Online Comic- Octopus Pie by Meredith Gran

So I have never actually read a comic made to be seen via the web. It was interesting to see the different ways in which artist laid out their comics. For one of them a scrolling sideway technique was used so that the comic became one continuous strip, in others you must scroll down and in others, such as Octopus pie, you simple see one page, click an arrow and see the next. This process is the nearest to how actual comics are read for Meredith Gran makes sure you will only see the panels she wants you to see when she wants you to see them. Unlike scrolling which lets the eyes wander to a new page before you are done with the one currently be read. Anyway, back to Octopus Pie. This comic uses very fluid curvy line drawings with quite a thick line. It is completely black and white but is interesting to look at because of the fun and fluid style. The characters were a bit of a surprise at first, such as the new roommate who is fun and blonde and also a pot head. You don't expect it for the introduction of her character is set up by the main character, Ning's, mother. You are made to believe she is this pure little girl who is annoying with her almost cheerleader like enthusiasm. But no, she is enthusiastic for an entirely different reason- this reason is she is continuously on drugs. Other things are unexpected as well and just kind of ridicoulos. For example, Ning is off to work when she realizes her bike has been stolen and so she makes a new one with a security system that will shock anyone not authorized to ride it. But in the end she ends up getting robbed for she stupidly sold her keys to her house in exchange for the parts to create her new security bike. All in all, this comic works well online for I cannot see it much as a shelf comic. It possibly could become that for it does have a similar style to Persepolis with the heavy outlines but who knows. But I will say its most appealing factor is the crazy and random things that happen to Ning that you don't expect. For another example, you can go on and look at the newest pages and find that the first page is a "guide to preventing sidewalk shuffle". This page below:

Johnny the Homicidal Maniac by Jhonen Vasquez

This was a very interesting read. It was morbid and dark but somehow kept me oddly wanting to read more. One thing that keeps one involved is the style of the illustrations. They remind me a little of the old TV show "Invader Zim" where the people have huge eyes that seem as if they have had no sleep but they somehow, are still fun to look at. They are characters which lend themselves to being very dramatic and this story is all about drama. I feel bad for the characters in the story but also find them quite ridicoulous. For example, the man who is conducting a survey for neighborhood crime who is asking people how they feel about murder which is sad that there is that type of crime going on but he is treating it like he is taking a survey on what candy taste better, or the lady who responds with a tragic account of her husbands death and then responds to this survey by saying, "umm, bad", or the little boy whose parents are neglecting him and whose father basically thinks that his son ruined his life. All sad situations made ridiculous by the actions that follow. But I will say, due to the characters being overly dramatic the expressions illustrated are fantastic. They are extremely exaggerated and therefore entertaining. The lighting on the characters and in the scene also helps to make everything seem more dramatic. It is very harsh black and white inking with slight hatching in some areas such as cloths. In one scene Johnny even exclaims "By the next time I write in this book again, I hope to be as cold as the moon that lights this page."I also love the layouts of the pages stating which part of the story you are reading. How they illuminate only a mysterious figure. In the end of the book I also like how they added sketches of just developmental work. It is nice to see some of the thought process that went into the finished art.

