Salem Drago

What is your reaction to the text we just read?: It's a very interesting comic, one of the most interesting ones I've read for this class. I really like how it'll cut back and forth between the present and the past very successfully. When it does cut, it didn't feel abrupt. Instead it feels quite natural and smooth. I also really like how active it feels. As I was reading through it I can actually imagine it as an animated movie of sorts. Simply the camera shots and how each panel is orchestrated is done very successfully that it feels very fluid. It does have it's very dark moments in it. Whether it's a plot point in the story or simply a panel image of a face or shot. For example, The Joker (after his transformation) has a lot of eerie camera shots like having his face almost completely in darkness with the exception of small white dots for eyes. Even by looking at these images out of context of this comic, the viewer can tell immediately the type of person...

Right away the comic sets up what it's going to be like simply by looking at the first page. It has a very unique set up and style to it. It almost reminds me of older cartoon shows like The Regular Show. The comic also returns to the basic format of older comics by using perfectly squared panels. The comic is drawn almost as if it's a children's comic. Though the contents of it clearly is aimed for an adult audience. One thing I really enjoyed about this comic is how it was created traditionally (or at least appears to be). It gives the paper a certain type of texture and almost nostalgic feel due to the texture of paper. Another thing that really stands out to me is how this artist uses mixed media to create the comic. For one short story it appears to be watercolor while the next is done in colored pencils then marker. Using mixed media in this type of way is a new thing I have never seen done in a comic before and changed the feeling of each story. This comic is also mo...

"Astro City" is a beautifully done comic that looks no different from the modern comics we know of today. One thing I noticed in this comic compared to the previous weeks, is how saturated the colors are. In the previous comics there were some saturated elements however, in this one every color is very saturated. Another thing I noticed and really enjoyed about this comic is how in this one, it really plays with panels by breaking the outlines of them. This adds a dynamic spin to each panel causing them to be more impactful. It also really plays with onomatopoeia's to really push sounds and not leaving too much to the reader's imagination. Though to some readers, they want a little more imagination while reading. However for me personally, I like the story being self explanatory and really pushing the impact of something simply based on an illustration. "Astro City" makes you follow around a superhero-like character and immediately the reader gets attached t...

One main thing I noticed is that everything is in black in white with touches of blue in each theme. However despite it having more black and white it still feels as if each panel is in full color. The panels are filled with fun shapes and so much movement that they never feel empty despite the lack of color. Another thing that really stuck out to me was the use of extreme angles. Many comics I have read at least, use only shots that are essential. However, in "Fun Home" she uses more interesting panels. For example when they are describing the father fixing the house, instead of using flat camera work, she uses very dynamic angles. After a few panels it reveals the father's dark secret. Which I personally love how this author set up the story and drew the father already as a controlling father. Making him this way from the beginning makes the readers already have a dislike for him but when the dark secret is mentioned, it's a shocking surprise that makes the readers ...

"Alice In Sunderland" - A lot of different media -To show history it uses collages of real pictures and places while the characters remain black and white -It uses horizontal lines to shade and dramatic lighting -Half way through it changes it's realistic style to a more free formed style to show a theater story "Blood on the Moon" -There are 3 panels per page and are the width of the entire page -Has a very realistic style -Well established background and atmosphere compared to other comics -Portrays the history of Native Americans and the war over the land with the whites "The Dream Hunters" -It's laid out in a picture book style. Instead of having comic strips with dialogue, it has a full page illustration then the next page in only text of the story. -Each illustration connecting with the story with it's own unique color schemes -Each illustrations comes across as surreal almost with fluidity while also changing the techni...

One thing I thought that was very interesting about "Understanding Comics" is how the author said the more simplified a face is, the more we relate. I never thought of this before but it makes a lot of sense. Though hyper-realistic drawings are impressive, in the world of comics, they don't really belong. We may be able to have a connection with a character that is drawn in a very realistic style and admire them. However, when a character in a comic is more simplified, almost a simple circle with eyes, the reader cannot help but put themselves in that character's shoes. I also really liked how this book was written as an actual comic. Many books that start with "Understanding" or "The History of" tend to be very text heavy and often times boring. As soon as I simply saw the first page I knew this was nothing like an ordinary history book. Still being informative and educational but also a very fun read. Truly flipping the "history is boring...

