Underground Comics - Revision

The allure of underground comics is very understanding. During their development, they represented the ever important evolutionary process of generational liberation in parts of the 60's and 70's.

These have been some of my favorite selections so far. I found the explicit and over the top subject matter interesting for the fact that these were completely rooted in reality.

Being someone who didn't live through these time periods, my perceptions of the way the specific stereotypical lived then has been fed to me form pop culture references from movies and historical images.

This is why these comics are so interesting; they are coming form the source. I mean, I'm not going to lie, it is very over the top, and I sometimes struggled with what amount of people were actually like this. Well, its more of the question of to what degree was the average intensity of it, and how different was it experiencing this without the internet broadcasting it? I feel like there was a lot more emphasis on actually experiencing things, so these comics were a way to communicate that we were all in the same boat.

ADDITION

These hand drawn comics that were actually available in a physical entity yet considered underground just make them seem so unbelievable to me. It is the complete opposite now in todays age, you know you have hit mainstream when it exists and is distributed physically, besides the inkjet printouts you did yourself in your dorm room.

One of the strongest allures about these comics to me, a child of the digital age, is how they now represent an era to me. It also makes me wonder how much of this was , much like when I see people posting crappy film photos of parties online to seem stylish. Is this what our next generation will take out of mine? What legacy are we leaving behind besides photo booth on our macs and tumblr?

I really though enjoyed the honesty in some of the shroom trip scenes through the comparison of what the trip experience was, to what the person looks like in real life. I admire this humor, and it gives me insight to the perceptions of the way this counter culture viewed themselves.

I liked the extreme probability of these trip scenes being inspired by real ones as well.

Webcomics

Comics were not able to avoid the inevitable changes that were in store with the oncoming of the internet. Along with the music industry, magazines, newspapers, and movies, comics took a beating in terms of revenue and threw aspiring comic creators into a new world where circulation is a whole new animal.

Webcomics have been the answer to these new set of digital rules. What I find interesting about them is that the drive for revenue is gone. If you want to succeed in comics, creation comes first and monetary rewards come as a small afterthought.

I feel like this absence of this reward has really created a strong group of artists who really do it purely out of passion. Don't get me wrong, I am completely aware that this was the same for traditional comics. But I feel that there is something very strong behind the ability to instantly update and share a new strip with the world; to see reactions and see your fans take it in first hand.

Tiny Kitten Teeth was one of those web-comics that really hooked me. Yes, there are many web-comics that don't necessarily have an emphasis on artistic vision and embrace this "daily update" feel in the art-form, but this one doesn't skimp out. I get a true sense of graphic narrative and it is a beautiful marriage of what was then and what is now. I love how each post even reads very narratively - some panels are single, while others blend together and contain many ideas.

Its also interesting how the way we process comics as a whole changed with webcomics. Instead of waiting for a volume or book to come out, now we are waiting around every Thursday or so for a new panel. The feed seems to be more chopped up, but the way the artists addresses this, it seems to flow flawlessly.

Watchmen

Upon receiving my copy of Alan Moores Watchmen from Amazon, I knew it was one of those books that I haven't gotten around to reading and my procrastination mixed with its newfound fame from a mainstream movie would make it somewhat difficult to read.

I found there to be too many expectations of how I needed to experience the book, especially since many of my friends have always loved this work. It became one of those "I don't want to step on their turf because I will never understand it like they do" childhood fears. Kind of like when you watched a movie hundreds of times as a kid and felt like you were an expert at it.

I tried to not let those things get to me. I also tried to brush off the fact that I am not that interested in super heroes. I wanted to keep an open mind, I knew this was an amazing work of literature and art and I understand the validity in the work.

But there was something about just having completed many fluid and more contemporary memoir graphic novels that just kept me from really digesting and appreciating the book. The shakiness and darkness never sat well with me. All this having been said, I do think that I will be able to take a better look at it when I am at a different point in my own reading pattern.

But all that put aside, I enjoyed the basic premises of the setting. Taking semi-recent history and altering it slightly to create a world totally different from where we are in now was very intriguing. It seemed to put emphasis on how loosely our world today is put together.

