Gorazde pic

I found this picture and I thought it was very interesting. I like that this picture shows the effects of war and how even though you may be able to fix the damage, you can't always forget about it. I also like how it shows that not everything gets broken. This building suffered damage, but it is still standing. I think it sends a good message.

Photo: 2Lt. Renaud de Quillacq

Signs of war on a Gorazde main street building, Multinational Division South east. Signs of hard combats in the "Gorazde pocket" left marks that are still visible today.

Nothing important...

As my husband and I were watching a Criminal Minds episode the other day, I used some knowledge that I gained in this class. The "unsub" was a young woman who had grown up in Sarajevo during war time and she was unable to distinguish between present and her past. My husband was wondering what had happened at Sarajevo, so I showed him some of the pages out of Gorazde. He could understand why she had gone a little crazy!

Maus

I found an interesting article about "Maus" that I thought I would share. I like how the author emphasizes the technique of traveling from past to present easily in each frame. On the same page in the comic book, Art can travel from present to past, essentially bleeding time together.
http://www2.iath.virginia.edu/holocaust/spiegelman.html

Safe Area Gorazde

This is a comic book that is hard to read. It actually made me cry when describing what happened to the Muslims during the war. The mutilation and unnecessary brutality is what got to me. It is an important part of history just as the Holocaust is and it needs to be taught so stuff like this doesn't happen again. Here is a website about the war.

Interesting Paper

I was doing some research about the innappropriateness of graphic novels and came across an interesting research paper. Thought I would share....

"Graphic-ness" in Graphic Novels

After reading some of our stories, I must say that I'm a little shocked to see the "graphic" material in some of these comics and the underlying message that the story sets forth. Pyongyang is especially graphic and really shows a world that I have never imagined. I am surprised that this is so widely accepted. Obviously, I realize that all forms of art have levels of maturity, but some of these forms of graphic novels seem to have unnessecary, inappropriate topics. Maybe my problem is that I am not from these cultures; therefore, have a hard time understanding what may or may not happen "in the sewer" so to speak. I guess if the point of your story is to get a rise out of people and shock them, then congrats to the author of Pyongyang.

Pyongyang

After reading the comic I was interested in some of the history of Pyongyang and found this website about some of the history of Pyongyang.

Women Comic Writers

Here is a link to some comments and a list of female comic book authors. I am interested in the way the females have come along in the comic book industry. This was an interesting site.

Comics as Movies

I think it is very interesting how closely related comic books and movies are. After watching "Persepolis", I really noticed it. The movie was just as I had imagined it while reading, except not in as much detail. Comics are actually better at telling a story, because they can do more than a movie. They can slow down the time and give you different thoughts that a movie can't. Movies can't really show you what is going on in someone's head, like a comic book can. Comics slow down time and tell the story, whereas movies just show you.

Persepolis

I liked the comic "Persepolis" the way that is includes a child's perspective and an adults perspective makes it interesting. It gives you a way of relating to the story line in two different ways. The main character faces a lot of conflict yet has a childish view of the conflict during the conflict, but when looking back on it realizes just how serious the events of her childhood actually are.



This website has reviews of comic books and it includes a review of "Persepolis."

Watchmen

I just finished the comic book and I watched the movie about 2 weeks ago. The movie follows the comic quite well. I was surprised about how accurate the movie was.

I was surprised by the giant squid in the comic it was kind of weird. It was definitely a different way to save the world from nuclear war. I really wished that Jon and Laurie had gotten back together I didn't like that he just went away to another universe.

Manga

I am not real proficient in the lingo of grahic novels so I decided that I would start with Manga something I am not all that sure what it means. It is Japanese comic books. Here is a good website about the ins and outs of Japanese Manga.