In recent years, the world has seen a substantial rise in web comics, which are comics created by individuals who generally publish online one page at a time. Many of them, however, are generally never finished and are dropped. Web comics can be considered the modern form of the popular comic strip and will more than likely one day completely replace them. When trying to choose one to read for this week, I found that there were many, many options to pick from. I eventually decided on the popular web comic - Bad Machinery.
Bad Machinery is written by John Allison and acts as a sort of sequel to his previous comic, Scary Go Round, and follows a similar premise. Like Scary Go Round, Bad Machinery consists of numerous cases and mysteries and follows groups of detectives trying to solve them. However, in this series, the detectives are young kids and teens, with one group consisting of boys while the girls make up the second. Each case takes place during the school term and generally reflects on topics and struggles of adolescents. Like many web comics, Bad machinery focuses more on humor and funny, yet sometimes surreal, situations. While both groups of kids are sometimes working on the same, mystery or dilemma, they generally start off with different leads and usually have different focuses, such as the boy's focus more on things like catching monsters, while the girls focus more on emotional issues and connections. Despite the main mystery theme, the comic also has plenty of comedic slice of life moments where we see the kids trying to get through life and the school term.
Generally, I don't find web comics that interesting, and the inconsistent page updates and the fact that many of these comics are left unfinished leave me having a hard time truly getting interested in them. However, I did find much more enjoyment out of Bad Machinery than other works that I had previously read. Even if I don't end up coming back to read more, I think others, specifically a much younger audience and those that are experiencing similar issues through their school life, will be able to relate to this piece much more and thoroughly enjoy it.
Thursday, November 24, 2016
Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth
This week, while focusing on superhero comics, I read numerous works such as Watchmen and the Fables series. While I thoroughly enjoyed them and plan to read more of them, the piece, Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth impressed me the most. Arkham Asylum is a Batman piece from 1989, written by Grant Morrison (with this being his first Batman story before becoming a regular writer for the series) and illustrated by Dave McKean.
The story follows Batman, who is called in to help deal with a riot where all of the inmates have recently taken over Gotham's psychiatric hospital, Arkham Asylum, which houses all of Gotham's most dangerous criminals and Batman's Rogue Gallery. Once inside, Batman confronts all of his foes and sees the effects that living in the asylum has caused. Here we see characters such as The Joker, Mad Hatter, Killer Croc, and worst of all, Harvey Dent aka Two-Face, who has become so broken that he can't make a decision on anything, even on going to the bathroom, due to having his trademark coin taken away and being replaced by a six-sided die, and later a deck of tarot cards. Batman is forced to go on the run and is constantly forced to fend off the other inmates who are trying to kill him. While Batman is fighting his way through Arkham Asylum, we get a look at the creation of the asylum and the history of its founder, Amadeus Arkham. Here, Amadeus tells the story of his late mother and both of their struggles with her insanity and the story of his wife and daughter who are eventually tortured and murdered by an escaped inmate that Amadeus psychologically evaluated earlier while he is in the process of converting his childhood home into Gotham's future asylum. Amadeus's own decent into madness is depicted in the story as well.
I was already intrigued by this story before I initially read it since this book served as the initial inspiration for the Batman: Arkham video game series, which has become one of my favorite video games to play in the last few years. While the two do differ quite a bit from each other, the basic premise remains the same, specifically the story of Amadeus Arkham. However, I did enjoy the comic book version much more as I felt it dove into his mind much more vividly, allowing the readers to visually see and feel Amadeus tragic story of loss and insanity. In fact, compared to the video game, I felt that the comic focuses much more on Amadeus himself instead of Batman. Another thing I really enjoyed is the art direction. The art itself is very gritty and surreal and while I'm not a fan this design choice on some of the characters such as The Joker, it leaves a very great effect on Batman. Here, the artist basically leaves Batman entirely in silhouette, never showing any of his details excepts for some small ones once in a while, such as the bottom of his mouth in close ups. Because of this, I feel that it heavily pushes the ideals and goals that Batman himself strives to have, as well as it giving the readers a look into the mind of Gotham's insane and it's citizens, allowing us to see Batman more through their eyes.
