Authority

    Throughout superhero comics we see plenty of prominent symbolism. It’s a way to build the tension between heroes and  villains. In the comic, Authority, by Warren Ellis, we see a variety in the use of colors. Each scene has its color palette to enhance to the mood. In Vol. 1 #3 we start in a graveyard filled with purples and blues as we are introduced to the main antagonist. Later we meet the heroes that are covered in hotspots to make them feel dominating. 

    What I notice in these comics is the consistency in structure. We begin with either the main antagonist or the main destruction. From there we can be introduced to each character to begin their development. Soon they group up and within a short period of time they wipe out the enemy. 

    If I were to adapt these comics into another medium I would begin developing the plot a lot more. Things are too rushed and need time to build up the tension and excitement. The endings come a pretty fast and the world is saved in one page. I think to adapt this comic into a featured film would be pretty typical but at the same time successful. I think i’d still adapt this piece as a film. There is unlimited potential with superhero films depending on how well marketed/budgeted they are. With the right resources these comics would become popular just like the Avengers and other comic movies. The thing about superhero comics and movies is that they can never run out of ideas. There are so many backstories to each character we can see as well as the number of villains with their own methods of destruction. It seems like we could simply pair different characters together and create a new random outcome. The possibilities are endless, making the process and outcome pretty interesting.

13_Superhero Comics

    Having not read many superhero comics I see the fascination with the stories, characters and concepts. There is so much room for story and plot development that the whole superhero franchise seams infinite. Even now a days we see the rise in superhero fans as the characters keep up with the times and advance their look and equipment. 

    I was able to read a few comics of Authority. What is great about these stories is the consistency in structure. We are initially introduced to the villains and destruction that is life threatening to the world. Then we jump between heroes to understand the character development and brief personality/backstory. Soon the heroes group up to dive into battle and, within a short time, they defeat the foes. 

    Now, these stories are great for there interchangeable plots. What would make them better is something unexpected in each story. Something that changes the order of sequence from what fans may expect. Also each comic begins with the world already being destroyed at a world scale rather then at a city level. It makes we question why it takes the heroes until the last minute to fight back and protect. Then when they do, it goes by so quickly that it seems easy. If that were the case than why not get it over with sooner to prevent the civilian casualties? 

Another interesting point to notice is the adaptation over time. Heroes nowadays are spoiled with their top gear and heavy technology. To read these 1999 comics almost seems as if it were the start of their careers and as they became stronger and moe recognized they moved up. Batman, for example, wears a black leather trench coat and a leather mask without the ears. My take take on this is that perhaps his character has decided to upgrade or hasn’t been recognized enough to become the wealthy top geared hero we know today. He seemed more like a street fighter that must really knows some moves.

    This week I have also read some of Hellboy. These stories are noticeably less proper and mannered like the commercial heroes. Hellboy is a grungy comic with attitude. His problems only become worse throughout the stories. He fights villains but each new one becomes larger until one is even larger that a Godzilla. We never see this in traditional superhero comics, such absurdity of character development and plot. It’s definitely intriguing and interests me more. I would love to see how these characters and giant titan like creatures would look in a movie. We only see the other modern superheroes from how commercial they have become. To some degree it takes away from the story for me. To see the heroes sell out, but of course it’s directors fault because they can choose whomever to be a hero, as they change so often over time. I find it interesting to see how excepting we are to allow new actors and designs of heroes to change over time without caring for the idea of time and reality. Of course they can’t live forever but we there are simply endless possibilities when it comes to making a new story and then choosing one of hundreds to turn into a movie. 

    The superhero industry is probably the most dominant in the comic business. What I appreciate most is the ability to take characters and plots and add new design. It really creates the mood of each piece and allows for different interpretation. Arkham Asylum  another story of Batman but with a different design. It’s a comic with grunge textures and lighting. An interesting take on a commercial hero but it gives some interesting moods. We see that the possibilities are endless. Superhero comics will forever have a prominent role in the life of comics and their evolution.

12_Comics By Women

    This week I have read This One Summer by Mariko and Jilian Tamaki. This is simply one of those stories that shares the real life of teens and family drama. There isn’t anything over dramatic that takes place and there’s not crazy plot twists to put us on edge. It’s the relaxing type that you can just read to share the emotions with and understand how the characters feel. The character development is beautiful, which is essential for these types of stories. Since there is nothing crazy going on, there really needs to be believable plots and dialogue. 

    

    I found it interesting to see Rose’s fascination with the Dud and the guys poor manners and talk of sex while Windy was disgusted. I really thought something bad was going to happen to one of them. One day they may get caught up trying to fit in with the guys the nasty girls they associate with and then someone may try to take advantage or peer pressure the young girls. I realized the story didn’t need that type of drama. We can understand what goes on with those kind of people from afar. 

