The EC comic I focused on this week was Cowboy Western. These comics were very focused on masculinity and violence, the stereotypes of the Wild West. Filled with violence, we see multiple storylines in which each main character is either a criminal, or someone chasing criminals. I assume these comics would appeal primarily to pre-teen boys, as westerns were a popular TV genre at the time, and reinforced their toxic views of what it is to be "masculine". The main characters were all white men, all killed without remorse, and their only real flaws were that they were so masculine, it scared the background characters. That said, they never stayed in one place long, and rarely had a sidekick. These comics could be improved through allowing the male characters to exhibit emotions aside from anger and lust, which in turn would flesh them out more and probably would have increased sales. It is no secret that real cowboys were often black or Native American, and often times gay. While obviously EC would never release a comic with characters like this at the time, I believe if they were to come back and produce Cowboy Western comics again, they could greatly benefit from diversity.

While I haven't read Stand Still, Stay Silent, I have read the previous comic the author worked on, A Redtail's Dream. Like the former comic, A Redtail's Dream is about Nordic myths and legends. Puppyfox, a young fox god, accidentally freezes time in a small Nordic town while his family is in a meeting with the other gods. He employs a teenage boy and his pet dog to fix his mistakes by traveling through alternate dimensions and seeking the help of various gods and goddesses. Puppyfox is eventually found out by his parents, who turn him mortal temporarily to allow the boy and his dog to hunt him down and shoot him with an arrow, before bringing him back and grounding him. This webcomic greatly inspired me to begin creating digital art, and I highly recommend it.

I read Black Panther for Reconsidering the Superhero. What intrigues me about T'challa more than the other Marvel superheroes is that being the Black Panther is a position in Wakanda, not something that he was born with. He inherited the position from his late father, and his powers come from the ancestors of Wakanda. He is intrinsically connected with his land and people, and is given his powers to protect them. Someone like Hulk or Thor was simply born with or imbued on accident with superpowers, and, while they protect their homes, they didn't do anything to earn their powers or have any reason other than the fact they aren't immoral keep them from doing good instead of harm.

I read Fun Home for Women's Comics. It was certainly interesting, and used a limited palette of black, white, and blue. The title in particular felt very clever, as it's ironic considering the author's harsh home life, and the fact it was meant to be "funeral home" shortened, tying in with how her father both worked for a funeral home and committed suicide. I thought the way it followed the both the author and her father's struggles with their homosexuality was very touching, especially as it showed one side of her father pushing it away, and herself trying to embrace it. You can see both ends of the spectrum, and can't help but wonder what her father would have been like had he let himself be who he is.

I read Asterios Polyp, which immediately grabbed my attention for its limited palette and the fact that it is told from the perspective of the main character's stillborn twin. I enjoyed the slice of life feel to the story, as well as the expression of abstract ideas through its unique art style. While the main character has a quite average life, the story is never boring. I thought the metaphorical symbols were interesting, and wish more stories would push the visuals and storytelling aspects into weird territory.

I read Tezuka's Unico, which I have read in the past multiple times. Unico follows a young unicorn who is cursed to be alone, and whenever he makes friends, he finds himself quickly whisked away by the West Wind and his memories erased. I think these stories can resonate especially with children suffering depression and loneliness. They see Unico do all he can do be kind and loving, but can never stay for long with those who love him. On the other hand, when given love, Unico can transform into a full grown unicorn with wings, and gains strong magical abilities. This sends the message that through love and teamwork, children can be strong and protect their loved ones.

What is your reaction to the text you just read?

A bit murky at times in terms of making out what was going on, but overall well written. Batman and the Joker are portrayed in a very human light, and the audience is made to understand, but not sympathize, with the Joker’s actions. His memories of his failing career as a comedian, tied with losing his wife and unborn child, are juxtaposed with his heinous treatment in the present.

What connections did you make with the story that you read? Discuss the elements of the work with which you were able to connect.

While I understood the Joker’s feelings of being fed up with society and wanting to strike back, I emphasized more with Batman in that understanding that even when the universe does you dirty, you have no right to lash out and hurt others. It is better to try and heal from your past than let resentment and hatred fester. This is the key difference between the Joker and Batman.

What changes would you make to adapt this story into another medium? What medium would you use? What changes would you make?

The most logical course of action would be to adapt the story into an animated TV episode or animated movie. Assuming we would go with an episode, some elements, such as the pictures of Barbara naked and the Commissioner naked/in leather lingerie would need to be censored in order to actually be aired, as adult cartoons typically still have to be PG-13. The violence may also need to be dialed back a smidge, but not as much as the nudity.

