Maus - Art Spiegelman

I read through both books of Maus. In my experience, I have never really read a whole lot of graphic novels, and really this was only the second autobiographical one I've read. It was just such an interesting story and crazy how it's all true. I can't believe how lucky Art's dad was to survive that whole mess. It definitely felt more like the pictures were in there to just aid the words, the telling of the story, which was the most important part. I really enjoyed how the story phased in and out of the story and the current time of him actually making the comic. Being able to use mice and pigs to show who was Jewish was really cool, especially when some people took their pig faces off and showed they were actually mice. Anyway, I really liked Maus for its well written, and interesting, story.

Craig Thompson and Will Eisner

So we had to read Craig Thompson's "Blankets" and Will Eisner's "A Contract With God." I'll start by saying, by far, I enjoyed Blankets much more than the Contract. It could just be because it is more contemporary, or because it deals with subject matter closer to my age group though. I really could not get into Will Eisner's work, it just was not very captivating, art or story wise. Blankets had great pacing and the characters in the story were very believable. The art style of it was also simple, but felt appropriate. They both dealt with religious themes and ideas though, which I personally do not like. I also feel Blankets was so well written that I really wanted more. More to the story. I wanted some kind of resolution. It seemed to be building up to this incredible revelation or something, then kinda just dragged on and died out towards the end. It was very unsatisfying and I don't know if I took away a message from it. Still it was very entertaining to read through, and again, maybe I'm just upset because it made me crave for something more.

Underground Comix

Again, with my limited amount of comic experience, I didn't know quite what to expect with underground comix (<-- the "X" is important). After reading a few, and in class, I found them to be hilarious, in subject matter and tone. Seriously, they are just ridiculous as far as humor goes. There was one in class about a super hero, he is flying along, when all of a sudden he sees a pretty girl. Naturally his first reaction is to go make love to her. As he's flying, his [male organ] bursts through his pants. His reaction is something to the effect of "Oh darn, there goes my penis." It's not necessarily my taste in subject matter, but the situations are just so absurd, they are funny.

I can totally see why these would be appealing when they came out. They feel kind of rebellious and spontaneous. The art isn't that great, but they definitely have charm.

Peanuts - Calvin & Hobbs - Little Nemo - Krazy & Ignatz

I might be considered a bit crazy, but I am not a huge fan of the Peanuts or Calvin and Hobbs. They are great and well put together, and have a very enjoyable sense of humor. They both handle some pretty mature ideas and messages and the art style is pretty cool too. I guess I have not spent enough time with them to fully appreciate them (specifically Calvin and Hobbs).

Little Nemo is really impressive though. I like how imaginative the dreams are, while still feeling grounded in reality. What am I saying.... they are pretty ridiculous, and I like it a lot! I guess I just like that feel, it could be the way it is written, mixed with the art style. It feels so well crafted, it feels.... good, I don't know how to explain.

My first few reads of Krazy and Ignatz made me confused. I just thought, "ok this is a random comic about a mouse who like to hit this cat with a brick." However, when it was explained in class about how sophisticated it was, I really started to appreciate what the comic was doing. It really is a pretty clever strip.

Scott McCloud - Understanding Comics

I love Scott McCloud's book, Understanding Comics. I read it last year over winter break because someone had highly suggested it, and I was not disappointed. I don't remember a lot of specifics from the book, but I do know that it has really made me question all my choices when it comes to making a piece of art or why I like certain things. Also, he is pretty big on recognizing patterns in art and history.

As for what Scott talks about in the book, I think it's great as far as picking things out that you don't really realize when you read a comic. For example, the passage of time between panels, images and text as icons, sequential movements, impact, ect ect.

I also watched his Ted talk. I have to say, he's a pretty nerdy guy. My favorite thing from the whole talk was his quote:

Visions:

Learn From Everyone
Follow No One
Watch for Patterns
Work like Hell