Week Five Will Eisner (The Last Day in Vietnam) (3 pts)

-

 After reading this story, I was truly inspired and plan to dive deeper into Will Eisner's work. I have really been struggling to figure out what I am going to do for my thesis this year and I feel like through reading Last Day in Vietnam, I've finally figured it out. I felt like all of my ideas were to self indulgent and not creative enough. Then I read Eisner retelling of personal experiences that happened to him while he was in the military and I realized that's what makes a story special. Seeing someone else's perspective is what makes stories so great. I loved that he chose to illustrate his comic in a first person POV as well. I might adopt that strategy for my thesis as well too. This comic was beautifully drawn and I really appreciated the simplicity of the style and how expressive the bodies and movement of that characters were. Reading something about military culture was also very entertaining for me because I could relate as I am currently serving in the Air Force. I really appreciated this story and plan to go back and read Blankets and A Contract With God. This week's readings have really made me very grateful for the material that's being given to us to read in this class. I am being given such amazing resources that will assist me in my own artistic journey.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Week 13: The Killing Joke (2 pts)

-
  1. What is your reaction to the text you just read? Wow! This was amazing! It was so complex and it questioned many concepts that most people believe to be true. I especially appreciated the showing od the Joker's past and how it gives the reader an understanding of why he is the way he is. I do think him falling into the chemical waste river was a bit unnecessary, as it's very believable that one can go mad just from going through the circumstances that he did and not properly dealing with his emotions and thoughts. However, falling into the chemical waste river does make for a faster and more dramatic outcome so I understand why Moore took that route.   2. What connections did you make with the story? Discuss what elements of the story with which you were able to connect? The biggest one for me was The Joker's want to feel normal. He wanted to prove that deep down everyone is just like him. I found it very sad that he went to enormous lengths to try and drive commission...
Read more

Week 10 Buddha 1 : Kapilavastu, Buddha 2: The Four Encounters (9 pts)

-
 This story was so interesting. I liked the approach Tezuka took and Disney's influence in his art style is definitely evident. This story that is like historical fiction was so fun to read because there was so much humor in it. I like that Tezuka doesn't take himself or the story too seriously and breaks the fourth wall every now and again, he even added himself into the story, taking you out of the story for a second for a laugh. I can see how some might not like this approach but I found myself enjoying the little gags that were placed throughout the story. I also very much enjoyed Tatta as a character. One thing that I didn't like about this story is how quickly characters died, especially Chapra and his mother! For two main characters to die so quickly and so easily and not to prevail was shocking and a bit upsetting. I understand that in the time period that is being portrayed life was not as valued, but it is fiction after all! The protagonists should prevail! :( Aft...
Read more

Week 7 Maus parts 1 and 2 (12pts)

-
I am so incredibly grateful that this book was a mandatory reading for class. I now find myself recommending it to everyone I come across. What a powerful story. I understand why Spiegelman chose to abstract the story a bit by portraying all of the characters as mice and cats; to lessen the severeness of the topic. However, even so, I felt deeply while reading this story. I cried several times and was in awe by the sheer amount of love that Vladek and Anja had for each other. I felt Vladek's pain and his aching for Anja when he cried and asked his son why he ever remarried and started crying out Anja's name.  To see the beauty of Vladek and Anja's relationship and all they went through together and how their love grew stronger after all of that was truly inspiring. I understood Artie's pain and his contempt for his parents, having undergone childhood trauma but feeling it wasn't valid since it was nothing in comparison to the trauma his parents had gone through in A...
Read more