The Bus by Paul Kirchner Review

To start with i loved how surreal and and philosophical this artwork is. I loved how every single comic has a unique and very often humorous, but at the same time thought-provoking storyline. Each story, which is a bus ride in this case is truly an experience. 
I truly enjoyed this comic, it reminded me of the experience when I was in high school and lived in France. I was always taking bus to get to school, and it was taking quite some time. When i was getting bored looking at the sea, i liked to observe different people on the bus, and think about their different and unique stories, it's like a small city in the bus, and sometimes even come up with different what "if" stories. I loved how comic book wshowed real life and how we see same kinds of people, wordless and portly or sometimes just 'weird".But time flows fast, and life goes on, every day is different and maybe something new will happen, even in a most casual and boring place. i think i can relate to this comic in a way sometimes i can look at certain things, no matter how bizarre they can be. Like how in the bus, fire hydrants come alive, buses chose to stray away from the law, the distant horizon might be just an arm's length away and the whole world might just turn out to be a two-dimensional panel messing with our sense of depth. The same can happen in real lif , of course not something that surreal, but we might look at something from a different perspective, or thing about something differently, and with time as we learn we undesrtand that it is something different from what we have though previously, we thought it was important but now it is not. I think i liked it, because in some way it teaches that time past fast and knowledge will come with time.

Wonder Woman Spirit of Truth Review

The story was very compelling and thoughful. However, the art stand out the most.

The art is exceptional, every page is truly a masterpiece with ashtonishing rendering. The pages are done in a very realistic and fashionable manner that are truly eye-catching. every art offers details the common comic book would miss, which makes the scenes seem all the more possible in a real-world setting. Therefore, it feels more as a part of something that can potentially happen. Instead of being somehting that was just made up. 


To be honest, I am not the big fan of super heroes comics, but wonder women feels different. I like how she on some sort of journey of finding who she really is. It is fascinating how she has  a crisis of faith as she struggles to discover the truth behind who she is, what she represents, and the true nature of her mission. And i think thats to something that lots of people can relate, because very often we dont know what do, or how to react and we might feel like we dont know outselves and maybe thats why Wonder Woman stands out from other superhero comic books.

Assessment

What is your reaction to the text you just read?

Watchman written by Alan Moore is fascinating piece of very artistic graphical novel. I wouldn't say that i enjoy it a lot but there is definitely something fascinating about it that makes me want to read more.  There are lots of going on in Watchman it has the level of complexity that not every comic book has. There  are lots of symbolism and elements that  can be related to everyone life on different levels. I love how the comic discovers and reflecting the complexity of human emotions and relationships. I think it is fascinating how unique this comic book is. Considering that i was written in the 80s during cold war and   it's story reflected contemporary anxieties and satirize the superhero concept in one way or another. Which to me, feels very unconventional. I think the concept of the super-hero is dissected as the heroes are stalked by an unknown assassin and one hero dies and the overall story of  super heroes reunion to prevent their own destruction makes shatters the image of support heroes being always right, over powered and saving everyone. And thats why i think Watchman is a great comic book, but i don't necessarily admire reading it.

What changes would you make to adapt this to another media?

Since i am in Game Art, i would loved to take take the Watchman into games, however there would be quite a bit of tiny clean ups to be made for the story in order to match the gameplay better and have more interest for the player. To start with, i think there should be more about the death of one of the heroes, that will not only help to established the story better for the game, but also will make the player more connected to the character itself and will feel the reason and meaning to fight.

Stereotype in Comics, Animation and Gaming Narrative

What is your opinion about the use of stereotype in comics, animation and gaming narrative? Is stereotyping ultimately a necessary strategy in character design and representation?  Do you think you have personally been affected by stereotypical representations?

For me, stereotypes in comics are very succesful tool and very often the best way to tell the story, but it has to be used with caution and only in very specific moments. Furthermore, every human is different and we act different in various situations, however it is not that obvious as in comics, animation or gaming narrative. It is obvious that the publisher or artists will want to exadurate some parts of the characters to make it more appealing and easier to understand, in addition to make it stand out more.I think steryotypes is a necessary strategy in character design, because the reader will have a faster connection with a character, which is in my opinion important. Also, it is the way it will be in real life, because very often people can stand out a lot that some people might call steryotypes but it is just a reality.I have been affected by stereotypical representations and character design, because very often Eastern European characters are shown the same, even though there are huge cultural difference between nations there and all of them shoudl have very strong, rough accents. However, i didnt get offended by it or anything, because while it might be steryotipical it is in some way true for the times it was written and if it suits the story, there is no reason why i should be offended in any way. I might still not like the way it is shown but i think it is still fine to use steryotypes for comics, animation and gaming narratives.

Art Spiegelman's Complete Maus Review

To start with, this is not a graphical novel but a work of memoir and history. The linework is not that great, looks a little bit messy, but somehow, I feel it's more powerful and more distressed compare to conventional graphical novels. I think that unique linework in someway creates the experience, not just a "read" or amusement that most comics are for. Thats why i think it is really powerful story that i have experienced and i liked it.

This graphical memoir is Sterling Example of a book that upended all expectections about what comic book can do and how it can change the medium forever. It shows how the story can be rendered with powerful emotions and even though characters wear the heads of mice, cats, dogs and pigs the characters are still all recognized and reletable to humam , and clearly depics how they want to survive in the cluster of chao, war and terror.

This is very reletable story for me and touches me on the personal level, because my entire nation for the past centuries has been affected by terror, even thought it wasnt the holocaust. There are many other hostorical event and genocides that killed millions and when i was younger i have heard those stories from my grand-grandparents. And how they are the only child in the family that survived that horror and terror, having 5 to 8 siblings and losing them all. I know it wasn't just about wipeout a nation, it was about humiliating and causing despair first, and then death.

Buddha by Tezuka Osamu Review

Buddha is the last epic comic work by Tezuka Osamu. The story is about a spirutual journey that the young prince of Siddhartha takes and how he becomes Gautama Buddha in ancient India. It is a narrative of the entire life of Siddartha. The story of multiple kingdoms and generations of characters, and long term effects that cascade unpredicte, higlighting the interconnectedness of life. Characters, go through the number of ups and downs, some of them die, emphazing impermanance. it shows how the caste system can be the cause of all the tragedies in some way. Because it might be unfait to someone and people want to get redemption. 
Overall, I truly enjoyed the story that Osamu depicted. For me, it is a story of self-redemption, rebirth of someone hopeless. I cant relate it much to myself but this comic is something that i will have to go back, after many years, because i think i will have different kind of feelings and thoughts about this masterpiece. However, i can say that i love how the author depicted that even smaller actions have to be done with caution and mind, it might feel like something not important but it can cascade into something greater, and thats what i can relate a lot.

Underground comics. Fabulous Furry Freak Brother: "The Idiots abroad"

I liked underground comics. Where  the overall theme of the comics centers around humor, with characters usually portrayed in a variety of social statuses, professions and time periods, ranging from beggars and office workers to actors and ancient warriors, which allows for a wide variety of scenarios to explore.

I had lots of personal connections with "Freak borthers" because i am travelling a lot and thats what i have been doing all my life, and there are lots of situations that did happened in real life that are the same as in the comic, that people might found offensive and not right, but they do happen in real life. I think overall i liked Undergroudn comics genre, because it is about the world is and it has more realistic connections on personal level, compare to other comics.