In closing, I found Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth to be quite enjoyable. I personally felt that it is not so much as a Batman story, but more of a story of Gotham City's past, specifically the life of a very important figure, who, for the most part, is never seen alive in the Batman serials. It also gives us a good look into the mind of the mentally ill similar to the graphic novel, Batman: The Killing Joke. However this story focus more on the thought of preexisting insanity, those trying to cure them, and the damages that result from these so-called cures and procedures. Overall, I think this is a very good piece which differentiates itself enough for those who really don't care for superhero comics or would prefer a different type of subject. I believe that they would be able to find enjoyment in reading this piece.
The story follows Batman, who is called in to help deal with a riot where all of the inmates have recently taken over Gotham's psychiatric hospital, Arkham Asylum, which houses all of Gotham's most dangerous criminals and Batman's Rogue Gallery. Once inside, Batman confronts all of his foes and sees the effects that living in the asylum has caused. Here we see characters such as The Joker, Mad Hatter, Killer Croc, and worst of all, Harvey Dent aka Two-Face, who has become so broken that he can't make a decision on anything, even on going to the bathroom, due to having his trademark coin taken away and being replaced by a six-sided die, and later a deck of tarot cards. Batman is forced to go on the run and is constantly forced to fend off the other inmates who are trying to kill him. While Batman is fighting his way through Arkham Asylum, we get a look at the creation of the asylum and the history of its founder, Amadeus Arkham. Here, Amadeus tells the story of his late mother and both of their struggles with her insanity and the story of his wife and daughter who are eventually tortured and murdered by an escaped inmate that Amadeus psychologically evaluated earlier while he is in the process of converting his childhood home into Gotham's future asylum. Amadeus's own decent into madness is depicted in the story as well.
I was already intrigued by this story before I initially read it since this book served as the initial inspiration for the Batman: Arkham video game series, which has become one of my favorite video games to play in the last few years. While the two do differ quite a bit from each other, the basic premise remains the same, specifically the story of Amadeus Arkham. However, I did enjoy the comic book version much more as I felt it dove into his mind much more vividly, allowing the readers to visually see and feel Amadeus tragic story of loss and insanity. In fact, compared to the video game, I felt that the comic focuses much more on Amadeus himself instead of Batman. Another thing I really enjoyed is the art direction. The art itself is very gritty and surreal and while I'm not a fan this design choice on some of the characters such as The Joker, it leaves a very great effect on Batman. Here, the artist basically leaves Batman entirely in silhouette, never showing any of his details excepts for some small ones once in a while, such as the bottom of his mouth in close ups. Because of this, I feel that it heavily pushes the ideals and goals that Batman himself strives to have, as well as it giving the readers a look into the mind of Gotham's insane and it's citizens, allowing us to see Batman more through their eyes.
In closing, I found Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth to be quite enjoyable. I personally felt that it is not so much as a Batman story, but more of a story of Gotham City's past, specifically the life of a very important figure, who, for the most part, is never seen alive in the Batman serials. It also gives us a good look into the mind of the mentally ill similar to the graphic novel, Batman: The Killing Joke. However this story focus more on the thought of preexisting insanity, those trying to cure them, and the damages that result from these so-called cures and procedures. Overall, I think this is a very good piece which differentiates itself enough for those who really don't care for superhero comics or would prefer a different type of subject. I believe that they would be able to find enjoyment in reading this piece.
Tuesday, November 22, 2016
Batman: The Killing Joke
For this specific entry of this blog, I was tasked with thoroughly analyzing the critically acclaimed comic in DC's long time series of Batman comics, Batman: The Killing Joke, written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Brian Bolland.
Batman: The Killing Joke is a 1988 one shot graphic novel created by Moore and Bolland as their personal take on The Joker's own origins and his decent into madness. The Joker in the main Batman series has never had any sort of past revealed about him even to this day. This work has become so popular that it has since become the definitive origin story for The Joker by fans and has even had many of its elements and setups adapted into the main Batman continuity.
