Peanuts: Re-write

So I’ve decided to re-do my post on the Peanuts comics. I feel like there’s just so much more to say about them. To be honest though, I’m more familiar with the Peanuts movies than the comic strips. Every Christmas, when I was a kid, the family would snuggle up on the couch and watch the Charlie Brown Christmas special. The one where Charlie Brown had to get a Christmas tree and he comes back with this dinky little thing. All the neighborhood kids make fun of him but they decorate the tree anyways and everything turns out just fine. Oh, those were the days. Anyways, I digress. In my last post about Peanuts I talked a lot about the similarities it has to Calvin and Hobbes. I really enjoy comics like Peanuts and Calvin and Hobbes because the strips are so short and concise. They’re like a one line joke. Quick and simple, but effectively hilarious. I also really enjoy anything that has to do with witty children. The characters are more like child representations of adults. It kind of has to do with what David Steiling was saying in class the other day about how real representations of children are never shown. But for this comic, I think it’s effective. Sometimes there are jokes in the strips that only older generations would understand, but at the same time, the strips are fun and timeless for young children. I truly hope that Peanuts will be one of those comics that will run for years to come. With the digital age quickly rising above us, it seems that a lot of our printed treasures are being ignored. It’s so much easier to go online these days for this sort of content. There is just something magical about seeing a Peanuts strip in the newspaper. It reminds me of my childhood. Peanuts, even the newer ones, just have such a vintage and classic feel to them. The characters and their crazy antics need to be preserved for years to come. I feel like I see Charlie Brown and Snoopy everywhere nowadays on shirts, hoodies, lunchboxes, you name it. But not enough kids actually have read one of their strips.

Diary of a Dominatrix

So even though our week of reading women’s comics is over I wanted to give another female written comic a try. So I decided to read Diary of a Dominatrix. Wow. I’m not too sure if this type of comic is what I’m really into, but it was definitely interesting to check out. First of all, I thought the way the figures and objects were drawn was exquisite. What I mean to say is that the style of art was very intricate and showed a huge sense of craftsmen-ship. I loved how the artist drew the main character with such thick, bold lines. It seemed to match the character’s personality very well. As for the story, I’m not too sure if it was something I could really get into. I think maybe if the comic was told in more of a traditional story format I could like it better. Instead, the story seemed like little pieces that never really fit together. I guess this makes since because it’s the diary of the dominatrix. So it’s probably supposed to feel like small, little episodes. As for the content of this comic all I can say is that it was quite interesting, for lack of a better word. Showing some of the ways she tortured men was quite alarming. The artist drew everything with great detail and without censoring any of her wild imagination. I kept wondering if some of the stuff the dominatrix did is really done in that world. I mean, obviously men request the schoolgirl stuff, but the whole binding thingy? Doesn’t seem enjoyable, but “hey” that’s just my opinion. I really loved how the dominatrix was portrayed as a real women. The page with the before and after she’s done up as a dominatrix was great. Showing her as just a normal, slightly scary looking girl, to a sexpot dominatrix was amazing. I also really enjoyed where her beauty tools surrounded the frame with her little descriptions. The same was done with her torturing devices. Lastly, I enjoyed how her body shape was drawn. She wasn’t some super tall, unrealistically skinny girl, but a curvy, slightly short chick that has problems getting into her leather suit. That was funny.

For this week we were to read women’s comics. I read Lillian Chestney’s Arabian Nights. I found this story very enjoyable to read. The new bride of an arrogant king is about to be beheaded when she cleverly dodges her death by distracting the king with her amazing stories. She unfolds the tales of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, The Tale of the Magic Horse, The Adventures of Sinbad the Sailor, and Aladdin and His Magic Lamp. The art was very unique and beautiful. The colors were very vibrant and alive. All of the stories Scheherezade (the beautiful new wife of the king) had told were folk tales from the Middle East. The comic was uniquely feminine in the fact that the female characters were strong, intelligent women who used their wits and charm to escape the oppression of men. Scheherezade was to be killed by decapitation twenty-four hours after she married King Shariar. She distracts the King from ordering his death sentence by telling him a number of folklores. In her story of Ali Baba the heroine is Cassem’s slave, Morgiana. She pours boiling oil into 37 leather jars, killing the band of evil “cut-throats” who are hiding in them. Although Morgiana was a slave and the King was controlling Scheherezade they both managed to outwit the males in the story. I felt like the comic overall was very simple. It wasn’t a deep or intelligent read; however, sometimes it’s nice to read a story that doesn’t take too much interpreting. I liked reading this version of Aladdin and comparing it to the Disney film. Aladdin is one of my all time favorite Disney films. It amazes me how different the two stories were from each other, but also very alike. For example, very specific things happened in the comic that also happened in the movie. When the evil old man, Jafar in the film, becomes a genie he uproots the castle with Aladdin inside it to banish him. The same scene is played out in the film. Of course it’s a bit more elaborate in the film, but the comic had some very fun points. I give it an A-.

Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth

I read Chris Ware’s Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth. I really enjoyed the stories with the main character, Jimmy, as a little boy. The story would cut between Jimmy as a kid, a middle aged man, and an old man. I didn’t really like the stories about Jimmy as a man or old man. They were some-what confusing and a bit depressing. I can’t tell how the different stories are supposed to relate or if they’re suppose to relate at all. Jimmy as a child is very smart and invents rockets, shrinking potions, and new dads; things we know are most likely just figments of his imagination. The older Jimmy mopes around talking to his dead mother. He attempts to meet women but they never like him. It seems like the little boy version of Jimmy is nothing like the older version. Boy Jimmy is smart and creative. He makes wild adventures for himself. Older Jimmy is bland and pitiful. Maybe Ware is trying to show how people lose that childhood spark. Even amazing children can turn out to be losers. Getting to the art style of the book, I thought it was well drawn. The panels were very tight. What I mean by this is that Ware didn’t draw outside the panels or leave a panel without a border. They were all drawn in thick, black lines. The characters and backgrounds were also drawn with thick, black lines that didn’t waver. It seemed to fit the rehearsed, monotonous lifestyle of the older Jimmy. I thought it was strange how Ware never showed any of the women’s faces. It’s as if Jimmy is so detached from women that to show their faces would be unreal. I like the page with the house drawn on it and where arrows directed my eyes through the phone call Jimmy was making to his mother. I thought it was well conceived. I didn’t however like the fact that there wasn’t a starting arrow. I didn’t know which part to read first. So, I guess overall the book was well conceived and drawn out, yet the story to me was very annoying. I didn’t want to read about this sad, old guy who didn’t have anyone in his life.

A Contract With God

I read Eisner’s A Contract With God a little while ago and decided I really need to do a post about this one. A Contract With God is a graphic novel that’s separated into four different stories about the lives of Jews living in a run-down tenement in the Bronx. Before the stories begin Eisner writes that all of these stories are true.
The first story, titled the same as the book, is about Frimme Hersh, who when he was young wrote a contract with God on a flat stone. Because of Frimme’s good deeds as a young man he was always told that God would reward him. One night when Frimme was home in the Bronx tenement he gets a knock at his door. He opened to see whom it was but instead was amazed to find a baby at the foot of his door. He took the child in and raised it as his own daughter. Years later, at the stories beginning, we find out that Rachele, Frimme’s daughter has died. Frimme doesn’t understand how God could have done this to him. They had a contract. His daughter’s death convinces Frimme to shave his beard and become a businessman. He buys the tenement in which he used to live and becomes quite a mean old snob. He marries a young idiot who’s clearly only with him for the money. Frimme then goes to a group of wise elders and asks them to write him a new contract with God. They do so and Frimme is pleased with his new contract. As he’s reading it he suddenly has a heart attack and dies.
All the stories in this book are lessons. It’s hard for me to relate, since I’ve never really dealt with most of the situations portrayed in this book, however, I think even these elaborate stories can be boiled down to simple human emotions that we all experience at some point.
I think Eisner told half of these stories through his line work. His drawings are just so expressive and detailed. He has a way of drawing that really sets the tone for the emotions he’s trying to convey. I love how he throws away the panel at times. He’ll use up the whole page for one big drawing. I also love how he draws around the type a lot. It gives the comic such a unique and powerful voice.

Maison Ikkoku

Last week I read Rumiko Takahashi’s Maison Ikkoku Vol. 1. When I was in middle school my two best friends were addicted to anime and manga. I tried to read their manga books and follow along with their favorite anime shows, but I just couldn’t get into it like they were. For me, Harry Potter was more my style at the time. The anime shows my friends watched annoyed me. Dragon Ball Z was the show I thought of when someone mentioned anime. I tried many times to watch Dragon Ball but the slowness of its plot bored me. It took whole episodes to show one fight. Most of the mangas my friends suggested were pretty cute to me. I liked them, but like I said, Harry Potter was more my style.

