Week 7: Maus and Barefoot Gen

This week I had the chance to experience the incredible story of Art Spiegelman's graphic novel, Maus. I also got to revisit a work I was already familiar with, Barefoot Gen by Keiji Nakazawa. It was wonderful to examine these two accounts in the same week, as their narratives played off of each other so perfectly. Despite being tragic beyond belief, I really enjoyed these works. World War II has always been a special interest of mine, and it is very exciting to learn about it through some of my favorite mediums: comics and animation.

After I picked up both volumes of Maus at the library, I sat down and read them in one long sitting. Personally, I've found that holding the physical copies of the works we discuss in class makes the experience more enjoyable and engaging. I planned to read the books over the course of the week, however once I got started I was too engrossed to put them down. Something I really appreciated about Maus was how educational it was. I assumed I understood the basics of how the Holocaust occurred and what exactly went on in the horrible death camps that came to be under the reign of Nazi Germany. However, I actually learned a lot about the importance of social connections, language, work skills, and bartering from this book, something I had never considered as a major element of this event. Art's father had to use all of these at one point or another during the war, and it is obvious that each one saved his life on numerous occasions. I was also really in awe of how many times Vladek came close to death, only to be saved by, in many cases, sheer luck. However, I found it extremely admirable how he used his intelligence to protect himself and his wife all the way from Poland to Auschwitz. I'd call it heroic, and this makes the parts of the story where we see Art and his elderly father all the more melancholy. Knowing that in reality, things were not perfect and happy for Vladek and Anja after the Holocaust is quite sad. This part of the survivor stories is often omitted.

My experience with Barefoot Gen goes all the way back to tenth grade, when I was sixteen. I focused on the cultural impact of the atomic bombs on the Japanese people as the topic of a major research project for my World History class. Part of the assignment involved learning about pieces of media that came from the events we were each given to study. Naturally, a quick internet search lead me straight to Barefoot Gen as the most significant Hiroshima story told through manga and later an animated film. I watched the film on Youtube and honestly had nightmares for a week. I'd never seen images so graphic in animation before. It was especially shocking after the opening scenes with Shinji and Gen running around, laughing and playing. However, ultimately I am very glad to have seen this film when I did, as it made my trip to Hiroshima this summer all the more impactful. Barefoot Gen gave me a context to the A-Bomb that an American history book simply cannot. In Hiroshima I walked through the Peace Memorial Park, where the famous dome roof building has been preserved as it was on the day of the attack. My class and I left a thousand paper cranes that we had made at the memorial, as is tradition for those wanting to honor the site. Honestly, it was one of the most significant experiences of my life. I'd love to go back and visit again some day.

In the end, this was a great week in Lit. of Comics. Getting to read such significant stories through sequential art was extremely special. I really really loved the original translations of I Saw It. I am definitely looking forward to upcoming classes this month, where we'll get into manga, Women in Comics, and other topics that I am very interested in.

Week 6: Underground Comics

Well... If last week was my favorite reading so far in Lit. of Comics, this week may have been my least favorite. The crude nature of underground comics like Mr. Natural was just not my personal cup of tea. Maybe our professor was onto something when he suggested that our generation is more sensitive to adult material like what was featured in Crumb's work, because of how we were brought up. That being said, I do understand and appreciate the historical significance of underground comics as they tied into the counter culture movement of the 1960s and 70s.

Mr. Natural was very bold to say the least. In the few chapters I read, I found that the short stories within would alternate between being relatively tame and turning it up to a ten on the obscenity scale. However, after listening to the class discussion, I began to question whether this was just dirty entertainment, or some kind of social criticism, drawing attention to different forms of abuse in the world through the actions of Mr. Natural. If the latter is true, this comic is actually a lot more thought provoking than I originally assumed.

I really enjoyed learning about how so many of these comics served as a legitimate means for many marginalized groups (women, LGBT, etc.) to share their personal stories. It is always a wonderful thing when people are able to use art to spread awareness about social problems, and help others to see from a different perspective. Even if I did not enjoy Mr. Natural, overall I am really glad we were able to take time to focus on this era of comics in class, as it was clearly once of the most influential on how society.

