Author: travisrainey

The New Medium – Travis

I have to admit that the majority of my experiences with only comics have come in the variety of Japanese manga; that said, I was glad to at least be familiar with the presentation of this new medium.  Unfortunately, like Phineas, Shooting War was simply way to complicated in it’s delivery for me to completely appreciate the text. I don’t personally have own a laptop newer than 2002 so I had to borrow one of my peer’s laptop’s when I discovered the obvious problems with this micro (or was it macro…) media flash player.  What can I say, I don’t do the online thing much…Even with the borrowed, new, seemingly top-of-the-line laptop, I still had issues with the difficulty of fluidity as each page had to load and I would sometimes lose the ability to view the next page with some sort of error message.  I received the error messages so much it forced me to “put the book down” and occupy my time elsewhere, something that doesn’t happen with texts. Bayou was better, but not my much.

Still, I love the concept of Shooting War; the title is ALMOST ideal.  “Shooting” introducing the idea that the camera is the weapon in the “war”, exchanging film for bullets.  Not a new idea, but nicely represented in the title.  The camera’s lack of bullets instead uses the lens to provide the focus for the subjectivity of the narration, which forces a lovable appreciation of the “battery life”, “password…login…” type realism that the comic maintains.  It helps to remind the reader that the camera is still rolling, and it is providing for your viewing pleasure. There are a number of more things to be said on this comic, of which I will reserve for class but I will conclude that I wish the title were “Shooting Life”. It would have moved up two notches in my book.

Sometimes a movie…-Travis

I must say I found something in common with both novels at my completion; I was shocked that they were completed so early.  In complete agreement with Jared, I truly felt that the graphic novel of Waltz with Bashir was a meager attempt to place in literature something that was better served on screen.  I am very appreciative of the quality of the artwork and the was incredibly distraught when i discovered that the quality of each page was so fine that I was leaving finger prints on each amazing image.  The illustrations are clearly of a literal effect, almost an exact cartoonic re-crafting of the real world, unlike Asterios Polyp which enlisted very simplistic lines for effects.

The plot was simple enough, and there seems to be no end to the discourse of unreliable memory, but it was truly the “Waltz with Bashir” that officially left me in the text.  The waltz amidst the gunfire seemed to portray an incredibly dramatic scene the likes of which I really felt like I needed some background music, popcorn, and a more comfortable seat to appreciate.  I understand that there were other dynamic scenes in the work (like the sniper-work on the beach) but the entire piece seemed to culminate at that one moment to attain the most “drama”, as if time were at a stand still so that Frenkel could complete his waltz amidst a world that I thought would be focusing on the action across town.  I guess pictures just didn’t do it for me.

I actually did like the novel, short as it was.  I was more fixed on the quality of the pictures than of the story or characters, but who can argue against me there?  With such a short story and no great amount of character development, it is difficult to have much more with which to bargain.  I am looking forward to seeing more movies created with this animated appeal as I’m also tired of disney and pixar look to animation (although the movies are commonly funny).

A Politic of Anger? – Travis

I must be missing something here, it appears that I just completed a text in which the protagonist appeared essentially useless. While I did not like Omar, I must say that there were a number of themes in Santiago’s work whose sheer resonance with society today cannot be ignored.  I think class discussion will probably torch the topic of female portrayals so I would like to start with one of my favorites, anger.

I’m sure it’s just me, but there seemed to be a bit of a political statement with regard to Omar’s anger in In My Darkest Hour.  We’re presented with a character, who as far as I can see, has only seen the external depths of abuse, which is to say that outside of abuse, I really couldn’t see a legitimate reason for Omar to carry so much anger.  His critical eye is quick to point out the negative in life (well, his life at least) but I struggle to see where Omar seeks the harmony of balancing forces, other than in women, Lucinda included.  Omar’s anger comes with an a priori touch, almost as if it is a product of man’s inevitable engagement with nature and the world around him.  I’d say it’s just the unstability of Omar, except Santiago does so much to create an ugly world that is easy to find displeasing (the shadowy feel of the black coloring, the unpleasant merging of different text fonts and sizes, the turbulent and sometimes undecipherable panels etc…).  