Maison Ikkoku is the first manga I’ve read in years and I have to say that I enjoyed it a lot. It’s a very simple, light read. There is no symbolism or hidden meanings in this book. It’s kind of refreshing to be able to read a cute, romantic story without looking deeper into underlying themes.

Maison Ikkoku is a story about a new manager who comes to live at a run-down apartment building. The tenants there are a very interesting group. They all know each other and love to annoy the main character, Godai. Godai is a student who usually takes his studying for granted. The tenants always call him “flunk-out.” Immediately upon seeing her, Godai falls in love with the new manager, Kyoko Otonashi. Kyoko helps Godai get the quiet time he needs for his studying. Godai wants to try really hard to pass his entrance exams to not let Kyoko down.

The first volume is separated into six chapters. Each one consists of Godai trying to tell Kyoko how he feels about her. He fails every time. In one chapter Godai is informed that Kyoko has a boyfriend by his flaky neighbor, Akema. Of course Kyoko doesn’t have a boyfriend but until Godai figures this out he traipse around, wallowing in his own self-pity. As we read farther into the book we discover that Kyoko may have feelings for Godai. Overall, the book is a very easy and light read. I’m really interested to see what happens next with Godai and Kyoko.

Maus by Art Spiegelman

Maus by Art Spiegelman is a clever story about a man learning his father’s WWII story for his story. I enjoyed how Spielgelman included how he collected his father’s memories. Maus is centered on Vladek Spielgelman, Art’s father, recounting what happened to him and his family during WWII. Vladek is a well off Jew, living in Poland, with his new wife, Anja, when the war breaks out. Vladek and his whole family are Jews and quickly try to escape the persecution. Throughout the book Vladek uses his money and influence to protect his family, but when the war worsens he realizes that money has no power. They’re all on their own. The tale is a haunting one, recounting how all of Vladek’s family, including his first-born son, was killed. Vladek and Anja were the only ones to make it out alive after surviving the Auschwitz death camp. Intermingled with the story of Vladek’s past is the story of his present. Art Spiegelman, Vladek’s son and author of the book, is trying to get his father’s story while having to deal with his father’s stubbornness and constant tirades with his current wife, Mala, who was also a concentration camp survivor. Vladek recounts how he met his first wife, Art’s mother, and the obsessed girlfriend he had before his wife. He then explains how he became successful with his own business and had his first son with his loving wife, Anja. Shortly after his son is born, Vladek must join the army and once in battle against the Germans he’s taken in as a prisoner of war. He’s released and goes back to his family who he hasn’t seen in two years only to be shoved back into the claws of war when the Nazi’s begin hunting down all the Jews. The story is truly haunting and unforgettable. Art Spielgelman depicts the Jews as mice. Perhaps he does so because, to the Nazis, this is what the Jews represent. Dirty, filthy, mice. The Germans are depicted as cats, which we all know are infamous mouse destroyers. The depiction of mice can be viewed as a negative thing, yet mice are one of the few creatures of our planet that have persevered over hundreds of thousands of years, through natural disasters, being hunted by predators, evolution, climate change, and so on. They are very strong survivors. Mice hide better than most creatures and Jews were forced to hide, many times in the same places mice hid. There’s even a part of the story where Vladek and Anja are hiding in a bunker when they encounter some rats. The use of animals to depict people was a very clever decision that Spiegelman made. The style of art was also very supporting of the mood of the piece. The quick, dark hatchings set the tones of the WWII era. My favorite panel of the entire book was the one in which Vladek and Anja are walking down a sidewalk shaped like a swastika. This visual representation is just so clear and powerful. It’s definitely an image not worth forgetting.