Week 5: The Graphic Novel

Blankets by Craig Thompson is probably my favorite thing we've read so far in class. I hardly need to say this, but obviously the artwork is stunning. I loved how Thompson used visual motifs like angels and devils throughout the book to tell his story and convey the way in which he looked at nearly everything in a religious context as a teenager. One of my favorite pages features Raina in a simple pajama shirt, glowing like an angel. Whenever the two of them are alone together, there are multiple pages of beautiful spirals, florals, and swirls spilling out from around their figures. Moments like this really pushed how strongly Craig felt about her and captured the joy and wonder of a first romance.

The story itself was also very emotional for me. While Craig certainly did have struggles far more severe than my own, I related to him on many levels. I have a sister who is three years younger than me, just like Phil is to Craig. The scenes in the story where the two brothers played, talked, or fought together really made me feel nostalgic for my childhood with her. I also grew up in a religious household and went to Sunday school and church camp just like Craig. Many elements of these scenes, as well as Craig's inner pondering about God and Heaven were familiar to me. On the other hand, I also formed many connections with Raina. I have also had many times in my life where I felt responsible for keeping the peace at home, so I really admire characters like her.

Overall, I felt like the messages of this story were powerful. In my opinion, the most significant one was that the adult world may not meet the expectations you set for it as a kid. Craig felt like Raina was the love of his life, however he never saw her again after his visit. I sensed that this would be the case in the panels where Raina is saying goodbye. The wind is blowing her hair in front of her face, and I thought "Oh, this is goodbye for real." Its heart wrenching, but we learn that he moves on and is able to look back on their time together fondly. This bittersweet ending left me feeling a number of emotions. I'm so glad that I was given the chance to experience this amazing book.

Week 4: The Comic Book

I can't help but feel a little sad when I think about how I completely missed out on comic books as a child. By the time I was old enough to be consciously consuming media, comics were simply not accessible to me. The cartoons I encountered during my elementary school years were all on television, rather than in print. I wouldn't have even known where to buy one if I'd been interested. I image it must have been very cool for kids in earlier decades to rush to the store and pick up the lasted issue of their favorite superhero comic. The idea seems to have a very classic American feel to it. I'd be curious to know just how mainstream comics were to young people during that era? Was just about everyone reading them? Or where they still somewhat niche?

This week I was very excited to get to look at some real comics. I'd actually never read a literal comic book before. First, I read Donald Duck The Hard Loser by Carl Barks. This was actually a really fun experience! I image it might have been hard for Barks to write so many of these stories while also managing to keep the Donald and his friends so consistently in character with all their other appearances in the Disney universe. However, as I was reading the comic, I could almost see the story as if it were animated, and straight out of a classic Disney cartoon.

I also read some excerpts from EC Comics, like Tales from the Crypt. These were obviously directed towards a more mature audience than Donald Duck (which is not to say adults can't appreciate it, but EC is just clearly not for young children). I found the stories within to be interesting and creepy, and overall very fun to read. I love when art forms that society usually dictate as "for children" are made for people of all ages to appreciate. I wish there were more pieces of work being created with this wider audience in mind today.

Week 3: The Comic Strip

This week I was given the opportunity to revisit my childhood and read a number of strips from Charles Schulz' Peanuts. This really brought me back to a time when my grandmother would cut out and save Peanuts strips from the Sunday paper for my little sister and I. While they were not as exciting as our favorite animated Disney movies, the little comics were just short enough to hold our young attention spans from start to finish. My grandmother, having known Peanuts since the very beginning, was extremely fond of the series. I, on the other hand, while enjoying characters like Snoopy and Woodstock, often found the way in which the main character, Charlie Brown, was treated to be upsetting. It seemed like he could never catch a break from the harsh words and actions of characters like Lucy, even if they were supposed to be "friends." Good grief.

However, when I brought this up in class I was surprised to learn that the author wrote Charlie Brown in an almost autobiographical way. Schulz himself faced a lot of same the social and self-esteem issues as Charlie Brown during his lifetime. With this new perspective, the comic now seems to be playing nicely into a sort of self deprecating sense of humor. Perhaps this is one of the reasons Peanuts is so beloved. Each morning people are able to pick up a paper, read the strip, and give a sympathetic laugh for poor Charlie Brown, all the while thinking 'Yeah, I feel that way too sometimes.' The combination of these mundane life moments that make up the plot of Peanuts as well as the simple, abstract cartoon designs really allow readers to self insert and relate to the comic. And as I learned in last week's Understanding Comics book, that is truly a recipe for success.