Week 9: A Wide World of Comics

            Before I started to read Moebius’ Blueberry, a couple questions came to mind:

• ·      “How can the French or European tradition of comics apply to what seems to be a narrative set in the United States’ Western Era? Wouldn’t that be like how Craig Thompson, an American artist, set the narrative for Habibi in a ‘mythical landscape’ resembling the Middle East?” I assume that Moebius has extensively researched this specific location and its history.

• ·      “That said, taking into account the fact that I know little about the Western Era, would Blueberry, by a French artist, influence what I know and teach me more about it?” I don’t think it would be any different from just researching that time period today. Moebius may include aspects of his culture by way of his comic tradition, but I don’t think it would get in the way of the story’s authenticity.

It turns out a whole section in the front of the book is dedicated to the history that surrounds the narrative, including pictures of notable figures in the story. This can be very useful, as this segment can be used as a reference for the characters, settings, and even the conflicts of that time. The viewer can get an inside look at a character and grasp what their intentions are. However, they can also skip ahead to the story, and try to gain an understanding from the narrative itself. That’s what I did for this reading.

            Unfortunately, my lack of knowledge about this era may have attributed to how I felt about the story – I just couldn’t get invested in it. Maybe this just isn’t the kind of narrative I like. Additionally, the way each page is laid out is too congested with information for me, but I can definitely see what there is to appreciate about Moebius’ work.

            As you can see, the settings used are so immersive and vibrant that it was easy to get distracted from the dialogue. It’s too bad that all these word bubbles are imperative to the story, because there’s so much to read already. I read from another student’s blog that Moebius’ less dialogue-heavy comics are more impressive, and I would like to see those.

Week 8: Stereotypes and the ethics of representation

           Stuck Rubber Baby is an Eisner Award-winning (for best graphic album) graphic novel by Howard Cruse, the founding editor of Gay Comix. This novel is often referred to as “the best since Maus.” Cruse’s semi-autobiographical narrative is set in a southern town in America, during the 1960s. At this time, civil rights activists, African Americans, Gender/Sex minorities, and youths were developing their identity as individuals. Stereotypes held particularly strong at this point, for those who opposed these individuals for “stepping out of line.”

            This novel gives the viewer deep insight into the mind of Toland Polk, the main character of Stuck Rubber Baby, as an entire flashback narrated by him, with several appearances of his present-day face, as if he is regaling his experiences to you in person. His story covers how he observed his sexuality from when he was a child, eventually becoming comfortable with it as an adult. Toland had difficulty with talking openly about it as a result of negative stereotype – it wasn’t considered as “normal.”

            Toland also recalls his participation in solidarity with the black community in his town, making connections, listening to the wisdom and stories of those targeted by racism. Once Toland started to associate with them and the gay community, he quickly became targeted for hate crimes. The “normal” people in his town opposed “abnormality” so much that they reacted violently, and out of pent-up energy.

            Reading Stuck Rubber Baby made me think about the election. Actually, everything makes me think about the election, taking into account how close and dire this one is. Both Obama and Romney have particular stereotypes affiliated with them, and anyone who sides with either one of these men is also lumped into that stereotype. One side apparently doesn’t care about the economy and won’t cut their hair and get a job, the other is excessively wealthy and highly intolerant of anyone who isn’t a straight white man. These stereotypes are extremely hard to counter right now, and soon one will be on top.

Week 7: Maus & the legitimization of the graphic novel

            Art Spiegelman’s Pulitzer-winning Maus is a memoir of his parents’ struggles during the Holocaust, and that of the relationships and habits his father held to his final years. The novel begins as a project to document the experiences of surviving father Vladek, but conflicts involving his new wife, Mala, and the absence of his first wife, Anja, often interfere. For Spiegelman, who often depicts himself becoming irate with his father, seems to use this project to reflect on the hardships in his life that he can’t change – the Holocaust, his mother’s suicide, his father’s obsessive rationing habits, and eventually his father’s death.

            Last year I took an extensive course over the Holocaust, its causes and effects (some of which are still current), its infamous but notable figures, and its roots in antisemitism  (which I’ve learned is one non-hyphenated word) and eugenics. However, despite the overwhelming wealth of information I’ve acquired, I feel there is much more to discover. That’s what I find most interesting about the Holocaust – countless stories have resulted from this calamity, from survivors to SS guards to German and Polish citizens that were kept unaware of the death camps.

            While reading Maus, I kept in mind the stories I have heard before. Vladek’s account actually had the most parallels to a guest speaker that presented his story to the aforementioned class (which has been recorded and is now kept on closed reserve in Kimbrough Library) – not just because both are survivors, but both seemed to keep their emotions to themselves. That’s not to say both survivors became cold and unfeeling in the camps, they were just too focused on outliving the camps, despite the various unknown probabilities - not everyone knew of the gas chambers and other atrocities at first, this information circulated by word of mouth. Both still took the time to give to others, and were able to take advantage of their situation while hurting the least people possible (working with Kapo, escaping during the long walk out of the camps).

            What I found the most intriguing about Maus was how Vladek was forever affected by the Holocaust. He could not bring himself to part with his belongings. He would reuse teabags and glue broken dishes back together, regardless of his wealth, which actually aided him and his loved ones many times throughout the Holocaust. His first wife (and what may be his one true love), Anja, who suffered with him, may have contributed to this habit. She committed suicide about 20 years after World War II ended. I think this devastating loss may have prompted or accelerated Vladek’s need to keep things for as long as possible. However, he destroyed almost all evidence of Anja because his memories of her were too strong for him to deal with properly. Vladek did not seem to show much remorse for his actions, which infuriated Art. The first half of the story ends with this, and the mood carries until the end, when Vladek finishes his story abruptly with the very moment he and Anja are reunited after being kept in separate camps.

            Maus ends with Vladek’s death, even though it is addressed in the middle of the second installment. At that point, Art is depressed by not having Anja’s side of the story, and how he was angry with Vladek. However, this does feel resolved at the book’s end, as Vladek finally does get to finish his story, albeit suddenly.



***On a separate note, I did want to point out that I made the connection as to how the Jewish characters are drawn as mice because antisemites really referred to them as vermin, but that didn't really play a part in the narrative, except to distinguish Jewish characters from Poles and Germans. For me, the story would have come across the same, wether the characters were animals or humans.

Week 6: Underground Comics

            Underground comics were made as a response to the implemented Comics Code and the disquiet throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s: the Civil Rights movement, the Sexual Revolution, the Vietnam War, anti-drug laws. They were also intended as adult reading material for those with unconventional taste. While these works are products of the period’s famous counterculture, it is undeniable that their purpose is still relevant today.

            I read through Mother Oats. Mother Oats looks like it was made to resemble an acid trip – immersive drawings with intense detail, characters that stumble across layers of reality, and some parts of the narrative feel much longer than they actually are. Some parts I found pretty hard to follow, but I still found it funny and entertaining.