I had never really expected to like blankets as much as I did. By appearance alone it is a little on the intimidating size it clocks in around 600 pages. A heart wrenching coming to age story is usually not my thing either but, after reading the first few pages I became hooked. I wanted to know more about this character Craig a socially awkward teenager who can't really fit in all to well. Craig goes to church camp where he meets Raina and the story of the first love unfolds.
This is were I think most people can connect and why this Graphic Novel became a thriving success. Whether someone was an awkward teenage or not everyone has had their first love. Everyone can relate to the feelings Craig has for Raina and the pain he goes through when they break up. I began to love the story because I began to see myself in it, like everyone else I had my bout of first love in high school and it was actually somewhat close to Craig and Raina's story. It became so personal to me that at times it almost brought me to tears. I love blankets because it provokes my own memories and it is really something I can relate to. In the same matter I think it relates to everyone and is the soul reason why everyone should love this story. If I come across the few who probably do not love this story, it leads me to believe that they cannot see through the exterior of a boy and his relationship they should open up and really let it encompass them. Well that or they never had a first love, and if they didn't have a first love chances are they were awkward in high school. So either way it really should speak to people.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Saturday, December 5, 2009
JTHM
Johnny the Homicidal Maniac almost perfectly aimed to the audience who reads it almost turning itself into cult classic for the high school hottopic goths. I went through a "goth" phase in high school where my favorite store was Hottopic and no one understood me. Even though I had never read Johnny back then all of my friends worshiped it. Similar to Invader Zim, the author aimed the comic towards one social group and was very successful.
As a reformed Goth kid, I think material Like JTHM attracts the minds of Goths because it portrayed the feelings that we had "deep down". Psychopaths, Homicide and torture were very cool in the comic book form because it was so different. Passe normal people could never like something like that. (Even though Dexter is now one of the most popular shows around) It was cartoon enough to take any realism out. Real homicide, in the news, totally not cool possibly even boring? Who watches the news, the squares. No one understod us goth kids but JTHM did, he knew exactly how we felt. People may think it weird to pin teddy bear heads but not johnny he knows we are simply misunderstod.
As a reformed Goth kid, I think material Like JTHM attracts the minds of Goths because it portrayed the feelings that we had "deep down". Psychopaths, Homicide and torture were very cool in the comic book form because it was so different. Passe normal people could never like something like that. (Even though Dexter is now one of the most popular shows around) It was cartoon enough to take any realism out. Real homicide, in the news, totally not cool possibly even boring? Who watches the news, the squares. No one understod us goth kids but JTHM did, he knew exactly how we felt. People may think it weird to pin teddy bear heads but not johnny he knows we are simply misunderstod.
Watchmen, The Dark Knight Returns, and Arkham Assylum
Watchmen is the graphic novel that got me into reading graphic novels. It redefine what I thought comics were and opened up my eyes to a great world that I had been missing for most of my life. The concept of the anti-hero really struck me, this novel wasn't full of Good Guys fighting the bad guys. It was up to me to decide whether Ozymandias' reason for killing millions of people was justified. Killing millions, that sort of sounds like a bad guy, but to save billions? Watchmen is very gray and Alan Moore's critique of the superhero concept is perfection. No one character is necessarily good or bad.
After reading watchmen I moved on to Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, which I thought was equally as great I feel it recreated the concept of batman he is not just a superhero but a tortured anti-hero who becomes obsessed with the villains he hunts. Of all the Frank Miller novels that I have read, this was my favorite. It deals with the anti hero again, a type of character that I love in all media. The anti-hero takes the perfect hero and beats him down until he is flawed and normal just like every human. The storied are often dark but that is the exact reason that I love them, if I wanted a light version of superheros I would just watch The Incredibles over and over again.
For my actual reading this week I read Grant Morrison's Arkham Asylum. I had previously tried to read this just a few months ago but it was hard for me to get past the first few pages. Between the distracting pictures, small text and the tv being on I could not focus. After sitting down in a silent room and reading it, I have fallen in love. Arkham Asylum took all the elements of the previous novels I mentioned and combined them. Batman again is portrayed as an anti-hero which I believe is a result of Frank Millers work. The novel is a complete pyscological peice batman is forced into the minds of the very villians that he hunts and almost breaks because of it. The novel also gives a good background of the Arkham Asylum and shows how even the founder is driven insane. Batman is taken from being flawed to almost down right deamed crazy as if he belongs with all the fellow inmates.
After reading watchmen I moved on to Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, which I thought was equally as great I feel it recreated the concept of batman he is not just a superhero but a tortured anti-hero who becomes obsessed with the villains he hunts. Of all the Frank Miller novels that I have read, this was my favorite. It deals with the anti hero again, a type of character that I love in all media. The anti-hero takes the perfect hero and beats him down until he is flawed and normal just like every human. The storied are often dark but that is the exact reason that I love them, if I wanted a light version of superheros I would just watch The Incredibles over and over again.
