Enemy Ace War Idyll by George Pratt (4 points)

 I chose this comic because it was done by George Pratt. I had him as a professor my junior year at Ringling for Sketchbook Class. He's an amazing person who is so wise yet curious about life. He's full of wonder and I also notice there's a bit of sadness in him that comes out as something beautiful in his work. He loves to illustrate images on the topic of war. Whenever he gave us a demo in class, he would paint. soldier in watercolor, always with the face blurred out in some way. I always wondered why doesn't he like to paint the faces? Well, after reading his graphic novel I understand where this style of his was developed. The story is about trauma and war. I think the reason for the faces to be blurred out in some instances, not all, was to put the reader directly in the shoes of the character. Without a face, we don't have to really watch the character progress through the story as an outsider. I think this tactic creates emotional empathy for the viewer. This whole story was incredibly dark and real. The war stories told felt so accurate like Pratt had been there himself. I started to feel like I was part of some of the situations myself. The paintings in this novel are phenomenal. I couldn't believe how much work was put into every panel and how effective each and every moment was because of the visuals. Some of the flashbacks didn't have any words. This made me feel like I was actually feeling the memory of the horrible moment and perhaps my ears were ringing when the bombs went off and that's why there are no words describing the scene. Every panel was done with traditional media. I believe it's all done with mixed media such as watercolor, ink, colored pencil, gouache, and then paint splatters on some of the pages whenever there was an explosion or maybe even snow. I was really happy to see that one of George's graphic novels was listed on this page! I feel enlightened and grateful to have consumed something so amazing done by an artist I personally know.