Blankets by Craig Thompson

I’ve never heard anything about the book Blankets, by Craig Thompson, before I took this class. What a shame. No other graphic novel, or just plain novel for that matter, has ever inspired me to want to do something similar as much as this one has. After reading this book, I’m seriously considering making a graphic novel about my life. Of course in the far future, when I have time. Craig Thompson used all the elements to make this story a masterpiece. The drawing style, the intertwining of different stories, and the unabashed approach to revealing his inner most secrets to the world. This man is brave. This book dealt with so many problems that people go through everyday. The book focuses mainly on his first love: Raina. Unlike so many love stories this book never feels cliché or generic. This is because Thompson was completely honest about everything he ever did, thought, or witnessed. He mentions the great moments and the moments that made him ashamed of himself. He never hides anything. His wistful, delicate lines illustrate the emotions he once felt towards Raina. He uses tangible objects as metaphors of his past; blankets being the most important. He uses images of snow a lot. Perhaps the snow represents bliss. Snow is pure, clean, and new. Before it’s touched it blankets the ground perfectly and flawlessly. Thompson refers to a fresh batch of snow as a blank piece of paper waiting to be marked upon. Thompson’s love for Raina had the same pure, flawless feel to it. I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit this, but when I first picked up Blankets my initial response was “Oh God!” The sheer width of this book was pretty intimidating. But it took me all but three pages to realize that reading this book wouldn’t feel long at all. I was in the back of the library reading the thing for over an hour and didn’t even realize I had been there that long. I would have read the whole thing in one sitting had it not been for some lady turning the lights out on me and telling me the library was closed. Who knew the library closed so early on Fridays? Seriously though, I think I’m going to buy this book and share it with friends and family. It’s just so amazingly beautiful.

Doot Doot Garden by Craig Thompson

Doot Doot Garden by Craig Thompson was a pretty weird read for me. It amazes me that he made this entire comic in only 24 hours. The drawings don’t look like they were drawn that quickly. Thompson used line width to illustrate different moods and emotions throughout the comic. Thompson cut the book up into four different stories. The first story, Salty Yellow Rain, is about a character diving into a blank piece of paper and entering a disturbing world filled with human excrement. In this mini story Thompson used a combination of thin, controlled lines and a deluge of thick, slashing lines during more dramatic moments. The panels were made in a very organic way. The lines that separate the panels are wavy and resemble plant vines. Another short story in the book has an entirely different feel; both because of the story and the way it was drawn. Chunky Rice the Turtle Moves Away was a cute little story, about, well, a turtle moving away. He gets on a boat and sits next to an annoying redneck that talks to him for the rest of the story. The drawing style and panels are much different in this story. Most of the panels are small squares and rectangles that line up perfectly and are separated by thick, black lines. The story has a calmer and more solemn feel to it, so Thompson probably didn’t feel the need to use crazy lines and weird shaped panels. Overall, Thompson’s story telling is very random. He writes these funny little stories that end very unpredictably. To me, it seems like he ends all his stories at what should be the middle of the story. The last story in the graphic narrative is An Insect Invention. The story is about a boy who’s shown an invention by his friend. His friend runs out of candle money so he invents a way to take the juice from fireflies and use it to make a super powerful light. The story randomly ends with the firefly light burning out and the little boy having to walk home in the dark. So I guess what I’m trying to say is that the ends of Thompson’s stories are kind of a let down, but in a way it makes them some what funny.

Plastic Man!

Today I had the pleasure of reading some of Jack Cole’s Plastic Man. At least I think it was pleasurable. It was funny and colorful, so yeah, I guess I could say it was pleasurable. Anyways, I realized that when I was reading some of these comics my eyes were traveling very quickly and turning the pages every minute or so. Something about the story and the way the dialogue was drawn out made me want to read very quickly. Probably because the characters in Plastic Man were very fast paced. They were here, and then they were in the ocean, and then Plastic Man was stretching across a few frames on to an entirely different street of his made up city.

The colors in this comic were very bright and primarily red, blue, green, and yellow. The colors were flat and weren’t used to bring extra dimensions to the buildings and landscapes that gave the overall feeling of the comic book a very “acid-trippy” feel to it. The stories are pretty cheesy and ridiculous but I think this is what made the comics so funny. The first one was about Sphinx, a rotten crook that has a plan to use the cute Bright Eyes as a way to con people of their money. Sphinx is also buying orphaned children to sell to parents hoping to adopt. When his plan begins to fail he puts all the children in a boat that sinks and Bright Eyes ties himself to a string with the other end attached to the boat. He swims to shore and is found washed up on the beach by Plastic Man and his sidekick Woozy Winks. When they find Bright Eyes Plastic Man saves the sunken ship with the children and comes back to tell Woozy that everything’s all right. I thought it was funny how they never actually show Plastic Man save the children; he just comes back in a flash and claims that he did. This is what I thought was so funny about this comic. Everything that seemed weird and impossible was quickly explained by one of the characters. It was like “Dues ex machina” or “God in the machine”, where situations were easily handled or explained through an impossible or “God-like” miracle. I read a little about the life of Jack Cole and thought it was interesting that he went on to draw for Hugh Hefner’s Playboy magazine. I quite liked the cartoony nudes he painted with watercolors that he made as considerations for the magazine.

