Design Choices in Comics

The first thing I noticed about Asterios Polyp was its extremely bizarre, but also strangely charming aesthetic. Being an art student, I think it helped me appreciate the craft and skill it took David Mazzucchelli to control the sheer diversity of visual styles. Each character had a very unique and individual appeal, and this was taken even further by giving even their voices personality in the way the type was presented.

As I read further into the novel, I found myself smiling in awe of how deep one could look at the story in its entirety. In a word, I would call Asterios Polyp sophisticated. Everything from the bold design choices, to the pessimistic message of the story, rung out glorious sounds of sophisticated realism. The fact that things don’t turn out well for the protagonist in the end, the idea that everyone in the comic (and in real life) has a different “design”, the subtle changes in the palette to convey the mood, everything, and I mean everything appears to be meticulously considered, and is therefore, very meaningful.

By far, I believe this to be the most interesting take on a graphic novel I’ve ever experienced. The level of consideration for the design styles, and the ability to unify them all together requires impressive skill and knowledge.

Stereotype and Diversity

Stereotyping as we know, is a double-edged sword. It can be a highly effective method of creating a character, but it can also be offensive and/or insensitive. But when you look at stereotyping in comics, animated film or television, and video games, personally I do not believe it is a necessity; However, I don’t believe that it is something we need to do away with either.

The Oxford dictionary definition of stereotype is: “a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing.” So naturally, when it comes to individuality, it is unfair, in both entertainment and real life. Though I personally see no harm in using it as a method of establishing a character who later breaks free from those preconceived assumptions, or to create a simple and humorous collection of background characters.

  A stereotype isn’t based on a false idea of a certain group of people, and it’s hard to argue against the existence of “stereotypical people” within our culture. If a stereotype wasn’t based on a collection of true facts, it wouldn’t be used, because it wouldn’t make sense. A stereotype is an unfair thing to apply to anyone of any race, and that unfairness doesn't fail to reach all races either. Most rational people who see a black character in a comic book, realize that most black people don’t love watermelon more than anything, or walk with their pants halfway down. Just as any sensible person realizes that most white girls aren’t complete ditzes, and don’t only live off Starbucks.

An interesting thing I’ve noticed about the pursuit of civil rights, is how far off the mark we've gotten. Don’t get me wrong, diversity of race, culture, and ideas can be great, but when we make things like diversity of race our main focus in everything we do, that’s where things become counterproductive. If you really look closely at the progressive approach to diversity, it has simply become a “checkbox”. A “checkbox” that schools and businesses now use as a method to claim immunity against accusations of racism, regardless of whether genuine racism exists in those paces or not. Diversity has now become a gauge by which our culture  determines whether or not someone or something is racist, sexist, homophobic, etc. They look at it as a set of rules to follow, thus turning people of minority groups into playing cards. People become things. Not necessarily objects, but things. Rather than people, rather than individuals, we simply become a “black man/woman” a “white man/woman”, an “asian man/woman” and so on. We are reduced down to only what people can see about us for others to make judgements — And that’s what’s so counterproductive about the progressive’s approach to diversity. It rewires us to look only outwardly at others and ourselves as part of a race, and not as an individual.

Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous words were this — “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” — Is that not the end goal of abolishing racism and racially based stereotypes? So why do we spend so much time focussing on the color of our skin and separating ourselves accordingly? I share Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream. To one day look at every man, woman and child, not as a member of a specific race, creed, or way of life, but rather as an individual, unique, complex human being.

Maus

As someone who has done extensive research on World War II and the Holocaust, I found Maus to be a surprisingly accurate and engaging depiction of that part of history. While the graphic novel itself seemed to follow a very basic and formulaic structure to its visual layout, and the artwork was thickly rendered and relatively flat, I did still find enjoyment in it, and how powerful its story and message were. As I read deeper and deeper into the story, I kept wondering to myself why the story was told in an almost kid-friendly sense by making the characters animals. I understood the thought behind making the Jews mice and the Nazis cats as a means to depict the hideousness of racism at its worst form, but other than that, the fact that the characters were animals seemed almost arbitrary — That doesn't mean I didn't like that choice, I just mean to say I still don’t fully understand it. I will say, I found it’s kid-friendly aesthetic to be extremely fascinating when juxtaposed to the story and subject matter that it covered, and I appreciated the fact that it didn’t stray away from the reality of what happened. The Holocaust will forever be a horrible part of history, but it also contains many stories of redemption and human resilience, and I have great respect for both the survivors of those stories, as well as those who tell them.

