Week 14: Webcomics

For this week on webcomics, I chose to read Ava’s demon. My roommate donated to the kickstarter a while back and I really enjoyed the art from what I saw so I sat down and read a good deal of it. Unlike many webcomics, which are just like single gag strips, Ava’s Demon is a huge sweeping space epic with a continuous story told panel by panel. What is especially interesting is that each chapter ends with an animated video complete with its own soundtrack to really give those moments of the story their own climatic feeling.

Just like Gingerhaze, also known as Noelle Stevenson, Michelle Czajkowski started off more as a fan artist before creating her original work. The fandom she was the most popular in was  Homestuck, which some may call a webcomic, but it would have to be a very loose form of the media. Homestuck also featured these flash animation segments and clearly Michelle was inspired.

Ava’s Demon is a very interesting story and the art is amazing. Each panel is a beautiful digital painting and even the word bubbles fit seamlessly into the composition. Its astounding to me the very length of the comic as well as the attention to detail. Somehow a single artist was able to create all this, only having to hire a composer when needed, is something I find remarkable, especially considering I barely have the attention span to work on my thesis. 

The plot itself begins with a young girl named Ava, who unknown to others, is possessed by a demon who takes joy out of taunting her and getting her in trouble by making her say things she would never say. Quickly, she gets sent to the principal in what is apparently a futuristic school. The demon possessing her makes her an outsider and other kids consider her an outsider and it even is revealed to have ruined her former friendships. She is promptly expelled, but before this seems to have any drawback, she has to flee from the planet with two other kids as the planet is attacked. The end of the first chapter is that planet literally crumbling. Definitely interesting stuff. 

Week 13: Superheroes Reconsidered

When I saw the topic for this week was Superheroes reconsidered, I became very happy, especially after seeing that I had read much of the suggested reading list already and it featured some of my all time favorite comics.  I first read through Watchmen, Sandman, Arkham Asylum, and Promethea all when I was in the 9th grade, so I was eager to reread some of these titles to refresh my memory of them. 

While Watchmen is amazing for completely pushing the boundaries of what superhero comics could be, my favorite is definitely Sandman. Sandman, when it was first printed, was just another DC comic. This predated the Vertigo imprint that it would later be placed under. This makes the first volume particularly interesting and shows that Sandman actually takes place within the wider DC universe. In the first volume alone, Dream interacts with several notable DC characters including John Constantine, Martian Manhunter, and Jonathan Crane (better known as the Scarecrow). None of these characters have any business being in a comic together, yet somehow Sandman made it work. It treats each of these character interactions in a very un-comicbook-like way. There is little action, no wham bam pows, and Dream is a wholly neutral being, talking to Jonathan Crane, one of Batman’s more popular villains, the same way he talks to Martian Manhunter, a member of the Justice League. 

The comic even features Lucifer as a character but unlike most forms of media, he is not treated as a villain, but rather someone who has an unpleasant job. In fact, the antagonist of this volume is a former Justice League villain, but the confrontation between Dream and Dee is unlike anything I have seen from a comic. Dee basically just comes to a conclusion he has no hope of comparing to an entity like Dream and stops fighting. 

My favorite issue of this first volume is perhaps one of the most horrific things I have read in comics. Dee takes over a 24 hour diner and treats everyone inside as playthings, and as the hours tick by, things become worse and worse for those trapped until there is no one left. This issue contains some of the best writing in comics in my opinion and a few quotes have stuck with me. Notably, the diner waitress considers herself an author and through her, Gaiman states, “If you go on far enough, all stories end in death.” From a philosophical stand point, especially to my 9th grade self who was reading this for the first time, this line was like nothing I had seen in comics before and definitely shaped my view of the medium.

After the first volume, Sandman takes on a life of it’s own, practically never revisiting the rest of the DC universe until the final volume when Superman and Batman appear in a small cameo panel. The majority of the 10 volume series contains an interesting mythology of its own. It is more derivative of world mythological stories and even the bible than it is the DC universe it is set in. Gaiman even has fun with the idea of mythology, creating one of his own. That would be the central set of characters known as the Endless, a family who’s names all begin with the letter D and they each represent a concept such as Death, Dreams, Desire, Despair, Destruction, Delirium, and Destiny. 

Even beyond this myth, Sandman also is a rather progressive comic for its time. In the suggested volume for this week, a character Wanda, a trans lady, is one of the major characters. At the time I first read it, I had little knowledge about transgender people. Though the way Wanda is portrayed may not be the greatest example of transgender portrayal in media, she is still shown in a positive light and the reader really feels for her struggle to be accepted for who she is. The reader, even my unknowledgeable younger self, hates's Wanda's mother for misgendering her, and if more examples of media openly brought transgender people into light as Gaiman does, trans people would hopefully be more accepted in time.

Sandman is highly praised, and someone wants to change someone’s mind about what superheroes and comics are, there is nothing better than it in my opinion. 