For Wide World of Comics I read Asterix the Gaul. While I didn't particularly enjoy the writing, I can appreciate that it clearly inspired a lot of modern comics in both humor and art style. The writing and art styles work well to tell the story. I did find enjoyment in this series purely because I am interested in the Gauls and the Romans, and this story, while bending history here and there, does have many good historical references to Roman control over the Gauls.

I believe stereotyping is always negative, whether it's meant that way or not, because it is impossible to paint a whole group of people with one brush. If the audience cannot tell a character is black without giving them huge pink lips, or gay without giving them a "feminine" speech pattern, then the artists and writers have failed at character creation. It is much better to create a character, especially if you are not of that group, by building who they are and their purpose to the story up first and then assigning them to groups of people. I do believe, however, it is perfectly fine to paint Nazis and the KKK and other groups who exist solely out of hatred with the same brush, as they don't deserve to be shown as people outside of their affiliations unless it's to make a point about how anyone could secretly be a scumbag.

Stereotypical representations have definitely affected me, especially when I was a kid. The biggest one that comes to mind is how little girls are presented, especially in toy commercials. Pink and sparkly princess toys felt constantly shoved down my throat, and things I was actually interested in, like catching bugs and playing with plastic dinosaurs, were "for boys." I think a lot of girls can relate to having an intense hatred for all things pink as children out of sheer rebellion for it being so heavily associated with us. I've definitely noticed, as I have younger sisters, that commercials targeting kids have changed to be more gender neutral, but there is still no lack of sparkly pink toys being targeted solely at girls.

The first time I read Maus was in my freshman year of high school in English class, and I remember feeling for the first time the true horror of the Holocaust. Of course, I had always known it was horrific, but this biographical account, compiled with the striking visuals, made it hit me hard. Speigelman may use cute animals in place of humans, but does not soften the depictions of torture and killings. It is a relief to cut back to modern scenes of Speigelman and his father, as a reminder that they did make it out of the concentration camps and live peacefully, though haunted by the past. Speigelman's decision to tell the story in his father's exact words, rather than reword it, lets us see the real struggle faced by his father to recount the story, often trying to avoid getting to the grittiness of his trauma.

Underground Comics paved the way for comics to be taken more seriously, as well as diversify in the content and characters presented. It is clear that the cartoonists are not your average cishet white male creators, as seen in the vast diversity presented in them. Zap in particular had a certain dry humor to it that, while I personally did not find it funny, can appreciate the meaning it must have held for the readers at their height. We see struggles with sexuality, misogyny, racism, and other issues that the comic code forbade being present. I did find that the stories were often text heavy, and occasionally fell back on the very stereotypes they were trying to combat, Zap especially. Comics written by those who found themselves further outside of societal norm were more appealing to me.

I believe Will Eisner and Craig Thompson both capture a wide array of emotion in their works, despite the stark differences in the amount of detail they put into their characters. Eisner works in a highly detailed style, while Thompson's is more reminiscent of Nancy. However, they both do a great job of telling the reader everything they need to know through expression and body language, even when there is a lack of text. They both allow the reader to connect with the main characters, and feel what they're feeling. I found Thompson's work even easier to relate to than Eisner's, particularly because of the plainness to his character designs.

The EC comic I focused on this week was Cowboy Western. These comics were very focused on masculinity and violence, the stereotypes of the Wild West. Filled with violence, we see multiple storylines in which each main character is either a criminal, or someone chasing criminals. I assume these comics would appeal primarily to pre-teen boys, as westerns were a popular TV genre at the time, and reinforced their toxic views of what it is to be "masculine". The main characters were all white men, all killed without remorse, and their only real flaws were that they were so masculine, it scared the background characters. That said, they never stayed in one place long, and rarely had a sidekick.

The primary comic I focused on was Windsor McCay's Little Nemo in Slumberland, whose visuals piqued my interests particularly. The whimsical, yet realistic, approach to the illustration truly makes Slumberland's setting feel believable. This strip is written serially rather than episodically, which I believe aids in the appeal of Little Nemo. I feel if it were episodic, it would be harder to understand Slumberland, while serially Nemo can walk us through the settings and explore.

Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics makes the brilliant choice to explain his ideas about how to read and analyze comics by putting the information in comic form. His explanation of the divide between conceptual and sensual worlds, and how comics can bridge that through illustration, stuck out to me. The form of the comic strip allows reality to be bent to tell it's narrative.

The Arrival, by Shaun Tan, tells it's story without words through it's strong visuals. The sheer expressiveness captured through his illustration tells a story of immigration and feelings of being out of place. The mixture of realism and surrealism creates stunning imagery and truly allows the reader to connect with the main character's discomfort with this strange new culture.

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