The Comic Strip- The theme of "Hatred"

When I was little, comic strips only came by when I got the comic section of the newspaper from my parents. What I experienced when I was little was different from what people had to deal with back then with The comic strip era from what I could tell had some serious heavy tones that you wouldn't expect from such child like figures. One of them is Schultz's Peanuts. Charlie Brown talks about mature themes that most stories couldn't portray with little children. Even though there is always a punchline on the forth panel, sometimes its themes are still present for the reader to experience. While having elements like therapy sessions and the other children bashing on Charlie Brown for something, characters like Snoopy always had comedic, lighthearted moments to contrast with the strip. What really set the tone for the comic was how bad and abused Charlie Brown is treated for no real reason. For just some simple mistakes people see him in a negative light. One of the most prominent example is the character Violet. While Lucy treats everybody bad, Violet mainly goes after Charlie Brown just to put him down to make her mood better. She was even the one who originally coined the word "block-head", which is what Lucy constantly uses. Not that Charlie Brown isn't depicted as a failure. He can't fly a kite, win a baseball game or even kick a football. His failure and the constant abuse by others would make anyone depressed, which goes back to the therapy sessions he goes to. These are themes that adults go through and it's weird to have a child go through that but some moments are made lighthearted and comedic.

Another old comic strip that I came across was Krazy Kat. It was a little different to read since the characters actions were more wacky and silly. It stars a cat called "Krazy Kat" and a mouse named Ignatz that constantly throws bricks at him/her.  Ignatz throws his brick at Kat as a form of hatred which Kat misinterprets as affection and usually calls him little angel. While lighthearted, and fun, it seems to have a familiarity of Stockholm Syndrome. You confuse negative actions are love while not really having a clear understanding on the person's intention. However, "Krazy Kat" differs from Peanuts as either Ignatz plans never come to fruition, or he's the one who gets punished. Charlie Brown is forced to deal with the hatred while Kat just pretends it isn't existent and lives carefree.

While I have enjoyed both comics before, I'm more glad they eased up on Peanuts more (specifically Charlie Brown abuse). Krazy Kat wacky actions just appeal better but it wasn't as successful as Peanuts since it lasted longer, (like from 1950 to 2000 holy crap).

Art Spiegelman's Complete Maus- A graphic novel tale of survival

While trying to survive this crazy and stressful weekend, I've had time to read Art Spiegelman's Maus series. It was a lot to take in and was just the thing to remind me of how terrible the holocaust was for jewish people. The story was about Art writing and recording information about what the holocaust was like for his father and mother and what means they used to survive. Sometimes there is a break in between to story to show the interactions Art, his father, his wife and his step mother go through in-between the flashbacks. I feel this was necessary to not only give the reader a break from the story but to leave the reader wanting more and have a curiosity to know what happens next. It was also good to know what went through Art's own mind when writing this and some of the struggles he had to deal with in his childhood. I like how he used the depictions of animals to illustrate the characters so you can relate to them more and don't feel a close association with the other characters. Some of them are kind of funny like the french being frogs, the non jewish-polish being pigs, Jews as mice, and Germans  as cats. Maus's visual style was simple with the black and white not leaving any distractions from the narrative.

While the book was a fun read what really caught my eye was how I felt about the character Vladek. I was impressed by his ways of surviving like with handling a business and negotiating with people for survival. He saves food and rations incase he needs to use them for later and has a knowledge of several different languages and skills so he could be useful to others and not be killed. But when his depiction in post holocaust comes. He seems more strict and uptight with money and saves useless things. He's stuck in the past and keeps bringing up his dead wife Anja and dead son Richieu. He's also a racist and assumes all black people would steal from others when given the chance despite what he's been through. You can feel Artie's struggle with his troubled relationship with his father as his father is critical with everything. His constant fighting with his new wife, Mala, is present in the the story to show a different point of view with the hardship in living with his views. I'm not sure how Vladek would have turned out after the war but his personality was affected for sure. What's the most amazing was how he survived Auschwitz since that's where the gassing takes place and it's what killed his father, sister, wife's parents, and more. I wasn't sure if I should like Vladek or not but what I feel is more like pity than actual sadness.

