Persepolis Movie

For probably the first that I can remember, I actually liked the movie more that I liked the book. The reason that this doesn't often happen is that books tend to have a lot more detail to them but in this instance that really didn't matter. The movie brought to life the characters and their emotions to their situation truly to life. Plus the addition of music just brought the story to another level, my favorite was the scene where Marjane is singing "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor. All in all, great book, better movie.

Persepolis

For the first few chapters I must admit I don't think I was enjoying this book all that much. After finishing it though, my opinion has most certainly changed. For the most part the art seems pretty simple compared to the other stories we've read. The way emotion is displayed on the faces of the characters reminds me of Bechdel's father, and the way she showed what emotions he was feeling. All in all a good read and I'm looking forward to watching the film.

Mauz Rest of Book Two

The transitions did not seem to really change up from how they have been the entire story however there were definitely some new things that Spiegelman did. For instance his use of the actual photograph Vladek gave him surprised me because up till then he had always shown every character as an animal or a human wearing a mask of an animal. Also one of the thinks that took me by surprise was when he called the hitchhiker a "Shvarster" and thought he was trying to steal from them. How can someone who's people had genocide commited agaisnt them harbour such feelings for another people? I don't really understand that, and neither could Spiegelman, who also got upset with the blatant racism his father showed when the man was in the car. Overall it turned out to be a magnificent story as well as one of the most powerful stories I've ever read.

Maus Book 2: Chapter 1-2

Still really enjoying the book but now I have a few more questions. First off, why at the beginning of the second chapter does he draw every character including himself wearing a mask? Does he no longer consider himself a Jew? Another question I'm a tad curious about might hold no relevance but he says the word "jeezis". Now I understand that it's just a word and people say it, just like I've heard atheist say "Oh my god", but when he started wearing that mask I couldn't help but become curious. What really disturbed me was the descriptions that Vladek was being told about, on page 71, the bodies after they were gassed and what happened to them. It's just sickening how the Adolf Hitler convined the German Nazi's that the Jews were subhuman and deserved to be wiped off the face of the earth. Amazing how disgusted this "comic" makes me feel.

Mauz Book One

Wow. That pretty much sums up the power this Spiegelman wields in his writing. The use of animals for characters really hits home when you stop to think about how the Jews must have felt. They were nothing but prey for the German Nazis and that's why Spiegelman chose to depict the Jews as mice and Nazi's as cats. One of the most interesting details I saw occurs early on this book. On page 12 Vladek is riding a stationary bike and you can only see a potion of his arms and legs, and on his arm is the numbers tatoo that he received as a Jew during the holocaust. A very powerful image in such a small panel. A great story so far.

Blankets 3-9

The rest of this memoir I felt was really well depicted. I personally like the scene where he makes a reference to Socrates and the shadows of "reality". Throughout the entire book the use of shadows continued to be a very dominant trait to the illustrations however Raina very rarely unless she was blushing, sick, or high almost never had any kind of lines on her face. This is completely opposite to almost every other character that Thompson created. There's a few things I don't quite understand, like who painted over Craig's art in Raina's room? Was it Raina or her father? The only real part of this story that I didn't like all that much was the ending; it didn't really have too much closer and I like that in a book.

Blankets 1-2

I really enjoyed the first two chapters of Blankets. The art is very different from the panels of Funhome. In this book shadows are used quite a bit more and it gives some pieces of the art a very dark feel. Considering what occurs in the first few scenes I'm not surprised that this book was drawn this way. What their father did was tremendously cruel. When I saw that their babysitter was molesting them I was quite shocked. At times the drawings have a very sketch-like feel. Also Thompson breaks away from the use of traditional panels when he's with Raina, I like the feel it has because of the moment-to-moment transfers that are there without the use of "the gutters" as McCloud called them. I thoroughly enjoyed the beginning of this book and have already gone a bit ahead.

Funhome

After finishing this memoir I can gladly say, my interest never swayed. After reading the third chapter I just couldn't put it down. The "scratchy" artistry did continue throughout the book and it was put to good use. One thing that I'm not to sure of is if Alison feels like that her father, never really bonded in the way she wanted, why would she describe him as catching her before her "fall"?
All in all a good read and a great book, I cannot wait for Ms. Bechdel's next work.

Fun Home 1-2

Fun Home's first two chapters really got me interested in reading the whole story. The art used goes along with the tone of the story really well, I feel that it enhances the story tremendously. The way the artist drew the characters gave them an almost, depressed feeling. I'd like to describe the overall panels as looking "scratchy" rather than having rigid lines or very curvy childish lines. The different shades of blues that are given as color also make it feel even more depressed. With the addition of the characters almost never smiling it makes for a rather gloomy setting and plot, visually.

