Like Plants We Grow

Almost every Friday for the four years I was in high school, my father and I would journey to our local Steak n' Shake for dinner. We very much enjoyed these days, and I miss them greatly. However, there was one thing I truly hated at the time, and that was waiting for the food. Oh, that dreadful wait. It felt like trench-warfare, trudging through knee-deep mud and losing strength with every passing moment.

Alas, there was a solution to my plight! Comic strips were that solution, and I read every single one of them, and oddly enough, they were just enough to pass the time. As each occasion passed, I'd grow fond of a certain few strips, such as Pickles, Get Fuzzy, Marmaduke, Family Circus, Curtis, Lio, Rose is Rose, Hagar the Horrible, Luann, and of course, the legendary Peanuts. These are but a few that I remember fondly. And every one echoed back to my inner id and my ascension to adulthood.

Peanuts lent an ear to childhood by personifying its emotions. It showed me the importance of life and all the subtle nuances that turn up. Peanuts reminded me to appreciate those moments, such as Friday evenings as Steak n' Shake.

Luann always made me chuckle by illustrating just how childish and trivial high school can be (and often was). Pickles with its passive and calm essence and art style. Family Circus with its jovial depiction of childhood, especially my own, because I would often interpret things to mean something completely differently, and even if I was wrong, I still liked my meanings more.

Nowadays I'm a cynical, bitter bastard who likes the sting of battle and a riveting plot that seems to go on forever. English comic, 2000 AD sates my appetite quite well with the notorious Judge Dredd, the enigmatic Shakara, and my personal favourite, the blue-skinned Rogue Trooper.

I'm truly privileged to be a part of this ever-expanding world of illustrated narrative, and as tumultuous the industry may be, I would have it no other way.

Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud

Looks like I'll be reading this many times over the course of my life! I've heard of Understanding Comics many times but never thought much of it, probably too busy, or simply forgot. Now that I've had a chance to sit down and read it, I feel enlightened.

Comics are what I want to do, simply put. I enjoy every aspect I know about comics and aspire to learn much more. Since this book is illustrated like a comic, that messages become much clearer in context. It's truly a work of genius.

Some ideas I am familiar with, but am able to look at them in a new or enhanced way, such as simplified images. Logos are simplified images, they are carefully crafted visual representations of a professional service, and we're meant to interpret that service at a glance, which is why the logos are so simple, but after learning that the more simplified an image is the more range it can cover in a worldly sense, I see now that there is much more.

Thank you very much for sharing this with us, it should undoubtably be a required reading for anyone in a media-arts major.

Une Semaine de Bonte by Max Ernst

Scene 1: "What a marvelous creature! How triumphant you are, standing upon your declaration!"

Scene 2: Donning a feathered cloak, the man has assumed his new identity and has come to some sort of     realization...

Scene 3: Having taken his first victim, this sinister figure infiltrates the young girl's funeral to relish in the family's mourning

Scene 4: During an autopsy, the good doctor has revealed a loaf of bread to out feathered protagonist. There may be dire consequences...

Scene 5: His fourth act of evil has been dealt to yet another unfortunate young lady. The scum taunts the fates by shouting to the heavens. His trademark seal, the common rooster, stands ever posthumously amidst the lady's corpse.

Scene 6: The next day our feathered fiend continues his inane dancing. To the common observer, the killer has enchanted a beautiful young lady. Those of us watching, however, that he has merely enraptured his next victim.

The Arrival by Shaun Tan

     Honestly, I didn't think much of the Arrival before reading it, and now that I have there is new-found confidence in my little world. My first semester at Ringling was filled with stress, I truly felt like the "stranger in a strange land." It was more discomfort that I bargained for, but that's the best way to learn. There is no better training than fighting to survive.

     Following our innocent character as he journeys to a distant land to preserve what is most valuable, and all along the way he meets many others with varied backgrounds and tribulations to share. Soon the character realizes that he's not alone in the world, but rather, a part of it.

     This alienation exquisitely illustrates the anxiety and torment the character goes through as he struggles to acclimate himself to a new way of life. However, he soon finds out that he's not lost, and he finds the life he sought. Shaun Tan's use of value, emphasis and emotion reminds us to remember our past but not to dwell on it with sorrow. He shows us in many ways, both grand and subtle, that everyone has a unique tale to tell and that we should be proud to share it.