V for Vendetta

We had a discussion in class on Wednesday about how we have reacted to the three novels thus far and several good points were presented. I know there were several who were passionate about V for Vendetta, but I tend to side with the opposite view. It was dry and impersonal while simultaneously being overly obvious. Its a great story, but it is not told in a fashion that appeals to me. I am not avidly involved in the political world and I find some of the nuances in the book boring. Blankets to me was more interesting just because it incited emotions all throughout where as V only caused an emotional reaction when I read about his torture of Evey. This reaction was even dulled by the fact that due to the movie I knew the outcome.  Overall I believe that the book had great artistry even though some Evey was very abstract often, It added to her character, and a unique plot line but it is just not a novel i might pick up again to read. Even Watchmen I might read again just to find details i had missed, with V this is not needed and even if I have missed some details I am uninterested in figuring them out. 

I am very excited to read the next set of Historical Comics because I deeply enjoy history and have been unable to take any history classes as of late. I think I will enjoy this presentation of history even more so than the flat text with incorporated pictures. 

V for Vendetta - where to start.

In class we talked briefly about cognitive estrangement and its function and i understand the role of it in the novel entirely, but what i am not sure about is its success. Yes the novel makes me, as a reader, question the authority of the government and take that question into the realm of reality (IE: thinking about how we were all so able to compromise freedoms after 9/11 and what the consequences of that national action might be) but i do not come to these conclusions through an abstract epiphany but a direct connection. I think the novel is very blatant and if its goal was cognitive estrangement, it has faltered. I think the story would be closer related to a satire, pointing out the faults of the "other" only to eventually recognize it in ourselves. Seeing the faults in Evey's perception of the world through V's eyes lets the reader see ones own faults. This is not far removed and entirely scifi. It is just good writing. 

Another satirical aspect of the plot might be the repetition of " England Prevails" which is strikingly similar to "God Bless America". This expression of perceived invincibility inevitably  leads to a downfall, a quasi foreshadow into our societies future perhaps?  

Overall I liked the book, the artistry was a little sketchy and unclear at times which caused slight confusion but the writing was masterful. 

V- for Vendetta

Yes, we have all seen the movie. For me I didn't know that the movie was based on a comic book and if I had I probably would have been upset for the changes they made to allow the movie to be more "kosher", but since I saw the movie first and now have began to read the comic I find the subtle changes to be appropriate, especially for the success of the movie. Overall though i think so far in the comic the movie captured the feeling and movement, unlike most book to movie adaptations. 

Moreover I really enjoy the artistry of the comic. Its a nice blend of the Blankets style and that of Watchmen. I find it easier to read and more enjoyable than Watchmen because often the detail distracted me from the plot and development. Where as Blankets I flew through but believe I lost something in that quick reading. V For Vendetta is a blend of the two that draws me into the plot and allows for a clear connection between the art and text that functions well.

For example on pages 26-27 the description of the past and present was very fluid yet clear, in Watchmen this flashback might have been slightly more disoriented. 

Overall though I am excited to get on to the next two books. 

 One other thing I do have to say is that the priest looks like Muloc from Watchmen. The same sunken look that gives off an air of sinister death. I

The good advice you just didn't take...

Okay- to start this off, I am very upset that I did not take Spencer's advice and back up my blogs on my computer becuase my Monday's post lost over half of my entry. This would make sense considering my title was Reflexivity and there was absolutely nothing about that in the writing. So basically to sum up my 2 other paragraphs, i went on to talk about the incorporation of the text into the work and then went on to speak about the self reflexivity of text. How the text from the incorporated comic reflected on the central plot and how then that the images from that comic differed from the frame. As well i want on to speak of this reflexivity addressing the importance of comics in the Watchmen world and how that then applies to our reality. To end the section I addressed the intriguing idea of self reflexivity as a literary device and how this might indicate that then the Graphic Novel was a form of literature, although not in the American Cannon. 

Well I hope that sheds some light on the ideas i wanted to present last time. 

Now on to newer ideas. 

I have finished Watchmen and McCloud.  I don't have much to say about McCloud because well, it was just a repetition of what he has already tried to teach. A mere echo of the first chapters. I guess it could be seen as a good summary but, really not necessary. 

As for Watchmen,

Manhattan/ Jon just blew up Rorschach??? That caught me off guard and well it was rather unsettling. After the whole exposition of the plot, getting closer to understanding Rorschach and discovering his importance to society he is blown to bits BUT THEN! his journal will still end the peace the world has found presumably. Needless to say, the ending left me a little flat. I did enjoy though the interesting unsolved entanglement between The comedian and Laurie's mother, it addresses the complexity of life that Manhattan was attempting to understand. Overall I enjoyed the obscurity of the novel and the chaotic reality that it was written into but I believe I would have a better understand of its general meaning and more appreciation for the story as a whole if I was able to re-read it. 

Watchmen - reflexivity

In this blog, I have taken the liberty of expanding my horizons but today I think I shall fall back into old routines, old but still effective ( they would not be teaching us the skills if it didn't have some validity).  Working on the Wiki and within this Blog has provided me insight into the world of literary analysis where personal expression is no longer a negativism. 

As an English major I find my self analyzing text so often that the words begin to lose meaning at some point and turn into symbols on a page, art with out meaning. However running through the motions on a literary work of art simply does not do it justice. So as a break I find my self analyzing the abstract images and combination of images and text in the Graphic novel(s) we have read here in this blog, however now we are reading a book where the written word takes center stage in several ways. Blankets focused on Craig's art where as Watchmen focuses on 1. Rorshachs personal diary and 2. at the end of each chapter "Under the Hood" by Hollis- two forms of personal expression through literature with in a *Graphic*  novel. For me this incorporation of text was surprising at first as I read on through the book, however it became more clear to me why not only is the text appealing and interesting but an integral part of the work's implicit message. 

MCB 250 exam

well.. from my title you can tell that I have an MCB exam tomorrow and not a whole lot of time to write about Watchmen. I have been kind of at a loss for discussion topics any way so my next post will be very in-depth but right now all i have time for is a few quick words. I like the story so far and I am really into the Dr. Manhattan plot. The artistry is amazing and far different than Blankets and its true to comic form implores me to read closer and study the pictures far more than i did with Blankets. Simply I enjoy reading it slower. Here are a few clips i liked from the book. 

AND WHAT? Who knows anything about the movie coming out soon??

Superbowl SUNDAY!!! and Watchmen...

So this book intrigued me from the very start, and the start was confusing. In medias res was a clever way to begin the plot because being lost made the plot more inciting and required me to pay far closer attention to detail. The first words of the story said so much more than I realized initially and supplied me with so much insight into the character development. 

The introduction also appealed to me because of the artistic detail within the interwoven frames of present and past- the murdered and the detectives. The color scheme was especially impressive in the way the artist rendered the two detective in multi-color and the murder scene in deep red/pink/purple tones.  This attention to color then brought my attention to the color difference between the color of the Comedians skin tone and the murderer's skin tone. This is a very important distinction when considering how much work went into the color palate of the work. Another aspect of color that caught my attention was the progression of the Smile in the first chapter. I have always associated that face with Joe boxer  which is happy.