Bone

Bone by Jeff Smith is debatably the best comic I have ever read.  Not only is it a fun, gripping, read I also love the art.  I finished the entire series and found nothing about it that I did not like.  It was a perfect mix of funny and serious.  The art was really good (which is usually all I care about) but in this graphic novel I enjoyed the story so much that even if the art was not as good I would have liked it.  I was pretty surprised how intense the story got.  It started off so fun and happy and then went dark and serious very quick.  I highly suggest everyone to read this graphic novel.  Everything about it is amazing.  The character's develop along with the story so well.  I recommend reading everything in the series because it only gets better as it goes and you discover more about the plot.  Bone is a truly amazing piece of literature.

White Ninja!!!!!

I read White Ninja for my online comic.  Online comics are a very interesting format and I do think they are the future but I really did not enjoy this web comic much at all.  The humor was immature adult humor and was only meant to try and induce a quick laugh on the reader.  I found a few of them to be moderately funny but nothing really struck me as laugh out loud funny.  Mainly I feel this is caused by a lack of ability to connect to the reader.  Most fun successful comic strips are based upon the artists personal experiences.  This really helps the reader connect to the story and it makes the antics that take place way more funny because they can connect to it.  White Ninja was crude and boring.  The art was very weak and unimpressive.  I think White Ninja does have potential as it did make me laugh but it really needs a lot of work.  The author / artist should really make it more personal instead of just throwing in a stupid crude punch line.  Definitely not a huge fan of White Ninja.

Batman Arkham Asylum

Dave Mckean is awesome!  That is all there is to say.  Batman Arkham Asylum was incredible.  It was so creepy and mildly disturbing at times but wow, what a true psychological thriller.  There was really very little to actually do with Batman.  Mainly it was all about the mind and the development of a historical, integral part of Batman lore.   Mckean was a perfect choice as the artist for this as well.  The entire story had an almost dream like state to it and Mckean's use of rough paint and collage really fit well into it.  There was very little action that took place in the book but it was so psychologically interesting and so creepy it kept me glued to the pages.  It's one of the best comics I've ever read.  It makes you think about all kinds of things that a person normally wouldn't want to think about like what makes us sane and what are our personal motives in life and what we do and think is right.  I loved this graphic novel.

Sweets: A New Orleans Crime Story

Sweets: A New Orleans Crime Story by Kody Chamberlain was a riveting mystery.  I actually hadn't read a mystery graphic novel before this one and was skeptical about how the graphic novel format would suit a real mystery.  I enjoyed it well enough.  I've never been a huge fan of mysteries so I'm a bit biased but overall I found it to be a fun read.  The art was good enough as well.  I don't have to much to say about this comic besides the fact that it was a fun enough and mysterious story with good art.  Just not a huge fan of mysteries but that is just a personal preference.

Chris Ware's Jimmy Corrigan, The Smartest Kid On Earth

Chris Ware's Jimmy Corrigan, The Smartest Kid On Earth was a quite interesting take on the layout and use of the graphic novel story format.  I chose this book based solely upon it's cover.  I know you are not supposed to judge a book by it's cover but this cover was just too neat.  It had to be an interesting graphic novel just based upon it's shape and cover design nothing bad could start off so interestingly.  I was not wrong.  The story was great.  My heart felt for each of the characters and I stressed when they did.  This I feel is a sign that a graphic novel has success.  The drawings and colors of the comic are beautiful as well which keeps you engrossed in the story and makes you slow down while you read.  The layout throughout the comic reflected that of the cover.  Everything about this comic was a unique fun read and the attachment the reader feels for the characters really makes this an extremely successful graphic novel. 

Blacksad

Blacksad was one of the most visually pleasing and stimulating comics I have ever read. Not only was it done in watercolor which is already ridiculous the standard to which they rendered every panel was mind blowing. The attention to detail and the simplicity of the panel layout made this graphic novel a very fast read. Most people discount anything that smells of even the slightest amount of furry culture. Although this comic could be put into that category it really breaks the stereotype of anything furry (talking, walking, animal) related being automatically lame. Every page was packed with dynamic action and powerful character design. It's impossible not to think this comic is awesome. The story is a riveting mystery which keeps the reader on his toes. I can't wait to get a hold of volume two and finish the series. The care the artist took with this graphic novel is really a feat in and of itself. I was reading an article about the making of the graphic novel and it said that if the artist made even the slightest screw up on the page (yes they did every panel on the same sheet) they would scrap the page and start again. This comic is a gorgeous riveting read that everyone should experience.

Mermaid Forest

I started Mermaid Forest thinking it would be a fun up beat Manga with pretty mermaids and fun and games, like the content of most mermaid stories that you associate with young people.  As I read more of Mermaid Forest I found out just how wrong I was.  This Manga is extremely creepy and has an odd undertone that made me slightly uncomfortable.  The idea of the pursuit for everlasting health is a cliché idea that has been passed down from myth to myth for ages.  The thing I liked about Mermaid Forest was how interesting a take they developed upon that common myth.  To gain everlasting health one has to eat the flesh of a mermaid.  This might sound easy but it is absolutely not.  Only a small majority people manage to survive the toxins in the mermaid’s skin and obtain their goal of everlasting youth.  Most people either die, become “Lost Souls” , or become terrible fish monsters.  This Manga was a fun read but very strange at the same time.  Manga reads very quickly with a lot of fun action sequences.  Didn’t take long to finish this one but I’m still formulating my opinion as to whether I would recommend it to people.  

