Maus - Art Spiegelman

Maus was a great read in my opinion. It was informative and entertaining. I was intrigued at first as to how much of the atrocities of the holocaust they were gonna depict, especially since Spiegelman was using cute mice and cats as the main characters. The book wasn't too graphic in content but it definitely delivered some tragic and bleak moments.
It is Art Spiegelman's father's first hand account of the the holocaust in Poland and his stay in Auschwitz. In the story Art is a comic book artist trying to get information from his elderly father about his time in the holocaust. Their relationship is at times frustrating for both of them. Vladek, the father, is a bit of a greedy and stingy old man and is constantly fighting with his second wife Mala. Art's mother commits suicide years before the book takes place.
The story is pretty epic and I felt it read smoothly and quickly. The reader is taken in a grim adventure through nazi occupied Poland.
There are many reasons why Maus was and is so popular. The reason why i enjoyed it so much was McCloud's idea of putting one's self in the cartoon's place. You really feel part of the story both in the supposed real world where Art in interviewing his dad and in the memory of his tale.
Something that really caught my eye was Art's comic about his mothers suicide. It played into the story well but besides that it showed the reader how personal this whole graphic novel is to Spielgelman. It was meant in my view to pull the readers attention through his/her emotions. It was also an opportunity to show Spiegelman's other drawing style. Another similar thing that i found interesting was how he used a photograph of his brother at the beginning of the second book and also one of his father towards the end.

Underground Comix

This week I read Zap Comix and Robert Crumb's Mr. Natural. I found both works hilarious and really amusing. The content of both pieces are drugs, sex, raunchy comedy, and lots of profanity. Mr. Natural is a spiritual guru that is a bit of a jerk. I like how Crumb gave him human flaws and characteristics as well as his ridiculous humor and how he psychologically messes with Flakey Foont. Another interesting thing about the comics was that you could tell it came from the 60's because of the references to the drugs, fashion, culture and especially slang. Its a caricatured view into a past time.

Will Eisner's A contract with God

A Contract with God is a graphic novel that tells the story of a tenement building in the Bronx during the 1930's. They are a collection of different short graphic stories rather than one single continuous one. The stories deal with poor working class people and their scandalous and intriguing stories. Eisner's line work and wonderful city landscapes and settings is what caught my attention the most as well as his lively and cartoony characters. The work is suppose to portray "realism" and the raw and hard daily lives of the inhabitants of the tenements.

Craig Thompson's Blanket

Blankets is an autobiographical graphic novel that tells the story of Craig Thompson. The graphic novel shows the very real and often sad events of his childhood, family, first love, and religious environment. It takes place in the mid 80's and early 90's in rural Wisconsin and also in Michigan.
The story starts off with Craig as a young boy and describes the horrors and traumatic events associated with being an evangelical Christian. Craig is a frail boy, unsure of himself and often bullied by his peers. He is a loner all the way through high school. He is sent every winter to Christian camp but feels inferior to the others because he is poor. During his senior year he meets a few other misfits and a girl in the camp, Raina. He soon becomes infatuated with her and they begin a friendly relationship where they send letters to each other. Eventually Craig convinces his parents to let him stay with Raina and her family for a few weeks. Raina's family is dysfunctional in some ways. Her parents are in the process of a divorce, she has two mentally handicapped siblings, and her sister is married to jerk. Craig and Raina still manage to spend time together and fall in love. When Craig has to go back home he is distraught and depressed. He wants nothing else but to be with her but Raina needs her space because she is dealing with many difficulties. Craig realizes that he is harming himself with this fascination and cuts off contact with her altogether. He then faces other problems in is life like his faith, community, parents, family, and future. The story ends in an optimistic way with Craig growing and realizing whats really important.
The novel is full of metaphors and connections from biblical scripture and philosophy. It is a very well written and drawn, in-depth look at very important subjects such as childhood and adolescence, first love, religion, sex, and family.
What i like most about Blankets was how personal it is and how much you feel like you know Craig by the end of it. His past and present help develop the story and in it his characteristics. Many teens growing up face many of the same issues with themselves like questioning your faith, not fitting in, and family problems, which is why it is so easy to put yourself in his shoes and relate to him.

Comic Strips

This week the I revisited an old comic strips and discovered some new ones.

Peanuts by Charles Shulz - Peanuts is a comic strip created by cartoonist Charles Shulz in 1950 and ran till his death in 2000. Snoopy and Charlie Brown are iconic characters and loved by most children and adults. As a young child I loved Snoopy and the Peanuts universe. Revisiting the strips i found the content very interesting for a few reasons. I relearned why it is that these characters are so relatable to kids, reestablished an appreciation for Shulz's line work and iconic drawing style, and laughed and how most of the characters had adult traits and problems that made them unique and memorable.

Little Nemo in Slumberland 1905 - This was my first time reading Little Nemo and I can say i was impressed and entertained by it. The art in itself was spectacular, Winsor McCay's tight and precise line work, his soft colors, and great settings and places were enough to keep me glued to it. The dialogue was good but clearly intended for a younger audience. Nemo is a boy who goes to a magical places when he dreams. he has a few friends to help him in his adventures. The strip flows fast, mostly action-to-action transitions, and is full of movement, action, and quick and sudden scene changes.

Krazy Kat by George Herriman - Krazy Kat is unlike the other two in that it isn't intended for kids, in fact it was hard for me to really distinguish a specific fan base. It is the story of Krazy Kat, Ignatz Mouse and Offissa Pupp who have a sort of love/hate triangle relationship. It takes place in the surreal Coconino County. The strip is drawn in a very simple but messy and loose style.

Understanding Comics - Scott Mcloud

Understanding comics was fascinating to me because it made me rethink about cartoons and really figure out why they have such an iconic impact on people. The interesting thing was how he explained that the simpler the drawing the more we relate to it and envision ourselves through it. This is because we also see ourselves in a reduced simpler visual form, kind of like a cartoon. Another thing that was interesting to me was the process of making comic books. This was good for me because i' not a big comic book reader but learning the process makes me wanna jump into it more now and even make my own.

A week of kindness Max Ernst

The first panel displays a woman wearing a black robe standing on one foot with her arms extended to the sides. On the floor next to her there is a chicken and an egg. The darkness and mystery of the panel makes me think of some kind of ritual being performed.
The second panel shows a large chicken-man standing next to a woman, that could be dead or sleeping, in a room. He
The third panel is about the woman in the last panel being lowered in a casket somewhere underground. Another naked woman stands naked on the side while the chicken-man and now another creature look at her suspiciously. In the back there is an upside down cross hanging which might indicate that this is a human sacrifice being performed on the women by these creatures.
Fourth panel- She is laying half-naked on a rectangular slab of concrete. The creatures are talking and plotting what to do with her. The situation looks bleak, it looks like another step of the ritual is about to take place.
Panel 5- Woman on the floor appears to be dead and there is blood splattered on the floor.
There are important elements to this work that we know are the basic elements of traditional comic books. The only difference is that this work is more surreal and even though the panels are in order its more up to the reader to interpret the story as he or she wishes.