The History Of Comics (3 pts) (This was a really long read! I feel like its worth maybe 6 pts) :)

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 This book had me completely engaged the entire time! I really loved reading the history of comics as I am a big fan of manga and comics as well as animation and superhero films so reading about creators like Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, Max Fleischer, Walt Disney, and Osamu Tezuka was really interesting. There were a number of things I found significant in this book, but one thing that really stuck out to me was how poorly artists like Jack Kirby and the creators of Superman, Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel were treated. They went so long without receiving proper credit for their work that is was appalling to me. Also realizing certain truths about men like Stan Lee and Walt Disney left a bad taste in my mouth. These were men that influenced my inspiration into becoming the artist I am today and to learn that they weren't actually the ones creating a lot of the content they were taking credit for was disheartening to say the least. However, I also found this book quite encouraging as an artist. Reading about the struggles of so many creators made me feel like I'm not alone in a sense. Feeling like I'm not creative or unoriginal because I am constantly pulling inspiration from other material is something that all artists struggle with. One artist that particularly made me feel good about myself was Robert Crumb... That guy struggled A LOT artistically. I think realizing that even renowned artists have the same struggles as I do was the biggest take-home from this book for me. This book was the perfect catalyst for this class I am extremely excited to continue to learn about the literature of comics!

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