As our Final Project donned upon us, I began to reminisce about this past semester studying comics, graphic novels, comic art, and all of visual literature. Being my first class involving this information I have to say the first couple weeks were very challenging. Will Eisner’s A Contract with God threw me out of sorts for sure. It’s complex narrative… Read more →
Tag: Watchmen
Are graphic novels inherently dark?
An interesting point of similarity between all the stories we have read so far is the darkness or negativity found in each story. Up until this point every graphic novel we have discussed in class has had a dark nature at least in a point of it. To prove this point that I see as being so pervasive let me… Read more →
Authorial Intent and Reader Interpretation in Comics
Over the past week we’ve learned about some of the methods that have been used to define comics and transitions within comics. Many of the transitions we learned about are tools for both the writer and the reader. A reader can see an aspect-to-aspect transition and take meaning from that, and an author can also make a conscious decision to… Read more →
Why I Wish I’d Read More Graphic Novels
I remember the first comic book I read. It was a Looney Toons comic from the comic shop where my brother would hang out and play Magic: The Gathering. I picked it up, my parents bought it, and by the time we got home from the comic shop ten minutes later, I’d finished it. I still remember my parents asking… Read more →
Watchmen, Akira, and the Shadow of Nuclear Power
This week in class, Professor Whalen drew a brief parallel between Watchmen and Akira, being two definitive comics works we’d recently studied. I hadn’t ever thought of comparing the two before, though other people in the class have, but I realized that the two comics have some interesting similarities, despite being written in different cultures. Particularly, I was interested in… Read more →
The similarities of Akira and Watchmen
When I started reading Akira I noticed that there were quiet a few elements that seemed similar to Watchmen. The similarities involve things like the bloodiness of the graphic novels, and the overtly violent nature in the whole storylines. Inside both Akira and Watchmen the characters seem to accept that they live in societies based in violence. In Watchmen… Read more →
Video Games and Comics, Inspiration or Betrayal
All throughout my life I’ve been somewhat of an avid gamer. Whether it be spending quarters at the arcade or playing battlefront on PS2, video games always offered an incredibly immersive experience. Comics also provide this immersion, but traditionally use still images and description instead of sound and animation. In addition to this shared expression, comics and video games also… Read more →
The Unlikeliest of Heroes
Rorschach is, without a doubt, one of the most twisted antiheroes. He is violent, filled with rage, and at least somewhat unhinged. And yet, whether or not it was author Alan Moore’s intent, we sympathize with him. Even more, we root for him. Despite how dark and psychologically disturbed he is, Rorschach remains one of Watchmen’s protagonists, if not a fan favorite. But… Read more →
Memory
This week in class we have been discussing What is it by Lynda Barry. An apply named title for this piece of work. I have yet to figure out what it is exactly. A graphic novel, a literary art piece, a collage of ideas, or a Rorschach-esqe journal. Perhaps even some kind of Hodge podge combination of several. With my… Read more →
Old Roots and Modern Tastes
Every culture has its old romantic hero. To name a few, Japan has its samurai, Europe has the Viking, and America has its cowboy. Although they all have their unique and interesting traits, the American hero stands a little bit apart from the rest. What makes the cowboy different is that he doesn’t fight for a lord, government, or silver.… Read more →