Literature of Comics and the Graphic Novel

I chose this comic to read because I was immediately attracted to the art. I know you aren't supposed to judge a book by its cover, but I couldn't help myself. The art is bright, fun, and quite unlike any other comic I have seen.  This is a deeply rich comic strip in large part because it feels so genuine. You have to wonder how many of these stories are torn from Simon Hanselmann’s personal life. In this volume Megg deals with some very serious depression and her relationship with Mogg is pushed to the edge.  There isn’t anything else like this series on the stands, which makes this a comic to definitely check out. It’s dirty, with lots of drug, sex and adult themes. It’s also incredibly funny, but at the same time hits at a serious core I think many can relate to. Using a werewolf, a talking owl, a witch, and a talking cat, Hanselmann has created a world we can relate to without any judgment.  There is real insight into human nature, social norms, depression, and identity.

Reading this was a wonderful start to a series with a well loved character. It was nice to see a kind of hero/villain story that was not all about the world ending or alien invasions, but more about real every day people, something everyone can relate to. It showed that even superpowered heroes have to struggle with the everyday problems.  The story is refreshing take on how She-Hulk’s lawyer life is and the lengths she will go to use her lawyer skills to help her clients and not just smash and punch everything (well sort of.)  I chose this story because my favorite series is the Avengers, and I was hoping to see some of the characters in this as well. I was anything but disappointed.  Charles Soule gives a charming and empowering read on how She-Hulk takes on a seemingly losing case against Tony Stark and the funny obstacles along the way.  There was no need for  overwhelming  action as just the story alone was the right amount of charm, humor, and wit to keep anyone interested even i

My first thought while reading this particular story was "What the heck am I reading?' This was one of the strangest books I have ever attempted to read. If you prefer books that are linear (most reasonable people) then this is definitely not the one for you. However, if you can get past the time jumping and the all around nonsense that is Alice in Sunderland you'd be able to see that it is indeed somewhat fascinating. I did not like this graphic novel the first time I tried to read it, which is why I am glad I read through it a few times. The second time around I took my time and did not try to rush myself. I enjoyed it a lot more when I really gave myself time to absorb everything that was going on. There is one thing about this book that is a little bit sketchy that I was not quite sure about, even the second time. And that is that at the beginning of the book you have Bryan Talbot, the author, talking to several different versions of himself which are all interacting w

Astro Boy is one of the oldest manga in existence. It was the first TV anime ever which was also directed by Osamu Tezuka. Tezuka also drew the manga and is considered the godfather of all manga and anime. Astro Boy is the manga that made him famous. It is a children's manga about a robot boy who has special powers. What I like about this manga in particular is that it manages to be a fun and easy story for kids while also clearly having all of these relatively heavy-handed socio-political messages in it. I think what I find most interesting about this comic is its use of violence.  There is a lot of violence in Astro Boy in terms of robots breaking apart and destroying each other. And what is interesting about this is that it obviously got past censorship because they were robots; you never see a human die, it is always the robots destroying each other. Yet, the main themes of these stories are so extremely pro-robot. It is always about how humans are the bad guys and that robots

When you approach this series, you should forget any and all pre-conceived ideas you may have of what to expect from a western. Though the United States may be the founders of every typical western, these comics were written by the French.  The main reason why this collection has to be treated as a masterpiece is because of the equal degree of masterful treatment in which the script and the art worked together.  The incredibly engaging scripts that Jean Charlier writes has so many layers and an amazing amount of depth. It creates such a rich tapestry of personalities that they could be considered wonderful adventure books on their own. The amount of research done by  Charlier and Moebius   is more than clear.  The towns are full of mud, and dirt, and smoke. The people are dirty and dusty. The saddle looks at times like works of art. The native americans wear different paints depending on the tribe they belong to, and the mood they are in.   I f you don’t want to read it for the amazing

Reading My Friend Dahmer was very insightful. This comic has a lot to say about how if we don't put an end to some things such as bullying and similar issues, we could create the next Dahmer. Jeffrey Dahmer dealt with a lot of horrible thoughts and Beckderf, being a journalist, was meant to tell this story and to create this piece of literature. In terms of a general read, it is actually a really good comic/graphic novel. It may be almost morose to say given its contents, however it is well-written, told in sort of a snappy, event-driven style that fills in between the major lengthy events. Such as when a student fell at school and the maniacal laughter that Backderf remembers Dahmer having, and then going on to talk about how they would after find out this is one of the things that Jeffrey Dahmer had said about a certain person. As Berckderf points out, Dahmer gave a lot of interviews which was very unusual for any type of psychopath or serial killer. This makes the novel all the