Fun Home

I have enjoyed reading fun  home thus far. The artwork is my favorite out of all those we haver read, its not to complicated but not overly simplified.  The colors are especially interesting and bring much to the page with out being robust like the distracting colors of Watchmen. The black line art with a gray-green watercolorish wash is very unique, well unique to me as my field of knowledge when it comes to graphic novels/ comics is limited. I did a little research on the book because I have been enjoying it and I discovered that the author, Bechdel, both wrote and illustrated Fun Home over a series of seven years. She would take a photograph of her self dressed as the character she was about to draw and then draw from that photo. I think that is such an ingenuitive manner in which to find inspiration for the characters movement and look. 

As well while researching I found many different covers for the book. I think they are all interesting but the one we have fits the most I believe. 

Mini Comics

We looked at a few groups Mini comics today! I loved them all. The art and creativity that went into each one was impressive. I think overall it was a great project and I throughly enjoyed the results. Each incorporated an individual flare to the comic production just as the novels we are reading have their own artistic nuances( even if they are by the same authors). Each comic was well put together and emphasized the importance of cooperation and collaboration to the development of comics. Moreover the morals that each presented were creative and unique i think that requiring that "ah ha!" moment in the assignment was insightful because it made us as creators think outside the box more. 

I enjoyed the constructive critizim of our groups work and everyone else's, I think the class is respectful while remanning opinionated. I look forward to sharing more works in the class. 

I can't wait to see the rest of the grooups works! 

Mini Comic

So.. I hope everyone had a good spring break! I found myself studying a ton and working even more. I did find time though to finish up with the mini comic project. I found it to be very enlightening because I really never realized how much work went into the process and development of one. I thought proofreading an essay or manifesto :) was hard but working with both the artistic aspect of the comic and the wording of the comic was very tasking. If a concept changed in an picture, the text had to be altered and if a text edit was made possible artistic changes were made. The dialectic relationship between the art and the text always amazed me when reading a work, but I never really thought what it took to produce that workable and readable relationship. We only made a 11 page comic, i cant imagine having to edit and proofread a 100-200 page graphic novel.  Moreover the clarity of the text and images had to be managed because of the media type ( photocopy) we are using. This also posed a few complications. Overall I think it was a good learning experience but a pain over spring break.

Can't wait to see everyones! 

so.. I am blog illiterate

I need help figuring out how to put a list of the other blogs on my site, any help? 

Stuck Rubber Baby... Kinda

I like the book. I am enjoying the development of the characters even though the art is distracting.

Thats all I have really on that... but.. I must just write on something amazing I have just discovered. It is this site called Hulu.com 

It is a free site with full length films and tv episodes ... that is legal because it has minor commercials. You can also e-mail and imbed the shows and movies into your sites like this. 

How freaking awesome is that.. I was watching Master and Commander.. ( history person.. a reason I really enjoy the plot of Stuck Rubber Baby - see it relates to class kinda) and i can put the whole MOVE in here for people to watch.. now.. enjoy my blog and check out the site!!

(great quality huh)

Oh and soon they said they will make it so the movies and shows can be put on an MP3 player... I CANT WAIT!!!!

Hopefully next time i embed something it will be more class related.. 

Stuck Rubber Baby

So, my blogging has been sporadic as of late because my life has been. I have had a lot going on but I am getting head start on Stuck Rubber Baby. I read the first three chapters last night and absolutely loved them. I was disappointed in the last book because it was supposedly "historical", but to me it was more biographical- focusing on little known people.  Stuck Rubber Baby on the other hand incorporates important historical mile stones in an individualistic manner that is highly appealing to me. I remember the first time i read the story of Emit Till and saw the photographs. The open casket photos are extremely striking and I can see how as a young child it could be life altering. 

After Reading Through Chapter eleven I have come to greatly appreciate the intricacies of the framing in the work. The incorporation of the past and present scenes require a distinct talent that is very subtle in the work. I enjoy it greatly for it is seamless. One thing I found strange though about the artistry, and rather detracting was the way faces were drawn. Very round with large chins, it is very distinct, unlike what we have seen before, but still distracting from the characterizations because the faces start to blend after a while. 

Another thing I found interesting was to see what it was like to be raised in a racist/segregated world from the perception of a young white male. Often times you read and see cultural works specific to the African American struggle of the time, but this is unique, at least to my reading credentials. As well I enjoy the idea of a unique coming of age story with many facets. Blankets was more focused on Cragis social world, Stuck Rubber Baby focuses on the individual life but includes and encompasses the conflict of the world at large and discusses its affects on the individual. 

Portraits from Life

From the appearances of the cover I half expected the work itself to be in color and when i started to read I realized that the amount of detailing in each frame would have been overshadowed by the incorporation of color.  The text on the other-hand could use some enhancement. It is often to small for my liking and the chunks are to long to keep my attention. Another aspect of the work that is slightly disconcerting is the fact that there are no page numbers. I do not use a book mark or fold pages often so i just like to remember page numbers, quite a predicament no? Haha, i know its not that big of an issue but it is hard to refer back to a page in blog or after reading. I cannot wait to see how we handle this in class.  

Overall though I have enjoyed the first few stories and will look forward to the discussion in class.