Week Three: The Comic Strip

I really like comic strips. When I was younger I didn't read them all the time, but when I did I usually enjoyed them. Sometimes I felt a little confused when the comic was based something very average, just an everyday event or action. I felt like comic strips were always suppose to be funny. I suppose they don't have to be, but to evoke some kind of emotion from the audience in just a few panels laughter would be one of the easier ways to go. 

I really enjoy reading the Peanuts. They're kind of weird sometimes (sometimes Snoopy talks, sometimes he doesn't) but I like all the characters, they're all relatable in some way or another. Exploring the world around them is fun when seeing and hearing things through their simple conversations. The character's are drawn lightly and simply, they're easy to take in. The beauty of the Peanuts is they appeal to everyone, though it seems they're target audience is younger children and adults. 

I have heard a lot about Little Nemo but never read any of McCay's work until now. I love the large format, it really fits the content of the comic and kinda of puts the reader into a "child-like" way of reading the book (the size makes me think of when I was younger and books seemed so much bigger than me). The consistent format of the comic (how he always falls out of bed at the end) is something I normally wouldn't be attracted to, but found myself really enjoying. Though I don't feel super attached to any specific character really (Nemo is rather dull himself, more of an observer than an adventurer) the crazy things that tend to go on around him are interesting enough to keep me reading. 

Week Two: Scott McCloud

Reading through Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics proved itself to be very interesting. When I usually think of comics I think superheros, heavy inking, and saturated colors. And all of those things combined loose my interest quickly. Which is probably one reason I really don't like the cover. I know I've seen this book before but didn't pick it up because of how busy it feels. I think McCloud could have designed a much more simple and successful cover, especially since simplicity and icons are used throughout the book.

Beside the cover, the book itself does a great job of discussing cartoons, icons, and timing while also giving us some information about comics around the world. And the way McCloud wrote his thoughts very honestly and bluntly made me feel like I was listening to an engaging lecture. There were points of it that I began to loose interests, and I think most of those times were when the page arrangement looked boring. However, I do really like that the whole comic is in black and white. I think because of how much information he's giving the reader that color could have really made it more of a challenge to focus on each concept her went through.

Week One: The Arrival

Ahhh! The Arrival! I was excited to see this as our first reading assignment. A few years ago my parents wrapped it up and gave it to my for Christmas. I don't think they really knew much about it, just that it had lots of drawings and good reviews.

I think it was probably the first graphic novel I read (though I can't say I've really read many since then). The only books I've read that come to mind when thinking about images telling the whole story are Alexandra Day's Carl books. I use to flip through those a bunch when I was younger. I believe they would occasionally have text but not often. All the illustrations were very realistic, which I really enjoyed and I was mildly obsessed with animal when I was younger so reading through Carl's adventures were very entertaining. That brings me to the statement made on the class blog that "All comics are graphic narratives but not all graphic narratives are comics" which was a new thought for me. I think most of the graphic novels I've seen have been comic like. For example the collection of stories in "What is Torch Tiger?" was what I would commonly see as a graphic novel. But I realize through that statement I can classify Day's book as a graphic novel but it isn't the correct format to be considered a comic.

Going back to Shan Tan, when I first began flipping through this book was the first time I really considered the possibilities within graphic novels. Tan's book is just beautiful. I think one of my favorite things about the Arrival is though Tan's approach to the book is rather realistic, he isn't married to that style. All the creatures, buildings and food he creates give the book a very unique quality. And the experience isn't only created through his images. Just as we discussed in class, to really go through the intended experience of the book it's best when you can tangibly flip through it.

There are so many small lovely things that Tan incorporates in this book. One of those being the all the faces of individuals on the flyleaves. Just seeing those images makes me think of Ellis Island. Before I read any further, I already understand what the stories about. Another fun detail is the slight changes he makes to the pages when recording a flashback. Whether it's changing the page color or giving the images a picture like edge, it all allows the reader to understand exactly what's going on.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed going through The Arrival again. Shan's drawings are lovely and the whole story feels very cinematic. I look forward to seeing more of his work and further studying the aspects of a successful graphic novel.