Little Nemo and Krazy Kat!

Winsor McCay's comic, Little Nemo, can be interpreted in many ways. One interpretation I heard was that Little Nemo's dreams are basic human fears: like not finding your way home and being rejected.

The style is very simple yet it shows a lot of details. The relation between drawings and words are very irregular. It seems that he put the word boxes anywhere he can find extra space. There are many unexpected factors, like how he will wake up and how the issue in his story will end, but it is always expected that he will wake up in the last panel.

I find George Herriman's comic, Krazy Kat, really hard to follow and understand. All the actions seem unexpected. However, at the end of the comic, he seems to be content, as if he realized his purpose throughout the whole crazy tale. The style is pretty sketchy and simple. The panels are very bare as opposed to McCay's. Whereas McCay's speech boxes are fit in any open spot, Herriman's seem to be planned out. They are always moving upwards and are near the top of the panel.

Understanding Comics!

I definitely feel like I understand the concept of comics better after reading Scott McCloud's book. What caught my attention the most in his book is the concept of amplifying through simplifying. A lot of times we think that the most details we add to something, the better it will be. However, when we simplify an image, it becomes clearer and we can relate to it better.

Another interesting topic in his book is his talk about icons. He says that us, humans, are pretty self-centered. We see images of a face (two dots and a line) everywhere. We see them in the front of cars and outlets. We can see a face in any shape that has a circle with a dot (an eye). It is a really interesting idea, because this gives us the power to make a character out of anything! We can easily create a character that people can relate to and has feelings!

Max Ernst Panels!

Panel 1: A strange woman is posing with a rooster standing in front of her. Could she be a witch casting a curse? Maybe on the man that is laying unconscious in the background? Or is the rooster preying on an unsuspecting woman?

Panel2: A woman is lying on a table. Maybe she's about to be examined? Is she dead? A feathered figure is hovering above her. They seem to be in a laboratory.

Panel 3: A woman is in a coffin being put in the ground. Above her and to the left is the same feathered figure, but the feather looks more like a shield being help up by a person. Another strange figure is hovering above her on the right. Like a vampire, maybe she is about to be turned into a chicken.

Panel 4: In a room with statues, a woman lies on the floor. She is either trapped or dead. The mentioned feathered figure is a mix between a human and a rooster. It is communicating with another strange figure. Above them is another woman in a similar position to the one lying on the floor. Is it a sacrifice?

Panel 5: The setting is in a bedroom. The rooster man is either expressing great joy or despair. There are roosters all over the room and a figure (a woman?) lying on the floor with a dark shape around her (blood?). The innocent-looking roosters might have killed the woman. Or she could have committed suicide before turning into a chicken.

Panel 6: In a living room a man (?) is dancing or striking a strange pose, while a woman behind him watches. The rooster man is looking from behind a structure. He could be looking at them with longing. He got his humanity taken away and he wishes he could be like them.

Shaun Tan's The Arrival

In the past, I have not read many comics, much less wordless comics. However, reading The Arrival felt very much like reading a short book. The story was beautifully told using very detailed illustrations. I assume that most of these illustrations are heavily based on reference taken by the artist. The transition between frames is perfectly blended together and creates a story that is easily understood. Using images to tell a story that is based on reality but portrayed in a fictional world is difficult, but Shaun Tan successfully accomplished to display the message of the story clearly. Even during times in the story where he showed memories or stories being told by other minor characters, his purpose was obvious. By changing the hues in the illustrations and the colors of the pages, the reader immediately noticed that something in the story changed and it did not take long before he knew that we were reading into the past. Being introduced to these type of comics has encouraged me to look for more books similar to Shaun Tan's that portray beautiful illustrations and a meaningful story.