Peanuts

Peanuts is such a classic. How can anyone not love these comics? A bunch of funny looking kids getting into all their shenanigans. It’s no wonder I like Peanuts. This strip is a lot like Calvin and Hobbes. Or I should say Calvin and Hobbes is a lot like Peanuts. Calvin and Hobbes author, Bill Watterson, was very much inspired by the Peanuts adventures and it’s not hard to see why. This is another story about children with big imaginations. Maybe they’re not as crazy as Calvin, but they sure do some funny stuff. Charlie Brown, probably the most recognizable Peanuts character, is always slacking on homework and falling for Sally’s tricks. In one strip, Charlie Brown is watching the clock in class and thinking to himself, “Come on bell! Ring, ring, ring! Please don’t call on me!” The bell rings and he’s able to wait another day before he has to give his book report. Linus says to Charlie, “Well, now you can do your report, “ and Charlie says, “No, I’m going outside to play.” It’s simple, yet so true of adolescent behavior that I’m sure all of us can relate to it. Peanuts is a very children friendly comic, yet still contains plenty of mature humor for the older generations to enjoy. For example, the psychiatrist stands Sally sets up. Or the kid that’s constantly playing Beethoven. Snoopy is a fun character as well. He’s always lying on top of his doghouse on his back and for some reason I always think, “Doesn’t that hurt his back?” Anyways, when I was reading the Peanuts collection in the library I noticed how, unlike Hobbes, Snoopy talks in thought bubbles. It seems at times that Charlie Brown can talk to Snoopy, but I’m confused as to if he really is talking to him or just pretending he is. I usually like comics that are short and concise. Peanuts is one those comics. One strip doesn’t last more than a few frames but still packs a powerful punch of humor in one little comic. They’re never too long, or too wordy, and are overall just easy and enjoyable to read.

Calvin and Hobbes

If I’d have to choose, I think I’d say that Calvin and Hobbes is my favorite comic strip. I have a huge compilation book of Calvin and Hobbes at home and I’m thinking of digging it out next time I visit. The character of Calvin is just so cute to me. He’s always thinking up little adventures and turning himself into epic super heroes. I really love stories about children with big imaginations and Calvin certainly has that imaginative spark. As a kid, my favorite cartoon was The Rugrats and Calvin and Hobbes reminds of the crazy, made up adventures Tommy and Chucky would venture on. The Rugrats were of course made for tv, so the characters had more room for larger and more detailed adventures, but with tiny newspaper space and usually no color, Calvin and Hobbes get to go on adventures just as funny as the babies in The Rugrats. Calvin is appealing to me for many reasons, yet one really stands out. His vocabulary is very large for such a little character. In one strip Calvin wants to play war with Hobbes and tells Hobbes he’ll be the “the fearless American defender of liberty and democracy” and Hobbes can be the “loathsome, Godless, communist oppressor.” To imagine a six year-old saying “Godless, communist oppressor” is just hilarious to me. We all know that six year-olds have no idea what communists are yet I totally go with it when I read this little boy saying such things. I like how annoying Calvin is to all of the other characters. He’s a total nuisance to everyone around him and he really has no idea. The illustrations are just really cute too. I love the way the characters look. They’re drawn with simple, yet at the same time, bold, black lines. I love Calvin’s giant head full of spiky, blonde hair and Hobbes’ lanky, plush body. The whole relationship between Calvin and Hobbes is interesting. They annoy each other, yet they’re best friends and always have each other’s backs. The thought of this silly little boy with an imaginary friend is very charming. It’s weird how it just doesn’t seem right when they show Hobbes as what he really is: an inanimate, stuffed, toy tiger. Yeah, I really think I’m going to search for my Calvin and Hobbes.

Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland

Winsor McCay’s Little Nemo was a very different read. It was kind of weird and not as enjoyable as I thought it would be. With a name like Little Nemo I thought it would be a cuter comic but discovered it was far from what I imagined. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t horrible, and some things about it I would consider cute. The character Little Nemo was very cute when in his bed being threatened by his parents to wake up. Honestly those tiny little pieces at the bottom right corner of every other page were my favorite parts. I think this is because there was just too much going on in the gigantic dream sequences. Every time Nemo fell asleep and delved back into his dream state, the character Flip was messing something up. The dream Nemo and his friend, the Princess, just stood there and complained about everything Flip did while everything turned to chaos. It looks to me that this comic book is probably a very early example of the genre and I understand why the story may seem repetitive and juvenile. It’s very simplistic with its structuring yet highly detailed with the events that unfold. This is most likely because these types of comic books where most likely for children only. This comic doesn’t seem like something a young adult would be interested in. I appreciate things from the past that were some what firsts of their time, but now that we have so many new and amazing options, Little Nemo is just that: a thing of the past. I do applaud the author though, and recommend anyone to read this comic if they’re interested in comic history. People should always know about the earlier works of the genre they’re interested in pursuing. Getting back to the story, I found it a little difficult to read the words in the bubbles. They seemed smashed in there and the dialect of the characters slowed me down a bit. The art was very colorful and the drawings were okay. I personally like comics very clean and refined, more like The Arrival’s. I thought it was a bit racist with the barbarian child being a black kid with clown makeup on with a cannibalistic appetite. When he did something wrong he was referred to with demeaning names and was viewed as stupid and unable to learn. Well, that’s the early 19^th century for ya’. Overall I give in a C.

The Arrival

Wow! The Arrival was probably the most stunningly beautiful comic I’ve ever read so far. The illustrations were amazing and the lack of words left me with a world of possible interpretations to explore. The story is obviously about an immigrant man coming to a strange new world. At first I expected to see him arrive in America on Ellis Island or something, but soon discovered this was an entirely different world. I think the author wants this strange, alien world to represent what it feels like when a foreigner enters a new country. If the pictures displayed a man coming to New York we would understand the story and how the character feels out of place, but by creating a world unknown to all humans, we readers feel out of place right along with the man. I loved the page near the beginning with nothing but little square pictures of clouds. They weren’t just little drawings of clouds. Each and every one evoked a new feeling and kept me astounded by their simple, yet highly detailed forms. I think the author put in that many drawings of clouds to lengthen the time it would take until we turned the page, giving the real feeling that a lot of time has passed. Journeys over seas are never quick and a changing of the clouds can represent days and weeks of time. Of course I loved all the little details and creatures created for the new world. The birds that flew over the ship reminded my of the little origami bird the man made for his daughter. The animal that follows the man around is very cute and added even more wonder to the story. The amount of detail in creating the alien world is amazing. The city, the foods, the flying ships, and the teepee looking buildings are just a few to point out. I loved how after a new character was introduced their stories were folded out across the pages. The old man missing a leg was in a war. It seemed to me like wherever the main character was from there might have been the looming of a war around the corner. At least that’s how I interpreted the giant snake shadow thing at the beginning. The end of this book was very pleasing and heartwarming to see the man’s family joining him in the new world. The very end had to be my favorite though, with the little girl helping out a newcomer.

Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics was a new, and for the most part, refreshing read for me. He pointed out several ideas for me to ponder that I otherwise never would have thought of. My favorite part of the book was the chapter in which McCloud focused on showing a short comic and then announced that the images were totally random and only seemed to fit together because we readers were told that they made a story. It was similar to the exercise we did in class where we had to come up with a story out of those weird rooster etchings. When you really think about it any sequence of images could form some sort of story. With this idea in mind I hope I can think of some really cool ideas for future films of mine. Like a comic book, a film is also made up of sequences of images. Sometimes when dialogue isn’t added to explain everything we’re viewing we’ll need to read the images to tie them together. I guess you could say a movie montage is just like a comic book except the images can be moving, they’re not on paper, and they usually have some spiffy music in the background illustrating the mood. Besides all that, they’re pretty much the same. They both require you to read a sequence of images to interpret a piece of the story. This also reminds me of a cool exercise we did in my film language class last year. We were to show an idea using three, objective images. I showed a picture of a tooth, a lollipop and a desk bell. Alone the images wouldn’t have been able to produce whole stories, but seeing the three images in a sequence could easily read as a tooth was affected by candy and had to get fixed at the dentist. Desk bell, dentist….they relate. Well, anyways my teacher thought it was clever. Getting back to the main point, McCloud’s book did conjure some good thoughts, but at some points I thought he was getting a little too witty. About half way through the book I started getting bored and had to take a break. Maybe it’s just me and my horrible attention span. Other than that it was an interesting read and I would recommend future students to check it out.