Week 11

Asterios Polyp, Bone and Tale of One Bad Rat

This weeks readings brought lots of interesting ideas and thoughts to the table. I started with Tale of One Bad Rat. It had this kind of (I don't know If I'm using the wrong terminology) "stock" marvel-dc kind of drawing visual style? I'm not equipped with the right vocabulary, but I suppose upon seeing the very first page I was already hesitant if I would enjoy the comic due to its immediate visual reference I was making in my head. However, despite this I decided to keep on reading, and I'm very glad I did! I was expecting it to be one of my 3 options I skim through only a little bit but the intriguing story pulled me towards the end of Book 1. I always enjoy magical realism and when there's a historical context to the narrative its a cherry on top! Language was obviously the biggest mystery of the comic hahaha I found myself often ending up trying to speak the words in the accent in my head which felt like a really unique interactive trait that the comic has. 

Coming after was Asterios Polyp. My favorite aspect of books like this one, is the ability to tie the visual composition and the conceptual contexts (language/words/story) into such an intricate interdependent web where one really couldn't do without the other. Visual information exists through metaphor and allegory in addition to its primary function to help dictate and visualize the story. Breaking the boundaries of medium, color and form also helped reveal to the reader- despite Polyp's rigor, discipline and structure, an insight into the chaos and mayhem that often plagues his mind. The narrative being mostly a character study, did a really good job at acquainting you with the kinds of Asterios Polyp.

Lastly, I had the privilege of reconnecting with a childhood milestone in comic making for me- Bone. I had come upon Bone growing up in India, that from my recollection was one of the only solid "graphic novels" that were being sold in book stores in my town at that time. I remember being excited about having a novel that dictated the entire story through visual assistance- and was even more mind blown to enter the fantastical and mystical realms of Smiths worlds. I was obsessed, going on to research on how he made them, how he started with comic strips in the paper- a character he constructed at the age of 7! Beautiful memories of how impactful this comic was to my love of arts and expression. As I made myself more aware of the path to Bone, its like I began understanding how to 'breakdown' the framework of a comic book. Whether it be story, composition, drawing and inking, coloring or even publishing and releasing. I felt like Bone helped open the doors into reflecting on all of the numerous components required for a successful novel. 

Week 10

BUDDHA tezuka

Re-reading the BUDDHA anthology was exhilarating. I had already been fascinated to come upon it at a young age in India, reflecting on the unique narrative of Goutama- an iconic figure through India. Going through the narrative years later, provided an extra set of eyes to experience the graphic novel through. I never noticed the fluidity of motion in the novel- perhaps I felt the effects of it (smooth reading and action packed scenes that don't feel disrupted), but I was able to pull back and reflect on how successful certain scenes were in capturing motion, action and exciting movement without you ever feeling like words and images are being read. I've also always been a fan of black and white imagery- black ink comics/graphic novels that don't use color. With the art of coloring being its own unique art, I feel as though its more often the case to lose visual depth and composition with a poorly colored novel. However, in black and white gradients, the minimalism assists your imagination in fulfilling the sense of depth and space in the composition without provoking a sensory overload. Especially in a narrative like this where there is a lot of movement and motion, drama and emotion, I enjoyed being carried through with simplistic but vivid imagery.

Week 8

MARCH

Considering Ethics and Representation as today’s prompt and genre in comics, I was drawn towards the contrast of Stereotype vs Archetype. While there seem to always be “types” woven into the fabric of most media, literature and entertainment, I wonder of the hierarchy between them. Does one diminish the value of the subject of observation? Stereotype implies a kind of superficial observational conclusion, whereas archetype gives supposed insight into an underlying pattern,an original prototype perhaps. However, with my head filled with Jungian ideas of what psychological archetypes construct our state of consciousness, I could not help but see the deeper emblems/archetypes that many of the main characters in March depicted. Ones of non-violence, strength, unity and kindness- elements that I think most humans have the capacity to embody.

Another really interesting aspect was the attention to compositional framing, whether it was landscape, characters or emptiness, many frames had a film-like quality to them. Motion seamlessly carrying you from frame to frame, I felt the artist spent time constructing a strong visual setting and space that the characters really did occupy. As McCloud said, isn’t a film really just like a reeeeeallly slow comic?