Alan Moore: Watchmen

It is interesting to read this comic after seeing the film a couple of years ago. I have to say I think, now having read the comic, that the movie did not do it justice. But honestly, what movie has ever done a work, not originally made for film, justice? So, that being said, I found the style of this comic to be refreshing. Not only are the dynamic shots impressive but it is nice to see a comic done with color. The black and white inking was getting to me. I thought it was interesting how they used the color to separate the idea of the present and the past or the present and what could have been the past. For example, in the very beginning of the comic an investigation is in progress and the detectives are coming up with different scenarios of what could have taken place. While speaking about these things the panels switch from them to panels of the man who was murdered. In these panels the man is seen acting out the detectives suggestions and you realize this is not presently happening due to the panel being painted in red. As well, this comic is slightly ironic, like I remember from the movie, it begins with a smiley face found in blood. A symbol of sorts to mark the presence of the murderer. Its ironic because it marks such a gruesome and horrible thing that has taken place with a bright yellow, happy smiley face. It has iconic characters such as, my favorite, Rorschach, a private detective who disguises himself by wearing a white mask featuring ever changing ink blots,  Doctor Manhattan, a blue skinned physicist, and Nite Owl, a man who uses owl-themed gadgets, to name a few. Aside from all this, the thing that got me the most is that Moore incorporates slight hints at being political. For example, he has Rorschach say that President Truman was a good man and that, basically, communism is bad. Also, Moore puts in panels that are purely action based, meaning they do not include any dialogue. These panels I particularly like. I feel they convey the sequential scene extremely well. there is no confusion about what is trying to be said.

My New York Diary by Julie Doucet

This graphic novel I do not care for. I was not able to get through the entire novel for its sexually explicit aspect does not sit well with me. I even felt uncomfortable when she first began the novel with just being with some guys she doesn't really know talking with her. How she is okay with stealing, one of the first things she writes about, and falling into bed with a stranger. Even the illustrations make me uncomfortable. The text is crammed into spaces while the rest of the panel is overflowing with items given the same amount of detail as everything else. If this diary was suppose to make one uneasy, she accomplished her goal. But, one thing I do find interesting about this work is how Doucet goes from a white background to a black background periodically. Sometimes it turns black because of the time of day, sometimes to add to the fact that she is dreaming, and sometimes just to emphasize that the lights are off or not visible. For example, when she says they should read under the covers, the scene automatically turns into white on black. It is also interesting to note that this is called "My New York Diary" but she only begins to mentions dates after half the book has been read. She actually has more stories before she gets to the diary section which I did not realize until I got to what I would call a title page for it. Anyway, I don't have much else to say about this book but that I am no fan of underground comics written by men or women.

Astro Boy by Osamu Tezuka

      First of all I have never before read any Manga. I had overheard talk of it being a little backwards but my brain never remembers these things when they are needed to be remembered. So, for the first couple of pages i had no clue what was happening and thought that this Tezuka guy must have been a little backwards himself until it hit me... read left to right not right to left! So, after iI finally figured this out  everything became a little more clear. I finally understood what was happening...sort of! What  mean to say is this, now that I can read the story, I must figure out what is going on in the image. Tezuka puts so much into one small panel that is can become very confusing. And the lack of color doesn't help to separate things either for he basically uses three values- white, black and gray- in his work. I think that it is interesting that at some points he uses Japanese words to emphasize actin scenes or fill space. I also think that it is interesting that he uses a more angular word bubble in the areas where it is white in white and a more star burst hatched design when he is putting the white on black. he also uses a very dramatic and dynamic light. I think this helps the action seem more dynamic.
      I also recently saw the Astro Boy movie. I don't know what fans of the comic would think but looking at the two I think they did a pretty good job. One thing I did notice though was that the Dad is off model in the film. But other than that I think it was pretty good. I'm not sure if it is the same story the comic gives for I did not read how Astro Boy began by Tezuka but it seemed to be a good start.

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

     So Persepolis for me is a re-read, but a well needed one, for I had forgotten some main points Satrapi brings up within the memoir. This graphic memoir is really very unique. It captures events in the life of a small girl in a way that makes you both think and feel. It explains what was going on in Iran from its first occupation by Indo-European nomads, to the establishment of the Persian Empire, to the 1979 Islamic revolution. But it is still so much more than that. It dives into the story of one girl's childhood and how she dealt with what was going on around her. How she stood up against the oppression by not wearing the garment on her head and how she was a deep thinker who would occasionally have conversations with god. It is the story of her losing the ones she loves, such as her uncle who was wrongly accused and punished by death. It shows injustice in her own household with her maid being in love with the neighbor and that love being extinguished when the boy discovers she is not of any importance, she is just the maid in Marjane's household.
    But enough about the story, I think Marjane Satrapi also has a lot to say with her illustrations. For example, she often shows repetition of people standing, of people saluting, covering their hearts with their hands, sitting with the new head dress on. I think this shows a great deal that these people where forced to  conform and lose their individuality. As well, i like how she introduces a new event with a small horizontal illustrated banner almost like a she is beginning a new chapter. Two examples of this are below:

  

King by Ho Che Anderson

    King is a graphic biography of Martin Luther king jr.. The New York Times summarized it best by saying, "[King] is a study in extremes. Stark, uniform black-and-white panels contain talking heads: a Greek chorus providing varying opinions and historical background. Among these, Mr. Anderson inserts montages full of raw, visceral energy. At times, tightly-rendered grids give way to near-collage, in which retouched photography is melded with oblique, loosely sketched forms that convey an ominous tension with moody imprecision. Violent eruptions splay into vast,painterly tableaus, as in the Birmingham riots of 1963."
    For me it was more moving and moody due to the black-and-white portraits that the New York Times mentions. The panels are striking due to Anderson using no gradients, no hatching, just stark black on white, white on black. I also thought it was interesting how in the panels with "the witnesses" that he has multiple people and in order to recognize them each individually, he has the same portrait each time the same person speaks rather than having them change in position. Along with this, when Anderson gets into his larger panels (one's that are not just portraits) he really plays with space. For example in some he makes taller than need be to add a looming dark space above the scene.
      Another thing to note in Anderson's work, is that he writes, before he goes into the comic, a little background about both Martin and the historical context in which he was living. Then when you get into his actual text in the word bubbles he quotes people. Meaning, he lets the characters speak like they normally would with out cleaning anything up. They curse, use slang, etc. I also like that in some panels where no one is speaking, he has the radio on playing a tune from the era and in one imparticular, the first time we see this, he has the words flow in and out of the panels like they are swaying to the song and finally end up looking as if they are coming out of the jukebox.
And I truely think the image for the back of the book is really quite breathtaking. (See image below)

Maus by Art Speigelman

         "Maus" is very interesting on multiple levels. It brought the graphic novel into mainstream literature, while also transferred the Underground Art Movement from being just comics to being Literary "Art" comics. It puts on display a man's recollection of his life in Poland during the war- the Holocaust- therefore dealing with the experience of time and the nature of memory. To soften the hard truth of the man recollection, Art Spiegelman illustrates this work using mice, cats and pigs. I believe this is so that we can read about a tough subject without completely putting ourselves in  the situation. By using animals instead of humans, I believe our view of the work changes greatly. Some might say it degrades the war and what happened by using animals, but I believe it is just to make a subject most would rather not talk about more bearable.
        It is also interesting that this comic was not originally written in English and therefore we read it differently, as well, because of this. For example, one translation reads, "Lived happy happy ever after" instead of the phrase we all know to be "lived happily ever after".  Another would be "I ran out to my friend what introduced us" instead of, "I ran out 'on' my friend 'who' introduced us".
        Also, this graphic novel has chapters which also makes it seem more like a novel rather than a ordinary comic. Each chapter is highlighted by a stand alone spot illustration panel that seem almost like mini book covers.
      I think, going back to the idea of having mice, cats and pigs, that it is interesting and something to discuss about the roles in which these animals play. The book is called "Maus" meaning mouse, so obviously the main characters are mice. The story begins with a son asking his "poppa" to tell him of his past. This goes into talking about the war and how Poppa, also know as Valdek (a jewish mouse), became a solider. During his time he became a captive by the German Nazi's who are depicted as felines. This is fitting because cats eat mice, mice run from cats, cats are in control. Therefore in the story as well, the cats being Nazi soldiers is seen as natural. Then you have the pigs. The first pig we encounter is a train man. He ends up helping Valdek escape the German's only because Valdek himself is disguised as a pig. So the pigs are somewhat neutral in the story.
      Spiegelman's art is also not to be forgotten. In this graphic novel he chooses to use pen and ink with no color. His characters are somewhat simple in their line work to contrast with the rough topic. He uses a lot of hatching to shade both the background but also to darken a figure in the foreground to bring attention to a figure in the back. He also uses many patterns on shirts on wood, etc to give the images a little more to look at. But in scenes with crowds he does not use much detail in describing the forms. He just uses squiggles or rough shapes to indicate their presence. For example, look at the panels from "Maus" below.

