Web Comic Review: Romantically Apocalyptic

Hello all!
Here's another web comic review for you.  I've been following this one for a while.  Romantically Apocalyptic is written by Vitaly S. Alexius.  It's about Zee Captain and her two "minions" Pilot and Snippy.  While the origins of the characters are still fuzzy, each one has a clear personality that interact with the others well and cause interesting and hilarious conflict.  The Captain seems to live in her own world (she'll often refer to herself as "laddie"), almost oblivious to the destruction and death around her.  She interacts with the environment with imagination and fun.  She'll have conversations with skeletons and send her minions on ridiculous errands.  Snippy is very logical and seems to grasp the seriousness of the situation much better than The Captain.  This of course leads to conflict, but usually of a humorous nature.  Their relationship is fraught with conflict, but when it comes down to it they care deeply for each other.

The first think that strikes you about this comic is the quality of the art.  It's all digital, but has the level of craftsmanship and attention to detail as any good painting.  The environment is detailed and gives a very pointed sense of desolation and destruction (this is a post apocalypse world).  The characters feel and look real, though their faces are covered by gas masks.  Alexius expresses their emotions through the speech balloons and symbols.

The story itself started out as more fun and light, but more recently has become heavier and reveals more about the origins of the apocalypse and characters.  The writing at the beginning made me laugh, but now things are starting to get a little confusing for me.  There is still the humor, but also more serious matters.  It's becoming more about the clash of the man-made vs. nature.  I still enjoy the comic, but I do get a little lost sometimes and need to take a second read to get everything.  Maybe things will be easier to follow as more is revealed.

Over all this is a great comic.  Artistically it is beautiful, despite the subject matter and humorous nature.  The writing is funny, though now with the more serious twist can be a bit confusing.  If a reader wants to delve even deeper into the characters and world there is a blog attached to it that is the journal entries of each character.  I definitely recommend you take a look at Romantically Apocalyptic. http://romanticallyapocalyptic.com/

Some Graphic Novel Recommendations

Hello all!
Well, not that there's a lot of you, but I know it's been a while.  Busy with life and all.  I'm currently taking a class on graphic novels and it's exposed me to some great material.  Some I'm familiar with, others I'm not.

First we read Maus by Art Speigelmen.  I've heard of this book and been meaning to read it and found it's a great graphic novel.  It was one of the first graphic novels and defined the genre.  It showed the potential for comics to tell serious stories.  It's autobiographical; Speigelmen tells his story about interviewing his father about the Holocaust.  The artwork is deceptively simple black and white pen and ink drawings.  It's an intensely personal story, but that is part of what makes it so good.  I definitely recommend it.

The second we read I've already read; Watchmen by Alan Moore.  Given the recent announcement by DC to do a Before Watchmen series about the backstories of the characters.  There's a lot of controversy.  Personally, I'm not so sure.  I think there is some potential if they give the material to the right writers and artist, but I'm not sure Watchmen needs a prequel.  The back stories are all there; it's a complete story in and of itself.  As for Watchmen itself it's one of the best graphic novels I've ever read.  The art is beautiful and deep.  Every time I read it I find a million new things.  The same goes for the writing.  It's beautiful.  This comic has influenced me heavily.  It showed me that comics can tell very compelling and complex stories.  If you read comics, even if you stick to just the superhero genre, please read this book.

Most recently we finished Black Hole by Charles Burns.  At first I had a hard time getting past the weirdness of it all, but once I did I saw how good of a comic it was.  Granted, the story is a bit hard to follow since it's not told in chronological order, and the concept behind it is a bit bizarre (a lot of drug induced hallucinations and mutated people).  If you can get past that you get a very intimate look at human nature, especially for adolescents.  It's very real and has characters that you might think remind you of someone you know.  It's definitely an odd comic, but I recommend you at least try it.  It might take a couple reads to get everything (though any good comic you should read more than once).



That's all for now.  Next we're reading Blankets by Craig Thompson and A.D. New Orleans by Josh Nuefeld.  I've been meaning to read Blankets, so that will be exciting.  New Orleans looks good too.  Hopefully I'll be able to keep posting on a regular basis.  Sorry for the long entry, I hope you enjoyed it.

