Andrew Benson - LMST 340

I remember being in high school and watching the film Persepolis  after school with some friends in my filmmaking class. I had no prior knowledge of the creator's background or that it was a graphic novel beforehand. Truthfully, I don't remember anything about the film. All I knew was that it had a very visually appealing style, it was nominated for an Oscar, and it left me utterly depressed by the end. So I thought this week, I would take a trip down memory lane and go to source of it all. Persepolis  is the autobiographical story of the the author, Marjane Satrapi, and documents her childhood through early adulthood during the Islamic Revolution in Iran. As a child she has a wide imagination and becomes increasingly invested in the world of politics. She's oblivious to just how dangerous her environment/surroundings are until war between Iran and Iraq forces her out of her home and to Europe. The book is unlike your usual graphic novel. It's tone is very serious ...

This week I decided to read My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf, which I actually had no idea was a graphic novel before it became a film just a few years ago. I have yet to see the film, but after reading this book, I think I might have to check it out pretty soon. The book tells the story of the author Derf throughout his last few years in high school and his "friendship" with classmate Jeffrey Dahmer, who later went on to become one of America's most notorious serial killers. Personally there's not a whole lot that stands out about the graphic novel visually. The drawings are fun/get pretty exaggerated at times and it's formatted like a normal graphic novel. However, an interesting style choice throughout the book is that Jeff's face will sometimes be black/always in the shadows to indicate the darkness brewing inside of him. Speaking of darkness, I think the book's biggest strength is the way it empathetically portrays and takes us inside the mind...

The Holocaust is never an easy subject to depict in any form of media (books, films, comics, etc). It's always bound to make people uncomfortable with its gruesome imagery and terrifying stories. Of all the Holocaust stories and films I've witnessed, I read one this week that definitely ranks among the top based around the subject. Art Spiegelman's 1980 graphic novel Maus is undoubtedly a masterpiece. A deeply personal and powerful tale of survival and the hardships of family. It tells the story of Spiegelman's father, Vladek, and his experience in/surviving the Holocaust. The story is told in interview format, including Vladek's question responses/story at the bottom of almost every panel. The narrative also goes back and forth between Vladek's past and the present day when Art is interviewing him. This was a great way to pause Vladek's experience in Auschwitz before getting too intense and for the audience to learn more about Art and Vladek's strain...

This week, I had the opportunity (I shouldn't necessarily say pleasure) to read some underground comics. The creators of these comics had the freedom to be as violent/offensive as they wanted to and didn't have to follow any typical conventions. There were two comics I read that were on complete opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of immaturity/inappropriateness: Bludgeon Funnies and Wonder Wart-Hog . Bludgeon Funnies , created by Robert Williams, is usually found in issues of Zap Comix. The comic consists of panels of cartoon characters beating the crap out of one another in a rather extreme manner. This includes people being sliced by katanas or chainsaws, having their brains blown out by a shotgun, or being stuck and slaughtered in machines/tools. One thing I noticed is that the panels are surrounded by stars, possibly demonstrating either how America just loves violence or it simply represents "seeing stars" when you're beaten/dizzy. The comic is also fi...