Asterios Polyp & This One Summer

Asterios Polyp is a book I enjoyed the minute I saw the cover, the design choices in general in this book are amazing.  The way David Mazzucchelli planned out his panels to lead his reader through is brilliant all the way through, the concept behind the main characters duality and how it's displayed in regards to showing personality is simply excellent visualization and leaves the reader with an excellent read that's hard to put down.  The main characters Asterios and Hana create a fascinating duo in how their chemistry balances off each other until a fundamental disagreement in communication leads them astray.  It's a story of facing flaws and opposing philosophies on life and art in a way I've never seen done before in comics.  I ended up fully enthralled by how their lives would end up and was left in awe.

The first time I read This One Summer was back in the summer actually weeks after school ended.  I was in Kansas City with friends reading through a collection of new comics and zines and the Tamaki cousins just came out with this new release.  I knew more of Jillian's illustration work than anything else but I was still very excited.  It's take one childhood is from a perspective I have never seen explored in such a candid fashion of pre-teen drama and internal conflict.  Usually girls in comics are not nearly as developed as compared to Rose and Wendy.  Smart but impressionable girls that are faced with real issues of how women are viewed in their lives by their own.  I feel like this was potentially one of the best comics of the year.

Anime & Manga

I recall being into anime way before I ever picked up a manga book, mainly due to all the animes coming to America through Toonami.  One of the first ones I read was a Shonen Jump mangas that were multiple action boy adventure comics that were very different in story arc compared to the American comics I read at the time.  I didn't know about the original Astro Boy's story until very recently.  When looking back at the timeline of when Astro Boy came out I'm actually really surprised at where modern anime has taken itself in regards to the shift in drawing.  Tezuka's style reminiscent to Fleischer's Betty Boop is something that's not as emulated aside from reproductions of Astro Boy, which remains still very respected for being the first popular anime.  I feel later successors ended up leaving a larger impact on the American anime public at least.  It's interesting relooking through old anime now and seeing a time where that kind of style was frequently used.  There's a softness in the faces of Rumiko Takahashi that's similar to Astro Boy, along with Usagi Yojimbo being more focused on soft round shapes as well.  Modern anime has taken into more of a focused on angle and sharp features with a variety of styles within one scene.  In manga you can have a shift between a logo/symbol usage of a character to a dramatic rendering with accurate lighting.  The diversity in styles is very inspiring to see and explore, despite certain cliches of Anime & Manga being heavily used at times.

Mobius and Metal Hurlant

In all the vast tales and lore that is visualized through the comic medium there have been few artists have been able to intertwine science and fantasy in such a captivating way as Moebius.  It's not easy to find someone who walks the line between mythical lands and advanced technological cities.  The plane Moebius usually sets these wild visual journeys on what feels like a dream in some instances and in others a tap into our subconscious with the choice of psychedelic visual effects that he masterfully portrays.  A character could be falling down from a serene landscape into a new reality all in one page instantly.  From his work in the Incal series to his one-shot Heavy Metal comics I've never felt so entranced into an imaginary world like his.  Reading through Moebius feels inspiring every time no matter how much I've read his books.  There's so much mystery and atmosphere in his storytelling that leaves me fascinated with how he world builds and tells his stories.  It's fun to see how many other artists draw influence from Moebius as well with being able to see the foundation he's established that others go back to for reference and ideas.  In Miyazaki you can see the influence of Moebius with the reliance more on watercolor and pencil as opposed to heavy ink usage.

Looking through the Heavy Metal magazine gives me a somewhat somber feeling, as even with our current culture bringing zines and comics into the public eye I feel that there's not much out there that can compare to a magazine devoted to sci-fi comics such as Heavy Metal.  The magazine industry now is not too far away from extinction, but who knows I'm sure there will be a new site that highlights new sci-fi comics exclusively if it doesn't exist already.

Promethea

1. Are there any prominent symbols?  If so what are they and how are they used?

You see a heavy usage of egyptian and greek symbols in this book, the main character Promethea uses a Caduceus, a symbol for medicine as a weapon against her enemies.  In the main villains chamber he has a huge pentagram decked out on the bottom of his floor in his room with his henchmen, with candles on so he's fully prepared to cast a spell.  There's a large usage of egyptian gods as characters such as the owl or the conjoined Prometheans with one that looks very similiar to Ra that the main character sees in different visions.

2.  Discuss elements of the story you were able to connect with.

I'm very much interested in the influence behind the choice in theme for the visuals. Seeing the ancient Egyptian and Greek being fused with futurist elements in this fashion is not something regularly done.  It's a very peculiar mix of science fiction and mythology that leaves me wondering where Alan Moore is going to take us.  I can't say I directly connect with anything in this story but it's very intriguing.

3.  What would you make to adapt this story into another medium? What medium would you use?
What changes would you make?

This would probably work decently as a 2D animation mini-series, I wouldn't want to get rid of the gore/ R-rating potential of the comic so I would push it towards Adult Swim.  I think I would flesh out more of the main characters back story earlier on instead of dropping her into some interview with some (seemingly) random woman.  This story is very much more tailored for a comic and I'm not sure if there's another medium I would try to immediately shift it towards.

