Kristin Becker's DTC Classes at WSU

The graphic novel that I chose to read for this project was a small book called Zen comics. There is no story or plot of this book but rather it is a small collection of 1 page comics that all have a message of peace or zen. The book is by Ioanna Salajan and was published in 1974 and has a buddhist zen theme. Typically I find books like this soothing because they bring out appreciation for the little things in life like the power of nature and that happiness is within. This book has been a perfect read for this crazy time. When I would start to go stir crazy from being stuck inside due to quarantine it was great to be able to pick up the book and read something that was humorous and laced with a positive message. 

The iconography and art work in the book is a good use of the linework discussed in Mcclouds Living in lines chapter. The robes of the characters are always flowy and sweeping with a wide brush that gives a look specific to this book and the backgrounds and textures use a minimalistic quality to create a sense of peace and nature rather than lines that look nervous or tense. Even the typography chosen is thinner and handwritten in appearance that gives the comic a more relaxed feeling than what I typically find in comic books. The example that I have selected shows a good example of what the theme of the book is like as well as what the artwork is like. The positive message and minimalist yet realistic art form flows together to create a very strong theme for this book. Occasionally I find the art style and the message of a comic can clash with each other but this book is a good example of unity between the two elements. 

Hello, friends! Welcome back after this crazy month of stress, mess and chaos. I hope all of your lives are going okay.

Last time I posted on this blog, we were discussing my love and passion for English-literature-turned-into-comics, like Matt Wagner’s “Grendel”, the comic that I chose to read for inspiration and plot. Let me tell you, it was not at all like I was expecting.

Wagner puts spins on this book that I never would have thought of in a creative element. His use of lines, specific color, iconography and storytelling combine for a compelling read. I read it straight for two hours. I. Could. Not. Put. It. Down. Grendel, as I mentioned before, is the demon from Hell that Beowulf is supposed to slay in order to save King Hrothgar of Denmark and his people. This epic poem is long, filled with exciting adventures at every turn (at least, it is if you’re an English major). One of the things that I love that Wagner incorporated was a different plot for Grendel. Making him the main character, Wagner goes through each section for different parts of Grendel’s life: how be became Grendel, who his lover was, why he became an author by day and killer by night, and how a little orphan girl puts the rainbow in this dark knight’s life. The way that he crafted the story by withholding some information to his readers only to reveal it later (known as exposition for my non-creative writing friends) and the way he incorporated pictures to enhance his view of Grendel completely amazes me. I love this version SO MUCH MORE than the one in Beowulf.

Okay, on to why I think he chose this specific genre of iconography. Like Scott McCloud mentions in his book, people who create portraits that are more realistic focus on the drawing of the picture and how it was done, rather than the story element that is supposed to accompany the images. With this in mind, Wagner does an excellent job

Matt Wagner’s Grendel, Dark Horse Comics Inc., 2000, pp. 28-29.

of taking the portraits of people, but not in too much detail (I would classify his drawing/creative medium as a balance between cartoon and realistic – see McCloud’s drawing on page 31 for reference). I think he chose to do this because he didn’t want to spend too much time on drawing the characters, nor as much time on the storyline. He wanted the flow to be effortless and easy for readers.

That being said, when I mentioned lines earlier, I was of course referring to the most recent chapter we read of McCloud’s book, chapter 7. In it, he talks about how lines and backgrounds hold their own weight. That could not be more true for this comic. Each part of this novel has a section that varies in line thickness, shade and tone. By tone, I mean the difference of a thin line that looks like it was created with light pencil strokes and a thin line that was created with black ink. This is similar for the three colors he uses consistently: black, white, and red. Each color has its own gradients in certain parts, and Wagner’s effectiveness of color and lines make each section of the comic unique. For a more in-depth look, please see the attached image above (which happened to have exactly what I was describing on the SAME PAGES BACK TO BACK. Wagner’s a genius). Sometimes his drawing style preference will change from more abstract to more realistic, depending on the scene and content. He will also switch out from word specific frames to picture specific frames, which is something that I found to be useful as a reader to follow along with his thoughts.