Web Comic Review: Blue Milk Special

Hey all, here's another post for ya!  I'm going to talk about yet another one of my favorite web comics, Blue Milk Special written and drawn by Rob and Leanne Hannah.  It combines two of my favorite things, comics and Star Wars!  It's a parody comic of the original trilogy (the better trilogy).  In between movies they slip in some sub plots, like the Christmas special (which I know we'd rather forget) and a graphic novel.

The art is cartoony, but not because the artists aren't skilled; you can still tell who's who.  It plays into the idea that this is a parody, not a serious comic.  If you look at some of the other artwork they've done it's quite good.  And it shows in this comic too, despite the fact the figures are simplified.  Backgrounds aren't blank or solid colors, but hint at the world around.  Of course we all know it, but it adds to the comic to see it.

The writing itself is very funny.  When I was going through the archives to catch up I was laughing the whole way through.  This is one of those comics I turn to when I have a bad day and it cheers me up.  They play off the story itself, but also the culture that comes along with Star Wars.  The nerds, George Lucas, and all the lore.  Some jokes may go over your head if you're not a hard core fan, but most will be enjoyed if you've seen the movie and know the pop culture surrounding it.

Bottom line is, if you like Star Wars and web comics, you're going to like this comic.  It's fun to read and good to look at.  Luckily they haven't gotten all the way through the entire trilogy, they're still in the second movie, so you haven't missed everything.  I encourage you to check it out: www.bluemilkspecial.com

Web Comic Review: Questionable Content

Hello all!  Here's a post for you.

So, one of my favorite web comics that I read is Questionable Content.  It's written by Jeph Jacques and started in 2003.  A big reader of web comics himself, Questionable Content started out as a hobby; he only updated a few times a week.  But in 2004 he quit his day job to update the comic five days a week.  He is now one of the most successful web comics out there.  It's easy to see why.

I literally read all the archives in one weekend.  It was incredibly addicting.  Even though his art is very primitive and cartoony in the beginning, it works.  The jokes are good, though you need to have a knowledge of pop culture and the indie scene.  Even though I don't listen to a lot of indie music, I still enjoyed the humor.  It's a bit sassy.  But what also adds to the comic is the fact that the art gets better as you go along.  It's fun to watch his work progress and grow.  The characters are still cartoony, but backgrounds appear, shading, and proportions are more realistic.

The art isn't the only thing that gets better.  As the comic goes along the characters become more three dimensional.  Faye starts off as a snarky girl with anger issues, but becomes a strong woman who is trying to deal with some very serious and very real issues.  The story also becomes less of a discussion about music, and more into a intriguing dramedy with lots of interesting, real characters. The thing that keeps me coming back to this comic is the fact that even though it's a comedy, it doesn't always end like a comedy.  I don't want to give too much away, but let's just say relationships don't always go they way you wish they did, and it's not always bad.  I do get sick of those cliche endings, and even though there are some of those, there are also plenty of real ones.  People don't get together, they fight, they move on with their life, they do stupid things they regret.  It's one of the few comics I feel is actually realistic.

Of course, it helps that this comic just happens to take place in a town near where I live.  I love getting those little in jokes he sticks in that only the locals will get.  Some of the places he mentions I've been to.  But even if you don't live anywhere near the apartments of Questionable Content, you'll enjoy it.  I say start from the beginning, you'll get a more well rounded view of the story and characters.  Though, if you didn't want to go through the 3000 plus worth of strips, and not read them all in one weekend like I did, you can just jump in the beginning and you'll catch up quick.  Please give this comic a read.  You won't regret it.

So, if you know the comic, let me know what you think by leaving a comment.  Or if you don't, and start because of this article, let me know what you thought of it.  Thanks for reading!

Just Some Rambling...

So, it's been a while since I've posted on this blog because I really wasn't sure what I was going to use it for.  I think I've decided to use it to vocalize my love of comics.  Part of what inspired me to use this was the blog Girls Read Comics Too (here's the link, I highly recommend it: http://girlsreadcomics.com/).  It's a group of girls talking about comics!  I thought I'd add my thoughts to the massive amount of thoughts out there.  I don't really care if I get a lot of views or followers, this is just me talking about one of the things I love the most, comics!  Hell, I'm majoring in Illustration so I can make comics myself.