Response to Tijuana Bibles

As I read the Tijuana Bibles, I had a hard time thinking of a way I could justify its value as a comic series, and not just aimless, comical porn. I realize that the series was an underground, raunchy comic, but I personally don’t think I could’ve ever gotten behind them as a series, even if I didn’t have a moral objection to the material.

I found nothing appealing about the comic. Its gags were lazy, crass, and unresolved. The drawings lacked polish and appeared to be drawn only to convey the most basic forms of information, those forms usually being penises and boobs. As the comic was printed on a smaller page, I understand that the drawings may need to be reduced when it comes to detail, but a lot of the illustrations weren’t even well-drawn. Proportions were incorrect, and sketches looked unfinished.

I did wonder where one bought these comics, and who the target audience was. Naturally they were marketed to “adults”, but as a demographic, I wondered what subcategory or subcategories of people bought this series. In terms of a comic that I could pick up and read, I find no appeal in the Tijuana Bibles, so I would’ve never bought it.

Blankets

I found Craig Thomson’s Blankets to be an extremely personal, relatable and well-told graphic story. I found myself engrossed and engaged in the narrative from start to finish. Thomson so eloquently translates the innocent thoughts and viewpoints of childhood into a visual form to the point where several times throughout the process of my reading, I clearly recalled from my own life the same memories and emotions the “characters” were experiencing.

Similarly to Thomson, I grew up in a very Christian home. I remember struggling with my own faith in God, and feeling as if I had no calling or purpose. I remember being sent to church-camp, and can attest to how fake and phony the people who go there really are — Not to the point of cursing, sex and drugs, but I was always disappointed to see how differently people behaved in of the chapel, to outside of it. I liked how the story was able to criticize the faults of modern Christianity without insulting or discrediting it, to me, when a story can do that, it makes its message so much more poignant.

Another thing I really appreciated about Blankets, was its nonlinear story structure. I enjoyed how it wove childhood memories into the bulk of the main story, relating the present back to the past. It opened a lot of opportunities to utilize a creative narration of the story. I was very pleased by Thomson’s ability to capture the internal thoughts of his “character”. By simply overlaying a thought bubble overtop a meadow of text, it clearly and elegantly conveys internal thought and external narration. I was able to read it in a very cinematic manner, and at many times, could even see it making an incredible and moving piece of cinema some day.

2001: A Space Odyssey

         Personally, I am very interested in Science Fiction as a genre. I love Star Wars, Star Trek, Firefly, and pretty much anything related to space. So I jumped at the opportunity to read the graphic retelling of 2001: A Space Odyssey. I was surprised at how detailed the artwork was, as well as how cinematic the comic book ended up looking. The story progressed very similarly to that of Stanley Kubrick’s film, though I would say quicker, which is understandable, as it would have to in order to remain interesting and engaging. 

One thing I am curious about, is how well the comic would read for someone who isn’t familiar with the film and story of 2001. As I read it, I was able to envision everything to the full effect, as I have seen the film several times. But I did wonder how different the experience of reading this comic book would’ve been, if I were reading it as someone who had never even heard of 2001. I imagine it is a similar concept to seeing a film adaptation before you read a book (even though this is the other way around). It goes to show how much sound and motion can effect an experience.

Development and Messages

As I read the Peanuts, Calvin and Hobbes, and several other comic strips, one of the things I found interesting is how much the comics changed throughout their years of production. I liked comparing the older comics to the newer ones, and seeing the significance in the differences. Visually, the character designs developed a lot, backgrounds became more detailed, perspective improved, and generally, the later comics had a much more polished look. The stories and jokes improved significantly too. The first gag in Calvin and Hobbes was a stupid pun, and while it was funny, the later gags had layered humor, sophisticated jokes, and creative angles. It just went to show how much something good can improve to be something great.

Another thing I found fascinating about comic strips, were their relation to the current times. Many strips contained content that was either subliminally or obviously making a social commentary on a current event, or set of events. While I didn’t fully understand the whole message, as I wasn’t alive in the 50s, 60s, and 70s, I found it very interesting to see how comics were able to deliver an important and often poignant idea that related to modern times. It made me more aware of possible messages tied into comic strips today.