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          All in all, Maus is nice also, because not only does it recount a tough subject, but it also tells a story about a man and his fight to survive and what he does on his journey to being who he becomes. For example, he tells of how he met his wife, when he had his first child, etc. He also tells of how he was forced to sleep in the cold, eat almost nothing, choose between staying in these poor conditions or helping the Nazi's by volunteering for labor work. At least in doing this he kept himself alive.

Robert Crumb: Mr. Natural

        So... not a fan of this one. I new that from the beginning, especially being an underground comic, that this particular comic would be geared toward a more "mature" adult audience. But honestly, I did not expect it to be on the fine line of pornographic. To say the least, I would not ever read Crumbs comics again. I think that Mr. Natural is interesting, in that, people find him to be wise even though he is mischievous and I think the stories about him meditating are clever. But, having a baby face on a naked adult female is not my idea of entertaining. It is disturbing and even more so when Mr.Natural feeds the "big baby" his penis. I don't think things of this nature should be written, and I don't think they should ever be illustrated. So, due to this I only read a small amount of Robert Crumbs work due to the fact that I find it rather offending. I do have a comment about one other thing though. Crumb seems to be almost racist when it comes to black people. He puts them into his stories, but portrays them as being poor or hoodlum type people. He also draws them almost in the way you would draw a clown. They have big noses sitting atop these big outlined mouths (an example is below).

Blankets by Craig Thompson

     I was not able to read much of Thompson's work so I can not give a precise review. But, what I have seen and read I will discuss. I have read a couple pages of Thompson's work "Blanket". I can see from this that Thompson pulls a lot of his tales from his own life. For example, the very first story in Blankets is  called "Cubby Hole". This story is all about how when Thompson was younger, he shared a bed with his brother, or more like was forced into the same bed as his brother. His annoying brother who would not let him sleep and complained of his stealing the covers (which he did on purpose). I feel a lot of people reading this can relate. For his audience is more geared toward the young adult-adult consumer. Therefore, his audience is old enough to enjoy reminiscing on there childhood, amongst other things. As Publisher's weekly so nicely says, "Thompson manages to explore adolescent social yearnings, the power of young love and the complexities of sexual attraction with a rare combination of sincerity, pictorial lyricism and taste." I especially love Thompson's use of thin and thick line work. He to has a way of creating a certain mood through his line work like Eisner, but in a more simplified way. Unlike Eisner's characters, Thompson's are a little more playful and soft. They have a  bit more curve to them. This is why I would say that i enjoy Thompson's work a little more than Eisner's. I especially love this panel in Thompson's work from "Cubby Hole" in "Blankets":

Will Eisner

     Will Eisner's comic is more like a comic book full of short stories. Before I started reading I got the impression that Eisner's work would be more like that of  Disney for the mere fact that his signature resembles that of Walt Disney's. But all to soon this thought was done away with by reading "A Contract with God","The Street Singer", "The Super" and "Cookalein". I read "A Contract with God" first and had the idea that Eisner liked to write about people's problems and about their lives and that he may even be religious or used to be religious. But then I continued to read the others and began to see rather quickly that Eisner had the fancy to write about the naughty things people do or get themselves into. In fact, it is the first comic I have seen which has, not only nudity, but sexual activity going on. I will say, I think it is nice how Eisner sets his story up. I like how he does pages of text with spot illustrations to set the scene before he has his characters say anything (an example is below). Also, like you can see above, his illustration's themselves are also rather good. He does not use color, but his line work is very skillful. I love how he lets things disappear and only shows what is need to make the mood and/ or the point of what he wants to say. I also noticed that most all of his stories end badly. The man who made the contract with God dies, the Super is framed for raping a ten year old and kills himself, the singer forgets the alley in which Maria found him and therefore will not become a famous singer like he planned, etc. But as well, all that die or are in trouble by the end of the story are those who created mischief anyway. For example, the guy that made a contract with God used the churches money for his own pleasure, the singer cheated on his pregnant wife and child, and the super paid a nickel to look at the ten year old girl. Lastly, I think Eisner was very big on stereotyping and I know he made some comments towards Jewish people especially.