The Killing Joke explains that at one point, The Joker was a poor, failing stand up comedian, desperate to earn enough money to support his pregnant wife and their unborn child. Eventually, he is convinced by a pair of mobsters to help them break into a chemical plant, where the comedian had worked at a prior time, so that they can rob the playing card company next door. In order to accomplish this, as well as to set up the comedian as the fall guy, the mobsters have the comedian disguised as the infamous mob boss, the "Red Hood". However, the comedian soon learns from the police that his wife has tragically died in a household electrical accident, leaving him devastated. Losing the will to continue through with the plan, he tries to back out, but the mobsters force him to continue. Upon arrival at the plant, they are discovered and the mobsters are quickly dealt with by security, while the comedian falls into the polluted river after being confronted by Batman. The comedian soon washes ashore, with his body transformed by the chemicals, and with him remembering his deceased wife and child, the comedian breaks down into madness, becoming The Joker.
While The Joker's origins are told to the readers through various flashbacks, we also see The Joker enact his most recent plan, which he puts into motion. We start off in Arkham Asylum, where Batman goes to talk with The Joker about their feud, and that they need to end it. However, it is revealed that The Joker he is talking to is an impostor, and that the real Joker has escaped. Soon after, The Joker visits the home of Commissioner Gordon, shoots his daughter Barbara, leaving her paralyzed, and proceeds to kidnap Gordon and take him to an abandoned carnival. Here, Gordon is striped naked, drugged, and tortured, both physically and mentally, in order to drive Gordon insane. Batman eventually rescues Gordon after The Joker gives him a clue. He pursues The Joker after Gordon is still shown to be sane despite his ordeal and wants The Joker brought in by the books. Batman eventually subdues The Joker and tries to reach out to him and help him recover so that they can finally end their everlasting war. The Joker declines, saying it's too late and proceeds to tell a joke. Batman chuckles at the punchline and the ending is left ambiguous, but could either be interpreted as Batman breaking The Joker's neck or just symbolizing that nothing has changed.
After reading the story, my reactions have left me in a state of pity for the characters, especially The Joker. The Joker is my favorite comic villain of all time. Whether he is being portrayed as a mob boss, a simple prankster, or a mentally insane person, he is always an interesting character despite never having an actual origin in the main Batman serials. But, in The Killing Joke, it really tugged at my heartstrings as we see him lose everything, both his family and his mind. I also enjoyed how it explored the idea that, psychologically, Batman and The Joker are mirror images of one another and how they come to terms with their tragedies and how it leads them to their present selves. I also enjoyed the end with Gordon as it showed that despite The Joker's belief that there is something inside every lunatic, and that it's just waiting to spring out, one can overcome the tragedies and keep their sanity.
I made several connections with this story, but the parallels between the two main characters and how one bad day can change everything really stuck with me the most. In the main story, both Batman and The Joker lose their families, and while either of the two could have ended up the same way as the other, they each go off in their own way. Bruce Wayne decides to live on and eventually becomes Batman to help others and end crime and corruption. The Joker, on the other hand, is driven to the point of complete insanity due to his grief and trauma and wishes to bring others to the brink as well. If a similar event were to ever happen to me in my life, I don't think I would ever end up that way to that extreme. I would hope that I would follow in the ideals and mind set of Bruce/Batman. I have also seen people fall to the other side of the coin in this parallel, and I feel that by seeing them, it motivates me more to try and keep my more positive frame of mind and not end up the same way.
If I were to adapt this comic into a different medium, I would definitely like to see it made into a film. While recently The Killing Joke has gotten an animated movie, it included numerous additions not from the comic that were unnecessary, which ended up bringing the film down. Since an animated movie was just recently made, I think a live action version could be amazing. Personally, I would keep it more like the original source material. Instead of adding things such as a clunky first half, I would instead expand upon certain sections such as Batman's search for Gordon and Gordon's torture by The Joker. I would also try and keep an R rating, making it as dark and violent as possible while staying true to the comic. Since it would be live action instead of an animated film, the audience would probably be affected by it even more. However, I also feel that even if it were to get a live action adaption, because it's a Batman property, the owners of the film rights would never allow an R rated live action version to exist and would severely tone it down to a PG-13 rating so as to market it more towards younger people and sell more merchandise. I feel it would be edited so much that it would be unrecognizable and effectively ruin the artist's original message. However, I would still love to see a live action film version true to the source material.
