The Graphic Novel

In class this semester we have focused a lot on various film adaptations. Of the adaptation we actually watched, Watchmen and Ghost World, it became clear to me that much of the graphic novel is lost in translation. This is not to say that I did not enjoy them or that they did not have any value. I just feel that some of the most interesting things about the comics were lost or edited out in the movies. In my opinion the form and use of symmetry was by far the most fascinating and meaningful element within Watchmen. These elements were not really included or stressed in the movie the way they were in the novel. In Ghost World the random cast of characters and the apparent lack of a storyline – the series of random conversations and events, as well as the idea of nostalgia are all kind of muted in the movie. There is much more of a focus on outside characters, less nostalgia, and a much more distinct storyline.

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What is with the cover of Asterios Polyp? I know we finished this book in class a while ago but the cover flap, or dust jacket, or whatever it is called, remains a constant annoyance in my life. I much prefer the book with the dust jacket removed so you can see the dual “before and after” Asterios engraved on the back and front covers. Without the dust jacket you can also see the line of symmetry dividing the book into its purple side and cardboard side further reflecting the theme of duality it the novel.

Cut uneven and about a half inch too short on the top and bottom, the dust jacket is just annoying and impractical. It constantly bugs me, it gave me a paper cut once, and frankly it’s called a dust jacket and it really doesn’t protect the book from dust because it is too short. So why did they make it that way?

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At the beginning of this semester I can remember opening my box of books from Amazon and flipping through the pages of all the graphic novels for this class. Each novel had its own distinct style and each excited and interested me in it own way, except for Exit Wounds. I didn’t spend much time flipping through it. I didn’t really consider or think of it much until we read it. With its muted colors, thick lines, and the black dotted eyes of the characters it seemed perfectly average and not very exciting. Strangely I didn’t even think of it having a style until Professor Whalen mentioned the constants weight of the black lines and what that created. After that I began to consider more the style of Exit Wounds and how it fit with the story.

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When I look at the world around me I am generally hard pressed to find purple. Not that it isn't there - my toes nails are currently purple, there are purple flowers on the skirt of a girl sitting across the room, and the grapes I am eating are purple. There just seems to be a lot less purple than other colors, especially natural purple. In our class the last couple comics we are looked at (Watchmen, Moonshadow, Asterios Polyp) have been very partial to purple. Why is it that purple is arguably rare in the real world but seemingly abundant in the world of comics? What is it about purple and comics?

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I am not sure who first said, "Eyes are windows to the soul." Some people credit various parts of the Bible others say it was Shakespeare. Regardless it is a long-standing sentiment that has become rather cliché over the years but The Compleat Moonshadow gives it new life and power for me. The idea seems quite relevant in a story where eyes play such a large role. The most obvious example of this is Aunt Ettie's "curious, sky-blue eyes” that belong to both Sunflower and Moonshadow. These eyes are a common topic of discussion, often described as disturbing or as "lunatic orbs." They reflect the wandering souls of characters unique from the rest in disposition. Since blue eyes are a recessive trait the sheer fact that they have been passed down so often says something in itself, of course Sunflower had Moonshadow with an Orb of light so I guess genetics are out the window.

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**I brought this up in class but I had already written it out as a blog and was just waiting on images so I decided to post it anyway

Watchmen is full of repeated images: the smiley face, the Nostalgia perfume bottle, and the "shadow" of the lovers in the alley. Each of these images is repeated and used purposefully to further the story, emphasize points, or raise questions. As I continued to examine and look for these images I came across another repeated symbol - the triangle.

The triangle is used primarily in Chapter 5, Fearful Symmetry. The triangles in this chapter and in parts of the novel are all symmetrical so the use of them in chapter 5 is probably a big part of that theme. The first triangle is found on page seven of chapter 5. It is framing the Buddha image on a poster that is splattered with blood.

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Alan Moore’s Watchmen paints a very dark picture of the world. What amazes me is how little of the actual world Moore actually shows us. Outside the world of the Watchmen “superheroes” the only snapshot we get of the “real” world is at the newsstand. What is impressive is that despite this limited setting Moore still manages to create a very convincing portrait of the state of the world. He seamlessly interweaves many different techniques and mediums such as the dialogue of the news-vendor, the story line of the Black Freighter, and smaller background details in order to do this. In the panel below we see the ongoing “conversation” between the news-vendor and the words of the Black Freighter. The news-vendor is constantly preaching about the state of the world while the story line of the comic within the comic seems to mirror or comment on the happenings, turmoil, and plans of the Watchmen. Appropriately below the News-vendor runs the title The Judge of All the Earth. In the background a man is hanging a fall-out shelter sign, making us aware of the nuclear threat. Beyond that the ground is covered in litter and the headlines at the newsstand reflect the worst parts of human nature. In other frames the newsstand also displays copies of the New Frontiersman and ads for Veidt’s perfume Nostalgia.

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I am having a issue with the USB Ports on my computer. After trying to obtain images via my scanner, camera, and even a poor attempt to get pictures using Photo Booth I have given up. Please excuse the lack of images.

The treatment of women in comics has long been a matter of controversy. One has to look no further than the most famous female comic character Wonder-woman to find evidence of this. It seems that the graphical representations of women in comics have two different settings: Sex-object and Hag. While the issue is arguably most evident in Super-hero genre it seems that genres outside the fantastic are not immune either.

In Will Eisner's "A Contract With God" he deals with characters and stories that are more based in reality and everyday life but his graphical portrayal of women seems to fit the norm. Women are illustrated as ugly hags or highly sexualized bimbos. There is an absence of an every women or even a pretty non-sexualized woman. Look on almost any page for an example of this. In the first story Frimme Hersh's girlfriend is prime example of the sexy bimbo female. She is drawn with large doe eyes, big breasts, and is wearing a slinky little dress (p. 40). Almost identical to her is Goldie from the fourth story Cookalein.(p 147) And while their faces and hair styles change, in figure Kathleen, Sam's mistress (p. 154) and Maralyn Minks (p. 161) may as well be the same person. In fact these to characters are lucky to be shown clothed at all.

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