Barks, Herge and Spielgelman

   Carl Barks' comics about Donald Duck and his nephews are full of humor and whit.  I think its is important to note that whenever he has Huey, Dewey or Louie speak he has it as if they are three in one. They all finish each others sentences like true triplets. They are basically three ducks with the same brain. They are mostly doing the same action and are continuously right next to each other, no matter what. I also find it interesting that in some of his stories, each panel is exactly the same in width and height and are set in a grid format, while others are more old fashioned in the grid format. They are still equal in height (if in the same row), but are not all equal in width. This is seen especially when Barks introduces Scrooge. I love also, how Donald Duck is always getting out-witted (normally by his three clever nephews). For example, in one Barks has Donald Duck and the boys enter into a horse racing contest. Donald thinks he is smart when he gives the horse in the boys stable to much food so that it will be fat and slow in the morning. The boys, on the other hand, are clever enough to know their uncle, whom they call "Unca Donald", would try to play a trick on them so they switched the their horse with Donald's.  In the end Donald ended up feeding his horse to much resulting in a sluggish, fat, slow horse for the race. Throughout this tale Donald tries anything to beat the boys, but all fails as always, and the boys win the race.
   
     All I said above does not at all apply to how Herge's Tin Tin adventures are told. First, the Tin Tin stories are much, much longer. There are more characters and more science involved. Not to mention the fact that Tin Tin is not a talking duck, but a boy who can venture to the moon. It is written more like a book than a comic in some areas, where you have long paragraphs before delving into the actual comic part of the story (the parts which have world balloons).  Herge illustrates his comic using a more realistic approach unlike the extremely cartoon style of Barks. Tin Tin also uses material that is more mature. For example, in one of the stories Tin Tin finds himself on the way to the moon. The rocket ends up having zero gravity and the captain is drinking. He has had so much, in fact, that he finds it funny that his whiskey has turned in to a ball and is floating about the rocket. Also, in Tin Tin, crazy things take place. For instance, these two scientists, who happened to be twins, end up taking some type of medicine in which they do not know the effects of. They soon find out that the pills cause their hair to grow rapidly and to continuously change color. As well, the space station on earth is consulting with Tin Tin , a young boy, to help get the rocket back to earth. I am not sure i am a huge fan of this particular comic myself but I can see the appeal it would have for comic lovers who are also lovers of science.
   
     Lastly, I will discuss Art Spiegelman's "Jack Cole and Plastic Man".  This comic is neither a story of talking animals or of adventurous boys, it is of the depressed man turned super when his bodies chemicals change. He finds himself able to stretch any distance and therefore becomes...Plastic Man. In this comic the material is definitely more mature than both Barks' work and Herge's. Men die and kids get napped. Plastic man is there to save the day but he can't always save everyone. For example, in the story of "Bright Eyes" a little boy with bright blue and irresistible eyes is kidnapped, or so we think, and is told if he does not corporate they will cut his arm off. Later in the story the two henchmen who are tasked with smuggling bright eyes and other children to an unknown location end up killing each other due to bright eye's innocent gaze. One shoots the other and the other bits the one that shot him in the neck. The one with the gun screams out, "No.your biting my jugular vein, No! No! No!". This comic is more graphic than any we have looked at thus far. I feel like it is a comic that inspired video games with its Plastic hero and violent rescues.

