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WEEK 15: WIDE WORLD OF COMICS (REVISED FROM WEEK 9)

For my last blogpost, I decided to revise my week 9 blogpost where I discussed “Pyongyang.” After reading through it again, I thought that I didn’t give as much personal insight into it compared to my other blogposts. So, here we go again: “Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea” by Guy Delisle was the retelling of his experience living in North Korea for two months. Rather than being a journal or diary, the narrative style felt like a really long, traditional comic strip. The storytelling had similarities to “Maus” because of the non-fictional content. However, it was not as captivating and visually impactful as “Maus.” To be honest, I think I was expecting something more from this comic. I wanted to feel enlightened and moved, and walk away from this comic with a new perspective on this country. It was partially my fault for having these high expectations, but overall I did find this comic to be an interesting read. I probably wouldn’t remember it after a while, but I
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WEEK 14: COMICS TODAY

There is a huge audience for web comics nowadays, which made me feel that they were appropriate to discuss for this week’s blogpost. In South Korea especially, there is a whole sub-culture of webtoon artists and readers. Some become insanely popular, which often lead to big hit television remakes of the comic (also true in Japan). What’s interesting about online comics is the amount of variety for me, as I can easily switch from a very emotional, dramatic story to slice-of-life comedic one shots. Websites like Line Webtoon, Lehzin, or Comico make it extremely easy and convenient to jump from one series to the next. It also brings an opportunity for aspiring comic artists to showcase their talents, and possibly gain a huge following. I wanted to highlight three different web comics today: “Lore Olympus” by Rachel Smythe, “Ghost Teller” by QTT, and “Sarah’s Scribbles” by Sarah Andersen. These select three are extremely different from each other, but they are al

In-Class Blog: KILLING JOKE RESPONSE

1. What is your reaction to the text you just read? I've actually been wanting to read The Killing Joke  for a long time, so I'm glad that I was finally to. People have raved over this comic for being completely original and a unique take on the Joker. I would say the same after reading through it. The story was really captivating and kept me interested the whole way. Especially after watching the Joker  film that recently came out, there is this strange limbo feeling of wanting to be sympathetic but also morally correct. Nevertheless, I felt like I understood the Joker more as a character with a troubled past, rather than just a tacky villain. This comic allowed the reader to step inside the madness that drove him to be where he stands today. I also love a good backstory, so that was a plus for me. The only thing that put me off was the part about Barbara. I am aware that the criticism for this subject has been made constantly, and even Alan Moore himself regrets the story c

WEEK 13: SUPERHEROES RECONSIDERED

For this week I read a bunch of “The Magnificent Ms. Marvel” series from Marvel. Overall, it was a pretty fun and quick read (I could only find 9 issues). Typically, I don’t go for this category, meaning I don’t really read or watch a lot of superhero comics/ films. I know that it is one of the biggest fandoms out there and with the current trends of DC and Marvel, I can’t see that fandom dying down anytime soon. I believe that it doesn’t really appeal to my taste because it feels very formulaic and repetitive in terms of story and character archetypes. I definitely appreciate the creativity of the designs and super powers, but after a while I find myself feeling kind of immune to the same situations and storylines. I did find Ms. Marvel to be interesting though, and I loved the specificity to the culture. Kamala could just say mom and dad, but calling them “abu and ammi” made her feel more genuine. I also enjoyed reading the little light-hearted moments, like the “flirting” betwe