Maus II

This week we were to read the graphic novel Maus by Art Spiegelman. Unfortunately I was unable to find the first book, however I did locate the second one Mause II. This is the visual biography of his father's capture in 1944 by the Nazi troops. This book begins with his father and mother, both Polish Jews, caught trying to flee and now placed into Auschwitz. Well... That's not exactly where it starts. There are also sections where we cut back to Art's life where he is planning how to make the graphic novel. I've just realized how awestruck I am by this novel. The author jumps in and out of time from present to past to past-present. The style for the current time, where he is writing this novel I think I like the most. He takes the characters out of their anthropomorphic designs and makes them people with animal masks on. It shows how overwhelmed he is with the pressure of the media on him due to the popularity of Maus I. It also seems more of a jaded choice. Like he really wants to get out of the context, out of the book, and shows this by how out of style the people are drawn. Just barely in cohesion with the rest of the book by giving them these animal masks. He also depicts himself as a small child at this section. Overwhelmed by the attention and the weight of his father's death and the subject matter he is writing about.

The author also has breaks from his father's recollections about Auschwitz to break into more modern tales about his father and trying to collect his memoirs. It's a very necessary break from the overwhelming devastation that are his recollections of the death camp. In all honesty I can't fathom how little I actually knew about this subject till now. In school they tell you about it and that a lot of people died and some of the methods how. But it doesn't really hit you until you really hear about it from some one that was there, and even then it's not the complete story.

The end of this novel was very abrupt. At first I thought that there was to be a part three, but rereading the last few pages I realize this is the end of the story. It's the last few discussions he had with his father about the holocaust. He found out how his father and mother found each other, a good ending point. Clearly not the end of the story, but his father passing would explain the suddenness of it. I really need to read Maus I now to find out the rest of this story.

Underground Comics

A few weeks back I was looking at our course list and decided to read some of the underground comics in my spare time. I'm not sure how to describe them. They are clearly counter to the trend of main stream comics. I specifically read Girl Fight Comics and Gay Comics.

Girl Fight Comics I found confusing. The plots were hard to follow definitely. They were also about several different stories all about women, which is a nice change from the traditional comic chains. This dealt in extremes. Problem situations were about almost being raped or sexual exploitation. They mostly dealt with female power. It is clear from the character Fox right at the beginning that these girls won't just stand around. When confronted by men in a sexual way she solves her problems by stabbing them. She is shown as strong through a lot of her actions. She joins a Women Army, kills a jaguar, prevents her own rape, and saves an African village that apparently her father is the leader of. Oh yeah, Fox is also black in the classic 70's way, big fro and kicking ass. This is a huge change from the mainstream since most if not all the main comic series were of white males.

Gay Comics on the other hand was really enjoyable, especially after reading Blankets. The first story appears to be an autobiography about the struggles of a woman learning that she was homosexual. It's very touching and ends very sweetly. The other stories are all about real issues people are dealing with at the time as well. The first issue mostly focuses on the search for love or a relationship. The sweetest story was toward the end. It was the story of a woman talking about her mom and Mrs. D, who lived with her mom and raised her right along side her mom. They never say the mother is a lesbian it is implied, but the daughter denies it at the end. It's very tame compared to the other stories which either show lots of sex, or imply as much. The style is very simplified which makes the whole story feel more like a nice card. The quality of this comic was just better, the art, the story, and the tone. It was a much better experience than the cover lead me to believe.

Blankets

I also read this week Blankets by Craig Thompson. I was warned by my friends ahead of time that this graphic novel was a bit depressing. But I didn't find it that way. It felt like life. It was a life since the novel is an autobiography. At times it was dark. Extremely dark in at least one case, where he tells of how he and his little brother were molested. Yet in the end it felt hopeful? I'm not sure that's the word I'm looking for. It felt like growing up. Yes bad happens as does good, and it makes you who you are.