Is this the answer?  IMDH struck me with an agenda to inform me of the state of modern youth in transition in relation to the world today, and the agenda came with anger.  It seems to me that Santiago’s contemporary piece presents a message that “life today comes with many negatives and that anger will be all around us in our engagement with life.  The anger will be so present that it is almost as though the anger is a character in itself.  You’re only claim for sanity is to negotiate life spending a majority of your conscious efforts suppressing the anger that the is naturally inside due to living in this nasty ugly world.”  I’m not psychic, but I swear I heard Santiago whispering this to me throughout my three takes with the text.  Please, no one call a doctor, I am fine.  No mental or medical attention required over here, it’s my mind’s reflexive engagement with IMDH.

Ignazio – Travis

Amidst the beautiful images, grandiose metaphors, exquisite story, and full characters, Asterios Polyp quietly, ever-so quietly tosses out a small theme that I would like to shine some light on.  The Shadow. The Doppelganger.

Asterios Polyp calls upon a wide breadth of characters to portray a fair story chronicling a slice in the life of the protagonist, however, the protagonist is not the narrator.  Mazzucchelli presents the discourse through the unseeing (in a literal sense) of Asterios’ identical twin.  This is no small decision.  Identical twins have often been the subject of discussions; if not for medical purposes and case studies, certainly for the cultural, religious, academic, philosophical, and any other themes that I may have missed.  Historic cultural folklore and belief of some civilizations regarded twins as heavenly dieties, or appalling devilry.  Greek Mythology often placed a dualistic nature upon twins; not-so-much in the light for good and evil, but more upon the fixtures for balance and harmony.  Regard Apollo and Artemis, twins in the order of Zeus: Apollo for the sun, Artemis for the moon.  Simply put, greek mythology rarely places a twins into a strict dichotomy, but there is something to be said for the balance of Asterios and Ignazio.

In our first encounter with Ignazio, Asterios appears to be upon the Greek Parthenon (or ruins of something similar), clearly flashing the heavy greek theme the book will illustrate.  Without hesitation or doubt, Asterios calls to Ignazio by name.  Pretty good recognition for an individual he has never met; then again, Asterios is dreaming, and this is his twin.  Mazzucchelli presents a discourse with a narrator of perfect proportions; who better to tell the story of Asterios than a character he can instantly recall in his sleep.  Who could do better justice than his twin.  However, here, Ignazio appears to be on a bed-of-passing, Asterios towering above him in visitation.  

Our next “Ignazio visitation” is quite charming, clearly he’s been resuscitated but through Asterios; here, they are at the same point in life.  We fully observe the difference in the eyes between Asterios and Ignazio here; Asterios has the simple pupil while it is Ignazio who retains the incut, unrevealing eye that Asterios normally maintains (outside of his dreams).  Mazzucchelli illustrates Asterios’ non-revealing eyes when he is with Hana; with these eyes Asterios has the ability to be worldy intelligent, controlling, and self-absorbantly cocky.  In fact, throughout Polyp, we observe Ignazio steal away the life of Asterios, until the moment Asterios fights to take his life back.

Ignazio is more than just the narrator: he is more than the still-born twin, more than a replication of Asterios in his dreams.  Ignazio is, in fact, presented to be the doppelganger of Asterios.  Ignazio is the blindness of achievement to the truths of true success.  Ignazio is the voice of philosophy to Asterios’ will of creation.  Ignazio, he IS the life of Asterios.

The Unexplainable…details in Fun Home-Travis

           Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home pays extraordinary attention to detail; of course the details of the work come from a heavy slant given the material is shaped in a memoir, but the details are the creation.  From illustrations to texts, the smallest details set the novel apart from the previously read works.

          Observe the artistic portrayal of her father, a man who, from the very first page is presented in a light somewhat, different from those we’ve seen thus far.  The material is black and white, like Nat Turner but Bechdel ensures there is no confusion in the artistry, no haziness in the lines, no ambiguity of the body.  With a series of lines, Fun Home pays utmost attention to body hair, facial expression, lighting, clothing features, etc.  the shading of the first page and the faded gaze of her father on the first page tells the reader to prepare for bare, open account.  If there were any questions to the detail, observing her father’s cut-off shorts with the horizontal lines helps hint at Bechdel’s desire to share an open account.  The numerous pages where the vertical lines to form his hairy legs or arms and chest hair do fair justice to constantly remind the reader that her father was a hairy man.  Looking at the detail of Camus on page 48, one observes a remarkable detail to the accuracy of the picture.  I’m not saying that every work until Bechdel has failed to portray the minute details in the illustrations, just that Bechdel’s seem somehow…different.  I can’t explain it.