In closing, I absolutely loved Batman: The Killing Joke and the numerous themes and ideas that finally give one of my favorite characters not only a proper past, but an emotional one. This comic is a great read, especially for those struggling or interested in insanity and loss. It also has numerous potential for being adapted into other forms of media. I encourage anyone, even those who aren't Batman or superhero fans to give this a look. I doubt they will be disappointed.
Batman: The Killing Joke is a 1988 one shot graphic novel created by Moore and Bolland as their personal take on The Joker's own origins and his decent into madness. The Joker in the main Batman series has never had any sort of past revealed about him even to this day. This work has become so popular that it has since become the definitive origin story for The Joker by fans and has even had many of its elements and setups adapted into the main Batman continuity.
The Killing Joke explains that at one point, The Joker was a poor, failing stand up comedian, desperate to earn enough money to support his pregnant wife and their unborn child. Eventually, he is convinced by a pair of mobsters to help them break into a chemical plant, where the comedian had worked at a prior time, so that they can rob the playing card company next door. In order to accomplish this, as well as to set up the comedian as the fall guy, the mobsters have the comedian disguised as the infamous mob boss, the "Red Hood". However, the comedian soon learns from the police that his wife has tragically died in a household electrical accident, leaving him devastated. Losing the will to continue through with the plan, he tries to back out, but the mobsters force him to continue. Upon arrival at the plant, they are discovered and the mobsters are quickly dealt with by security, while the comedian falls into the polluted river after being confronted by Batman. The comedian soon washes ashore, with his body transformed by the chemicals, and with him remembering his deceased wife and child, the comedian breaks down into madness, becoming The Joker.
While The Joker's origins are told to the readers through various flashbacks, we also see The Joker enact his most recent plan, which he puts into motion. We start off in Arkham Asylum, where Batman goes to talk with The Joker about their feud, and that they need to end it. However, it is revealed that The Joker he is talking to is an impostor, and that the real Joker has escaped. Soon after, The Joker visits the home of Commissioner Gordon, shoots his daughter Barbara, leaving her paralyzed, and proceeds to kidnap Gordon and take him to an abandoned carnival. Here, Gordon is striped naked, drugged, and tortured, both physically and mentally, in order to drive Gordon insane. Batman eventually rescues Gordon after The Joker gives him a clue. He pursues The Joker after Gordon is still shown to be sane despite his ordeal and wants The Joker brought in by the books. Batman eventually subdues The Joker and tries to reach out to him and help him recover so that they can finally end their everlasting war. The Joker declines, saying it's too late and proceeds to tell a joke. Batman chuckles at the punchline and the ending is left ambiguous, but could either be interpreted as Batman breaking The Joker's neck or just symbolizing that nothing has changed.
After reading the story, my reactions have left me in a state of pity for the characters, especially The Joker. The Joker is my favorite comic villain of all time. Whether he is being portrayed as a mob boss, a simple prankster, or a mentally insane person, he is always an interesting character despite never having an actual origin in the main Batman serials. But, in The Killing Joke, it really tugged at my heartstrings as we see him lose everything, both his family and his mind. I also enjoyed how it explored the idea that, psychologically, Batman and The Joker are mirror images of one another and how they come to terms with their tragedies and how it leads them to their present selves. I also enjoyed the end with Gordon as it showed that despite The Joker's belief that there is something inside every lunatic, and that it's just waiting to spring out, one can overcome the tragedies and keep their sanity.
I made several connections with this story, but the parallels between the two main characters and how one bad day can change everything really stuck with me the most. In the main story, both Batman and The Joker lose their families, and while either of the two could have ended up the same way as the other, they each go off in their own way. Bruce Wayne decides to live on and eventually becomes Batman to help others and end crime and corruption. The Joker, on the other hand, is driven to the point of complete insanity due to his grief and trauma and wishes to bring others to the brink as well. If a similar event were to ever happen to me in my life, I don't think I would ever end up that way to that extreme. I would hope that I would follow in the ideals and mind set of Bruce/Batman. I have also seen people fall to the other side of the coin in this parallel, and I feel that by seeing them, it motivates me more to try and keep my more positive frame of mind and not end up the same way.