To make matters worse in the experience was Anja's suicidal death and how it affected the family. I think the different ways they tried to cope with it was also interesting. Art wrote a comic about her death and made it to explain how she left was hard for him since she didn't even leave a note. For Vladek he went into great despair and destroyed all of her re-written diaries from her time in the Holocaust. Artie called him a "murder" for destroying all of her experience. I think that's the only word I could have used to describe his actions as it's like when her body was decreased her, he "murdered" her other life as well.


Reading Maus just led me to wanting to know more about what happened to others during the Holocaust and what they did to survive but also feeling sad over the aftermath and how they continue to live their lives after their struggle.

Underground Comix (Air Pirate Funnies, Fritz the Cat)- Mickey Goes Rated R

It's been a while since I've posted but here I am. Underground Comix aren't an unusual subject since I learned about them when I had to use them for a design class. They're known for their adult type genre with themes that you wouldn't expect from these comics. One of which I've read is called "Mickey Mouse meets the Air Pirate Funnies". Now you would expect the same kind of Disney crap that we see everyday but no. It's full of references to drinking, sexual activity and even violence. It's a way to see Mickey that you didn't think you would ever see. There are a few comedic moments but most is affiliated with adult humor. This is common for Underground Comix to have these depictions in their comics but it's still shocking to observe. Whether this affects how I or others see Mickey Mouse is up for debate. The use of foul language is also present in these comics where just saying "FUCK" is considered the norm and not vulgar behavior.

The depictions in Underground Comix are also interesting compared to other comic. One example is one I've read a while ago and have also seen the film to. The series is called "Fritz the Cat". It stars a feline con artist that has many adventures that sometimes led to sexual activities. One of the things the interest me about this comic is that it depicts african americans as crows to distinguish them from the other anamorphic animals. It's tone is heavy despite having cartoon animals as main characters. Each person it characterized as similar to that of a human and the anatomy is also an important part of their body. What makes this different from the Air Pirates is that the females are fully clothes in Fritz the Cat and have similar proportions.

With the depictions shown in Underground comix, I've come to question if there can really be enjoyment in finding cartoons experiencing in adult type themes. It feels heavy to me to see cartoon characters (especially ones from Disney) going through drinking and sex after watching a Mickey movie with your younger family members. It's just hard so see a character that was nice and plain turn dark and mature. While a little off topic it reminds me of the video game "Shadow the Hedgehog". It tried so hard to be edgy that it had some of the characters from the Sonic series swear like say "Damn" or "Hell". Both themes make it feel out of character for them to say such thing. Some might be able to find enjoyment from this if they look at it like a different approach. But for others like myself it feels shocking and uncomfortable. I appreciate Underground Comix for their themes and ideas, I cannot in all honesty say I enjoyed the adult nature in my "Mickey Mouse".

Strong Female Character: Bella Donna

I know this is a little off topic from what the class usually wants to discuss but I feel like blogging about this. It's been a while since I've read a comic that I whole heartily enjoyed. To me, this is one of the few comics I've seen where they have a strong female role represented as well as having her as a actually character. That she's not strong because she's female but she's strong because that's just the way she is. The comic is a european comic that was written by ANGE and illustrated by Pierre Alary.  It tales a young woman named Marie who goes by the name "Bella Donna". She works for the Musketeers that serve the king in Paris during the 1680's. She's a skilled fighter and one of the best around. What makes her strong isn't just her skills with the sword. She has amazing agility, can endure pain that others would deem impossible, and she uses her seduction to manipulate opponents to her advantage. As the story goes on more of her backstory is explained and you start to learn more about her and how she developed her abilities. The characters around her are either humorous, full of energy or exciting as each person has their own personality and nothing feels tacked on like a wasted page or space.

Another aspect of what I like about this series is that it's not afraid of adult themes and takes them as a normal part of the world. The simple boob shot or murder and torture are just there and are not the most important thing about the story. What makes this book different from others is that Marie is just a strong individual and the men aren't downplayed to make her look better in comparison. In fact, I don't want to spoil but I would say almost every woman in the book are stronger characters that of their male counterparts. However the men still have significant roles in the story and their actions are more about their experience and not a bland stereotype that I often see.

The illustrations are simple but realistic enough where you can imagine an actual person in this setting. The danger feels real, even for Marie, since anyone could die in the story and it would still have an impact on the plot. The story's conclusion has a open end where they could end the tale but continue where they left off anytime they wanted to. I feel that this comic is one of the few to get the strong female protagonist right while not shying way attention to the male gender just to make a point. I would high recommend anyone who hasn't read this yet to try to find a copy and own it. The only few downsides are that from the second to third novel the tale feels a bit rushed and it's only made up to 3 books. But it's still a fun read if you have free time and wanna has some fun with comics again.