Anyway, I guess to get the ball rolling I'm going to talk about one of my favorite comics, Sandman, by Niel Gaimon.  This is one of the comics that changed my view of comics.  It made me realize the potential of the medium as a whole.  Not only is the writing excellent, but the art as well.  The line and the use of lots of shadow adds a magic and mystery to the comic, which reflects the nature of the comic's namesake, Sandman, or Morpheus.  Gaimon digs into themes about identity, greed, power, and so much more as the comic goes on.  It's late, so I don't have time to go into a deep reflection of the whole thing, and I may do that at a later date, but if you are a comic fan, or a Niel Gaimon fan, I highly recommend you read this series.  It may be 12 books long, but so worth it!  I don't want to spoil anything for people who haven't read it, but Death is by far one of my favorite characters of all time.

So, I'm going to try and update this blog every week or other week depending on the amount of work I have.  If you'd like to follow me, please do!  It'll help motivate me.  Or just stop by and read whenever you feel like it.  Also leave comments.  I like to know what other people think.  Just keep it civil and respectful.  Remember, everything on the web is permanent.  Thanks for reading, check back soon.

Women in Comics: Mature Characters Stuck in a Boy's Fantasy

Hello all

It's been a while since I've posted on here. This blog started off as a part of my visual studies class, but I'm no longer taking it. So, I don't want to waste a perfectly good blog, so as my blogs name imply's, I'm going to be noting some thought of mine about topics I'm rather fond of, like comics, art, writing, music and karate. I hope you all enjoy the new look and new subject matter.

Now, all that has absolutely nothing to do with the title of this entry. What follows is an essay I did for my humanities class about Power Girl (a superheroine from DC comics) and how her comic illustrates how women in comics are portrayed today. Feel free to voice some opinions after you've read it. I'd like to know what other people think about this topic. Enjoy the essay!

Any contemporary woman struggling to strike a balance between being a strong individual and being sexy ought to try drawing herself that way. Through the years different media has labored with these contradictory ideas as well. Comics are no exception. Power Girl, published by DC comics, is a good example. The comic is about a female superhero in New York who is a cousin of Superman. In the earlier years of comics, women were often portrayed as the damsel in distress, or the dumb blond hero that wasn’t very powerful and was there as a love interest for the male lead characters. As comics have grown with the times, women’s roles have changed as well. Power Girl, who was first published in the 1990’s, has many progressive qualities. Female characters in comics are growing up and becoming more like real women in the writing, but the art is still stuck in a male fantasy.

Power Girl has strength, independence, intelligence and compassion. She is equally physically strong as her male counterparts since she has the same powers as Superman. She stops a space ship from colliding with Earth. She’s independent; she doesn’t rely on a male figure to keep her safe, or to love her. Unlike most male superhero comics, Power Girl has no love interest. She is also a power to be reckoned with in the professional world as the CEO of a new company. Through her company she recognizes that she can’t solve all the world’s problems by beating up the villain; instead she tries to help humanity address the energy crisis by investing in researching new sources of energy. Superman, however, is still focused on defeating Lex Luthor (his arch enemy) when he could also be promoting green energy or showing new research in his articles as a journalist. She is overcoming the male fantasy of individual accountability; for example, we’re hunting down Osama bin Laben when we should be trying to work with Middle Eastern countries to discourage terrorism. She also breaks the old stereotype of the “dumb blond” by working her way through tough situations with her brains, not just her brawn. When a villain called Ultra-Humanite has her completely trapped physically she uses her smarts to get out. She uses her freezing breath to escape, something Ultra-Humanite forgot. Power Girl also has some of the best female qualities. She is caring and compassionate with those she’s fighting and defending. When Ultra-Humanite is burned almost completely in a fight, her first thought is to get him to a hospital, not leave him behind. She has also taken in a young hero Terra and is raising her to reach her full potential. People look up to Power Girl; as she fights off robots one male onlooker shouts, “Kick their butts PG!” She’s not cocky with her powers like many male superheroes can be at times. When she’s injured and a firefighter helps her walk he calls her a hero and she replies “I can say the same thing about you.”