If I were to adapt this comic into a different medium, I would definitely like to see it made into a film. While recently The Killing Joke has gotten an animated movie, it included numerous additions not from the comic that were unnecessary, which ended up bringing the film down. Since an animated movie was just recently made, I think a live action version could be amazing. Personally, I would keep it more like the original source material. Instead of adding things such as a clunky first half, I would instead expand upon certain sections such as Batman's search for Gordon and Gordon's torture by The Joker. I would also try and keep an R rating, making it as dark and violent as possible while staying true to the comic. Since it would be live action instead of an animated film, the audience would probably be affected by it even more. However, I also feel that even if it were to get a live action adaption, because it's a Batman property, the owners of the film rights would never allow an R rated live action version to exist and would severely tone it down to a PG-13 rating so as to market it more towards younger people and sell more merchandise. I feel it would be edited so much that it would be unrecognizable and effectively ruin the artist's original message. However, I would still love to see a live action film version true to the source material.
In closing, I absolutely loved Batman: The Killing Joke and the numerous themes and ideas that finally give one of my favorite characters not only a proper past, but an emotional one. This comic is a great read, especially for those struggling or interested in insanity and loss. It also has numerous potential for being adapted into other forms of media. I encourage anyone, even those who aren't Batman or superhero fans to give this a look. I doubt they will be disappointed.
Saturday, November 5, 2016
Women's Comics - This One Summer
Over the years, women's comics have been becoming more and more popular and meaningful. Of the numerous ones available, I found This One Summer by the pair of cousins, Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki, to be highly enjoyable and relatable to it's target audience.
This One Summer follows a young girl named Rose and is told from her perspective. Every summer, Rose and her family go to a cottage in Awago where she spends time with her summer friend Windy and her family. During this particular summer, they begin to explore their new growing interest in boys, as well as the emotional hurdles of both themselves and the adults around them. Most of the adults and teenagers shown are portrayed as sad and "burnt-out" role models.
The biggest issue that seems to persist is the various changes that come with childbirth and how it affects different people, as well how those particular people soon affect others around them. For example, the majority of the book follows Rose's relationship with her mother. Her Mother has recently become quite depressed whenever they visit Awaggo and refuses to even go in the water anymore, which begins to put a strain on the entire family, especially Rose. Despite some misunderstandings, it is later revealed that the mother's depression and refusal to go into the water is due to having a miscarriage the previous Summer. Rose was not told due to how early it was in the pregnancy stage. Rose also deals with pregnancy itself and how it effects people when one of the teenaged locals suddenly gets pregnant, and her boyfriend refuses to do anything. The relationship becomes so bad that it gets to the point that the pregnant girl wishes to commit suicide.
Despite being a guy, I found This One Summer to be very enjoyable. The art alone is amazing and simple, seemingly taking some inspiration from Japanese manga, making it feel very natural and relatable. I felt that it perfectly portrayed how young girls and women really are in life, and I enjoyed how it showed them handling such a difficult topic and their thought process. There is no doubt that pregnancy is a wonderful thing, but it is also one of the most stressful and life changing experiences that anyone could have, especially when one is a young child. This comic perfectly shows this topic from both sides, the side of life and the side of death, and how it effects everyone. Overall, I definitely recommend this piece to any young girl, or any woman for that matter, either just in general or dealing with similar issues. I even feel that guys would enjoy reading this as well, despite being aimed more towards women.
Asterios Poylp by David Mazzucchelli
This week, I dove into the works of famed cartoonist and writer, David Mazzucchelli, particularly into one of his finest, yet more recent works, the graphic novel known as Asterios Polyp.
Asterios Polyp follows the life of the title character, an architect and college professor of Greek and Italian descent, with the uncanny ability to learn and memorize anything he reads. Despite winning numerous awards for his works, in actuality, though, none of Asterios's projects have ever actually been built. After his apartment burns down in a fire due to a lightning strike, Asterios takes a one way trip as far as his money can take him to the town of Apogee, where he quickly gets a job as an assistant auto mechanic, with his new boss providing room and board for him as well. While he works in Apogee, he goes on a soul searching journey as the story goes back and forth between the present day and to his past with his childhood and his troubled married life with his ex-wife Hana, a fellow college professor working in the sculpture department. We also learn that Asterios had a stillborn twin brother named Ignazio with whom, all throughout the book, Asterios has numerous visions and discussions. It is also implied at some parts in the story that Ignazio acts as the narrator during the flashback sequences.