Fun Home

One of the things I enjoyed most about Alison Bechdels Fun Home is how the storyline veered away from the traditional method of storytelling where everything has a set timeline. In this book, events are altered and retold according to more information learned from certain sources.

This brings a sense of intimacy throughout the story, as well as shedding light on the fact that everyone has their own unique world in our head.

There is no standard for what is considered to be the absolute truth; meaning there is no event that will come across in the exact same way in two different minds. Fun Home really hits that point home, especially with the finely presented subject of family relationships and social roles.

I feel it also jumps the same lines as what Blankets did. A small town youth trying to find a connection with their parents and town - basically struggling to find their identity in a world where those resources are not available.

I also really loved the fact that the figures were taken from photographic references that were specially made for the book. Upon learning that, that really added a sense of intimacy and realism to the book, especially since this is a memoir.

European Comics

I picked a book off of the European comics list with the idea that these comics will have something that is beyond our American versions. I always get that sense when anyone recommends anything european, especially when it deals with an independent movie, book, or in this case a graphic novel.

Well what was really refreshing about Posy Simmonds Tamara Drewe, was that I really never felt the impacts of this undertone. I seem to really prefer graphic novels that rely on beautiful illustration and themes that are somewhat obtainable (though we all do enjoy some heavy underlying motifs).

The illustration was beautiful; one that didn't give me a headache. I really have trouble getting into a comic book if I find the lines to be too heavy and sectioned off, especially when I find the drawing style to be too much. Call me a snob, but we all have our preferences, almost like when you find yourself picking up a book for its cover...

But anyway, I did enjoy the contemporary feel to it. It became one of those reads that dove deep into things you never thought mattered when you were really little. Things that you didn't understand why people just brushed it off.

This focus was heightened by our first person perspective and made the complex weaving through networks of friends seem very realistic.

Manga and the Japanese Comics Tradition

Osamu Tezuka was one of the first major Japanese illustrators/animators, and his influence can still be seen today; he is considered by some to be the "Walt Disney" of Japan.

Metropolis, because of its pioneering in the development of Japanese manga, set some standards and examples for other works to follow.

What I really liked about Metropolis was the classic fusion of mechanics and flesh - something that seems to be a very popular reoccurring theme in modern animation/manga.

I grew up watching shows like Gundam Wing, Blue Gender, and Pilot Candidate (sadly this one had a very short run), and although they all are a very different breed when it comes to plot lines and basic formalities, I can see the influence that set the standard in Tezukas work.

Nextworld is a little more innocent, but I can understand that with the era and how it really was sort of the first of its kind. Japan really seems to love the story of a cyborg being trapped in a world where technology has finally turned against us, or at least aided in hurting our every day lives.

I did like the emphasis on how all species eventually end up over exploiting their own intelligence to a point of extension. Japanese manga always seems to go down this path; I would like to think so because it is completely realistic.

Stereotype and the ethics of representation

In Howard Cruses Stuck Rubber Baby, we are thrown into the world of a man who was raised with prejudice and is also struggling with his own homosexual feelings that cast him away from acceptable society.

The main focus of this comic is to show the effects of social prejudice by putting someone in the situation of being hated for who they are, when they do it to someone else as well.

This theme translates well to me with the aid of the heavy cross hatching in the illustration. Though this was created in the 90s when I feel like this was more popular (and brings back memories of posters in my elementary classrooms) I believe the thick weight to each shadow brings about a sense of uncertainly which matches the storyline and mood. Looking at the panel dense pages make me feel somewhat depressed and frustrated; I can really get the sense that ideas don't flow as well as I have seen in other books.

I would also like to point out how although this book puts a lot of emphasis on race and gender, there is not too much of an emphasis on racial features, like there are in other books. I noticed that white characters were drawn with larger lips and flatter noses, and everyone seemed to have sort of a buff metro stance.

I really enjoyed this subtle equality. I felt like it was easier to relate to each situation by giving a sense of balance; yet not too much emphasis was placed on "evening it all out."

Maus

Reading Maus was somewhat difficult in the beginning, and it wasn't because of the actual story line or content. That actually was what kept me hooked and reading; it was the illustration I found dislike in.

