Lit. Comics - Emory Widman

While Waking life may not have been a comic or graphic novel this was certainly a movie that had stuck with me when we had watched part of it so I ended up watching this on my own time and let me say that I was not disappointed. This movie has so much to offer, I was blown away by some of the animation, however, that actually takes a back seat in my eyes for the writing is what truly got me hooked on this movie, every second of this movie you are just waiting to hear what they'll say next, it's profoundly dream-like and every second of it is a new experience.

The Fifth Beatle was a rich captivating story which covered the incredible life of Brian Epstein-manager for the Beatles. The story is filled with rich story telling devices, utilizes its comic aspects, and encapsulates much of what a graphic novel should be. Before reading this story I had no idea who Brian Epstein was however afterwards I had found new respect for the man and cherished the legacy he left behind. In combination with having excellent art the novel has also got great design as well. This was definitely a novel I'd recommend to others and may even read again in the future

Question 1.)  I was quite please with what I have just read, it is a powerful story with insightful writing, The Killing Joke is widely regarded as one of the best Batman stories to date especially within the comic community. I believe that The Killing Joke is one of the reasons we really have the Joker we have today, a fully three dimensional character that is truly scary at times. Having read this before I was able to pick up on things that I had not noticed the first time particularly within the art. I would say for certain that this is a great comic to read and will continue to be praised as one of the greatest Batman comics. Question 2.)  Within this story I really connected to the idea that both the hero and villain are still in the end just fallible people as much as anyone else and can die just like anyone else too. The Joker and Batman are almost like a really bad marriage they loath each other yet neither one seems to budge one way or another, typically when two forces mee

The Fountain has had some of the most interesting and beautiful art in any comic I have seen in some time recently, Kent Williams employs very similar artistic embellishment as to Gustav Klimt. Kent starkly contrasts very simple designs against elegantly detailed watercolors. The story is surreal and non-linear, which is to be expected from the director of 'Mother!' Alice in Sunderland Alice in Sunderland is a very strange comic which uses multiple methods of storytelling sometimes with panels, sometimes without, almost collage-like arrays of imagery strewn across the page with reckless abandon to give to more context into what the narrator is talking about, the story covers a huge spread of subjects from dinosaurs to doctor who. There is very little telling what this story is entirely about, but one thing's for certain it sure as hell feels like the chaos and mayhem of wonderland. 'Why I hate Saturn' seems to assume the reader knows about the beatnik generatio

What can one say about Maus? It truly is a masterpiece in the world of graphic novels, it depicts the characters in a very real and natural way with believable dialogue (probably due to the fact that much of it is actual dialogue) as covered in the narrative. I was almost unable to put this piece down from start to finish, while it may cover very serious subject matter and devastating themes it manages to keep things from being too heavy or overbearing emotionally. Throughout the story we get not only the story of Art's family during the holocaust but also we get a sneak peek into his day to day life as well, his personal struggles contrast quite well with the rest of the narrative as well as keeping things grounded in reality. The story's sense of realism is quite amazing considering all the characters are drawn as animals which somewhat detaches the reader from the characters but because they are so well written we are able to still maintain our connection to them. All in a

Contract with God was a wonderful comic which tells the harrowing tale of Frimme Hersh and his contract with God. The story really seems to lend it self well to the artist's style and the atmostphere of the piece feels very personal. Seeing all the cityscapes within the story really reminded me a lot of back when I was living in New York. Frimme Hersh experiences loss quite early on in the story and this makes him quite bitter towards the world and God. As Frimme continues to gain more wealth he continues to stay bitter and cruel to his wife until the inciting incident which sends him to the synagogue to try and write up another contract and as soon as he gets it, he dies. The story continues on to show us the lives that continue on at the very same address, most all of these stories still ending once again in tragedy. This was a wonderful read and the art is astounding with incredible line quality and beautiful inking.