            There is also her language; I cannot remember the last time I spoke the word “flesh” in my mind (which is to say, I read the word “flesh”).  In fact, she uses the word “flesh” more often than I believe i’ve ever read; I seem to even recall the phrase “fleshy meat thing” somewhere in the text but upon a quick search, I can’t seem to find the phrase.  Bechdel doesn’t hold any phrases from the reader; when was the last time a reader encountered a text with a father telling his daughter “tough titty.”  These words are not new to me, nor is the phrase; however, Bechdel’s liberal use of such phrases and terminology struck me as quite fresh.  

            I can’t explain my experience with Fun Home.  I can’t explain how words and themes and phrases and artistry not new to me, struck me as somehow…fresh.  I can honestly say, Fun Home was quite the bit of freshness I have been looking for, and so glad to have found.

I was warned…JC would only fall apart on me-Travis

I should have heeded professor Sample’s words; everything I needed to know about Jimmy Corrigan I learned last week when I was informed the book would only literally fall apart in my hands.  Now, here I am: a paperback edition in shambles, my mind in shambles from a story constructed of incoherent shambles and characters that were shambles.  In fact, I’m still trying to pull something of Jimmy Corrigan that was worthy of my time, if for nothing else to illustrate the fact that some author’s only desire to confuse the reader.

Jimmy Corrigan begins as a novel confined in a black page with sparse dots throughout the page and flows to a page with the earth and Jimmy’s house.  I understand the zooming effect, however, it was lost upon me when I had to turn the book sideways to make out the three pictures adjacent to the house.  The novel was riddled with this torturous format that made me want to toss it out of the establishment window.  To add confusion to JC, the NUMEROUS frames that came interspersed on some of the pages also confused me as I could not gather a flow of reading.  Oft times I feel that I engaged the frames out of order as I did not know if I should have been going from upper-left to upper-right and then come down a level, or go from upper-left, straight down and then pan over.  The flow seemed to call for change every time, I can only praise Ware (or perhaps the editor but most likely Ware) for inserting convenient arrows from time to time to provide me some direction but I was already too frustrated at this point.

Jimmy’s ability to transfer between time and space only confused me as I needed a defined frame of reference.  I could not with any great degree of confidence determine what was a dream (Did Jimmy’s dad die?  Was any of it real?) or what was real, nor could I place any solid characteristics to any of the characters.   I read a blog that gave out quite a bit of the mother’s characteristics but I have to wonder, where did the blogger get these ideas of the mother’s character.  I certainly don’t believe we encounter enough of her to make such accusations other than she was a woman that liked to (or at least wanted to) talk to her son.  It was just too loose for me…all of it was just too loose…

A Fresh Perspective Please – Travis

 

I have to admit, I was not looking forward to reading this novel from the moment I saw it on the syllabus and the completion of the task did not alleviate any expected feelings or thoughts.  I guess I agree with Kacy in my inability to share Kyle’s enthusiasm with the material, most probably because I heard the story (and many many like it) growing up all my childhood and then learned of the events (albeit from a more academic slant) in school.  Much like Maus, having a fair amount of knowledge on the history of Nat Turner, I found myself looking for a fresh perspective to the account, something to provide a different interpretation of the tragic events; in this, Kyle Baker failed me.

Graphic Novel indeed.  Baker’s use of images to depict the story was perhaps the only thing fresh to me, however, I have seen my fair share of slave images.  It makes me wonder as to the intended audience of Nat Turner, and the intended reception/experience of the reader. I am far from numb to the history of slavery, but did Kyle Baker truly use a book laden with images to create a greater response than words?  I am so thankful that I purchased a used book in which someone wrote down the notes of the pages from the back on the pages to describe the action depicted in the images; I found myself spending more time than intended trying to decipher a large number of the images and some of them were simply too confusing in artwork for me to grasp. 

I don’t think anyone can call Nat Turner a superhero (seriously…it makes me laugh), or a hero in my opinion. Of course, that’s just my humble opinion; I merely mentioned the name to my Uncle Sunday evening and he looks up from his work to ask, “The Civil Rights Leader?”  I could only laugh.  I don’t think anyone would read Kyle Baker’s Nat Turner and feel they were engaged with the story of a Civil Rights Leader, but, like all things, you could call it a matter of perspective.  Nat Turner was violent; so were the actions of the rebellion.  Nat Turner attempted to depict the horrors of slavery; I can’t think of a collegiate audience foreign to it’s knowledge.  I just could not find a fresh perspective from Nat Turner, and this created a large abyss in my ability to appreciate the work.