Additional reading: Peanuts, Calvin & Hobbes and Flash Gordon

The Complete Peanuts 1963-1964 by Charles Schulz:
     I love Peanuts, I have seen all the holiday films that have been made, for example the Great Pumpkin and A Charlie brown Christmas. I have even read many of the peanuts comics strips from the funnies in the the newspaper, but never have I read the comic strips in a book where you can read them in the order they where created. I think it is interesting to read them in this way because you get a sense of there being a continual story rather than just a bunch of non-related events. I love how you start to see the characters personalities through only a couple of strips and you being to see what they think about. For example, i never new Snoopy had issues with being cold at night or feeling the need to hibernate. In many of the strips that I read he is very concerned with how he will stay warm and the idea of using a blanket or heaven forbid sleeping in his dog house seems preposterous. I think it is funny that Lionel needs something to rub on his face while sucking his finger. He even uses the bill his grandmother gave him as a temporary fill in for his blanket when his "Blanket-Hating" grandma confiscates his blanket. The he uses a dish towel and finally makes his grandma see that his security blanket is no different from her coffee addiction and therefore she gives him his blanket back. I think Peanuts is a great way of telling about how a lot of children feel. For example, Charlie brown struggles with the idea that no one likes him. He says if only the girl with red hair would sit with him he would feel better. So it shows how he thinks a girl will makes things better just like a lot of boys do. And Schulz shows how little girls can be swept away by a boy and dream of marring them one day with the conversations between Schroeder and Lucy. Lucy is always going on about how one day they will be married while Schroeder feels that their chances of getting married are "Googol" to one. I also thinks it's interesting that in the book you can see how the comic strip stories go with the seasons. It starts with winter and then goes to summer, etc.

The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book by Bill Watterson:
     First of all I like how this book begins with some explanation of how this comic got started, what influenced the comic and most of all who the main characters in the comic are. I have never read calvin and Hobbes before and so it is nice to be able to read a little about the character before jumping into a comic strip. I also think is neat how right before you really get into the pages that are comic strips only it says this, "In the beginning of a comic strip, the characters are vaguely defined, and they can develop in almost any diraction. That kind of exciting, but the cartoonist can write himself into corners if he is not careful." Watterson then goes on to say how putting Calvin in the boy scouts did just that. It backed him into a corner and just didn't fit Calvin's personality. I think this is cool because it gives tips to readers who would like to start their own comic.
     I was surprised to find out, having not really read Calvin and Hobbes before, that Hobbes is a tiger who can speak and interact with Calvin but he is actually a stuffed animal. I thinks it's awesome that this whole comic is about Calvin and Hobbes ( A tiger who is basically Calvins imaginary friend).  I think the stories are really cute too. How in one he finds a raccoon who is badly hurt and ends up not making to the next morning. Here he has attached himself to this raccoon he just met, like all little kids do, and ends up learning about death. I like how he says "I'm not crying because out there he's gone, but he's not gone inside me." I think it can relate to they way many children feels. So in that way this comic is much like the Peanuts comic in that it really connects with the emotions of children.
     To end this summary, I have just one last thing to add. I especially like how unlike many comics I have seen, at the begging of each of the short stories, the first page of the comic is in color. It is a simple use of color but very useful. It is very appealing to the eye and just adds to the comic as a whole. I also like how when Calvin and Hobbes argue instead of using short one-liner come backs Watterson just uses a more drawn out funny conversation.