    Another problem we see is within the family drama. Every family has some sort of drama go on and the kids never really understand why because it’s simply adult things. There is this disconnection with the mother and we believe she’s just removing herself for no reason. It seems that she just wants to be sad all of the time and she never wants to partake with the family. This is clearly difficult for both Rose and the father. Rose wants a mother that with relax and not start arguments and the father wants a wife that won’t give up. During their first argument there was so much emphasis on the shattering bowl. It symbolized the relationships they have and almost seemed intentional to avoid the husband’s kiss. Next the brother-in-law really pushes to get her into the water which causes the mother to freak out at him. I do believe she needed to lighten up because why go out with the family if you’re not going to spend time or enjoy it. We find out towards the end that the mother had a miscarriage while swimming and lost her second child. This is clearly a huge deal and could easily scar the mother. I have sympathy for the mother because it’s a horrible thing to happen. At the same time I believe it’s important to move on. The only way she could ever be happy is by moving on and enjoying what she still has and the daughter that is with her and the husband that still supports her. So yes, perhaps she’s had reason to be so removed but at the same time it’s something to leave in the past and move on to become a happy spirited mother once again.

    The last issue that is briefly brought up from time to time is the idea of adoption and early pregnancy. As we see these kids talking about sex all the time one of them actually gets pregnant. There are chances for is to have sympathy for the pregnant girl, Jenny, but at the same time it is fare to say she was irresponsible to get pregnant, especially because these kids are really just a bunch of bums, as Windy would call them. There was a moment when Rose mentioned that Jenny was just a slut and should have controlled herself so this issue would not have happened. Rose says she should have taken care of her stuff to prevent the pregnancy because what would she do with it afterwards, give it away? This is offensive to Windy. Windy mentions that it’s sexist to blame the girl for being irresponsible, which is true because both sides should have known better. The reason it is really offensive to WIndy is because Rose keeps forgetting how Windy was adopted. We don’t know the story of why she was adopted or who her parents were. They could have simply been just like Jenny and the Dud, being irresponsible. What does that say about the situation? Windy may never have been born so we see how the two have apposing beliefs. 

    There’s obviously a lot you can take from the story. Even with the simple plot we seem to learn so much. Something to think about is how this is a small story about only two kids during one summer. That is nothing in terms of quantity of knowledge when compared to the world. We see how so much can be told and learned from in this one story. What if there was a story for the rest of the world, the billions of people. We all live different lives and have combinations of different issues that we must face. To be able to see everyones story would be amazing but of course impossible. We can learn so much from following others. To narrow it back down, these stories are able to feel real for one reason. It’s the character development that Mariko and Jilian Tamaki have created to bring this simple story of a summer come to life. 

11_Comics As Contemporary Literature

    David Mazzucchelli’s comic, Asterios Polyp, has brought so interesting points about life and how reality works, or appears to work. Many people don’t understand the amount of possibilities there are and how much control we actually have over them. We can see, on a micro scale, how the smallest actions may alter or influence someone else’s. 

    Asterios is in a weird position were he is a twin but the other had died at birth. This plays a role throughout his life, making him question his purpose and environment. Why was he the one to survive? Is his brother’s spirit growing up with him and following him everywhere?  It is interesting to see the portrayal of his brother as an invisible man that tends to do the same things as him. Throughout the story there are a lot of different question about the ways to perceive a given situation. We are not necessarily give the answers but we see how a small choice can make a difference down the road.

    Asterios eventually married a women named Hana. Their lives had crossed paths do to their influences. She was a shy girl that was a brilliant student but her family gave her no attention for accomplishments because her brother was more important. We see how simple actions can play a long term effect on someones life. Being the shy girl she was insecure and then Asterios was the first person to speak to her. 

    

    After kicking it off and eventually getting married we see the turning points in their relationship.     Asterios puts her back into the role she’s always been used to of not being important. We see how he puts her down by always being right. This, of course, makes her feel dumb like she did when she was younger. Learning about the three elements to a relationship, it’s obvious how their relationship ended. He slowly stopped respecting her by talking over and knowing everything. This lead to him not trusting her as she was trying to make a career with Willy, who I would say is not entirely trustworthy based on the things he says to her. Lastly, with those elements out of the way there is no room for love.

    

    I enjoyed the ending where we see Asterios make his way back to her. We see the things that have changed between them and it seems that they really missed each other. Then the final note was of them coincidentally talking about Resting In Piece as they get closer to each other, clearly still in love. Then they are able to die together from the random meteor that was mentioned earlier. It was one of those romantic deaths because they finally made it back to each other before death so they’ll live together in Heaven. 

    The art of this comic has a large variety of symbolism and technique. There are plays on color and line quality, like seeing Hana turn read and shaded as she yells at Asterios, who becomes an outline. We see characters shown with different pen strokes and shading when he describes our differences and influences. 

    This story was very interesting in terms of the meaning behind everything. It brought up many questions and thoughts that I have had before, mainly the idea of a simple action changing the rest of ones life. “What if reality were simply an extension of the self? Wouldn't that color the way each individual experiences the world?”

