Ranxerox by Tambourini and Liberatore

I ended up reading Ranxerox and it was startling how different it is from most popular American comics. It definitely reminds me of underground comics with how graphic and sexually explicit it was, but it’s funny to think that this was probably widely circulated in Europe whereas over here this sort of content would be limited and niche. I think the assumption that the graphic novel audience in Europe is mostly adult allows the story to go to crazy places that most American comics don’t. Honestly, this made the story kind of hard to follow for me. A lot of it seemed to be sexual or violent just for the sake of being sexual or violent. It seemed like a lot of it didn’t actually add to the story at all. Ranxerox would randomly murder people for no reason and although it is part of his character as an impulsive robot without remorse, it was so excessive that it just came off as the artist goofing around just because they could. There were also a lot of random circumstances that didn’t line up and made the whole comic seem like a dream or someone’s fantasy rather than a clear story. For example, Lubina is captured and then a lot of crazy things happen and Ranerox kills some people and then they end up in New York somehow and Ranxerox gets caught up in a race to the death after becoming a taxi driver. It’s so out there that it seems like the artist just threw caution to the wind and made whatever they felt like without any regards to believable characters with clear goals and experiences that link together to create a clear story with a clear message. It could be argued that Ranxerox’s goal is to please Lubina and Lubina’s goal is to get money and drugs and that all their experiences are a result of trying to attain that goal, but the story is still so incredibly far-fetched that I couldn’t connect to it. It was still a super interesting read though and I enjoyed the art style a lot. I just couldn’t really get into it and connect to the characters on an emotional level. It could be because of cultural differences in media and the fact that I’m not used to content like this. But I still thought it was interesting and something different to read; it was refreshing compared to the usual standard American story structure of the good guy fighting the bad guy and saving the day. It inspires me to break away from what a standard story is supposed to be. I don’t think I’d go as far out of the box as Ranxerox does, but it’s something I’d like to keep in my when coming up with my own stories.

March by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell

I don’t think stereotyping is necessary in character design and representation. I think there are ways to design a character and write a character to make them an individual. A person beyond stereotype. I think relying on stereotype is lazy and only perpetuates the lack of quality representation in media. There definitely needs to be more representation, but it has to be done right. If it’s done sloppily and relies on old tropes that only add to discrimination, then there isn’t any point. For example, in March the representation is done amazingly well. The characters aren’t two dimensional perceptions of black people. They’re real people and you can see and feel that as you read. The buildup of Lewis’s childhood where he couldn’t stand the violence against his chickens, his intense interest in school, and the discrepancy between the treatment of white and black students; all which lead up to his involvement in the civil rights movement, created a depth of character that didn’t go anywhere near stereotype. This is probably in part because it’s a true story but I think the execution of the story was also a big factor. If John Lewis found a graphic novelist who executed it sloppily then his story could have been misconstrued in a way that relied on stereotype. A lot of it relies on the back of the artist, Nate Powell. I have a lot of respect for someone who is able to take someone else’s story and portray it in a way that feels so personal and real. I think he really showcased what an amazing person Lewis is and made it incredibly easy to connect to him and his experiences. I think a lot of people perceive representation as being something difficult to execute correctly, but I think the secret is to just tell and show the story and characters as accurately as possible. You can’t just go off of what you think is accurate. You should dive in to the experiences of those people if you’re trying to represent a group you’re not a part of. For instance, the fact that Lewis co-wrote March and was probably directly involved in its development most likely played a huge role in the depth and accuracy of story. While I can’t speak from experience about the personal effects of racial stereotyping in media, I have been effected by gender stereotypes. I know that I can almost always tell when a female character was written by some guy who has no idea what women are actually like. They’re always flat characters with no personality, past, or goals. They lack humanity and are only there as sexual props for the leading man. But when a writer talks to a woman about the character, understands the depth with which they have to create the character, or a woman herself writes the character, they become full on people that the audience is able to connect to. It’s not that hard, it just takes a little bit of effort to discuss with someone their experiences and how they would want to be represented and to then make a commitment to honoring that as accurately as possible throughout the execution of your story.

