Underground comics. Fabulous Furry Freak Brother: "The Idiots abroad"

I liked underground comics. Where  the overall theme of the comics centers around humor, with characters usually portrayed in a variety of social statuses, professions and time periods, ranging from beggars and office workers to actors and ancient warriors, which allows for a wide variety of scenarios to explore.

I had lots of personal connections with "Freak borthers" because i am travelling a lot and thats what i have been doing all my life, and there are lots of situations that did happened in real life that are the same as in the comic, that people might found offensive and not right, but they do happen in real life. I think overall i liked Undergroudn comics genre, because it is about the world is and it has more realistic connections on personal level, compare to other comics.

A Contract With God by Will Eisner Review

First of all, I like the way the author drew the character and thestory,  the line work is really powerful. The story which is about a religious man giveing up his faith after the death of his young adopted daughter. 

It is fascinating how Will Eisner dramatizes Hersh's trudge home through a downpour, an element of graphic-novel grammar Eisner manipulates better than anyone else ever has — stagger the imagination. The viewer can truly feel the main character seemingly reaches his breaking point. Overall, it gives me a feeling of isolation and despair. And also, i think i can relate to that despair and isolation in some way, because being a Ringling student with all the tough deadlines coming up can be hard.

Assessment

What is your reaction to the text you just read?
Watchman written by Alan Moore is fascinating piece of very artistic graphical novel. I wouldn't say that i enjoy it a lot but there is definitely something fascinating about it that makes me want to read more.  There are lots of going on in Watchman it has the level of complexity that not every comic book has. There  are lots of symbolism and elements that  can be related to everyone life on different levels. I love how the comic discovers and reflecting the complexity of human emotions and relationships. I think it is fascinating how unique this comic book is. Considering that it was written in the 80s during cold war and  it's story reflected contemporary anxieties and satirize the superhero concept in one way or another. Which to me, feels very unconventional. I think the concept of the super-hero is dissected as the heroes are stalked by an unknown assassin and one hero dies and the overall story of  super heroes reunion to prevent their own destruction makes shatters the image of support heroes being always right, over powered and saving everyone. And thats why i think Watchman is a great comic book, but i don't necessarily admire reading it.

What connections did you make with the story that you read? Discuss with the elements of the story you could make.



What changes would you make to adapt this to another media?

Since i am in Game Art, i would loved to take take the Watchman into games, however there would be quite a bit of tiny clean ups to be made for the story in order to match the gameplay better and have more interest for the player. To start with, i think there should be more about the death of one of the heroes, that will not only help to established the story better for the game, but also will make the player more connected to the character itself and will feel the reason and meaning to fight.

Understanding Comics Review

Chapter II's idea seems fascinating to me. It is about what we notice in comic books, and how images communicate to us. He mentioned that the artist can embrace any particular way to make realistic,unrealistic or surreal cartoon images of people and objects andto express their emotions of the character or story. Additionally, the greater the personality a comic has, the more simplistic it is. What i found out is that normally we see a lot of icons around us in more simplistic terms, very straignt forward and right to the point, which makes it easy to notice. And this is exactly what comic book needsin order to catch the viewer's eyes. However, after I read The Arrival by Shaun Tan, I feel comic can be realistic, and it should be done in realistic way. If Shuan Tan drew the comic in a simplistic way, it would have lost lots of emotions and cinematic feelings to the story and wouldn't have a such strong connection to a lot of people.

I liked how Scoot Mccloud said about picture, when they are more abstracted from 'reality", they require greater levels of perception, more like words.When words are bolder, more direct, they require lower levels of perception and are received faster more like pictures.

However, I think it is impossible to decide what is faster because it depends on the artist. A good comic artist knows when is the right time to use the picture, and when is the right time to use a simple word.

Prince Valiant, Vol.3

The incredible artwork of Hal Foster makes Prince Valiant a true treasure to read.Being able to go through his adventures was fantastic experience. I have looked at Prince valiant Volume. 3 and i was fascinated by the high quality of the art and storytelling. I think perfection has been achieved in Prince Valiant. The art style is just mind blowing but i liked story telling more. I enjoyed how  Prince Valiants adventures is one cohesive story without any interruptions. I was fascinated by Valiant's obsessive search for his bride-to-be Aleta throughout Northern Africa, with stops in Jerusalem, the Arabic deserts, and, inevitably, a harem which Val must infiltrate. I enjoyed his adventures through the Mediterranean, the Near East, sub Saharan Africa and Europe and what i like the most it all feels believable. Which allows the reader to be totally emmerse in the adventurous world of Prince Valiant.In other words, it is fantastic artwork with great adventure story.

The Arrival by Shuan Tan

“The Arrival”, tells a story about the journey and reunion. The young father leaves his home to create a better life for his family in a new big city full of opportunities, eventually the entire family got together and the new city became the new home.I enjoyed the photorealistic human figures,that evoke the intimate feelings of my overseas experience. I am from Ukraine, and this is my senior year in the United States at Ringling College. I went back home twice a year during summer and winter, but the summer is really short while missing is very long. It wasextremely hard for me in the first year, I am like the young father in the comic book, I go to the new land alone, I have to speak the new language, and I have to meet the new people. Sometimes, it is really hard to talk with my family about what is happening to me or what is new in school, because of two different cultures. But, I am glad that I made the decision to come to Ringling. It enriched my knowledge and my experience,as well as, enlarged my vision.