Week 15

Original:
I read a majority of Little Nemo in Slumberland, not just the Palace of Ice. In the beginning I found myself reading word for word and then scanning over the page again to look at the images. After a while I began to just look at the images and quickly scan the word bubbles. The imagery flowed so well that my mind was able to create its own dialogue to match the imagery based on the past pages. Nemo would go to bed and be asked to hurry to the Palace because the princess was crying and needed to see him, only to get scared by something and get into some trouble ultimately calling to his parents where he'd wake up to himself fallen out of bed and one of his parents/grandparents scolding him for eating something before bed that resulted in the dream.

Revised:

I read a majority of Little Nemo in Slumberland, not just the Palace of Ice. In the beginning I found myself reading word for word and then scanning over the page again to look at the images. Because each story was similar in the way it started and ended, after a while I began to just look at the images and quickly scan the word bubbles until I was able to get the heart of that particular story where different characters and dialogues were introduced. The imagery was so soft and had almost a fairytale feel, it flowed so well that my mind was able to create its own dialogue where the parts seemed similar to previous pages. It was comical in the beginning where Little Nemo would get into trouble for screaming in the night for help and the family saying they wouldn't him certain things to avoid these dreams instead of really listening. Little Nemo would go to bed and be asked to hurry to the Palace because the princess was crying and needed to see him, only to get scared by something and get into some trouble ultimately calling to his parents where he'd wake up to himself fallen out of bed. To see this as a film would be amazing especially when he's in Slumberland. I can imagine the highly detailed castle and all the animations moving around in a soft and light fashion that you too would feel as if your dreaming. But instead of Little Nemo waking up every time, it would be more of an adventure like Alice in Wonderland. 3D aspects would make even more epic and exciting.

Week 14

I grew up reading Johnen Vazquez's work such as Squee and Fillerbunny. So i was excited to be able to read another piece of Johnen's craziness. Johnen has such a unique style that speaks to most kids in their awkward teenage years, although JTHM  isn't something really suitable for the age, its a very funny read. From his  rampages on seemingly innocent people to his extreme facial expressions that people grasp onto to add to their own funny meme's or short comics in todays age. The graphic style is very well done here, it can be busy in a frame but not overwhelming to the eyes which makes the story move, especially since it involves no color. The number one detail that impresses me the most is the blood splattering, its sharp black dead space is so intentionally detailed in a way to represent blood its impossible to mistake it for something else. A very easy read and humorous break from all the serious comics was a relief.

Week 13

I chose to read Watchmen, having seen the movie first I knew the storyline and the characters. So it was interesting to see the similarities between the comic and film. A lot of the camera angles were dramatized in the film compared to the comic which already had pretty dramatic angles to convey space and height. It was fun to read the parts that weren't involved in the film for time reasons. I really enjoyed reading the comic, Finally being able to read the original format which the story was written made me love the film even more but also gave me a huge appreciation for the comic in itself, since there is so much to it in the details that animators took their time to really nail down certain aspects of it, considering my major is motion design I look for those pieces of eye candy which get me all excited and happy. From my viewpoint, when i think of comics this is the traditional style I think of when comics are mentioned. The story has a classic flow, from a sudden opening into softer but intense moments that would lead you deep into the heart of story, before you realizing your halfway through the story and hours have past because your so immersed into the story as if you were actually there with the characters. The extreme graphic lighting and shading to define the contouring of people's faces and bodies to the background elements. Strong and very masculine characters no matter the gender, because in our eyes here in America, we are the land of strong and our depictions of who we see as heroes are tall, fit and incredibly strong. This comic is definitely something everyone should read, the emotional flow of the story is probably the strongest part that drives this and grabs onto every last person that reads it because it has a mix of history and science fiction and fantasy, whether the reader enjoys it or not it grabs you and drags you right into the story without your realization.