Week 12: Women in Comics

For this week about Women in comics, I chose to read Lumberjanes.

Oh wow I didn’t realize I knew who the author was until the cover loaded. I have been following Gingerhaze (Noelle Stevenson) for a few years on social media but I never realized she was actually a published comic author. I first followed her for some silly lord of the rings fan art so I assumed her blog was filled with fan art.Occasionally I’d see something tagged as Lumberjanes, but I didn’t think she was the author.

This is making me realized I’ve created some weird bias to downplay artists I enjoy on the internet, mostly because they are usually young artists who do fan works as opposed to original content. This is proving to me the importance of women comic artists and authors because there is so much talent out on the internet. Young artists all across the country, most of who I believe are female, are so extremely talented and yet you rarely hear about them outside of small fandom circles. They all work so hard on their art for no profit. Its just seen as a hobby to express an interest in something they love. Its a hobby I actually share. I spend much of my free time drawing characters that aren’t my own, filling sketchbooks with them because when I’m juggling schoolwork, original ideas are stressful and I just want an escape. Seeing Noelle Stevenson be so successful while she’s still seen as a fan artist gives me home for the future.

I researched her further and saw not only did she work on more independent published comics like Lumberjanes, but she’s also writing for Marvel on their Runaways series as well as a recent issue of Thor. Considering she graduated from MICA only two years ago, she has a long list of accomplishments, especially since Fox started working on a live action adaptation of Lumberjanes. Seeing a young female artist be so successful so early on is a huge inspiration and I only hope more and more role models will start to rise up in the coming years.

The comic itself was great. It was nice to see something with an entirely female cast and no one seemed stereotyped. All the characters had distinct personalities and were all interesting. They also had different body types and interesting character designs, something that is often lacking within the comic medium. 

Week 11: Comics as Contemporary Literature

For this week on comics as contemporary literature, I read Daytripper. From the very first page until the last page of the final volume I was hooked. I went in knowing absolutely nothing about the comic, having chose to read it only because I found the cover art absolutely gorgeous. Sufficed to say I think that was the best way to approach this book.

The end of the first issue shocked me, as the protagonist who we had been introduced to was brutally shot and confirmed dead. What was even more shocking though, was the second issue, where the reader follows the same exact character but during what is an earlier point in his life. Yet, just as I was assuming this was a story that would be told backwards, Brás de Oliva Domingos, the protagonist, dies yet again.

It was only by the third issue that I realized a pattern was forming. All but the final two issues are snippets into various parts of Brás life. What make up the most significant events though the story of him become our ‘plot’ and yet the end of each issue, with again, the exception of the final two,  Brás dies with an obituary seemingly written by  Brás himself, but the following issue acts as if nothing happened. Its an interesting storytelling device and it was very refreshing to read something with this non-linear style. I feel telling stories in such a fashion always brings an extra layer of depth to the writing and has the reader on the edge of their seat waiting to see how it will all unfold.

Considering the format, Daytripper deals with very heavy topics. Despite a few of the ways  Brás dies and a plane crash, Daytripper isn’t exactly action packed. It mostly relies on the surreal way its telling what would otherwise be a very average story to be interesting.  Brás is an author, but he’s also the son of a very successful Brazilian author and he wants to be free from his father’s shadow. We learn of how he met the love of his life and the birth of his child and how he came to find success. But Daytripper isn’t about all of this. Every issue seeks to remind us that life is fleeting. Death could come at any time as it is just a natural inevitable part of life so enjoy life while you can.

Week 10: Manga

For this week on Japanese Manga, I read the first volume of Tezuka’s Buddah. I’ve always been very interested in Japanese manga, having spend many a long nights during middle and high school working my way through several hundred chapter series. Even in 9th and 10th grade I chose Japanese as a foreign language to learn, a choice that I am positive was inspired by my love of these comics and the culture behind them. I read everything I could get my hands on, from more ‘shojou’ titles such as Ranma 1/2 and Clamp series to action packed Shonen. I will even admit to having looked up a few yaoi comics out of curiosity. 

However, I never read any Tezuka before now. I was amazed by how I was sucked into the story and I definitely see why he is considered the father of manga. There were definitely distinct differences between Buddha and the more modern manga’s I have read, but that was expected considering the volume I read was released in the 1970s. The style was very different from the typical ‘manga’ style that developed in later years. This was actually more reminiscent of Disney or Comic strip styles. 

The artistic style was actually rather misleading to me. Here were these rather cutely drawn characters, but the story itself was very very violent and sad. The ending where both Chapra and his mother are killed together was completely shocking to me even if the book had already been full of death. Chapra and his mom had basically been the protagonist throughout the first volume but yet by the final chapter, they were slain together in a way that would have fit right at home in Game of Thrones.