Flash Gordon Volume 3 by Alex Raymond:
     Unlike all the other comics I have written about thus far, Flash Gordon is the most different one of all (and not only because he is a superhero). First it is all in color and doesn't use the more simple cartoon look of Peanuts or Calvin and Hobbes but strives to be slightly more realistic in its imagery. I also found that Raymond likes to write the date of when the particular stories within the comic where made. As well, unlike those i wrote about previously, in the Flash comic Raymond inserts not only dialogue boxes but at the tops and or bottoms of each panel he narrates more of the story giving us hints to where the characters are, actions the characters are doing and other important information that is not being spoken by the characters. Raymond also puts in, in the last panel of each of his stories what the reader can look forward to in the continuing story next week. For example, in one Raymond has Flash and his companions in a forest where they crashed in flames. At the end of this, I guess you could call it ,"chapter" of the story, he tells us that nest week the chapter will be about a "Forest Fire". And each one of his "chapters" is only one page long.
    The actual story itself is also vastly different from the readings previous to this. Unlike the others which relate with children's emotions, flash Gordon targets a different audience with his adventure themes as he battles evil. He deals with villain's and rescues damsels. He also speaks of more adult topics like that of love. For example, in his "Fate Strikes!" chapter, in the last panel, Flash and his girl Dale, stumble into each others arms and Flash says, "We're safe, darling...safe!...and to think you almost gave your life in trying to save mine!" and Dale responds with, "Life? What is life compared to a love like ours?"

Little Nemo in the Palace of Ice

         I have heard of Little Nemo in Slumberland from art history and the history of illustration but never really took the time to look at more than one page of the comic. I found that reading Little Nemo in the Palace of Ice really made me think more highly of Winsor McCay and his art. I loved how each page is so colorful and has wonderful illustrations of a magical world, the world of Nemo's dreams. I also find it extremely interesting how McCay doesn't use the format we see in comics today which is basically have panels that are smaller and larger and thinner and wider. For Little Nemo, all of the pages stick to a grid format. There are smaller panels and larger panels but if they appear in the same row they are the same size. One of my favorite things about the comic is that McCay ends each page with a panel inserted into the bottom right corner of a larger panel that shows Nemo out of his dream. I love how every time it shows Nemo falling or running into something, etc., Nemo is seen in the last panel as a boy who has fallen out of bed. I like how it ties the dream with reality. Another example of this idea of tying the dream to reality is on one page the snowmen are having a snowball battle while Nemo and his friends are passing them on their way to see Jack frost. On this page Nemo is seen, in one panel, getting hit in the face by one of the snowballs. So in the last panel where Nemo is back on his bed awake, Nemo says "Well! If I didn't think I was hit on the nose! I must be dreaming!"
         As far as the actual story goes about Nemo in the Palace of Ice, I feel it's very fun. It has a surreal feeling like you are in a dream and the events and places are quite entertaing. For example, i love how the Palace of Jack Frost is made out of ice cream and that you have to get there by taking a toboggan and then wear ice skates to actually approach Jack Frost. I find it entertaining that the man named Flip is always complaining that he will bring the sun about and due to this everyone puts up with his nonsense about being cold and whatnot because they are afraid he will melt the Palace.
         Lastly, I love how even though Nemo starts off at this cold palace, how his adventure isn't confined by that. Because he is in a dream constantly he can dream of going anywhere. So in this particular story he proceeds to find himself in the midst of pirates on a ship, then he and the princess are rescued by the Navy, get flipped out of a boat by a whale, ride elephants, get kidnapped by a tribe who wants them for dinner, etc. All in all a very exciting tale to be told through a little boys fantastic dream.

Understanding Comics By Scott McCloud

           Understanding Comics is a good read to get the overall basics of what a comic is and how it combines the realistic realm and the imagination. I like how McCloud first defines, as best he can, what comics are and uses a comic to tell of a comic. He even tells why he has drawn himself so simply and makes jokes periodically. I enjoyed the fact that he can make comments such as when he was defining what comics are he had a man in the crowd he made up ask, what about Batman, and x-men, etc. I also think it is helpful that because he is using sequential imagery that he is showing step by step what he is saying. For example, when he is describing how we see a face in certain things no matter what and he shows a more realistic image then a less realistic image and so on until there is a circle with two dots and a curved line left. Even with this slight imagery we still see it as a face. I like how he takes it even further and shows how we even see faces in cars, tops of soda cans, etc.