The Story of Art – Travis

I have to say, Maus II was certainly better than the first, however, it had nothing to do with Auschwitz.  I really appreciated Spiegelman’s integrations of the real world, into Maus II.  To be honest, before I even finished with Maus I, I was already tired of hearing of the Holocaust.  What can I say?  Maus I provided no real new information to me; I needed something fresh.  Aside from the comical pictures of mice (which only lasted for about 10 pages and then I hardly noticed), Maus I struggled to keep my attention.  Then comes Maus II…different, and I will even venture to say, Better.

Maus II provided a fair depiction of our protagonists, and I a breath of fresh air from the camps of Auschwitz.  I needed it.  It had nothing to do with the content of the camp; as i’ve stated, I believe the Holocaust / Auschwitz story has been worked into the fabric of history so much so that i’m often amazed when people say that the Holocaust was the worst genocide ever, as if they forgot we lost over 4 times as many blacks in slavery.  No, the content received a fair distribution but I loved the view into Spiegelman’s world.  I appreciate the numerous pages of dialogue with him and his wife, and I was thrilled to see that we could take enough breaks from Auschwitz to see what was actually on Art’s mind. Not Vladek’s.  

I think it’s important to note that as much as we may forget (in a stretched way of seeing it) Art is a survivor of the Holocaust.  The events that shaped his mother and father (aside from their union) are a direct input and result into the initial fabric of Art’s character and either through acceptance, or in his case, rejection, I really wanted to see how he dealt with the events.  I loved the images of Art growing smaller and smaller and smaller, and to read the comments: beautiful!  I loved dialogue between Art and the psychiatrist, without it, (unless the reader did some character background) the reader may have never known of Art’s psychiatrist and that he was also a Holocaust survivor.

We are all survivor’s of something, and for the fortunate souls, I would like to hope that they are simply survivor’s of life, as that is a great leap as it is.  However, I can still remember when my great-grandmother used to always say that my cousins and I were survivors of slavery, and I did not understand.  My grand-parents and parents survived segregation and worlds of other hindrances that I hardly call myself a survivor of, but knowledge is passed down.  I learned from my parents, who learned from their experiences and their parents, who learned from their experiences and their parents, and I can’t help but notice that quite a few of my decisions (based on the knowledge of my parents) are directly related to their experiences.  Of course, like Art, I find myself rejecting a lot of my great-grandparents’s and parents’s views on things, but I am so glad he afforded us the opportunity to see that side of him.  His story.

The Mistaken Value of Mice – Travis Rainey

Art Spiegelman’s work, the reader witnesses the highs and the lows of humanity through the substitution of mice.  Clever idea, and the arousal of humor with such a serious subject is quite interesting, but through all the themes, both artistic and those of character and plot development, I must take much grief from a subject under the surface. 

It appears to me that Spiegelman creates a world of “mistaken treasures”, that is to say where the characters mistakenly place their trust or value with the incorrect people or items; namely, this is a constant problem between Vladek and his son.  It shocks me that Vladek’s son can respond so violently objective in the face of his father at the conclusion of the story.  Vladek is a true Holocaust survivor; Artie can never know the exact pains and adjustments Vladek’s lifestyle required for survival but he (Vladek’s son) is so focused on obtaining raw and balanced material for his book that he is willing to sacrifice his father’s balance of grief with the past.  It makes me wonder if Artie is even (or when was he) concerned for his father’s emotional well-being; his continued digging for his mother’s diary was as annoying as watching the paparazzi hound a celebrity for invasive content. 

Yes his father destroyed a piece of organic history, it was part of his grieving process. Would Artie have preferred he destroyed himself? I have a tough time reading or appreciating material speaking to the Holocaust as I was flooded with the content growing up (I think most of us have received quite a bit of knowledge of it’s events) so I can’t see how Artie can feel that his book was going to be “so” revolutionary.  To the same token, Vladek fails to emotionally or comprehensively understand the world around him. It ALL seems to come to money. Granted, this may have been the trading point for life in the ghettos but as Mala even states, “she” had seen the same ghettos and did not place all her value in the material aspects of wealth.  Vladek’s son is attempting to connect with him on a historic basis and his actions point him where…in the direction of the bank.  Artie has a great idea, Vladek should “enjoy his savings while he still can” but he is so used to saving and placing his value in the concept of saving (never spending…) that it simply cannot happen.