Considering the title of the book, it wasn’t surprising to see how much this book dealt with eastern cultures. Tezuka is Japanese, but Buddha is set in India. Buddism is the 2nd largest religion within Japan so it does make sense for a Japanese author to basically retell the origin of the religion even considering the geography distances. There are a lot of interesting parallels though with this story and the bible. The one that popped out the most was the swarm of locus. I also noticed Chapra asking Tatta to be his brother, just like in Barefoot Gen when Gen asks Ryuta to be his brother. I wonder if this is a common thing in Japanese culture.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book and will probably find time over Christmas break to sit down and read past just volume 1. Considering this isn’t even Tezuka’s most popular work too, I will definitely be reading other titles by him. Wasn’t what I expected, but I was pleasantly surprised. 

Week 9: Wide World of Comics (Tank Girl)

For this week on the wide world of comics, I read the British comic, Tank Girl. This was an easy choice for me to read as it had been on my to read list for years. One of my friends in high school absolutely loved it so I was familiar with the title and figured now would be a good time to read it. 

Sufficed to say, it was definitely not what I was expecting. I knew it was based in a post apocalyptic setting, but that lead me to expect a far more ‘serious’ story. This is not to say I didn’t enjoy it, because there was a definite delight I had in its absurdity, but the first few pages took some adjusting to. It had a strangely light hearted tone about what would normally be a very serious topic. Its full of sex, drugs and violence, but all of this is just treated as ‘part of the fun’. 

When I realized this was written in the late 80s and 90s I wasn’t surprised. Tank girl is practically a love letter to punk culture. Both the fashion and topics contained are very much reminiscent of punk. The punk movement was sweeping apparently leaking into Europe and comics were full of these ‘darker themes’. Characters like Lobo and Spawn were popping up and more and more comic characters were carrying huge guns. These dark themes were no longer ‘underground’ like they were in the 70s during the Underground Comix movement, and were now practically main stream. This punk movement was at its high wen comics were selling better than they ever have at any point in their history.  It was now ‘cool’ to be gritty. 

Tank Girl itself seemed to just have fun with the whole punk concept. The actual plot was practically nonexistent, events happening so randomly. Like one second she’s on the moon stopping an apocalypse and the next she’s giving birth to a half tank/ half baby child who has a mutant kangaroo for a father. The whole experience of reading it was really a wild ride like no other. 

Week 8: Stereotype and Representation

My opinion of stereotype is perhaps not as negative as many people’s, but I don’t see it as a positive either. How I view usage of stereotype is that it is simply lazy writing. It’s short hand so people don’t actually take the time and effort to actually work on developing characters. I however do think it is good to be aware of these stereotypes when creating a story so a writer can avoid falling into these pit falls.

I don’t actually think they are intentionally harmful though. For example, some feminists like to talk like there is a collective patriarchy that actively tries to put all women down. I don’t think this is true. Now it is true that there are some idiots on the internet who can’t seem to argue coherently when someone disagrees with them, but as far as actual creators of stories, I believe they just create the same stereotypical woman character designs because it has proven to be a financial success. Yes it isn’t good, but I highly doubt these writers are conspiring against all women kind. Granted as more varied and less stereotypical character designs are proven to be a success, writers in various media will be more willing to spread out.

For example, now Marvels main five characters, with the exception of Tony Stark, now feature a minority holding the identity. The role of Captain America is currently filled by Sam Wilson, a black man, and Thor is Jane Foster. Marvel has even gone further than this. The character of hulk in the new Hulk series is Amadeus Cho, a Korean American and after Marvel combined the ultimates verse with the 616 verse, there are two people as Spiderman, one of which is Miles Morales, a kid of Black Hispanic decent. Practically their entire team from the recent Young Avengers series falls somewhere in the LGBT spectrum. Marvel also had the Netflix tv show Jessica Jones come out recently. That one show is perhaps one of the most progressive pieces of television I have seen, featuring a very strong and un-stereotypical female protagonist, with a wide cast of minorities as secondary characters. The only major white male in that show is the villain and they even swapped the gender of a major male character, Hogarth, and made him a girl, while still keeping the relationships all the same, so it had three lesbian characters. Jessica Jones herself is in a relationship with Luke Cage, a black man, so it gives interracial couple. Yes, the movies are lacking, but in all other forms of media, they are trying hard to push representation.

Its only time before other writers pick up on the example Marvel is leading and follow in their footsteps. Captain Marvel is supposed to be Carol Danvers in that movie and Black Panther will be getting his own movie as well, so there is hope for them. 

As far as if I believe if I have been affected by stereotype, the answer is mostly no. The only time I feel as if I have been pressured by a ‘girl stereotype’ is from my family and mostly that is only from the very conservative side and I feel that stems from more of society expectations as a whole rather than specific stereotypes. As far as outsider expectation, I never have felt pressure to act a certain way based on stereotype. I’ve even spent a lot of time in male dominated areas, via card game tournaments, gaming stores, and of course comic book stores. I’ve never gotten the impression people expect me to act a certain way based on a stereotypical representation.