Literature of Comics and Graphic Narrative

 I really liked this comic. It was on the edgier side I would say and it makes sense because it was listed with the Roots of Comics Punk titles. I think it was a fun read because of the imagery combined with the craziness happening around the characters. The whole feel of the story is very wild and nonlinear. It's mixed in with little side stories which were really fun and also kept things interesting. After the side stories and even some comics resembling an advertisement, the book always takes the stories back to the tank girl at some point. The stories were pretty crazy overall with humorous commentary that was raunchy and a little dirty at the same time. There were a lot of adult subjects like sex, but it was very direct. The images were explicit in some spots. One page had two characters staring at each other naked and there were little arrows pointing out the anatomy of a penis on one page. The characters were really interesting and they become even more unique through the st...

     I  really enjoyed reading this Manga. Phoenix was a really interesting story. I was surprised by the content and the drama that was told. The story of Phoenix is always fascinating with the mystery of a creature being able to burn to death and then regrow from the ashes. So I was intrigued from the beginning of the story and I was following along pretty well. Right away there is a bit of a "plot twist" within the character where one man leads on an entire tribe. Meanwhile, his own tribe comes to the island to kill everyone and when this scene played out, it was still the beginning of the story. I wasn't the biggest fan of the art style in general, but I started to enjoy it once I was captivated in the drama. The images told the story really well with a simplified style. The entire piece is in black and white but the images are clear and crisp which makes for quickly understanding each panel. I think this style choice was important to the story because it worked ...

 Every time the topic of the holocaust is brought up whether it's in school or elsewhere, it breaks my heart. Maus is a beautiful piece that describes the experience of a Jew in this time period in a simplified way that really triggers the emotions. I think something unique about this story is that the people aren't actually people at all but they are drawn as animals. To be more specific, the Jews were drawn as mice while the Nazis were characterized as cats. This is utilized really well in my opinion. Cats and mice have always been seen as enemies or predators and prey because cats eat mice of course. It makes a lot of sense for the story and for the topic of Jews vs. Nazis. But I also think it helps the reader connect to the situations even more. It's easy to see the emotional aspect of the story through simplified expressions and it also helps those who cannot relate to the Jewish people entirely, relate to them as just people. At some point, you forget about the charac...

This comic was an interesting read. I kind of enjoyed it just because it seems so over the top with the sexual jokes and literal sex included in the comics. Without a doubt, this comic is for adults! I enjoyed the commentary between characters. I realized that the thoughts and comments made throughout were usually women of course and the way they described their situations to the readers was both relatable to other women as well as exaggerated. For example, there was one story where a woman was a sex addict and she set out to find different ways she could satisfy her needs. one of these ways was waiting on the street to get raped by whoever was willing and whoever was lurking the streets that night. This situation made me think because for the character it was a positive thing, technically, but in reality, rape is a very traumatic situation that many women go through. So they are touching on what some men have been told that women really want and that they are always looking for sex, b...

 After reading The Killing Joke, I thought it was a very good comic. The Illustrations were really well done and made me see the two characters I've always known, in a different light through a very aesthetic art style. Some of the mark-making used to describe textures in the illustrations was psychedelic and hypnotic with repetitive usage of circular shapes causing a swirling effect in some scenes. The way everything was depicted included a bit of surrealism in the designs of the figures as well as environments. I was pretty invested in the story not only because it was interesting and beautiful to look at but also the characters were familiar to me being the Joker and Batman. Personally, I would say that the Joker felt more evil in this comic compared to the cinematic films I've seen in the past. I've always known The Joker as a crazy character, one with very little to no empathy for others which can be terrifying in the position of a villain. Especially one with nothing ...

 Will Eisner and Craig Thompson are amazing graphic novelists. Both of them show a great deal of drawing skills, story telling, and sense of emotion in their works. For the Will Eisner Reading I chose to read the novel "Last Day in Vietnam". What I found unique about this graphic Novel was that the main characters of each short story talk to the audience. I think the way it was written draws you in in a way that you feel as if you are a part of the story. This was a really good choice for the type of subject matter because it allows people to get in the heads of military men. It's a different way of life that is expressed so well through the stories he presented. You truly start to care about the characters of every one of the stories throughout the book. The artwork was wonderfully done even though it was simple. The artwork of Craig Thompson's book, "Blankets", was just beautiful. The story was so sad and the character again tells the story from his point ...

 Carl Barks was the "Duck Man" and considered one of the few comic giants of the time. He illustrated the Walt Disney's Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck Comics. I thought these comics were a lot of fun. I know they were meant for children because they were appropriate and easy to read. I followed along easily with the story and the illustrations are super clear in terms of their emotions. The artist didn't worry too much about detail, but there was enough information to get the point across in a simplified style. The characters are cute and the personalities are quite obvious to each of the ducks. Donald Duck has always been one of my favorite Disney characters because he is so expressive and silly. His triplet nephews were always fun to watch too! I've always liked the Uncle Scrooge stories. There is something fun about a grumpy rich old man getting fed up with funny little kids, and there's always a gag or a lesson at the end of the stories which makes for a go...