Author Archives: Ryan Anderson

Respondents-Favorites

So, like others before me, I will elect to do the favorites things. Here it goes, ranked from favorite to least:

1) Watchmen- Had to put this as number one, just a life long favorite of mine. I Just love how it flips our perception of the ‘super hero’ around in a very intelligent and deliberate way.

2) Batman: The Dark Knight Returns- Anything Frank Miller deserves to be near the top of any list. I just loved the brutality this was drawn in and what it brought to the Batman franchise. The story of the aging vigilante battling his inner demons, a sensational use of color, and a splash of Joker = awesome.

3)Jimmy Corrigan: The smartest Kid on Earth- What brought a lot of people to dislike this novel is what made me love it. Sure, it was a tad difficult to read, but for me, being that way made me read this a lot closer and get more out of it. There was such awkwardness and despair in this story and I found it fascinating. Believe it or not, I actually felt a small connection with Jimmy (odd, I know).

4) Uzumaki- I’m not a huge fan of manga, but this story was just chilling. There was tons of symbolism here that made it so much more than just your typical horror novel. Loved the grotesque obsession with spirals, which in turn kind of made me rethink my perception of spirals.

5)Maus- I thought the retelling of this horrific time with mice, cats, pigs and dogs was brilliant and I can understand why this won so much critical acclaim. The theme of family history and trials one much make to keep that together was moving. The simple artwork said a lot without a lot of detail.

6) In My Darkest Hour- Maybe something is wrong with me, but I didn’t find this as disturbing as everyone else thought. I just found the main character and his struggles annoying. I do though, find the artwork stunning.

7)Persepolis- Much like Maus, I though the simplistic artwork/drawing said a lot without extreme mastership/detail. It was really interesting to see a young girl’s journey to adulthood in lieu of a country exploding from within. Not really what I go for in a graphic novel though.

8)Fun Home- I feel like this story got lost in its own narrative. There was just so many references to books I’ve never read that I was thoroughly confused at some parts. After analyzing this front to back for my presentation I quickly got sick of it. Still, the drawing is extremely detailed with little use of color (One of its few attractive qualities)

9) American Born Chinese- Being at the bottom doesn’t make it a terrible graphic novel, it just really wasn’t my thing. I found it boring, too short and sort of childish. There were a few bright spots though, I Liked the bright coloring and thought the main character’s struggle with his own race was interesting. Still, I intend on selling my copy of this somehow.

Response: Strangeness in My Darkest Hour

The book may seem strange in many ways, but to me it’s a complete reflection of how disturbing and dark real life can be. Life isn’t four neatly drawn panels on a page; it’s gritty, raw, and completely disconnected. Santiago did an excellent job displaying that for us here, taking us to the deep recesses of Omar’s thoughts, thoughts that any person could have at any given time. It’s the darkness itself that provides us with an interesting story where, because without it Omar is simply just another uncommitted individual with normal human tendencies. We read this novel because we want to see Omar spiral (no relation to Uzumaki) into oblivion, we want to see him hit rock bottom, because that’s where the drama is and that is what’s entertaining. If this novel had been neatly drawn like American Born Chinese, there would be a completely different opinion on it. But through Santiago’s dark and disturbing style, he provides us with something so much more, because in all honesty not a whole lot happens in terms of actual story. The fact that Santiago blended these dark images with the subliminal enhances its more realistic approach and kept us in reality when at times it seemed we were drifting further and further away from it. It is my opinion that this book is the closest to reality that we’ve read yet and really causes one to reflect on his or her life. Even that alone says a lot about this novel.

Searchers- Interview With Marjane Satrapi

Here is one of the many Marjane Satrapi interviews to be posted. Don’t let the name of the website deter you, this in depth interview gives some great insight into Satrapi’s inspiration and creativity.

http://www.bookslut.com/features/2004_10_003261.php

What I found most interesting is her explanation into her creative process of each book. There are obvious differences between the two, and she really gets down into what sets them apart. Identity plays such a large role in the novel, and having Satrapi provide her intention puts a whole other spin on it. Also, note where she discusses Art Spegelman. Never realized how similar their works are until now.

Jimmy Corrigan First Readers- Ryan

Though it may be a turn in a strange direction in regards to the graphic novel, Jimmy Corrigan uses its unique structure and story to display a awkward tale of and even awkward individual. Some may find its disjointed narrative as confusing and Jimmy’s imagination equally as puzzling, but one thing Jimmy’s disconnect with reality achieves is that it gives us the reader an intimate look into his deepest thoughts. Jimmy is an interesting character, with all sorts of mannerisms and deficiencies and we don’t get very much dialogue from Jimmy, so we must depend mainly on his odd fantasies to get a deeper look into inner thoughts. Take page 30 for example: having never met his father before, he imagines the many possibilities of what he may look like. Not only that, but at the same time he imagines the first awkward words his father would say to him. Leading up to this we are, for the most part, unsure of his feeling towards his father. The only inclination we get are though these strange fantasies. A more eye-opening example comes on page 39 where Jimmy imagines himself walking in on his mother and father having sex. Jimmy’s pent up aggression surfaces when he promptly breaks a glass on his father’s face and proceeds to cut him open with the shards. Again before this, we have no idea he harbors these kinds of feeling towards his father, towards anybody for that matter. These off the wall fantasies provide an in depth look at a complicated and quiet character, and also do wonders for the novel as a whole by making it increasingly odd and entertaining.

Respondents: Time Flies

I completely agree with everyone’s perspective on pages 41-46. Art Spigelman does a fantastic job of creating an intangible world that almost makes such a traumatic experience as the holocaust seem near legendary. It also provides a whole other perspective on how we read MAUS. I know for we, it absolutely made me think of the book in a whole other light, as if I was reading a dark comedy for a few pages. Then afterward, we’re thrown back into the narrative we were accustomed to through reading the first book. Pure brilliance.

First Readers, The Dark Knight Returns- Ryan Anderson

My first reaction from reading the first two books of The Dark Knight Returns is how it really humanizes the Batman persona. This isn’t your fathers squash-buckling Adam West television program and it sure as hell isn’t a terrible Joel Schumacher film. This is brutality at Gotham’s finest; gritty, raw, and wait a second- blood? Frank Miller holds nothing back here, doing well to humanize the concept of the superhero, as well as the world in which that hero occupies. It’s not often we get to see a hero in the twilight of his career, old and graying, and at times, getting his ass kicked. Whether or not you’ve followed the caped crusader through his many debauchery filled outings over the years, this is a depiction mostly unknown to the general public. The old and bitter man, tortured from his turbulent past, still fighting with his inner demons and pissing at the idea of retirement- they’re all such a fascinating elements to incorporate into a comic book (sorry, graphic novel). As the reader we’re made aware of his aching bones, his grizzled and throaty voice; we’re made conscious that believe it or not, the mighty Batman has somewhat lost a step. Take the end of book 2 for example, in which he fights the mutant leader. First of all the dark coloring here is great. The lack of brights really emphasize the grime and violence of the scene has to offer and shows the brutality of what I think is the defining moment for this particular book. But what’s more important here is that we see a Batman who gets bruised and broken, who isn’t easily disposing criminals as he used to. He almost dies in this confrontation, had it not been for the 3rd coming of Robin (or 3rd or 4th?). In a city that nearly implodes without his presence though, Batman soldiers on, risking life and limb for the sake of a little thing called justice. Everything down to Bruce’s inner dialogue, to the transition between gutters, shows the collective effort to portray Batman as the battle tested veteran. This is something Frank Miller and Company do a damn good job doing. They show us a Batman who is human, who struggles with those he has lost and who questions his role in modern society.