Author Archives: cmccarri

Respondent : Joys of black and white

While reading the first readers view of characters and choice of color (or lack there of) of Maus, I could not help but agree with most of the aspects of their view/opinion. It is very true that if color had been chosen to be placed within this graphic novel, it would take from the overall story line of this amazing artistic novel. From every different choice of line there is another reason for its use and purpose. Many times we can see within the first book of Maus a great deal of cross hatching and marking within a page, it creates a great sense of frenzy and almost panic within the artwork, and as the first reader said the use of black and white to create a “black and white” scenario  also adds to this panic. Most people when reading a comic gravitate towards the boldest sections of color, or the set with the greatest amount of motion. Within Maus we are left with only our eyes searching the page for darker areas, usually displaying the most emotion within the panels.

As for the choice to use animals, I agree as well. The beauty of a graphic novel is that even in truth, it can be a work of fiction. The use of animals gives a big of ease to the reader without taking away from the real life story and struggles of the characters.

Deconstruction and Realization of The SuperHero

http://www.unm.edu/~ithomson/Hero.pdf

The university of New Mexico had this really awesome PDF file of a short article written about Watchmen and the superheroes within it. It displays the de-familiarization of the normal superhero in our eyes and shows how Watchmen in a way made superheroes not only slightly more popular but also more uncanny and real version of these superheroes. The article hits on points of the deconstruction of the “normal superhero” but also the unhappy realization of fantasy and and fantasy characters.

one of the best points of the articles is that the philosophy of “idea is destroyed by its own realization” can be shown in the superhero, and the realization of the superheroes in Watchmen where “the hero is destroyed by the superhero, who is more heroic than any hero, but whose extreme heroics are no longer recognizable as heroics ” which all in all is the basic concept of Watchmen.