The title of the second half of Persepolis is The Story of a Return. This means both a mental and physical journey for Marji as she still tries to understand and comprehend who she is and what she believes in. The return that I want to discuss in this blog entry is the chapter titled “The Return” where after four years of living abroad, Marji returns to her home country of Iran (pg. 92). I think we see Marji grow even more in this particular chapter because she is now looking at her origins through more realistic lenses. Before, in earlier sections, she has a whimsical and innocent view of the politics and current affairs of Iran. Starting the chapter off she says she immediatelythat she senses the “repressive air of her country”.   Marji is no longer the outspoken little girl that dreams she is a prophet. When she finally arrives home she is more reserved and quieter in her approach towards her parents as well as speaking about current topics in Iran. Even the picture panels have changed. The artwork seems to be more dark and somber (more use of black to cover the whole panel). Instead of bold heroes working to bring peace and justice to their country, the buildings/city is desolate, skulls add a feeling of dread and the constant look of shock/horror on Marji’s face prove her country is no longer the same. With all of these changes and additions to the setting, Satrapi makes it evident that Marji is growing up and viewing the world in a different light. On pages 95 and 96 Marji’s character looks very small and appears at the bottom of the panel. This shows that the problems of her country are looming over her and intimidating her. These could also be viewed as the problems of Iran are bigger than Marji can really comprehend. Even the large panel at the bottom of pg. 95 shows how the old country and old ways of thought (in the form of the traditionally dressed woman) hover over her. Through the chapter, Marji and her parents have discussions about the war and oppressive times that they have been suffering in this country while Marji jas been away in Vienna. Even she acknowledges that the country’s problems are bigger than her’s when she says “Next to my father’s distressing report, my Viennese misadventures seemed like little anecdotes of no importance.” She has grown much throughout the book but does a large part of it in her return home to her roots.

Maus was the first graphic novel I have had the pleasure to read (well, that’s not true there was a western comic that belonged to my uncle when he was a child, but I digress). I have a certain fondness for the story, maybe because I am a World War II junkie or that my family is Russian/Polish and was affected by the war, or possibly just because it was merely entertaining to read. I don’t know but the fact that I get to do a brief analysis of it now brings a smile to my face.

Since the first two novels that we have gone through thus far in the course have been tales of action heroes with fantastic sketching, intricate story lines, and posses great explanatory words like “Poom!”, “Bamm!”, “Fap!” and “Ktang!”. I would have to say that one of the best parts is the amazing color. It brings vivid and bold new life to the 2-D world that we enter as readers. It shows emotion, depth and takes the audience into the world of the story. Maus is very different. The novel is completely based in black and white with subtle shades of grey shading. Tick bold en like strokes replace the thin, delicate, quick lines of the superhero comics. No color is used to help bring the story to life. This books relies mostly on the story itself to help the reader along. The dull hues add to the somber and morose topic of the Holocaust. Being black and white also adds to the realness of the story. There is no sugar coating or bold colors to entrance one’s mind. They are the cold hard “black & white facts” of the world’s history. If Spiegelman had decided to make his masterpiece in color, I doubt it would have had the same effect. Maybe that can be contested seeing as how the protagonists are Mice, the Nazis are Cats and the Polish are Pigs. This is the only fantasy that Art added to his artwork.

Another interesting idea about the fact that this comic is fully black & white is the way it plays with the characters on the page. Because Spiegelman has chosen animals as his characters, they now lack the distinguishing features that humans have that make each one of us unique individuals. This makes the reader more aware of who the speaker in each frame is and what exactly they are doing. If the speaker is put into a large group of his/her peers in a drawing, the animal is now lost in the crowd. This is clever for a couple of reasons. Spiegelman is making sure that the reader is coherent and absorbing his story as well as representing each culture. The only thing that makes them different is the clothing that they wear. All the Jew’s look the same, all the Nazis look alike and yes, the same goes for the Pols. Even the males and the the females have the same physical characteristics, proving that we really are the same and no one is better than another.

I have to say I was glad to find a topic that was not about Chapter 7 or Laurie. I think that even though we constantly read about The Comedian and his history, we don’t really grasp him until Chapter 9. Along with what Jessie said, the pin is a large part of who The Comedian is. But the ironic part is that even though this is a “smiley face” and his name is The Comedian, neither actually go along with a happy or jovial personality. In fact, Edward Blake (his real name) is actually a dark and troubled soul. As stated in the original posting he is ” a power-hungry, forced-based individual with little qualms doing things that make him seem far more like a super villain than a hero”.  The true Edward Blake is revealed when he is introduced to his daughter, Laurie. He even seems to show some form of a soul when he comments about her beauty. He constantly tries to connect with her but is always thwarted. The reader even begins to feel bad for him when his daughter publicly humiliates him and is totally oblivious to who he is in her life. But it is hard to fully forgive him for the wrongs he has done in the past. Unfortunately, his bad deeds seem to outnumber the good. Edward or The Comedian is a complicated individual who is totally. The reasons behind his inner anger and vengeance are never completely divulged, but I’m guessing, that would be a whole different comic book by itself!