Assessment

What is your reaction to the text you just read?

I really enjoyed The Killing Joke, I found the storyline super interesting and twisted. Most of the time I don't like superhero comics and just write them off as all being the same but this was surprisingly enjoyable for me and made me question why I've been writing off this genre. The Joker's past made the whole comic for me. The flashbacks drew me in and made the whole storyline even more interesting. Knowing why he is so psychotic made his actions far more believable and made me sympathize with him even though he's a villain. His justifications and monologues made sense even though they were twisted and the believability of them was what made this whole story for me. I also enjoyed Batman trying to work things out with him in a civil manor. Both characters were just so enticing in completely opposite ways that worked so well together. The ending was also unexpected. The setup of some civilian "good guy" getting ready to kill Batman in order to experience what being bad is like took me by surprise. We were so focused on these two hugely dominant and interesting characters it was strange to suddenly pull back from them in a climatic moment and cut to some random guy. But it wasn't disappointing at all. Even though this character had to follow two huge leads he was still intriguing in his own way. I think the psychological aspects of this comic are what really sell it. It questions sanity and morality through not only the two leads but through this random character at the end,  which is icing on the cake that really solidifies the whole theme.

What connections did you make with the story? Discuss the elements of the work with which you connect?

I connected to the questions the Joker presented during his chase with Batman. He says "You have to keep pretending that life makes sense, that there's some point to all this struggling!" and "It's all a joke! Everything anybody ever valued or struggled for...it's all a monstrous, demented gag!" I think most people have thought this at one point or another. We all question life and what the real point is and if any of it matters. The thing is there's no real answer. You could follow what Batman says about how "maybe ordinary people don't always crack." or you could "laugh at the joke" so to speak, like the Joker (hopefully not to the extremes in which he does though). Again I think it's the psychological aspects of this work that make it so interesting. Deep questions and exchanges like this between good guys and bad guys don't often occur, but it's very humanizing and relatable.

What changes would you make to adapt this story into another medium?

I think this story would actually be super interesting as a novel. I would want more detail and depth on the characters and their inner thoughts. Even though the dialogue and flashbacks were super interesting they only made me want to know more, which I feel could be more easily and intensely explored through text. I would get rid of the visuals and focus more on the thoughts and motivations of each character in depth. I would want to know every detail of the Joker's past and all his psychotic thoughts and motivations as well as Batman's frustrated thoughts as he struggles to do what is right.  I think that dichotomy is what really makes me curious to know more and is something I would love to read about.

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.

The Comic Book

I was very surprised to learn about the beginning of comic books and how they were looked down upon. It feels as if there's a lot of enthusiasm surrounding the medium now, which makes it hard to believe that it was seen as a childish or immature source of entertainment in the past. I was even more surprised to learn that the industry went as far as censoring comics to make them more appropriate for children. Especially since there were so many adult consumers eager for more mature storylines and graphics. Knowing this made the EC Horror comics really stand out to me. The mood and storylines reminded me of The Twilight Zone. The two are similar in the fact that the horror was really woven into the story. Whereas today there's a lot more gore/violence based horror. Which I think may have had something to do with the censorship at that time, although these could very well have come out during the war, before all the censorship took place. Either way, the suspense and terror these comics managed to convey with what seemed to be very little gore was really amazing. In "The Haunt of Fear", for example, there's one story where a man mistreats his wife and is said to have a "heart of ice". Eventually his cruelty pushes the wife to her breaking point and she retaliates by killing him with an ice pick. Yet this is depicted without any blood or gore. All we see is her crouching over his body, murder weapon in hand. EC manages to tell the story without intense graphics and maintain something truly horrific and enthralling, which I found incredibly interesting.