Asterios Polyp is a very well done graphic novel. Probably one of the best aspects is the story itself, which has a unity to it, as well as explores the ideas of duality and other groups such as reason vs emotion, destiny vs free will, and many, many more. There is so much information being thrown at the reader that one almost needs to read the book multiple times in order to soak in all of the information and understand it. Due to the character's Greek heritage, this also plays a part in the story, with the Greek tale of Orpheus being a reoccuring theme. Another aspect that stuck out to me was the art and the direction the artist took with it, something that David Mazzucchelli is known for. The standard art used all throughout the comic is quit simple, but very nice and appealing. However, all throughout the piece, the two main characters, Asterios and his wife Hana, will, at times, distort into a completely different style, usually matching their personalty and occupation. This seems to happen when one of them goes all out in discussing one of their own ideas or beliefs, but it also seems to occur whenever their relationship takes a rocky, sometimes distant turn. Due to being very stiff and analytical, as well as his occupation as an architect, Asterios's body takes the form of more geometrical shapes, while the more artistic Hana becomes softer and more like a smudgy, oil painting. The color choices used are also very interesting and help with the idea of unity. The artist uses just the three colors, blue, pink, and yellow, with blue being the main color asterios is drawn with and pink for Hana, while yellow is often used in places like the modern day in Apogee and the numerous sequences with Ignazio.
Overall, I found Asterios Polyp to be a very interesting piece, in both regards to its story and its art direction. Both are fun and unique and are quite appealing to the readers. It also features many unique characters, and its approach on the topic of stillborn twins and its focus on the subject and symbolism of duality and relationships makes an interesting read.
Asterios Polyp follows the life of the title character, an architect and college professor of Greek and Italian descent, with the uncanny ability to learn and memorize anything he reads. Despite winning numerous awards for his works, in actuality, though, none of Asterios's projects have ever actually been built. After his apartment burns down in a fire due to a lightning strike, Asterios takes a one way trip as far as his money can take him to the town of Apogee, where he quickly gets a job as an assistant auto mechanic, with his new boss providing room and board for him as well. While he works in Apogee, he goes on a soul searching journey as the story goes back and forth between the present day and to his past with his childhood and his troubled married life with his ex-wife Hana, a fellow college professor working in the sculpture department. We also learn that Asterios had a stillborn twin brother named Ignazio with whom, all throughout the book, Asterios has numerous visions and discussions. It is also implied at some parts in the story that Ignazio acts as the narrator during the flashback sequences.
Asterios Polyp is a very well done graphic novel. Probably one of the best aspects is the story itself, which has a unity to it, as well as explores the ideas of duality and other groups such as reason vs emotion, destiny vs free will, and many, many more. There is so much information being thrown at the reader that one almost needs to read the book multiple times in order to soak in all of the information and understand it. Due to the character's Greek heritage, this also plays a part in the story, with the Greek tale of Orpheus being a reoccuring theme. Another aspect that stuck out to me was the art and the direction the artist took with it, something that David Mazzucchelli is known for. The standard art used all throughout the comic is quit simple, but very nice and appealing. However, all throughout the piece, the two main characters, Asterios and his wife Hana, will, at times, distort into a completely different style, usually matching their personalty and occupation. This seems to happen when one of them goes all out in discussing one of their own ideas or beliefs, but it also seems to occur whenever their relationship takes a rocky, sometimes distant turn. Due to being very stiff and analytical, as well as his occupation as an architect, Asterios's body takes the form of more geometrical shapes, while the more artistic Hana becomes softer and more like a smudgy, oil painting. The color choices used are also very interesting and help with the idea of unity. The artist uses just the three colors, blue, pink, and yellow, with blue being the main color asterios is drawn with and pink for Hana, while yellow is often used in places like the modern day in Apogee and the numerous sequences with Ignazio.
Overall, I found Asterios Polyp to be a very interesting piece, in both regards to its story and its art direction. Both are fun and unique and are quite appealing to the readers. It also features many unique characters, and its approach on the topic of stillborn twins and its focus on the subject and symbolism of duality and relationships makes an interesting read.
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