Right away I already really like that the people are draw as humanized mice. I also really like the style of it, using thick black lines to show shading. It makes every small panels seem like it is moving do to this way of shading.

The first comic I read was Mr. Natural and right away you can tell this seems to be an original copy as the pages seem to be yellowed with age. It also seems to be hand drawn, even the panels, due to the wobbly lines of them. As soon as you start reading it, presumingly Mr. Natural, is a strongly disliked character. Straight from the get go you see Mr. Natural steal from a beggar on the street to buy himself food, despite being well fed. Another thing I noticed is how cartoonish and almost child-like the illustrations are in this particular comic even though this is an underground comic. The next short comic within this same book is even more so out there and not afraid to be offensive. This the last one it heavily stereotyped African-Americans. However with this one it is heavily stereotyped of African-Americans and has strong sexual undertones / plot.

Early on reading Will Eisner's "Life on Another Planet", I noticed one major difference between previous comics we've read in class. The one main difference being the lack of borders. Many of the panels either blend into the page or fill out into an environment-like panel. Speech bubbles also do not follow the "rule of borders" as they overlap other parts of the page and even panels. In "Blankets" written by Craig Thompson, it also plays with the use of panels. In the sense that there are only really 3-5 panels on a page at a time. This graphic novel also often has a full page of a panel almost like an illustration. The graphic novel also has a different style compared to the usual comic style we've studied previously. The style is almost a thick scratchy-like line weight.

In "Jack Cole and Plastic Man" the style of the comic is different. Instead of the usual plain paper used, it made up of a dot-like pattern. Previous comics read in the past would be colored flat. However in this particular comic, it is all dot work. This dot-work technique is one that was continuously used from this point on. From many other comics to even fine art during the pop art era.

In the "Little Nemo: In the Palace of Ice" shows an interesting comic technique of having a narrative-like text in the spaces of each box. The text serving a purpose of explaining a deeper explanation into the scene dialogue doesn't tell. The text is written almost as if the comic is the script for a movie and the narrative text is directive notes of each scene. In "The Complete Peanuts Vol. 1" each page has multiple stories in it as each comic strip (4-5 panels) tells a encounter or small story. Some comic strips being as simple as showing the weather and the passing of two characters without proper dialogue to each other. One thing particularly interesting about this comic is how different the style is compared to the Charlie Brown we know of today. Despite the different style, we are still aware this is a Charlie Brown comic. The next comic I read was "Calvin and Hobbes: Something Under the Bed". With this comic we get closer to how we see most...

"The Arrival" by Shaun Tan is a beautifully orchestrated comic that is able to have an in depth story whilst having no dialogue. Simply by showing facial expression, having the pages themselves change color and the use of backstories help the reader get a complete understanding of the story.  The story starts of with either the husband or older brother going off to a new country he doesn't know the language of. Being an immigrant or even simply visiting a new country can be intimidating. Especially when you don't know the language spoken there. Throughout the story, the man goes around this foreign place encountering natives as his journey progresses. Each person he comes across has a dark backstory about their lives. We know we are witnessing backstories because of the paper of the comic turns a different color and the overall mood changes. By simply having these small details within the comic, it brings this simple comic to a whole new level of genius artwork.

A woman is on what appears to be a street, dressing in a long black cloak like outfit. She seems to be dancing as she is suggesting large movement. On the second page a winged creature is watching over a woman lying on a bed. The woman is either dead or sleeping. In the background there is a structure which holds books and what seems like heads. Maybe this woman / creature represents death? On the third page, a woman is in a coffin being put into the ground. She is being watched by two other figures with a statue behind them. The next page shows two figures crouching beside a nude woman. The background suggests they are in some sort of basement or morgue. The following page shows a woman on the ground seemingly murdered or mysteriously died, due to the surrounding blood by her head. This scene takes place in a bedroom assumingely the woman who was murdered's room. The next scene shows a hallway with two figures in it. One a woman standing near a window, and the other a m...