Week 14 “The Future of Comics”

The internet has been a revolutionary medium since its birth. Naturally, comics have been extremely affected both good and bad because of it. With the freedom for anyone to upload and create their own comics, individuals now don’t have to fight to get publishers or contracts, they can simply put their stories available for the world to see. The problem? Theres too much noise, how does your webcomic emerge and become different than the hundreths of thousands of others? Even worst, how do you make money out of something that is free? Its tough, and its pros and cons almost balance each other out.

What I particularly like about webcomics is the variety that you can find. Any genre, any adventure, any character, someone out there is creating something related to your interest. I personally really enjoy Tom Bancrofts “Out Numbered” web comics. Tom is a former Disney animator who has 4 daughters and he creates a weekly web comic about his life being outnumbered by the women in his family.

What makes it successful is how personal it is. Its also simple, and effective so he can keep up with 4 panels a week. Being a Disney trained professional also helps with his appealing character designs, story telling poses, and solid draftsmanship. But I do wonder if his comics would be so successful if he already didn’t have a reputation of a former Disney artist. Perhaps, it might be easier to create a well known web comic once you already have a reputation as an artist, and a prebuilt fan base.

Week 13 “Reconsidering the Super Hero”

Alan Moore’s ‘Watchmen’ is the one of the greatest novels ever written. After reading the comics and watching the movie I  was actually extremely pleased with the translation. Usually, the movie absolutely butchers the original story with fancy effects and shitty acting (thank god Michael Bay didn’t make it) 

I found out about ‘Watchmen’ after being obsessed with ‘V for Vendetta’ and searching for more of Mr.Moores creations. I guess I have a thing for dystopian novels in which vigilante heros protect us from the corruption and greed that rules our society. Its nice to have a sense of hope. What struck with me the most with ‘Watchmen’ was the simple idea of “who watches the Watchmen?” it never occurred to me that heros might need saving themselves. I also felt really affected by the overall plot, it made me question what is good and bad? And how can you tell whats right or wrong? I mean, although New York was completely obliterated by an atomic attack, the rest of the world was saved. Is that really bad? Of course it is in the individual sense of loss and families, but in the greater scope of of the world, human history will continue, because some died for the rest.

Week 12 “Comics by Women”

For this week a friend suggested that I read Alison Bechdel’s “Fun Home : A Tragicomic”, coming from a fairly big house hold (5 siblings) she thought I’d get a kick out of it. The comic is really a “tragicomic” like the sub title says. Its really heavy, dealing with complex personal issues, sensations, and personal experiences.  Alison wrote this a personal memoir of her actual experience growing up. Trying to understand her sexuality, gender roles in society and at home, suicide, and the roles of parents in a childs life.

I really like that the manner in which Alison Bechdels dealt with all these internal issues of her youth, was to put them down on paper and create expressive art. Using negative experiences and being able to covnert them into creative energy is a very difficult thing to do. 

Week 11 “Comics as Contemporary Literature”

Asterios Polyp was very different, it was particularly interesting to read because of its amazing use of composition. The shape and size of the panels are used to set a pace depending on the moment or event. Not only is the composition of each illustration effective and creative, the arrangement of the panels within the page themselves is a whole work of art. 

Its awesome how each character has their own individual thought bubble, usually we are limited to one piece of information at a time, or focused on a specific character instead of several. Its important to also note how depending on the personality of the character, their thought bubble differs. For instance, some characters are very flowy, round and loose. While others like, Asterios whos more reserved, uptight, has geometric and organized panels.

Week 10 “Manga”

D R A  G O N   B A L L

Growing up in Colombia, I was fortunate that my uncle purchased some Dragon Ball comics for my older brother. I went to a bilingual school and these were perfect to try to learn English, since I could make out most of the story with the drawings. 

Soon after!  Our local channel ‘Caracol’ purchased some rights for an awesomely Spanish dubbed version of Dragon Ball. It wasn’t long before this was me and my brothers absolutely obsession.

I made a drawing of a normal afternoon at my house growing up.