I read it right after I read Blankets, and I think that has a lot to do with that. In comparison to Craig Thompsons smooth transitions and decisive lines, Maus was very harsh and repetitive. Each frame seemed to repeat to me, and I felt great difficulty in holding my eyes ground in what I was reading. After some time into the novel, my problem with the illustration ended up turning to be quite beneficial. Certain visual notions became more apparent among the over saturation of repetitive frames.

The idea of the authors personal connection also kept me addicted. The way the story telling is set up; with the translation from one person through the next (parents > author) was interesting. I felt like the idea of the phrase "lost in translation" wasn't shunned. the possibility of things becoming somewhat skewed was real, and I enjoyed it for that idea.

The importance of memories is stressed, and I feel like this is used to relate to our own experiences. Because we are learning the story through someone who is experiencing it being told, we can relate to how certain experiences in our life are important and how they relate to our relationships with close family members and friends.

Underground Comics

The allure of underground comics is very understanding. During their development, they represented the ever important evolutionary process of generational liberation in parts of the 60's and 70's.

These have been some of my favorite selections so far. I found the explicit and over the top subject matter interesting for the fact that these were completely rooted in reality.

Being someone who didn't live through these time periods, my perceptions of the way the specific stereotypical lived then has been fed to me form pop culture references from movies and historical images.

This is why these comics are so interesting; they are coming form the source. I mean, I'm not going to lie, it is very over the top, and I sometimes struggled with what amount of people were actually like this. Well, its more of the question of to what degree was the average intensity of it, and how different was it experiencing this without the internet broadcasting it? I feel like there was a lot more emphasis on actually experiencing things, so these comics were a way to communicate that we were all in the same boat.

I really though enjoyed the honesty in some of the shroom trip scenes through the comparison of what the trip experience was, to what the person looks like in real life. I admire this humor, and it gives me insight to the perceptions of the way this counter culture viewed themselves.

I liked the extreme probability of these trip scenes being inspired by real ones as well.

Tales from the Crypt

These comic books were incredibly interesting to me because of the relationship to their age with their novelty of today.

These books make me think classic comic books. They fit the stereotype of horror related, high half toned print, bright color blocking, and the infamous monster with beautiful helpless woman.

But what really intrigued me was how the illustrations can stay so intense for so long, yet still be effective without becoming tiring. Reading panels kept me in a sense of restlessness; every social interaction and movement, no matter now small, was drawn out with bright colors and heavy lines.

It also interests me how these first comic books were so much more acceptable then as a form of entertainment then how they are now. By saying that I note that I am trying to exclude the common knowledge that newer generations don't prefer print or reading.

I am talking more about the genre; the core idea of what these comics represented that I feel is lost now. I think the idea of entertainment and imagination had a completely different structure then. Now we are so overly saturated with complex super heroes and special effects that we have become jaded.

There was a sense of satisfaction reading these comic books that brought me down to why I consider things entertaining and spooky. I will always wonder what it was like to read these books when they were considered modern; the novelty of the oldness always messes with my head. To process these books without modern day over saturation would change the experience completely.

Little Nemo

First of all, I loved that Little Nemo finally came into public domain, and that I was able to see them all lined up chronologically online with large thumbnails. I found it so interesting, especially for a comic that was so much a pioneer in its field, to be viewed as groupings in order. You are totally able to see the evolution of the strip; and especially when certain setups become popular and others die out. For example, sometimes the complexity changed from month to month. There were some with very minimal transitions; these even had characters blending into frames. The idea of time was blurred and so were the dissection of moments. But then we had certain times that were boxed out and set apart.

It was just really fun looking at this from the illustrators perspective; especially when you must make one every week.

Another thing I enjoyed was the varying complexity in how Nemo woke up from Slumberland. I understand that it was almost slapstick at times, but there were many instances that it really felt all to real and very adult. The certain situations and meanings seemed blunt and rivaled hardships we have; I felt like his awakening was a parallel to how we react to negativity at times. I also found his way of rationalizing how he woke up to be intriguing. The little words and sentences he mutters to himself played along with these themes.

Understanding Comics

This was rather enjoyable because of the novelty of reading a book about its own genre. Understanding Comics is a graphic novel about, well, graphic novels. This bluntness made for a clear analyzation of the whole medium.

The whole book is a breakdown of the subject matter, and its ability to be quite frank with its examples is what brings the tricks of the trade of comics into light.