The Jew of New York

The Jew of New York was a fun read.  Being Jewish and having some experience dealing with the stereotypes that go along with following that religion, I found this graphic novel to be a fun take on those clichés.  So many Jewish stereotypes exist in America and around the world and over the years of being affected and included within these ideas I have grown to find them quite funny.  For some reason I find the nonsensical nature of the character traits that go along with the Jewish religion so outrageous it just makes me crack up.  This caused me to have a lot of fun with The Jew of New York.  Every time a new generalization came up I laughed.  Most of the time when I read comics I pick a comic based on my mood.   A lot of the time I just like to sit and read comical graphic novels.  So The Jew of New York, whether meant to be funny or not, fit right into that mood.   The interesting look into cultural generalizations and America’s values made The Jew of New York easy to read, not just on a fun “oh I can’t wait for the next action sequence” level, but on a deep almost philosophical level. 

Maus

Maus must be considered one of the most powerful comics ever written. Art Spiegelman's portrayal of his father's story was truly a masterful work of art. Spiegelman seems to put a lot of personal experiences into his work. This is part of the reason why I believe it was such a successful and truly popular graphic narrative. The story is based on Art Spiegelman's attempt to unravel the history of his parent's struggles through the holocaust. It seems like Art Spiegelman throws his heart into Maus which I feel makes it much more relatable to everyone who reads it. That's the best thing about Maus everyone seems to be able to relate to it in some way or another. I felt a strong connection to the characters within the pages of the comic and I believe everyone who reads it does as well. Even though the book revolves around anthropomorphic animals it is still a very personal read, and besides, who doesn't love cute animals. This story was downright depressing at times and at the same time, very uplifting. Since none of the characters in the book are actually human I believe it makes it easier to feel for them. A reader does not have to think about what type of person they are. In Maus they would only look into the human like characteristics and personality traits that make the characters so relatable to us.

As a Jew this story really hit home with me. I could really understand everything that was being said and the pain that Art Spiegelman's parents must have went through. I grew up knowing a married couple of holocaust survivors. I've seen their pain first hand that still sticks with them 50 to 60 years later. Knowing this couple and having them as a very prominent and important part of my childhood this made the feelings in Maus that much more believable. The strained father son relationship was also very believable to me because with the survivors I knew they were going through a very similar situation with their son. I believe that their pain must have just been so immense it must have been hard to bring yourself close to anyone. I don't think these people could handle any more pain in there lifetime. Having this situation engrained in my head helped me feel a very personal connection to Maus.

Maus is one of the greatest and most groundbreaking graphic novels ever written. It was pretty much flawless. I find many things about other graphic narratives to have problems. To put it bluntly I'm a picky reader but I felt such a strong personal connection to Art Spiegelman's story that it was hard to not be amazed by it.     

Underground Comics

I found Underground comics to be a little bit to over the top.  They were raunchy and frankly very gross.  The art was to gritty and gave me a slight uncomfortable feeling.  I can understand that they were an important step in comics but they are just not for me.     I’m not really sure who their target audience was.  Was it considered the porn of the time or was it just to make people feel uncomfortable?  Maybe some people like feeling uncomfortable from comics.  It would be a little like enjoying getting scared at a horror movie.  But some of these comics were just to out there even for me.  Granted they were an interesting experience to read.  I feel that a lot of drugs were involved in the writing of these.  My problem is that once you get over the shock value of the comics what else is there to read in them.  They were all very much the same story over and over again so I just don’t see a very endearing story keeping anyone interested after they are used to the gratuitous violence and graphic sex scenes and they have lost their zest.  Not too sure what I think about these comics.  They were fun to got though for a while but after about an hour of reading the same stories over and over again they got very boring.  

Eisner

Will Eisner hands down revolutionized the comics industry and how they are thought about today.  He strongly stressed the attitude that comics should be thought of as a form of art and not just a tool for cheap entertainment.  His drawing style is amazing.  It is hands down some of the best art for a comic I have seen.  It gets the point that it is trying to make across so easily and his characters are so expressive.  A Contract with God was a great story.  I loved how expressive the characters were.  It made them very easy to relate to.  With this story I feel that he was pushing the boundary of what a comic is and really made it into a piece of literature.  With this story he really successfully created the genre of the graphic novel.  There is definitely a reason why The Eisner Award is the biggest award in comics.  He really revolutionized the Graphic Novel industry and helped it reach the heights that it was at today.  In contract with God the characters were so relatable.  It had me tied down on an emotional level.  The continuous story line (unlike that of the previous weeks comic strip assignment) kept me locked into my seat reading this wonderful piece of literature.  I enjoyed Eisner an lot.  

The Comic Book

Tintin in Tibet was an enjoyable comic.  I really liked being able to get more into what most people think of as the “traditional” comic genre.  Herge did a good job developing the character Tintin and it really is considered a classic.  I remember when I was younger all my friends were very into reading about Tintin.  I’m glad I finally had a chance to read it.  The characters were very funny as well.  I really had fun reading the parts with the angry sailor character.  He truly had a mouth of a sailor.  The humor in this story is particularly great.  The story did get a tiny bit slow in a few parts but overall it was a fast entertaining read.  One thing I really found impressive about Herge’s story was how truly developed the characters seemed to be.  Everyone had strong personality traits and different dynamic ways of acting to different situations.  Tibet was also a good environment for an adventure to take place, very exotic.  I mean who wouldn’t be interested in Tibet?  Oh I would love to see a comic take place in Cincinnati……….. wrong!  Tibet was a great and gripping place for Tin Tin’s adventure.