The Comic Book

Oh man, where to start?

It was a hoot to look through the older comics. Especially the romance ones - I think those might have been my favorite. Not because of its ingenuity writing or strong female roles. Not because of the drawings, which weren't the "worst" per se, but different enough for me to feel a little uncomfortable. No, it was the realization that hit me as I read through the pages of the romance comics, expecting at least some romance (or what realistically was safe for audiences in the 50s? 60s?) and reading nothing but the horrors of The Immoral Woman and what will happen if a woman is to continue to stay immoral. Of course, I'm not entirely sure about the demographic of woman readership for this genre of comic books back then, but I don't think it takes a genius to tell that these comics were clearly not written by women.

On the other hand, it was entertaining to read through many of Carl Bark's Donald Duck series. Personally, I prefer Uncle Scrooge as the main character, but perhaps that's because of my predilection for rich and intelligent gentleman ducks. I think a major difference in reading the more 'realistic' comics and the comics by Carl Barks is that everything isn't as stiff, or made out to be. Carl Bark's aimed to entertain, not give a lesson in the immoral paths of the human being. And although it was a little odd to hear that one of the characters in Carl Bark's comics was a woman who just happened to be the love interest of Donald Duck, it's sadly not surprising, especially around this time. Although, I question how people would have thought of it if it were a man who was the love interest of a female duck.

The Comic Strip

It was a lot easier for me to read comic strips when I was younger. It's an interesting change I've noticed within myself; I've shied away from comic strips and grown to admire graphic novels that you wouldn't be able to just randomly flip to a page and understand what was going on. And I guess that's why I was so drawn to comic strips at first; I didn't really care for an emotional, mentally torturing journey through the never ending manga series. I just wanted to read what was in front of me without having to really put too much thought in it, and look at the pretty pictures.

Of course, now that I'm older I would rather invest my time into reading a long epic with a payoff. When I think of comic strips I think of Peanuts, Garfield, and even the Archie Sunday's that would come in a digest. And although I can't put Calvin and Hobbes in the same category as any of those just because of my emotional inclination to put that comic series higher than anything else I've ever read, it was quite the delve when we looked into the older comic strips.

Little Nemo is quite stunning to look at; Winsor McCay definitely knew how to make a composition and it fascinates me how he was able to produce so fast without having to go over process. Krazy Kat on the other hand... left me a little confused. Perhaps its my desire to read dialogue that I can find legible. Then there was Peanuts. A classic, of course. How can I find something to criticize about what was essentially a part of my childhood?

Although I can't really fathom reading a comic strip on a newspaper, especially in this day and age, I'd like to think that the comic strip was far more an American tradition in its heyday then it is now. Now we call it webcomics though, I suppose.

Understanding Comics

Understanding Comics was a vastly informative introduction into the worlds of comics; while many of what McCloud said was just pure fact, I feel as though a lot of what he was telling the readers in Understanding Comics was an understanding achieved from the knowledge and observation he accumulated throughout the years. It takes a true comic fan for that level of insightfulness. There were a lot of interesting points that McCloud pointed out that I had never really considered or thought of before. He also touched base on a few things that I'd always had looming in the back of my head, but never really was able to articulate my thoughts in the same level he was able to.

What I found particularly interesting was when he started pointing out the differences between American comics and Japanese manga. Of course, this is obvious as Japan and America are two completely different cultures - what Japan emphasizes as important for a story, an American comic reader may not understand or enjoy. Or what Western comics do in order to keep the pace of a story entertaining, the Japanese may find too rushed. But despite the differences, it's interesting to see the influences both Eastern and Western comics have done for each other. Especially today, where we see manga and comics slowly integrating into modern comics today.

Another intriguing thought from McCloud was when he discussed the universality of the face. While the details make one unique person, the fact that cartoons create faces in order to be relatable to anyone is an impressive facet only applicable to comics. It's much easier to read the emotions of a simplified cartoon face than look into the details of a realistic looking face.