10_Manga and Osamu Tezuka

    I had the pleasure of reading some of Osamu Tezuka’s work, in particular, Battle Angel Alita “Last Order” Vol 1 #1. This crazy story seems to be about a war between the government and the unknown class which includes women with mechanic bodies. The government seems to be the antagonist as they carelessly pray on this little girl, Yoto, shooting her as she runs for freedom. Soon a hopeful spirited, little girl, Erica, comes along to protect her. I wasn’t sure whether she was a robotic figure as well but she is portrayed as a strong character as she helps Yoto through the mine field to escape.

    Throughout the manga, we cut between the scene described above and this mad scientist who is creating these artificially intelligent brains that he pares with female figures. Soon we have the chance to see one, Panzer Kunst, come down from the sky to fight the army with ease, saving the girls. 

    What I found interesting about Tezuka’s story is the large role of the female hero’s and their roll in society. The army is shown as these macho giants with their cigars and lack of care for anything. Clearly the type of soldier that joins, not for the honor, but for the power and aggression of war. 

    At the end of the story we see the crazy revealing of who Yoto really is, or was. We remember that the soldier kicked the girl, mentioning she was robotic. Now we realize that the cuts between her scramble through the mines and the mad scientist was to witness her own creation. I was never sure if the scientist was good or not, seeing how crazy he looked. I am curious of his purpose to create these female assassins. Is he defending against the government and am I just assuming they’re the government because they look like soldiers? This reminds me of some sort of violent take on Charlie’s Angels, but that could be far fetched. I think the big question is, who is this girl? We see her so weak right now as she’s being carried through the mine field but what is she actually capable of? 

    I think these questions that the story has left us with is what entices me to read the next part. I’m very curious to see what will happen to the girl. Tezuka has created such a great intro that tells us so much but still so little. He gives us the important details first so we learn about the girls and their story. What he doesn’t share is the setting and who, specifically, is fighting who on a grander level. Tezuka’s work seems to be very inspirational and I think of all the manga i’ve read before, these stories would make a great animation series. 

09_ Wide World of Comics

    This week I have decided to read a piece from Jean Moebius, Blueberry “General Golden Mane.” This story had some really strong tension between characters that encouraged me to want more. At some points i’m trying to decide whether to have hope for the Natives or the new Americans to win. 

    Generally I wish for the Natives to keep there land for the reasons shown in this story. 

We see how Golden Mane has no interest in the Native lives as well as his own. He plays off as a hero of some sort but truly he’s nothing more than a coward that’s afraid to lose to Blueberry. It’s funny to see how far he goes to get rid of Blueberry. After demoting him he even suggests killing him. The general wouldn’t even be alive if Blueberry hadn’t saved him. I guess the entire plot was based around the one moment were Blueberry could have either saved him, like he had regretfully done, or left him in the water to be scalped by the Natives. He instantly knew that he his decision was wrong but being the true hero it’s in his nature to save everyone. 

    Blueberry is the clear symbol of a hero. After saving the general and being demoted he still takes charge to win the battle and most of all, protect his troops. While he’s sent out to be slaughtered by the Natives he still works with what he has to succeed. Another admirable moment, the most admirable, is we Blueberry had argued with the general to leave the innocent women and children unharmed. Of course, rather than doing what is right, the general decides to send Blueberry to fight warriors while he pillages the easy targeted civilians. 

    In terms of art I am interested in the color choices that Moebius switches between. The story is drawn in black and white except for the characters. Beginning the story the characters are saturated with multiple colors. Then from scene to scene we see different schemes that help create the mood. Battles become shades of red and scenes of death become shades of cold blue. I found the intro most interesting for having the multicolored palette that represents what they were before the battles and death.   

    Moebius has done a great job building a climax, filled with tension between enemies. Through character development and foreshadows we learn how the true heroes are the ones that make mistakes but always defend their honor. 

08_ Stereotype and Ethnic Representation

    Stereotyping and ethnics are always a choice of subject because so many issues can come from them. As artists, who is to say what or how we draw? Really, no one can control our design and choices but there are definitely things to think about before settling for the character you thought was fine. 

    When designing characters and, more specifically, other races, it is important to not be offensive. If you are trying to represent someone, stereotypes are not the way to go. They don’t enhance the reading at all because they can’t describe any character individually. To stereotype is simply a way to judge a whole race or culture through any given character, rather than actually giving that character his/her own personality. Often times a stereotype is used as an easy joke when the artist isn’t really thinking about anything, it’s just a standard judgement that many don’t think about.

    Now, I can understand where some cases may appropriately include a stereotype. We have all experienced different situations and we have met different types of people. There are stereotypes for a reason, they have actually happen sometimes. The appropriate time to handle a stereotype is through observation. I believe that if you are or have observed something that may become stereotypical than hey, you’ve seen it happen so feel free to write about it. When it comes to the actual character, if you decide to exaggerate someone than you should do the same to other characters. It’s when there’s the uncomfortable difference in character design that we, as readers, see the artist is being aggressive. When bringing in a character they must be introduced at the same level as the others. 

    However you choose to render your representation, make sure it is something that you have experienced or seen. It is one thing to assume the stereotype in your artwork and then there’s the accurate depiction that benefits the story. Be careful when choosing the ways to depict a character because once the artist chooses to stereotype they will loose the connection with the audience and their views will not feel real.