Lainey has opinions on comics

The first comic I chose to read was black Panther: World of Wakanda. I'm familiar with Roxanne Gay as a writer and admire her unique, honest voice. I also have seen the Black Panther movie and loved its striking visual style. I'm usually not a Marvel movie fan but it was probably the one I enjoyed the most. I was surprised to find a world entirely composed of women. Also, the world didn't seem explicitly superhero. It took itself seriously. An elite fighting force of powerful women

Chris Ware's Acme Novelty Library contains a lot of the visual language of the old comic strip. A first I thought it was a satire of old comic tropes, but the more I read I couldn't figure out what it was. Vulgar fast paced strips contrasted with slow, beautiful environments. I eventually realized that the same character, Jimmy, was the star of all the stories but just at different points in his life. Some of the most fascinating points in the comic were these wordless, map-like spreads. It took me several readings of the page to really take in what this visual, emotional map was saying. A couple dozen panels that expressed minute details down to the buzz of a hearing aid were all conveying a husband calling his wife. I am familiar with Danial Clowes, but hadn't read Eightball yet. You were immediately thrown into a surreal, sexually charged world. It was from a masculine perspective. Even though some stories center around women, it had a distant, harsh view of its charac

I'm a huge fan of indie and experimental animation, and had seen all three films you mentioned on the course page (Persepolis, Triplets of Bellevue, and Fantastic Planet.) I was absolutely fascinated with Persepolis the first time that I saw it. It was the story of a girlhood, one that I related to thoroughly. I skimmed the comic book this week and it reminded me of both Maus and March. It told the story of Iran through the story of her life, like March did with the civil rights movement. The style carried a lot of similarities to Maus and the underground comics movement. It was direct and personal- not afraid to bend reality visual or go on funny anecdotal tangents. You mentioned the importance Moebius  and Jodorowsky in class. I've read part of The Incal and Metabarons. Both were rich, intense, surreal, unflinchingly adult sci-fi universes. I was drawn to the Incal because of the beautiful and rich world-building and art. Actually comprehending the story page by page was ki

One of the readings that caught my eye was Cinderella Boy. The first thing that I notices as I was reading is how it was unapologetically for a female audience! It had a female protagonist and was full of teen bot idols. I could totally see 6th grade Lainey wistfully wishing she was Riku as she read it in the manga section of barns and noble. To be honest I tired of it pretty quickly, but it was a fast read so I stayed til the end. I'm sure it was meant for younger audiences so the story had to be simple. In class you informed us it was called shojo manga. It says a lot about the culture of comics in Japan that there are specific words for every possible subsection of the genre. I had heard of Astro Boy in the context of the American remake and knew it was a cultural symbol in Japan, so I thought it would be important to read. The simple cartoony style made me think it was for children, but I was surprised by how dark it got. It shows the death of the real boy almost immediately

I think I'm lucky enough to grow up in a generation where I always felt represented in comics as a young women. The first graphic novel I remember getting obsessed with was Smile by Rania Teleminger. It was a graphic memoir of a girlhood framed by her experience with braces. The stories of middle school drama and frustratingly dealing with puberty were extremely relatable to me and felt honest and real. Other comics of my youth were Amulet and This One Summer- both had a female lead and a complex cast of women. While the battle for female representation is going strong in comics (especially for younger audiences I think) it still has far to go before we overcome the extreme male backlash that comes out of the many recent mens rights internet movements. Racial representation still has a very, very long way to go. It was amazing to read your selection of comics about people of color. I had heard of March before but never actually read it. I found a breathtaking form of comics,

The first comic I opened up (after putting on the appropriate music of course) was Cheech Wizard. I was familiar with Vaughn Bone's art style because I've read some Deadbone Erotica, which fascinated me. While Deadbone was a psychedelic trip, Cheech seemed more like a satire. I also read a selection from Tits and Clits. My favorite story was about a female sex addict who had to resort to selling and doing heroin to fuel her sex addiction. It was an excellent satire of role reversal, challenging the stereotype of the beautiful but fallen addict who turns to prostitution. What was interesting to me about this early feminist work was that all the women were feminine and sexual. In other works that feature strong women, like Tankgirl for example, I feel like the author tries to repress the characters feminine side to display their strong side. A women doesn't need masculine features like a bald head, scars, and gritty clothes to prove she's strong. Out of the comics we