The Matter of Consistency

Neil Gaiman’s Sandman brings to light a great comic hero from the depths of our minds. The Sandman comes with unique artistry, personification, and the stuff that to make dreams come true. Unfortunately, Neil Gaiman did not come with consistency, as “Dream Country” and “Preludes and Nocturnes” could not be further from each other. Fortunately, “Preludes and Nocturnes” portrayed such a beautiful, epic story that I maintain a hope for the remaining volumes.
“Preludes and Nocturnes” displays focus, solidarity, and an open-ended yet finite conclusion to a singular story. Although volume one contains numerous chapters, each chapter serves in the progression of the Sandman’s story. This singular progression is vital to maintaining the reader’s steady attention which is necessary to ensure the reader interprets and steady, methodical, and intelligent hero.
Gaiman’s “Dream Country” all but shatters this form; volume three contains four chapters, each of which maintains an independent relation from the next. This is not to say that the chapters are without purpose; each chapter illustrates pieces of the Sandman’s character and moral fiber which assist in the understanding of the Sandman’s character. However, I did not feel any great revelations in the Sandman’s character which were not obtained in volume one. The Sandman’s assistance with John Constantine showed us his kindness, which was further supported in Calliope’s story. The only knowledge newly revealed was another name “Oneiros” and the knowledge of a deceased son. We also learned that the Sandman is a great leader and shepherd, and he is very fond of his fairy tales. But the independence of each story prohibited the feel of a true drive in the work, leaving me with no sense of purpose, no fair desire for knowledge of the coming chapter.
Gaiman’s first volume shines above to provide the reader with a full purpose, a drive to engage our intrigue. Perhaps the only consistency Gaiman affords us, comes in the finality with Death. Death is at the conclusion of each volume, almost as the summation of our new-found knowledge and the instrument for which we learn a little life’s lesson.

All on Faith??? by Travis Rainey

In one of the best novel introductory quotes of all time (in my opinion at least) Alan Moore places before the reader, almost all of the great themes of the Watchmen. Great disclosure of Rorschach’s mind informs us of the state of the union, no, the world. Most importantly, we learn more about the stories characters, masked or of the masses, in these two sentences: “The accumulated filth of all their sex and murder will foam up about their waists and all the whores and politicians will look up and shout ‘save us!’…and I’ll look down and whisper ‘no.” Rorschach assumes he (or the superheroes) is the subject to which the masses are calling. I don’t believe anyone can state that his assumption is unsubstantiated, however, it raises the question, “Where is religion and faith in the masses”?

Also alarming, is Rorschach’s response, although his actions leave questions to any truth behind his words. A world surrounded in choice (as we all have the choice for good and evil), I found it most amazing that even the most powerful of characters, when provided the opportunity to stop the actions of evil, chose inaction. The inaction or wrong actions of so many characters, primarily the masses, whose “filthy” actions allowed America to slip into such a “gutter” have got to be the greatest crime. Can’t blame Veidt. Can’t hate the Comedian. Forget about Rorschach. To me, the masses culminated to the greatest character, interestingly personified by Seymour at the conclusion. I wonder if he has religion…
Mr. Hollis Mason, in his excerpts from “Under the Hood” often spoke of “the moral instruction”; he states he received it from his grandfather and that it was a leading foundation to become the Nite Owl.  However, I must wonder, where did this “moral instruction” come from? Alan Moore created a world full of real, down-to-earth, societal and sociological issues but how did he forget religion? Religion, the subject of so may wars (probably the most), discords, battles, skirmishes, debates, and pure disagreements; I find it hard to believe that Alan simply “forgot” the theology of the world. No…no; it was intentional.

First, I suppose religion may have provided an easy “out” for quite a few of the social problems. In a simple line from Dan to Laurie (for I believe she needed the most psychological assistance), “Why don’t we go to church and pray on it.” Of course, there are no guarantees religion could provide assistance, moreover, we have to assume Alan would have used religion to further disrupt the masses although I like to think (and I feel others may too) religion often consoles humanity especially in the face of fears and pain we cannot fully understand or bear.   In thought, the purely chaotic world is one of infinite religion, or none at all. I believe this world was the goal; a world full of “The American Dream” where greed, money, and worldly desires are the substantiated goals and religion free falls to the sidewalk.