Scott McCloud's "Understanding Comics"; Character Faces

After reading McCloud's "Understanding Comics", I've noticed that I tend to try to find face in what I read as well. It might be said with all writing really but society might personify characters to relate to them move and be invested within the story. We want to connect to a new different environment that’s a little similar to the one we live in. The pictorial icons that represent realistic figures tend to get more interest in adventure comics like from DC, Marvel, “the Walking Dead” series. These comics have given us specific details that are similar to our own so we can take the tone of these comics with either a serious one, or a average one that’s relatable to the audience. But with the use of Amplification through simplification, cartoon like facial features like Archie or Charlie Brown, it helps eliminate unnecessary details. It leads to more focus on the story and setting rather than the depiction of the character. Rather than your eyes try to form a realistic head on the character “Charlie Brown”, you start to shape the circles and swirls into a face caricature. You focus more on the line of dialogue and situation rather than if the face is realistic. This causes you to relate more to what’s going on in the story. This is what I got out of the book and I feel he hit the nail on the hammer. I’ve felt that I could understand the characters and setting without being taken out of the plot. I see humanity in the characters and start to relate more in how they act. Even in shape’s that are no way similar to my own. I have a feeling that I always knew about the perception but no one can describe the experience until I’ve read this story. I hope many others would realize that the image of the character isn’t as important as human will always see humanity in things, even in things that aren’t defined by shape.

My interpretation of Max Ernst's A Week of Kindness

From what I could tell, here is how things are happening in between each panel.

Panel 1: a woman is using a spell on a chicken egg and she killed a man as a sacrifice.

Panel 2: A man turned into a rooster is looking a an unconscious woman. Probably his lover.

Panel 3: The chickens are opening up a coffin with a woman in it with them looking down on her.

Panel 4: The chicken men are wrapping something right next to a dead woman on a stone floor.

Panel 5: the chicken man comes home to find his woman/lover dead and a bunch on non-anamorphic chickens around her body. He throws his arms up in despair. 

Panel 6: Two woman are prying cabinets against the door to keep the chicken man for getting them for whatever purpose. 

Panel 7: A chicken man is telling a dark terrible fortune to two different women and one of them seems distressed about the situation. 

Panel 8: women are hiding from a chicken man like in pane 6 but he looks more monstrous than human like. There is also a goose head coming out of one of the women’s heads. 

Panel 9: a bunch of skeletons are attacking a couple dressed as sailors and trying to take them somewhere. 

Panel 10: Barbaric chicken creatures are taking all the women away from a moving train and kidnapping them to be tortured. 

Panel 11: The chicken creatures are basically a cult and they not only torture women, but their own kind as well. They are using a device that’s similar to anal burning.

Panel 12: They are then whipping women and torturing them to death.

Panel 13: Then women are outside in a different location and are shooting each other to the death. 

Narrative told without a Voice

The Arrival was a lot of fun to read and its tale really sets you up for what the story has to present. It narrative about a man looking for a new home for his wife and daughter and the tale of asking people how to get there. When he asks others we get a look as to what their life was like and what they had been through. The story could be read without words since it’s imagery follows like how artist use storyboards to show their client what actions would take place during the story. It’s scenes are mostly set actions that the main character is doing such as a frame by frame of him opening a letter by holding it half open, then having it folded into squares, then him putting it in his pocket. It uses step by step while only focusing on the important scenes.To me however, what’s unique about the arrival is the lack of color that draws the reader to the story and the abstract landscape that catches the eye as the main point of interest. The look of the piece is with a tannish color with shaded parts to represent shadow, which is an unusually choice of design. It’s tone was clear as it reminded me of silent movie where the characters main action was what told the story, not through vocal communication. Sometimes certain shots were like camera shots to show you what’s important and to not bore you sometimes when you follow along in the story. It would also help that sometimes you can just imagine the characters moving on their own even though some frames are just a still image… or is that just me? Either way, the narrative is more driven by the imagery and each scene is very detailed in quality. The Arrival is one of the rare few pieces I’ve read that can describe a narrative without words and have been yearning for more. The imaginative setting is both different but familiar to what I’ve seen and has me reflect on how many other stories could be told without voice.