When I first started reading, I thought that there would be a lot about the obvious ways we perceive comics. Meaning I expected a lot about how we physically view and move through each strip. While there was much about that, as well as the drawings themselves, I found there to be many more in-depth specifics involved.

There were a lot of things about generes and stereotypes. It became clear that the idea of comics are not about what you see, but its about what you don't see. Each strip (specific to each author) is made by what is not there. The power is in the space between each frame - the ideas and feelings you have to fill in on your own.

I do realize that this is the same with text only novels. The difference I see in the two mediums is that comics give you a baseline - a guideline if you will - into how the author saw it for himself/herself. Because of this visual imagery you get something more, especially when it comes to something so stylized as illustration. It has become apparent to me how well this translation works. I forget I am even looking at an image at most times.

This panel in Understanding Comics sums this idea up:

Blankets by Craig Thompson

This particular graphic novel is one that I have always been trying to find an excuse to buy. It was somewhat pricey, but once you pick up the physical copy you realize why. This 600 page monster of a book is filled with outstanding illustrations and phrases describing ones journey into self assurance. Craig is such a relatable character and you feel like you are right in his mind as the book progresses.

I really related to the character because I experienced something similar growing up. Though I wasn't raised completely hardcore Baptist like Craig was, I grew up Catholic and took it very seriously, mostly because I was told that it was real by my parents and adults at church. And why wouldn't I believe something my parents/adults in my life told me? After all, they are there to teach you. They're older, and to a little kid, they're always right.

I remember being so scared of sin; there was this one point that remember thinking I was going to Hell and crying to my mom. Growing older, sexuality was also terrifying. I didn't think of it as a beautiful human emotion, instead I was scared of it.

Craig seemed to experience the same struggles of taking religion/authority seriously. He was a very socially shy guy and his lust for Raina and his dedication to God seemed like they would never coexist. Each time they get closer he feels guilty and suppresses his desire for her.

Eventually he starts to get older and question what God actually was. After pushing the boundaries and finally letting loose he realizes that God wants him to enjoy his life and finally experiences being with Raina.

Some of the illustrations became so human to me; the power of guilt and fear of sin seem very blatant in some panels. The ones of Craig experiencing beautiful things that he felt he could not touch had so much built up emotion in each mark.

I really admired the attention to the female body as well. It was obvious that Craig was struggling with sexuality being a sin, but the way Rainas body was illustrated created a sense of righteousness in what he was experiencing. Instead of it being something dirty the illustrations create her body to be something very natural and beautiful.

The books ability to transform sin into something beautiful and natural, as well as a humans discovery of this thought process, really makes this book what it is.

The Arrival

In this day and age of copious amounts of digital disposable imagery, this graphic novel was a breath of fresh air. First off all, it is rare that I come across such an in depth collection of images, especially one that is printed on paper. Being a child of the digital age print is something that is a rarity to me. Physical existence means there is no way to escape it unlike its digital counterpart. I can't click away after a few seconds or even if I put the book down, it will always be there. The permanence of this media adds validity and importance to me, something that I really respect.

I really enjoyed how each frame was filled with emotional content, this really went well with the dramatic black and white illustration. The lack of words never seems to take away from the story; instead its silent imagery adds to the open/conceptual ideas of the book, meaning our own emotions are free to run wild and add emphasis on emotion.

The main storyline of being out of your element and in a new world alone matches perfectly with this wordless medium; the main characters experiences become relatable. Immigrants often experience a difficult time transitioning into a different world, often one where they struggle to fit in and are unwelcome.

The addition of words would make the novel lose its openness to interpretation which is something that is critical for this storyline.

Max Ernst

Max Ernst:

Panel I: The rooster is something that really sticks out to me. It sits perfectly next to a dark being, almost unrealistic, on the egg.

Panel II: I notice that the rooster is establishing itself as a main element of these panels.

Panel III: More avian elements are becoming prominent in this panel. The main beings feathers have evolved to become more substantial.

Panel IV: The feathers here are becoming angelic

Panel V: I see that the winged being is gone; instead there are two roosters. There also seems to be a continuation of death.

Panel VI: The mood of this feels slightly lighter, I feel optimism in the mans posture and in the womans facial expression.