Monday, November 17, 2008

art in "Safe Area Gorazde"

Overall, the drawings in 'Safe Area Gorazde" are complex, and the characters are somewhat realistic. However, the narrator Joe Sacco is the most simplistic character of the book. He almost looks like a cartoon character. He might have chosen to draw it this way to highlight that he is an outsider. Furthermore, according to McCloud, the simpler the character, the easier it is for the readers to relate with him/her. Therefore, we can connect with Sacco, but not the other characters in Gorazde.
In addition, Sacco uses both direct and indirect representation to help us understand what was happening. On page 122 and 123, he showed the child who was hit by an anti-aircraft cannon and many other people suffering. He forced us to see the situation during the attack. But on 111 and 119, he chose to show us the horror through the expressions of the eyewitnesses.

Friday, November 14, 2008

New Watchmen Trailer!

Hey everyone,

The new trailer for Watchmen just got released today on Yahoo Movies. The movie looks really good, and I'm pretty excited about going to see it when it comes out. One of the cool things in the trailer is Rorshach's mask, and how it changes patterns as he moves. I think it would be cool if we arranged for a trip to go see the movie when it comes out.

I also found an interesting article in Yahoo News about a Japanese man who petitioned to be able to marry a comic-book character. (http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081030/od_afp/japancartoonmarriageoffbeat_081030061822). It's pretty crazy how manga has such a profound an deep-rooted presence in Japanese pop culture. I thought it was pretty funny how the prime minister loved reading manga, but had no time to read them anymore.

-Travis.

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Fun Little Game

I came across this online, and it reminded me of that panel arrangement activity we did at the beginning of the semester. Enjoy.

Fun Home Irony

I thought it was interesting how Alison and her family call such a morbid place as the funeral home “Fun home” for short. I think this contrast between the outward name of a place and the actual place is a major theme throughout the book. For example, the Bechdel family seems to be a typical family of five living in a beautifully renovated house. However, underneath this façade of contentedness lies a variety of tensions; Alison struggles to understand her father and her own masculine side throughout the book, while her father fights an internal battle against his sexual identity, eventually resulting in a suicide.