For my actual reading this week I read Grant Morrison's Arkham Asylum. I had previously tried to read this just a few months ago but it was hard for me to get past the first few pages. Between the distracting pictures, small text and the tv being on I could not focus. After sitting down in a silent room and reading it, I have fallen in love. Arkham Asylum took all the elements of the previous novels I mentioned and combined them. Batman again is portrayed as an anti-hero which I believe is a result of Frank Millers work. The novel is a complete pyscological peice batman is forced into the minds of the very villians that he hunts and almost breaks because of it. The novel also gives a good background of the Arkham Asylum and shows how even the founder is driven insane. Batman is taken from being flawed to almost down right deamed crazy as if he belongs with all the fellow inmates.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Scooter Girl
Scooter Girl made me want to punch myself in the face. Going into the manga within the first few pages I could tell that it was going to be a angsty romance novel. So I tried to channel my inner girly high school self in hopes that I could come out of this manga enjoying it. I was unsuccessful I did not channel my inner girl well enough or this manga was just to much cheese for me to handle. It is so unoriginal that its obnoxious a popular boy who has it all meets a girl who he cant get and makes him fall on his ass. He tries to move away and he slowly regains his life but of course who shows up but the mystery girl that cant get and his life falls to shreds again. This whole process kind of continues until the end when he confesses that he really does like her and doesnt just want to get in her pants and they ride off into the sunset on there scooters. Ick. Throughout the manga I coninously caught myself saying things 'really...? really??'
The bottom line of this primarily being the art was nothing special the story was certainly nothing special. I could have found something much better to do with my hour that it took me to read the first volum.
The bottom line of this primarily being the art was nothing special the story was certainly nothing special. I could have found something much better to do with my hour that it took me to read the first volum.
Jimmy Corrigan
I really enjoyed this graphic novel, my friend who had previously had this class told me how much I would like especially being a GIC major. I kind of shrugged it off until I opened up the graphic novel to read and it really took me away. First off the style of the graphic novel is absolutely fantastic. The saturated colors that worked so well together the very architectural drawings that were placed on the page with absolute presision. It made my inner deisgn nerd very very happy. I liked the added elements as well the added pages that had complete cut outs and directions to make a pop up house, or the other that made a really cool flying device. It makes me want to go buy my own copy so i can tear the book up and end up with a cool paper air plane. There were also diagrams thrown in here and there that were very cool very graphic, structured, and awesome.
The story was very sudtle but very good, it was just about a man who is trying to reconnect with his father that he had never met before. Chris Ware did such a fantastic job making the reader really feel for Jimmy. He was so alone and sad and sort pathetic I just wanted to reach inside of the book and hug him. It almost began to be hard to read about his sad and lonely life but I couldnt put the graphic novel down. Jimmy had dreams about what his life could have been like and in a very sad and depressing way it sort of reminded me of the childish dreams of Nemo. I very much enjoyed everything about this graphic novel possibly not the feeling of pitty I had for Jimmy but I will surely be adding the Graphic Novel to my collection.
The story was very sudtle but very good, it was just about a man who is trying to reconnect with his father that he had never met before. Chris Ware did such a fantastic job making the reader really feel for Jimmy. He was so alone and sad and sort pathetic I just wanted to reach inside of the book and hug him. It almost began to be hard to read about his sad and lonely life but I couldnt put the graphic novel down. Jimmy had dreams about what his life could have been like and in a very sad and depressing way it sort of reminded me of the childish dreams of Nemo. I very much enjoyed everything about this graphic novel possibly not the feeling of pitty I had for Jimmy but I will surely be adding the Graphic Novel to my collection.
Monster
It took me a while to get back into swing of reading manga its backwards so it took effort to read. Which panel comes next kind of deal. Or reading the panels in the wrong order and getting thoroughly confused until I can sort everything out. Beyond all that I really enjoyed monster. It had a pretty captivating story. I have always liked the medical drama type show so this was kind of right up my alley. Though I suppose the story wasnt totally original surgeon with a heart who is being used by his heartless boss but, nothing is really original these days. I come across a lot of manga that is angsty teen romance, mechas, or some crazy story revolving ninjas and demons. So a sort of medical drama was a breath of fresh air for me in the manga world.
The art style was basically what I expected it to be. It looked very much like manga. Manga has its very distinct style sharp features big eyes, etc. So nothing really fascinated me about the artwork, I liked the story enough to possibly read the next volume.
The art style was basically what I expected it to be. It looked very much like manga. Manga has its very distinct style sharp features big eyes, etc. So nothing really fascinated me about the artwork, I liked the story enough to possibly read the next volume.
King By Ho Che Anderson
King is a biographical graphic novel of Martin Luther King Jr. it followed Kings life from boyhood through college. I have no idea how accurate it was because I don't know my facts are King's life through the earlier years. This graphic novel was very wordy and it gave me quite the hard time to read it. I of course think that MLK was a great man but I not expecting a visual biography even though the title of the graphic novel is King. Reading this reminded me of high school doing a report on MLK, it bore me and slowly reading this graphic novel became more of a pain then anything else. I can understand why this graphic novel could be considered to be great especially for people who want to know more about MLK. I would actually recommend it to anyone who has an interest in MLK they would surely enjoy it. Me not really being one of those people I could have most definitely done without trying to get through it at all.
The one thing that did interest me about King was the art style. It was black and white and very bold. It reminded me of a stamp. I think it fit the sort of dramatic and bold feeling of the narrative. The parts that were in color were just as wonderful. Anderson dawned a somewhat of a impressionistic feel that greatly contrasted the black white but in a very successful way. I had heard good things about King and I really do wish I could have enjoyed it much more than I did. I think you really have to be a history buff to enjoy this one.
The one thing that did interest me about King was the art style. It was black and white and very bold. It reminded me of a stamp. I think it fit the sort of dramatic and bold feeling of the narrative. The parts that were in color were just as wonderful. Anderson dawned a somewhat of a impressionistic feel that greatly contrasted the black white but in a very successful way. I had heard good things about King and I really do wish I could have enjoyed it much more than I did. I think you really have to be a history buff to enjoy this one.
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