Stereotyping in Comics

Admittedly, stereotyping in modern comics is not something that I had felt as exposed to in comparison to stereotyping in other entertainment industries.  Small issues would come up when I would read certain superhero comics like Ultimate Spiderman for instance when I noticed a good portion of the thugs and robbers he would beat down were usually black or non-white.  Even with those occasional glimpses of stereotyping I still feel like comics weren't ever popular enough to really have a retrospect into the way artists represented certain races. This could be due to the choices I've made in what comics I've decided to read, but I usually don't try to gravitate towards comics that delve heavily into stereotypes.  In another light it could be due to the recent politically correct movement in the entertainment industry that has tried to clean up the negative stereotyping. Most of my recent exposure when it comes to traditional/direct stereotyping are older comics like Little Nemo with the characteristics of Flip and other seemingly African-dressed tribesmen.  One stereotypical trope that has been ingrained is the white savior complex, that is definitely a theme you'll find amongst many of the older comics back in the pulp fiction days. I felt like I saw plenty of stereotyping in the Underground phase, but that's when every social taboo or 'forbidden fruits' of social discussion began pouring out.  The majority of those comics were usually looking at the stereotyping of race and culture in a satirical tone like Ron Crumb's Mr. Whiteman.  I definitely do not believe stereotyping is a necessary strategy, there are quality written characters from comics who don't rely on stereotypes.  I'd feel different if instead of seeing cultures be simplified and not looked at in depth were highlighted for their differences and given a voice.  That's something that's happened now with the imprint that Maus and Persepolis have had on the comic story, where genuine care is taken by the writers to explain a culture and it's history.

Persepolis

I never had much of an education about the lives that people in Iran and the Middle East in general lead, so reading this comic was a really amazing view behind the veil in regards to how they behave.  The majority of the revolutionaries she discussed are ones I largely have not heard of.  The transition from Iran's culture in the 70's to the current religious regime is something I knew about, but the depth Marji goes into explaining what really happened is fascinating. It's very intimate in a way seeing it in this perspective as I feel bonded to how she and her family are doing, much like in Maus. There's actually quite a connection to Maus when it comes to the tone of the story and a similarity in design where simplicity is what carries the panel design.  One of the similarities you see is in how the characters are portrayed; there's usually one important physical trait that each character is identified with, making it a quick read to figure out who is who.  So despite most characters having non-descriptive faces or specific emotions, you can tell the difference between Marji and her fellow classmates by the swoop of her hair as opposed to theirs. An important thing to note also is that almost every character introduced in Persepolis leaves some kind of impression upon Marji.  You see a lot of different point of views and stories told from other characters that come into Marji's life and you get to see the impact they leave on her.  Marji's uncle Anoosh for example is someone she idolizes greatly for his heroism as a Russian spy, wishing her father was more of a hero like him.  Most of the minor characters each had their own quick bio as well even when they don't get much dialogue.  Overall this is an excellent story, it's heartfelt and tragic but I feel oddly proud of Marji in a way, like watching a distant family member make it out of struggling times.  Seeing her relay people's struggles from a very recent past gave me a new perspective on Iran and the endless conflicts happening in the Middle East.

Maus

I remember back when I was a junior in high school I was given Art Spiegelman's book to read for my English class. It's a treat to be able to come back to this graphic novel after all these years, as it's one of the first ones I've read that had to do with something non-fiction based in origin. I didn't check when it was made but I had always thought it was a comic made later than it actually was, probably due to it's design that influenced others.  The lower usage of type in every panel, how well he spread the conversations were for each page, its a long book but it never felt long with how he spread the information.  

I suppose it makes sense that the subject that would legitimize graphic novels would be an autobiographical take on WW2.  The war has inspired countless works of art that have been highly honored in our society as its such a crazy period of time where a good portion of the world was thrown into chaos en masse.   But what really helped Maus at the time in the 80s was that comics were a new medium for storytelling and were previously untapped by writers who wanted to make biographical novels.  So many stories of holocaust survivors told, or told of the countless ones who were unable to make it out of the death camps. 

 It's an event far away enough to be somewhat romanticized by the following generations and still a present reminder due to the consequences we now deal with.  What makes Maus stand out from other movies and books is the simple and effective symbolism behind the anthropomorphic elements in the book.  It's something that's immediate and takes no time to decipher yet adds such a different feel to the book.  You know that all of them are human one in the same, but having them personified as cat and mouse helps you identify the "chase" of the Nazis after Jews and eventually all non-Germans.

The layers of Art Spiegelman's personal life that we dive into is also what really helps gain other empathy to his and his father's story, with the absent tale of Anja Spiegalman left untold sadly.  You can tell although Vladek's life was undeniably marked by the Nazis, he had always been more of a shifty character in his own nature.  His skill with business, building, crafting, and quick wit helped keep him connected to potential allies or eventually winning over adversaries.  Also being more financially well off at the start of the war greatly helped as well.  Looking back through there's usually a situation where Jews will be attacked and rounded up in the ghettos and Vladek will either sneak away or get snatched up by a friend just in time.  Artie definitely identifies characteristics that Vladek has that benefited him, between his frugalness, his do-it-yourself attitude, and his willingness to do whatever is necessary to live.

Originally in high school I hated that Vladek had burned Anja's diary, I didn't feel Vladek should have been punished or anything but I felt hurt in a way that someone's story was simply just burnt away with not much else to know them by.  I can empathize with Vladek's pain, having to see his wife's diary and pain from her suicide, but I felt having her perspective on her experience in the holocaust would have added an interesting dimension to the books that we can only speculate about now.  Reading through the first this time was different in that I wasn't angry with Vladek, but instead I felt more enamored with the squabblings of his current life oddly enough.  Artie continuously wanted him to get back to the war but I felt that it was a way for Artie to not get close to his father, as Artie probably still doesn't forgive him for the diaries.  It was even more interesting looking at Artie's comic about his mother's suicide as I could see more of the Underground influence on Art in that story's nature.  The disconnect he protrays from his parents in that comic was interesting to see as we never get a full picture of what their family was like together.

I'm glad that I now know the significance behind Maus and the path it helped create in graphic novels, Art Spiegelman touches at the very core of the trauma that many Holocaust survivors went through and still go through.  The choices he used to tell this story with are what will make this a timeless book that still shines even decades from now.