WILL EISNER

-
This week I read some Will Eisner comics including A Contract With God and Blankets. Will Eisner's style of comics is grungy and reveals the darker side of the human condition. His lines are harsh yet flow freely and are very expressive. Blankets is a coming of age story that is told through a boy who feels rather trapped by his family's economic situation, and the oppression he faces at school and from his parents. His relationship with his little brother is not one without conflict, but you can tell that they rely on one another. Later on, Craig grows up and recalls moments from his childhood that relate to a problem he is struggling with in the present. Another relationship he continuously struggles with in the story is with God. As he grows up he harbors certain feelings of shame and guilt because he is condemned by figures of having sinned. This ties into the narrative of A Contract With God, the main character is let down again and again by his faith after being a devout worshipper so he chooses to take his life into his own hands. This is the story of a man who lost everything, so he becomes selfish and uncaring to others. Will Eisner's stories may be influenced by his own life experiences with religion. He was drafted in World War II. His stories attempt to break the assumptions and stereotypes of comic books, as they are intended for a more mature audience.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

MAUS

-
Maus is a graphic novel by Art Speigelman. It depicts his father's experiences during the Holocaust as a Jew. The story is written in an interview style, where it interlaces the dialogues with his father in the present and his father's accounts of the war. This type of writing gives the narrative a second layer. When the story gets too dark, we get a moment of relief from the bleakness and get an insight on the characters peaceful lives now completely different from the horrors of the holocaust. It also suspends us mid action and makes us want to know what happens next. Although moments like this become less as less frequent as the story goes on, it becomes more of a continuous narrative with his father as the main character. Maus gives us a new lens to understand the Holocaust through the medium of the graphic novel, using unique visuals and storytelling techniques. The interesting element of Maus is how it uses animals in the place of human characters as a metaphor. He port...
Read more

Underground Comics

-
Underground comics was a movement between the 1960's and 70's that diverged from mainstream comic books. These comic strips often contained offensive, sexual, and violent content. Reading the comic Zap, I find that   a lot of the humor is satirical and quite dry. Oftentimes the punchline did not hit for me. It could be that times have changed and what people found humorous back then is not what we find humorous today. There are stories that seem to be offensive solely for the sake of being offensive. I also found that many stories did not feel very linear and did not have a clear beginning, middle and end. The stories were mostly text heavy, and did not have a clear focus. Underground comics did allow for comic artists to not be censored, and publish stories not accepted in the public eye. The comic Girl Fight, for example was an early feminist comic that centered around strong female characters. There is still sex and nudity in the comic, but it portrayed women as being ...
Read more

Assessment

-
1. What is your reaction to the text you just read? Batman the Killing Joke by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland is a comic book that takes the Batman story and tells it from the Joker's perspective. It was mature, at the same time the colors and panels were exciting and colorful. The tone of it was that of satire and drama instead of the usual high action we are used to seeing in superhero comics. It explores the Joker's backstory as well as takes a closer look at his codependent relationship with Batman. 2. What connections did you make with the work you just read? Discuss the elements of the work with which you were able to connect. In this comic, I was able to relate to the Joker more than I could relate to Batman or the other characters. The story introduces some sympathetic elements such as how he was jobless, with a wife who was pregnant, and no one laughed at his jokes. Although he was a psychopathic murderer, and I do not agree with his actions, the motives behind his ...
Read more