All of Power Girl’s good qualities can be over shadowed as you look at the art of the comic. She has been drawn with the “perfect” body; wears revealing clothes, and is often shown in erotic positions during fight scenes. Her proportions remind a reader more of Barbie; oversized breasts, perfect hourglass figure, and long fit legs. Her costume shows as much skin as possible. She has boots, but lacks pants; her figure-fitting white spandex has a one piece bathing suit style bottom. She has long sleeves and a high neckline, but a large hole is cut over her chest. One wonders how her breasts keep from falling out. She is also constantly illustrated as a sex object and she’s not much better than a pin-up girl when the images often show her undressing from her regular clothes into her costume. When Superman changes into his costume, he’s shown opening his shirt just enough to see his insignia for one or two panels. As Power Girl sheds her clothing she’s posed suggestively in at least two panels, one for the shirt, then the pants. In one panel a drunken homeless man is seen in the background celebrating as her clothing falls at his feet. In many of the fight scenes, where her physical strength is emphasized, she is often posed in an erotic manner. The angles look more like something out of a fashion shoot than a fight. In one panel she has been pushed to the ground by her opponent and as she rises, kneeling on the ground, he is reaching over her almost as if he was mounting her. There are moments in the dialogue too where villains hint at her sexual appeal. Utlra-Humanite who wants to put his brain in her body (which is erotic enough on its own) jokes that many men have wanted her body, “but I’m the one who’s going to get it.”Power Girl seems used to comments like this, and also to the fact that many of her rescued male citizens and readers tend to look at her chest rather than her face. “Ahem…eyes up here. How ‘bout a ‘thanks for saving my life,’ or at least a little smile?” she says with a resigned look on her face. If it bothers her so much, then why wear the costume? Of course, none of that is really her decision; it’s her creators and the editors of the comic. They seem to be focused more on sales rather than portraying real women, and sex sells. Though females in comics are slowly getting their clothes put back on since the “babe years” of the 1990’s, there’s still a long way to go. The unfortunate truth is that more men than women read comics, especially in the superhero genre, and comics with female leads don’t sell as well if they aren’t sexy. Perhaps more women would read comics if the characters and the art were more appealing to them.

Another Visit to Williams College: This time to see rare photographs

Last week my visual studies class went to Williams College Museum of Art again. This time we got the unique opportunity to look at some of their rare photographs. John Stomberg gave us a great lecture about the history of photography and digital versus analog film. He also took us throught some of the current exhibitions and showed us photographs of note. We saw so many photographs and talked about so much it's hard to discuss it all. Instead I'm going to focus on a few specific pieces that deal with manipulation in photography.

The first piece we talked about was Oppenheimer's Garden by Robert Parke-Harrison. He used analog film, but put the final photograph together by cutting and pasting paper negatives together. It was printed over a wash, then covered with a layer of bees wax. This process gives the image a dream-like quality. It was created using all old techniques in protest agains the new photography medium, digital.

The second piece we talked about was part of a series called Fictitious Portraits by Keith Cottingham. It was the first time an artist had used photoshop with a Mac to create an image. The artist made sculptures of faces, took photographs, and then used them as a base to create the faces of the boys. These images, thought not taken with a camera, are considered photographs because they're printed on digital photo paper.

This image caused a great uproar in the photography community. It was argued that people couldn't trust photographs to show what was real; you could erase what was human and create it on a computer. The photo, according to critics, was commenting on cloning and creating a "master" or "perfect" race. The photographs came out around the same time the first sheep was cloned and digital was still relatively new. There were numerous conventions where some artists walked out. It was clear that photography had to be redefined. One of the arguments for digital was that it was simply a new way to take a look at photographs. Even with traditional media artists had been manipulating images of "reality", as is shown by Oppenheimer's Garden. Now digital is not so contravertial. In fact, it's what most photographers use. Some use it without manipulation, as simply a different form than analog, others manipulate heavily. The photography controversy reminded me of the great uproar that was raised with the impressionists. Painting up until that point had become focused on making images look as realistic as possible. Impressionists ignored that rule and tried to capute the light instead of making the images look perfectly real.

Up until this trip I had reservations about digital photography myself. This was partly due to starting my photo education with analog film, and partly because I felt manipulating the image on the computer was "cheating". But this trip opened my eyes to why digital is now considered a legitimate form of photography. It's still art. Photography isn't necessarily just about capturing reality; it can be about creating something new from reality.