Honestly, I could spend hours deciphering this book and what I think Wagner’s creative intentions and expressions were meant to convey. However, I will leave it at this: If you have a chance to pick up this book, please do so. It is worth your time and energy.

Stay safe and healthy out there, little loves.

The comic book that I read was “Bone: Out From Boneville” by Jeff Smith. This is the first book in a series of nine adventure books. The story consists of three cousins that moved away from their hometown because one of the cousins wanted to become rich. The book starts off with them roaming in the desert and they eventually become separated in the desert. Rat creatures that live in the desert plot on kidnapping them and eventually killing them. They eventually find people that live in the valley, they become friends with many and get them to help them to survive the plotting of the rat creatures.

Bone 1: Out from Boneville Graphic Novel by Jeff Smith pg.14

Scott McCloud’s “Understanding Comics” chapter “Living in Line” talked about all the types of iconography that are commonly used when people create comics, and I noticed that many examples that he used were also used throughout “Bone: Out From Boneville”. The iconography in the comic book was warm and gentle. There were many symbols that were used throughout the book that thoughts and emotions. There were also many sounds that were in a strictly visual medium. The book also used color to set the mood for the panel throughout the entirety of the comic. For example, they would use pitch black panels to represent a dark cave and build up excitement because the characters as well as the reader has no idea where the character is moving and what surrounds them.

The visuals in the comic book were simplistic and had a very clean and finished look. I believe that the author decided to create this type of visual for the comic book because the characters have a very simplistic look, that makes it easy for the readers to relate to them. The use of color also makes the book more enjoyable and desirable for the readers to read. Overall, I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend other to read it as well.

After searching for a graphic novel, I stumbled upon “Maus 2” by Art Spiegelman. The story begins with Art going over to his father’s place and complaining about how his friends don’t want to hangout and then Art’s father mentions how you don’t know if they are real friend until they are locked up with almost no food water and need to sleep in one area, which is mentioned in “Understanding Comics” chapter 6 “Living in Line” as it shows problems that come with age and how Art may have a smaller issue of his friends not wanting to meet up but Art’s father who doesn’t have a lot of friends tells his son how it is not a big issue. This is a gate was into the novel about Art hearing his father’s over viewing experience in the Holocaust. It constantly jumps back and forth from the present and the past. The story, therefore, takes place in New York city (where they currently live) and Poland (where Art’s father was before and during the Holocaust). The story outlines how Art’s father became a soldier then becomes a prisoner, just to find out that once he is released that his hometown has been captured by Germany. Luckily, he was able to sneak into his hometown, just to be captured again during the Holocaust. Overall, the story discusses Art’s fathers’ story about before the Holocaust and during the Holocaust, along with a bit of their life in New York, many years after the Holocaust.

To help convey the difference in ethnicity, Art made Jewish people to be mice and German people to be cats. This helped show how Jewish people were considered to be less than the German people as cats eat mice, or in terms of the Holocaust, they put them in camps. Furthermore, every time he shows the Jewish people (during the Holocaust), he shows them working hard, in pain, and in prison clothes.

As I mentioned in my first blog post about this novel, Art Spiegelman uses several concepts to help with the story, some of them are aspect to aspect, scene to scene, and subject to subject. A very important concept in this book is scene to scene, as Art constantly jumps from the past to the present and back. This is scene in the image as Art’s father is being yelled at for being Jewish and to be arrested and then later, we go back to the present where Art’s father talks to him. Furthermore, we observe that Art does not use color in his graphic novel, at all. This helps the reader put more focus on the words and graphics, such that Art’s message is understood more and in greater depth. He also uses different patterns to help create depth perception and different things, such as the cat’s dress, the different suits, the door, the walls, and more. Furthermore, we notice that the people, or animals, have simple faces, compared to the background, thus put emphasis on the characters and what they are saying.