Week 9

This week I read Silver Surfer Parable 1988 Part 1. It was an obvious choice out of the list for me, as I love the superhero genre and grew up watching comic movies like Spiderman, Superman, and the Fantastic Four. It was actually the film Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer released in 2007 that introduced me to the character Silver Surfer, who to this day, is one of the coolest and unique characters to me out of the hundreds of heroes that have been created. There was something about the visual design of him and simple silhouette combined with the metallic material which really aligned with his character and abilities that stood out to me.

As for the comic itself, I obviously enjoyed it. It is a much older comic, so the artwork and resolution was much different than the style I was used to, but it didn’t lessen the experience for me like I expected. This was the first Marvel comic I started and finished. As a DC guy, I’m constantly reading into their property and comics, but I really love both companies work and having grown up watching lots of Marvel films, reading this comic allowed me to see the source and inspiration for those films.

Week 8

As both an artist and individual of Asian descent that has been the butt end of many stereotype jokes, I totally believe stereotypes are necessary in design and representation. I have personally been a target for stereotypical representation, and about 99% of them were offensive or demeaning, but I can’t imagine this world running the same without stereotypes. In the first place, stereotypes originated from a root, meaning its not just a straight up false insult, but it came from somewhere. Many people are too lost in victimizing themselves to realize the bigger picture. Stereotypes are not only used to generalize and insult a group of people. It may be mostly portrayed that way in today’s media, but stereotypes are actually crucial to entertainment and the design process that goes behind it. Designers and artists use shape language, color, many things in order to push their designs to match their vision and goal. One of the best tools to achieving a design that reaches the audience is through the use of stereotypes. The evil queen/witch would not have looked the way she did. Disney’s Snow White would not be the movie it is now. Almost every choice behind the design of a character is met with the aid of stereotypes.

Aside from art direction, I am generally just totally against censorship and abstinence for what is perceived as social justice. People need to learn to be able to laugh at things that were meant to bring laughter or entertainment, and compartmentalize the things that actually influence the beliefs that any of these stereotypical portrayals may have “brought.” What I find crazy is everyone that genuinely complains about stereotypes are just as guilty. I can’t speak for anyone else, but in my logic, you can only take stereotypes seriously if you’re taking them seriously, and that is the main issue with stereotypes people have, not the stereotypes themselves. If everyone can acknowledge the portrayal in films and games and stories of a group of people are just that, stereotypes and nothing more, no one would be offended and take it personally as everyone seems to. Those same people laugh at other stereotypes and complain when it comes to stereotypes that target themselves. If the root of the cause is racism or whatever, we need to tackle that actual issue. Trying to erase stereotypes is like trying to erase history. We need to acknowledge our history and learn from it to move forward, not bury it.

Week 7

Maus was a really engaging read for me. Just from seeing the illustrations, I was able to identify the inspiration or metaphor for the plot right away. Like every other reader, the first thing I noticed from the art was the fact everyone was depicted as an animal. The Jewish were mice, Germans cats, dogs for Americans, etc. At first, I assumed it was just a gimmick to retell the story of the Holocaust in a more digestible visual representation. Although it might totally be possible, I couldn’t help but think there was a more symbolic reason. So I did some research. As it turns out, it was all very thought out and intentional. Apparently, the reasoning for the Jewish being mice was due to the anti-Jewish stereotypes and portrayal as pests. I also found that there is a German word “mauscheln” derived from”mausche” which is Yiddish, or the Hebrew version, Moscheh, or Moses. The German word, “mauscheln” is a verb that means something like “act like a Jew.” It became apparent Spiegelman had used this metaphor of animals to further his message behind the events of the Holocaust, and the realization made me think much deeper about the comic.

Week 6

I read Mr. Natural for this weeks reading. Having a basic idea of what underground comics are like, I was still surprised when I went through the first few pages. The imagery and stylization of the artwork is very whimsical and simple, giving the impression it is a comic meant for children, or at least be consistent in its style with its narrative.  Instead, as I read on, I discovered that the comic covered all sorts of darker and mature topics and visuals. The thing that really shocked me, but I surprisingly appreciated, was the fact and contrast of the gritty and probably offensive content to its companion of cute, stylized cartoon imagery. On top of this contrast, once I was introduced to the comic’s version of a black person, I immediately realized it was not a simple cartoon comic, but rather a commentary and wake up call on the issues plaguing our society and species. It makes a lot of sense to me because of these reasons that such a conscious and intelligent conversation would be underground or “indie” in the realm of entertainment, I think considering today’s culture and climate, these comics could do pretty well or become viral enough to make an impact on the reader’s mentality, which could be a very good thing, as long as it maintains a neutral stance, and uses the same sarcastic method of delivery to point out hypocrisies and issues that need to be addressed. Of course, I realize this may be a oxymoron as the underground comics were only able to come to as a product of harsh or passionate stances.

Week 5

Eisner and Thompson have very distinctive visual styles that somewhat contrast each other when compared side by side on the comic book. From what I’ve seen, Eisner tends to prefer working with larger images and likes to play around with the imagery and panel shapes. Due to his preference with larger images and compositions, he has no issue making use of images that take up the entire page or aren’t contained by the boundary of a panel. On the other hand, while Thompson did also seem to like making use of various panel shapes, he seemed to be much more conscious in his approach to the execution of the artwork itself. Thompson’s artwork is more expressive, as he makes use of hatching skills and line work that creates or captures a certain texture or emotion within the image. For me, it seems the difference between the two artists is that between the two, Eisner seems to be the one with a broader range of comfort in terms of the composition of the lay out, while Thompson seems to have a much more specific and stylized method of drawing and visualizing the images in his expression.