Understanding Comics 5-9

These chapters really showed me a different perspective to comics. Like I stated before I've always enjoyed them, however I can't really say that I have ever viewed them as "art". The author did a terrific job of relaying all the different effects that have been tried throughout the history of comics. With these effects came an evolution of the "art". The simple addition of a line to show movement, smell, or even smoke really do make all the difference. Then he showed how just a simple background or lines can relay emotions to the reader. This was probably one of the more interesting aspects that were mentioned in my opinion. All in all this book turned out to interest me quite a bit, as well as teach me a tremendous deal about how words and pictures can be used to convey messages as well as show them.

Understanding Comics 1-4

I have always been a tremendously huge fan of comics, ever since I was about 6 years old. I still enjoy talking about them with some of my friends and we debate stories and characters. These chapters really brought a lot about comics that I had no idea about. Like the different kind of transitions I didn't even know existed. Also because this portion of the reading explained how a comic book works with the use of panels really made me think that any kind of comic book writer actually has to work on his piece if it was like art. I really enjoyed this reading and I can't wait to read some more.

Gopnik

This essay really intrigued me. I have never heard of anything remotely like a child with an imaginary friend who is always too busy to play with them. It actually is quite odd and funny at the same time. Then to go on and say that, the imaginary friend has an assistant who takes his calls is almost absurd. Ah, but the wonders of a child's imagination. The intensity is actually quite astounding if a child really can create a whole imaginative society in which she and her "friend" lives. All this coming from a child who is just interpreting the world around her as she sees it. Like I said, intriguing.

Richards

This story was actually enjoyable. The use of the monitor interrupting throughout the essay, really made me as a reader feel like one existed. Also the use of it repeatedly even at the end gave the story more of a picture by reiterating it's existence so many times. One problem I would have had in the narrator's place is the constant need to repeat everything you say. I have problems with most people who ask me to repeat myself once, let alone have to deal with that kind of questioning every few minutes. I am also a tad curious about one of the jokes in the essay. "'No flies on you, baby' 'No ma'am, they done shit and flew.'" I don't get it. Someone please explain this it's starting to irk me.

Orlean

For the first time since we've begun this class, I am officially bored with the reading. This piece was horrifically bland, but not in the sense of lacking detail. There are plenty of very descriptive phrases. It is bland because for the most part, it lacks the feeling that all the other essays we have read thus far have had so much of. Though, I am probably being a tad biased, since I was expecting a piece of writing that was more "in your face" for lack of better words. Decently written, however, I didn't appreciate it.

Sedaris

Though an interesting story, it didn't hold my attention quite like Strayed's essay did. It seems like a rather odd idea to me, having your siblings sign a contract saying they'll never get married. I really had to stop for a second and think whether or not this piece was about the sister breaking her contractual duties by getting married or if it was about the mother's cancer. One thing that really made me interested was how horribly negative and sarcastic the mother is in this story. To a point it's actually pretty obnoxious. At the same time though the father is almost compulsive by wanting to eat at only fast food restaurants. He's also overbearing because he always feels like everyone around him doesn't know what they want for themselves, and only he knows what they want. I don't think I would have been able to deal with a father like that. Some couple these truly are.

Stratyed

It may just be me but from the very first line of this essay to the very last, I was hooked. Such a radical way to start an essay. The author actually made me feel disgust with her. To hear the things that some people do is quite sickening. I do not understand how some one, who claims to love another so much, do the vile things she did. I'm curious and I don't exactly get what the man from the cafe had meant by mature. Also, her almost obsessive grievance over the loss of her mother was truly weird. Though I do find her to be quite the disgusting person, she is an amazing writer, and I thoroughly enjoyed the vile plot of this particular piece.

Cooper Response

I didn't enjoy this essay quite as much as Beard's but it still made for an interesting read. I have to admit, I felt like I was looking into someone's life who didn't really know who they were yet. That kind of reminded me of my high school years when I was still trying to figure out who I was. The idea that brought up the most common memory for me in this essay was the narrator's regret of not telling Theresa who he was when he had the chance. I know what it's like to regret and sometimes it isn't easy to forget things but the best thing you can do is move on with life just as the narrator of the essay did.

Beard Response

The ending to this particular essay is not at all what I would have guessed. Jo Ann is this lonely character who's husband is currently trying to divorce her but at the same time is constantly asking her if he's doing the right thing. That alone is enough to make someone depressed but on top of that one of her dogs is dieing and seems to be in a tremendous amount of pain throughout the essay. She can't stand on her own accord, she urinates on a blanket which Jo must constantly wash over and over just for the dog to do it again, and to top it all off, Jo's friends want her to euthanize the dog so it's pain may cease. All of this is enough to make anyone depressed. How could things possibly get worse? Well, Jo finds out just how they can when Gang Lu, her co-worker, goes on a massacre. Totally not what I had originally expected from the author, but that was one hell of a way to grab someone's attention, and fast. I enjoyed this piece quite a bit.

Intro

Hey I'm Shawn. I was born in Arlington, Texas and currently reside in New Britain, Connecticut. I'm a pre-law major here at the University of Hartford and am looking forward to a very productive first year of studies. I thoroughly enjoy music, soccer, wrestling, and many films.