Week 12

This week I chose to read Britten and Brulightly by Hannah Berry. Drawn to it's beautiful use of line work, I dove in extremely excited only to be terrorized by the tiniest of scribbly writings as text. It works well with the artwork but does not work for this reader, I personally avoid cursive writing like its the plague, but i digress. I really felt the imagery spoke on a filmic sense, I could hear the words being spoken by a narrator in a soft but deep voice, while rain lightly padded the ground of this muted color world. It reminds me of Casablanca meets an old detective movie, considering its about a detective. The story moves rather quick, with poetic narration and simplistic wording. There were instances in this very serious story where little funny moments happened, like when the woman says"fucking weather", something we say on a regular basis since the weather here in Sarasota can change on the flip of a dime, or  the man points a gun at Britten about feeding the cat. Because the artwork is so highly detailed, I would have loved to see this turned into a film or animation, either being a silent movie with only dramatic and subtle sounds clips or even just a soft narration but no actual character speaking. I fully enjoyed this piece, It was so serene and peaceful in sense that it flowed very naturally.

Week 11

Going further into the class, the readings are becoming longer and longer. Choosing to read Alice in Sunderland became quite the task, it had so much text to read that was extremely small for the panels themesleves. That being said, what drew me in at first was the two pages with some quick pencil drawings, like a storyboard. And the fact the white rabbit appears in the third page, bringing those that know the story of Alice in Wonderland deeper into reading. With it's dialogue introducing classical stories and people and/ or character references created this whirlwind of information which to some, can confuse and disorient the reader. The imagery is what really drives a story, the chosen style in which to illustrate was beautifully realistic in a sense and the moment s were so graceful it was easily to under the movements and see them as if a film were playing before my eyes, although in these pages it was extremely difficult to focus on something for so long without straining my eyes. Each panel was filled with such immense detail that i had to pull my eyes away before finishing a panel only to feel the same way every next panel. So much was happening I could hardly keep up with the pacing without losing interest.

week 10

I read Osamu Tezuka's Budda Volume 1. The story was written very dramatically, but it was written so that each new detail to the story brought the reader deeper in. There was several story lines that intertwined with each other, never really meeting but always showing some kind of connection between them. The character designs are very simplistic and easily readable especially their expressions which drive the emotion of the piece. The backgrounds were sometimes a little overbearing with the details, especially when the speed lines were added ontop when the running scenes happened.
Knowing the story had a more cultural start in india, it didn't come across in the actual story which could be a good thing or bad thing depending how you view the situation. I thought the cultural background gave it substance but didn't necessarily drive the story, it was kind of like readable candy. Little details that just added extra flavor to really set the stage and drive the story forward. Overall a fun read, wordy but fun.

Promethea

1.Are there any prominent symbols? It so what are they and how are they used?
2. Discuss elements of the story you were able to connect with.
3.What changes would you make to adapt this story into another medium? What medium would you use? What changes would you make?

While reading Promethea a few prominent symbols occurred. One was the golden sun shield that appeared on most pages when Promethea was around in ancient times, which then fast forwards to modern times the sun becomes less detailed as if trying to simplify itself for the weaker minded modern world.

The main character depicts an average college student wanting to get a paper done for class, which by far is the most normal thing anyone can relate too. The comic its self is a heroine type story, rather then a male stereotype, which grabs the female audiences attention even more so then other comics. The way the language is written for the comic is interpreted easily into modern times, theres nothing crazy or obscure in the way the characters speak to each other making it very easy to lose one's self in the comic. Basing a story off of real world mysteries is a very easy way to grab attention, and the fact that the story starts with Egyptian era aesthetics and builds a myth off of it, has already won my attention.

If the comic were turned into film, I would either dive right into the beginning in rush to build the audiences anticipation or give then more history of why this horrible death had to happen. For the viewers sake I'd have to simplify the amount of camera shots so the viewer doesn't have a seizure while watching. And although the sun is prominent on every page of the comic, the easiest way to keep it in the picture is to sneak the images onto buildings tattoos or other areas that it could be drawn or carved into. The modern age where the story begins would have to be modified to what our current designs are for the futurisic world. Alien based ships for police is a bit concerning. And some of the darker scenes i would use a heavier low light to really give depth and use the contrast to build on the confusion and tension in the moment. The images are full of exciting camera angles that most the work is done for the director.