Response to comics

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Today, I picked up and read Prince Valiant by Hal Foster, Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs, and Gasoline Alley by Frank King, as well as some more Little Nemo in large format. I can say that reading these comics in large format on paper really improved the viewing experience for me. This is because the words are easier to make out, my eyes are able to more easily follow the panels, and it allows me to appreciate the artwork in a more organic, palpable way. Prince Valiant caught my eye because of the art, and the high fantasy setting. Oftentimes, I feel like high fantasy stories are too cliche and follow the same tropes and storylines. But Prince Valiant felt humorous and grounded because of the well developed characters. They don't seem to take themselves too seriously even when serious things may be happening. Prince Valiant uses his wits to win in desperate situations, and even if he doesn't win, there does not seem to be life threatening consequences. Unlike most weekly newspaper comics, both Prince Valiant and Tarzan are stories that continue from week to week. This format suits them as it helps build the expansive world and allow stories to have an arc, which increases variety in the storytelling. Gasoline Alley by Frank King on the other hand, is a slice of life comic that is about a single father who raises a baby he found. The stories are mainly either about something that happened to them in everyday life or things that they imagined, or dreamed, which is reminiscent of the fantastical adventures in Little Nemo. This tells me that people at the time liked to see characters that reminded them of themselves, and that they liked the element of escapism. People usually look to fiction to take them out of the commonplace, and Gasoline Alley is a mix of both the mundane and the bizarre.

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