week 11 comics as contemporary literature

My Favorite Thing is Monsters by Emil Ferris is definitely a hefty read with 400 pages loaded with immense detail in drawing and descriptive texts. Despite not being able to scrutinize the details yet, the book is such a work of art as it weaves so many things together. It is very non-conformist in style and more expressive, shifting tones and mood as the author sees appropriate. The subject matter is very dark, and it creates an interesting tone being drawn on a notebook paper. The whole book is crosshatched beautifully, and she experiments with creative layouts. She crosses between exaggerated stylistic drawing and realistic, detailed sketches which create great contrast and are astonishing. I think her usage of color is beautiful, especially the cover arts for different chapters. The style kind of reminded me of underground comics, mixed in with fine art and pop art. The story was very deep with a lot going on. The main story was following the mystery of murdered neighbor, but with multitude of characters with very strong characteristics fleshed out. Romance, thriller, comedy, politics, and social commentary was incorporated within this story line to create this thick book. It is interesting that in a lot of the great novels I read in this class, the authors directly got the inspiration from his or her own experiences. I think unique experiences are invaluable to any person, but as an artist, utilizing them to our expression is something quite extraordinary. I watched a video once about why humans became the dominant species, and one main reason is because our brains became capable of learning through passive experience by communicating with others, and seeing these great works of art I truly feel like I am experiencing the emotions, thoughts, and the essence of what makes them unique as an individual.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Comic Strips

Last week I read some comics like Peanuts by Charles Schulz, and Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson. I couldn't help but be amazed at how simple four-strip cartoons with corny jokes can build such an incredible story and love for the characters. I've enjoyed a lot of Peanuts when I was a kid, and when I re-read some of the strips I remembered how I much I enjoyed Calvin's imagination running all over the place, annoying everyone. But he was such a lovable character in that his heart was innocent and he really reminds me of simpler youth, innocence, and adventurous spirit. I think people in all age groups could enjoy these comic strips for that reason. In Calvin and Hobbes, adults could relate to the parents on how realistic they are, reacting to the silly actions of Calvin's childish annoyance ,yet giving him all the love as their child. Also, it covers wide arrange of subject matter about life that could be understood only as an adult. For kids, they can relate to Ca
Read more

week 12 comics by women

I read This One Summer by Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki. It was beautifully illustrated following a story of a girl dealing with family problems, friends, and drama during her stay at a lake during summer vacation. I thought it was really moving to see such an in depth description of the characters and their conflicts during their vacation and how Rose comes to find peace with her family and about growing up. I was personally touched because there are inevitably times when I become frustrated with family matters. Even though parents are one of the people you think you get to know very well, but at least in our family it feels like we always hide our pains and hardships from one another, and it's hard to see eye to eye on a lot of things. I think it could be a generational thing, but also the environment I was raised in was completely different from how they grew up. I think this story could relate to many readers because we all experience issues within family and friends, and th
Read more

Understanding Comics

Understanding Comics Review "Understanding Comics" enlightened me in many ways that I did not expect. First of all, as an Illustration student, I am usually guilty of focusing way too much on the details that I forget about the bigger picture and the impression of the image. However, comics with less realism and more simplicity gets us more involved because by reducing the image down to its fundamental meaning, it is amplified beyond what realistic art can.  I also came to appreciate techniques comic artists use to create a flow of time and space through panels and found it interesting how the cultural difference between the U.S. and Japan creates different usage of transitional types. I was personally touched by pages 170-184 where the author talks about the six steps of making art. Recently I have been starting to question the purpose and goal of making art and was troubled that I have either forgotten or do not yet know the answer. However, the author describe
Read more