Calvin and Hobbes

     Calvin and Hobbes is a comic that people of all ages can relate with. It is a comic that really portrays what its like to be a kid. It also has some of the greatest life lessons I have ever heard from any form of comics. Bill Watterson’s illustrations for Calvin and Hobbes are in a great cartoony style but there are some times when Calvin pretends he is a dinosaur or a he is flying a plane and the drawings go more towards realism. I enjoy this aspect mainly because it makes it funnier when a huge T-rex is sitting at the dinner table asking for dino meat. One aspect I think is brilliant with Calvin and Hobbes is when you see Hobbes through Calvin's eyes he is a real tiger but through everyone else's eyes Hobbes is a stuffed animal. This is my favorite part of this comic mainly because it shows how imaginative one kid can be. It also brings up the question is Hobbes a real tiger or not. No one ever tells Calvin that Hobbes is not real. Through his parents eyes Hobbes is a stuffed animal but to Calvin it is his best friend who he shares every adventure with. Overall Calvin and Hobbes is one of my favorite comics because of its ability to make you feel like a kid again it just makes you want to go out on an adventure and have fun. It is more than just cartoons this comic has some great writing were it talks about the state of the world, questioning your mortality, or what it is like to be a kid with an overactive imagination. Calvin and Hobbes is a comic that is so much more than a kid and his pet tiger.

Little Nemo

Little Nemo is an interesting comic strip to read. It goes into the imagination of a child's dreams and really captures it with the fantastic illustrations. The use of Nemos bed in the comic is nice mainly because in some of the strips all of the panels are profile but Winsor McCay makes it look interesting and beautiful. As the dream continues the bed becomes what ever Nemo wants it to be and one of my favorite parts of these comics is seeing how Nemo wakes up. One thing I really don't like about these comics is the text. I feel the text could be spread out more. It is to cramped and hard to read it does not help the images. The spacing between the panels in my opinion is to close together. This makes the illustrations to cramped and it takes away from their detail and beauty. Overall the storytelling in these illustrations are amazing McCay shows you so much in such a little time and the compositions are amazing whether it is a profile shot throughout the entire comic or he moves the viewer around through the dreamscape the illustrations speak for themselves. Overall I think I enjoy the illustrations by themselves more than the use of text and image. The illustrations are strong enough to be by themselves and still tell the story in some cases but as a whole I really enjoyed reading Little Nemo it was fun and interesting and definitely something to look at for composition in comics or illustration.   

Maus

Maus is a story that if it were portrayed in a realistic manner it would not work. It would look like another history book with haunting images of the atrocities that took place during the Holocaust. Maus is a prime example of one of the lessons in Understanding Comics. If it was drawn in a realistic manner it wouldn't be the same it would be to brutal to watch but with these simplistic drawings and great characters it is in a way more relatable. The story by itself is very tragic and emotional. What Vladek and his family went through is something that no human should go through but with Art Spellman’s illustrations we can read the story all the way through without putting the book down. The depiction of the cat and mouse with the Jews and Nazis is a great aspect. Showing two animals that do not like each other to depict some of the most hate relationships between humans was a nice way of showing hatred with out going to graphic or violent. This helps too mainly wit Arts style and the fact that if you saw these acts of violence between two humans I feel it would be too much for the reader. Art is able to share his fathers story in a way were everyone could view it and know about the horrible things that happened to the Jews in World War II. I feel this is the most affective book ever done about the holocaust for the simple fact that almost everyone can read. Yes there are things in this story that may be too much for younger readers but the images are not brutal or meant to strike fear into the viewer. This is a graphic novel the drawings are cartoons but they are as affective as photos from the holocaust because they show the atrocities that occurred but kids in school can view this without feeling sick to their stomach. This is not the PG version of the Holocaust all the detail about these events are there but the style allows people to view this as a moving experience. This graphic novel is a great read and the images tie beautifully with the script overall this book depicts the Holocaust in a way no history book can. It brings you inside the lives of the people that experienced these horrible acts on human life. Maus is a book that will be read forever and it will let everyone who doubts that this did happen and it should never be forgotten. Overall Maus is one of those graphic novels that really affects you on an emotional level it is more than just a comic it is a book that everyone should read whether you are a comic lover or not. This book changed the way people look at graphic novels. It is taught in high schools and it is sold in bookstores Maus made the graphic novel what it is today.

Understanding Comics

Understanding Comics was a good book for anyone who is interested or illustrates comics. It goes into detail about the history of comics from when people started drawing on walls up until present day. I felt this was interesting but it dragged on in my opinion. One aspect I thought was very interesting was that we as people see ourselves everywhere and if we were to read this book with realistic illustrations we would get disinterested and not read it and he is right. If this were realistically drawn it would not feel like a comic depicting the world of comics and sequential art. One of my favorite aspects of Understanding Comics was at the beginning and the end. At the beginning of the book we see a globe with all different characters from comics. This is what everyone views comics as just super heroes and action stories for kids. As you read on you see that comics are not just for the nerdy kids who love superheroes. Comics are one version of sequential art that tells stories through images. Whether it is Superman fighting off evil or a man who made a contract with god Comics tell stories that are fantastic and ordinary. At the end of the book the globe is seen again but it has everything that was discussed in the book. It depicts all the work that goes into making comics showing that comics are not what everyone thinks they are. I really enjoyed understanding comics and picked up some helpful info on making my own comic work better.