Maus by Art Spiegelman

I asked my mom to tell me about a difficult time in her life. She told me about the difficulties she experienced after losing her dad, which is something I never really knew about.

Underground Comics

I wasn't as surprised as I thought I would be by underground comics. I really didn't find them all that offensive but I think that might be because I went into it expecting to be offended. But at their core, some of them weren't offensive at all. The only way I can really see someone being offended is if they were insecure or unsure of the topic being portrayed. For example, there wasn't anything at all offensive about Gay Comix. It was just a collection of people's stories regarding their sexuality. The only way it can be seen as offensive is if you're homophobic. I guess it's all about perspective though and the reason why I might not find these comics all that jarring is because of the time I grew up in. Maybe if I hadn't been exposed to these topics before, my opinion would differ and reading these comics would be more shocking. Which is probably why they were so shocking at the time of their release. Topics like sex and sexuality were much more taboo and so it makes sense that these comics were so hidden. Today, however, you can find comics about anything and everything offensive. And these comics are all easily accessible online to anyone and everyone. It's crazy to think of what a huge change has occurred not only in comics culture but in our culture in general. What used to be underground is now commonplace. Obviously topics such as sex are still very much hush hush but people are more exposed to it today, which makes the content of these underground comics far less controversial than they must have been at the time of their release.

Blankets by Craig Thompson

There were a lot of moments in Blankets that affected me on a personal level. I think since it's a coming of age story it's something that is easily relatable to a lot of people. But for me, specifically, the way he slowly lost his belief in God, the way his first love ended, and the way his relationship with his brother fluctuated really hit home. I found that the depth of emotion he showed in his storytelling was extremely captivating. So even if the situations weren't exactly what happened in one's own life, it's still extremely easy to connect to Craig's reactions and feelings about those situations. For example, his relationship with his brother isn't exactly like mine. There are a lot of differences but the guilt he feels is something that's incredibly relatable. If you're the oldest sibling there's a sense of responsibility you feel to look after your younger brother. And when you can't do that there's a feeling of helplessness and regret. But you could spread that even further. If you whittle it down, what he's showing is just the general remorse of letting someone down. It doesn't even have to be a sibling. Anyone could relate to that core feeling he showcases. Which is a huge indicator that his visual storytelling is amazingly well done. He's able to tell his specific story in a way that focuses on the raw emotion rather than the specific circumstance. I think he accomplishes this through his expressive, imaginative drawings, and his naturally flowing panels. There are some pages where the panels just meld into one another in a way that completely transforms you into his world and his emotions.