I really like the style of the novel. Especially how abstract it got at times. The content also influenced the abstractions style. When he was happy they got curves and flow to them. When about anger or him dealing with a personal demon they got angular and more static, despite the energy to the lines... like a moment frozen in time. It could be mimicking how the mind usually remembers more bad experiences stronger than good ones. Mental scaring even. Where as the good 'dreams' give a sense of more of an experience. there is more too look at and more that you only get a vague impression of when thinking back on. At least for me anyway.

I'm not sure what else to say about it right now. I think I need to read it again, slower this time, and analyze it as I go.

The Name of the Game

Today I finished reading Will Eisner's The Name of the Game. It was the story of how one Jewish family, the Kaynes, came to rise up in the social circles of the Jewish New York high society. In class we've been discussing how the style in the art of the comics is used to draw the reader in. I found his style to keep me very emotionally detached from what was happening in the story. Which may be the point considering some of the subject matter. It was easier to take in the whole tale when you don't get all up in arms over subjects like the abuse that takes place. The emotional distancing also takes place in how the story is told. It starts at the foreword with the letter from the Kaynes telling the audience a brief synopsis of the tale. But then the story jumps all the way back to the Arnheim family. By going back into the history of the Arnheims it does two things. One, it starts the tale from it's origins. Allowing the whole drama to unfold around the reader. The second thing it does is break the reader out of their initial connection with the Kaynes from the foreword. It also gives the appearance of a collection of stories about families marrying up for status. In the end the story was about the Kaynes. It ends on how Misses Kayn, not originally from the Arnheim family, has now been accepted into a local garden club bacuase of her new connections through her son. It seems that of all the families in the story it is only Mr. and Mrs. Kayn that do well and are not living a shame of a marriage in the end. Which is the reason I think they promote the whole idea of marrying up into status. Where as Rose Arnheim knew what that life was like and had married Aron to escape that life. Which just turned into one of those shame marriages anyway.

TinTin: Explorers on the Moon

When I first skimped through this space adventure of Tintin's I wasn't completely sold on the comic. The characters looked a tad simple, and the story itself a tad childish... till I saw the unconscious dog kicked down a port hole. That defiantly got my attention. Then only a few panels latter is see Tintin, pointing a gun and smiling, which will now haunt me. Needless to say I had to read this comic.

I was unfamiliar with the adventures of Tintin prior to this comic. I found myself pleasantly surprised. The story was very enjoyable. Not to mention I got my first true taste of space Phlebotonum, with the Nuclear engine that gives them gravity. I was surprised at some of the mature themes in Tintin, mainly because of my own preconceptions. Tintin, the character, comes off as a very innocent adolescent, somewhere lost in an ambiguous stage of older child to late teen by design. His face seems to be normally drawn in a state of semi shock, leaving him to appear exceedingly innocent at first glance. I was very pleased when Tintin yelled at Captain Haddock for being stupid enough to get drunk and decide to leave the space ship. One, because he was drawn yelling, which was a nice change. Two, because he wasn't yelling about the Captain endangering himself, but endangering everyone else. The comic in general felt very intelligent. they talked about how propulsion works in space, a little, and some solar system geography and in general seem to be trying to give knowledge along with entertainment, which I liked. The side characters however seemed a tad, well, boring and flat.

Captain Haddock was in the middle of going to the moon and when he wakes up the first thing he talks about is how very little he knows/understands about what he's doing there, or anything about space travel, which just bugged me since he clearly should have known a little since he agreed to go or else he wouldn't be on the ship. But nit picking aside, he came off as a very just angry man verses a multi dimensional character. His role seems to be the angry party-pooper with old fashioned ways, that drinks. That's it. I'm sure his character gets more depth over the series, but for now he falls a tad short. The two characters that I really could have done without were the two detectives. They didn't feel like they had a point to them. They just seemed to be there to cause minor inconveniences, which the story could have easily done with out them. Colonel Jorgen though might be my favorite for very bad reasons. Mainly because I couldn't take him seriously. The man went to the moon for revenge... he waited for DAYS before doing it. There is no way i can take a man seriously for that, but it's a quirky enough scheme that he won me over as a character.

I definitely want to read more Tintin. Especially if there are more Colonel Jorgen hijinks.