This is because unlike today, animation wasn't seen as a way to narrate a narrative, or specific goal. Animation had a very surreal connotation during its time. When animations created in the past are seen today, we can see a change from what is the norm, to what the animators wanted to achieve.
Betty boo clips shows the life of a created character made by Max Fleischer. One of the adventures seen was Betty Boo running away from home, running into a cave and meeting ghosts. The main point of the short clip was to show a lesson about running away and being ignorant. Betty Boo left home because her parents were not nice to her, however, she did not know the outside troubles she would face when she would leave. She left based on a moment's emotions.
This sheds a light to how animation today has evolved. Now, most animations are for entertainment, and show a story that many can follow. Unlike today, past animations in the 1900s may be more difficult to understand, and contains more material which you may not be exposed to, like surrealism. A lot of surrealism in these clips are not usually for story, but more for what the limits are for animation.
First off, animation is considered a very surreal idea. This clip was created in the 1930s, before cocaine was legal. There are drug references in the film.
When I watched the film, I found the surrealism very intense. This is because unlike today, animation wasn't seen as a way to narrate a narrative, or specific goal. Animation had a very surreal connotation during its time. When animations created in the past are seen today, we can see a change from what is the norm, to what the animators wanted to achieve.
Betty boo clips shows the life of a created character made by Max Fleischer. One of the adventures seen was Betty Boo running away from home, running into a cave and meeting ghosts. The main point of the short clip was to show a lesson about running away and being ignorant. Betty Boo left home because her parents were not nice to her, however, she did not know the outside troubles she would face when she would leave. She left based on a moment's emotions.
This sheds a light to how animation today has evolved. Now, most animations are for entertainment, and show a story that many can follow. Unlike today, past animations in the 1900s may be more difficult to understand, and contains more material which you may not be exposed to, like surrealism. A lot of surrealism in these clips are not usually for story, but more for what the limits are for animation.
Understanding Comics
Understanding Comics, written by Scott McCloud, shows an illustrative explication of the general information for comics. Some topics McCloud hits on are how and why there you can change comic layout, why we can understand panels, sequential, and how we all can understand comics.
One of the important topics I was interested in was how we humans are selfish, and greedy. When we are selfish and greedy, we tend to view the world as revolving around us. McCloud discusses that because we are selfish, we tend to see faces in everything around us. Some examples he includes are how we see faces in power outlets, car bumpers, etc. This leads to another main point: how are we able to understand faces in comics?
Since we are 3D, we are exposed to realistic faces everyday. However, many comics do not mimic everyday life, almost always simplifying features. But why is it that we can see faces with less detail? Does it enhance the face or detach it?
McCloud explicates that we can decipher faces from two dots as eyes and a line for the mouth because we are selfish. We define a face with eyes and a mouth, therefore we can see a face. This explains why we can see faces in everyday object (power outlets, car bumpers, etc).
When minimizing the face, it actually enhances it. It lets us understand that our brains can see faces when there is no detail. Eyes are significant when we see faces, so we automatically assume two dots in a circle represent eyes. McCloud discusses this extensively, allowing the reader to grasp the concept.
One of the important topics I was interested in was how we humans are selfish, and greedy. When we are selfish and greedy, we tend to view the world as revolving around us. McCloud discusses that because we are selfish, we tend to see faces in everything around us. Some examples he includes are how we see faces in power outlets, car bumpers, etc. This leads to another main point: how are we able to understand faces in comics?
Since we are 3D, we are exposed to realistic faces everyday. However, many comics do not mimic everyday life, almost always simplifying features. But why is it that we can see faces with less detail? Does it enhance the face or detach it?
McCloud explicates that we can decipher faces from two dots as eyes and a line for the mouth because we are selfish. We define a face with eyes and a mouth, therefore we can see a face. This explains why we can see faces in everyday object (power outlets, car bumpers, etc).
When minimizing the face, it actually enhances it. It lets us understand that our brains can see faces when there is no detail. Eyes are significant when we see faces, so we automatically assume two dots in a circle represent eyes. McCloud discusses this extensively, allowing the reader to grasp the concept.
Tuesday, August 29, 2017
The Arrival
The Arrival, is a wordless graphic novel that presents the story of immigration. Though it contains no words, Tan is able to create a story for his audience through subtle means of body expression, still shots, and the human experience.
In The Arrival, the audience journeys with the protagonist on a new adventure. We as the audience are able to discern this due to body language. Body language can show a lot of a characters emotions and feelings. Small gestures such as scratching the head, or resting hands on hips enable us to form an emotion onto the person. The beginning of the novel shows us frames of the protagonist packing. We can infer that the suitcase shown is due to travel. However, as the audience progresses through the story, the protagonist is seen interacting with other travelers. The protagonist shows signs of confusion, and nervousness.
The audience can also decipher the story by still shots. Human beings have this extraordinary skill of connecting and understanding still shots, or images in a line. This phenomena is still something that cannot be understood entirely. When two or more frames look alike, but with slight differences, our brains are able to understand that the frames somehow coincide with each other, and ultimately create a story. Even though this graphic novel is wordless, our brains can create the story from linking. Each page contains numerous smaller images lined up the page. As our eyes drag from one image to the next, we subconsciously remember what we just observed and connect it to the next image. Therefore, we as humans do not need words for our brains to interpret story. Visually, our eyes can sense the idea of a story
Wordless graphic novels utilize a different way of thinking and interpreting. The lack of words also shows the flexibility and malleability we humans have within our brains. Subconsciously we do not know that we can interpret experiences and emotions without words. The Arrival enables us to understand a little bit more about how we can interpret and understand the world around us.
In The Arrival, the audience journeys with the protagonist on a new adventure. We as the audience are able to discern this due to body language. Body language can show a lot of a characters emotions and feelings. Small gestures such as scratching the head, or resting hands on hips enable us to form an emotion onto the person. The beginning of the novel shows us frames of the protagonist packing. We can infer that the suitcase shown is due to travel. However, as the audience progresses through the story, the protagonist is seen interacting with other travelers. The protagonist shows signs of confusion, and nervousness.
The audience can also decipher the story by still shots. Human beings have this extraordinary skill of connecting and understanding still shots, or images in a line. This phenomena is still something that cannot be understood entirely. When two or more frames look alike, but with slight differences, our brains are able to understand that the frames somehow coincide with each other, and ultimately create a story. Even though this graphic novel is wordless, our brains can create the story from linking. Each page contains numerous smaller images lined up the page. As our eyes drag from one image to the next, we subconsciously remember what we just observed and connect it to the next image. Therefore, we as humans do not need words for our brains to interpret story. Visually, our eyes can sense the idea of a story
Wordless graphic novels utilize a different way of thinking and interpreting. The lack of words also shows the flexibility and malleability we humans have within our brains. Subconsciously we do not know that we can interpret experiences and emotions without words. The Arrival enables us to understand a little bit more about how we can interpret and understand the world around us.
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