            I find it helpful that he also speaks of comics and their styles in other countries, such as Japan, and shows how they combine the more realistic background with the more relatable cartoon figure. After all this talks he goes into talking about how words bring around another realm of the comic world but even more important are the spaces between the images, the gutters, which are made by the use of closure. I love the way he puts it that, “closure allows us to connect these moments and mentally construct a continuous, unified reality. He also makes the point that we must train ourselves to “perceive time spatially, for in the world of comics, time and space are one and the same.”

            Lastly, I like how McCloud gives the six basic steps you need to know before for creating a comic. One, what is the idea or purpose, two, what form will it take, three, what idiom or genre does it belong to, four, what type of structure will it have, five, what kind of craft will you use, meaning what skills, practical knowledge, invention or problem solving will you apply and six, what type of surface will you use.

The Arrival by Shaun Tan

      I loved this book. I had seen it many times before and even glanced through it a couple of times but never actually read the entire story. I find it amazing that Tan has created this complex and touching story by the use of illustration only. The subtle changes in environment and page color help give clues to who is recalling the memories and helps the readers mind from going into utter confusion.
     I love the way the story begins as well. How you recognize that the father/ husband is leaving his family while it seems a creature of some sort is taking over the city. I like how you don't know if this ominous creature, as seen only by a long black clawed tail, is causing harm or is just part of the unusual, but relatable world Tan has drawn.
     So the man leaves and is thrust into a world of strange pets and strange people. he finds himself a place to live where he discovers or more so, is discovered, by a creature i associate as being much like a dog, not in look but personality. Then this man goes to find work and meets a woman on a boat that can somehow fly through air. This is where Tan uses the color difference of the paper to show the woman's memory of arriving to this new land. After this Tan shows how the man is trying desperately to find a job.  Its interesting how he shows this struggle through, basically, only the man's body language and expressions on his face.
     Finally the man finds a job at a factory where yet again he meets a man who tells him of his own arrival and you see Tans color difference in paper again. Also i love how in meeting this man you discover that the old man has a pet with the same type of tail that it seen over the main characters old city. It gives a clue that the ominous creature may not have been dangerous after all.
     The story continues with the man just living in this new place and ends with the arrival of the mans own family. This just makes the title of the book so fitting. I like how Tan tells the arrival of the man but also of two people the man encounters and even the arrival of the mans family. So in total Tan's "The Arrival" Is really about multiple arrivals.  It shows the difficulties of a foreigner coming to live in a new place and also how coming to a new place can be freeing.

The Rooster's Laughter, Ernst

             In the first panel a man dances possibly to summon something while a rooster sits and watches. He is doing possibly a spiritual dance or act while he laughs. he may represent blackness or darkness. A man who laughs at death. In the second panel a new subject, a woman, is lying on the bed almost like a snow white type of tragic end while a feathered spirit hovers over her. I think this could be suggesting that there is some other world happening where the woman's spirit is ascending from her body while onlookers witness the seemingly miraculous event. In the next panel the story continues as the feathered man discusses things with the other witness as they look upon the deceased body of the female that has now only left behind her body. There seems to be some references to roosters and that may mean that the witnesses are the actual murderers as the female lie on the floor body now rolled over onto her stomach. In the next panel a man seems as if he is being lifted up while a woman watches in surprise. The rooster man is their peeking around a door possibly resembling death and waits for the moment when he can witness the supernatural ascent of the spirit as it leaves the lifeless body of the roosters victim. In all these images you can see that the rooster is either laughing at the death of someone or being int he act of someone going to sleep. This interesting due to the fact that roosters are often seen waking people up. It seems as if the roosters are aiming for control due to their posters and how they are constantly seen hoovering over vulnerable and naked woman who seem to be in the control of these rooster spirit people.