Assignment 3: Comic Strips
The pieces that I read this week were a short series of Little Nemo strips by Windsor McCay, Krazy Kat by George Harriman, and Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Waterson.
Some things I've noticed that all these stories have in common is that they are very precise and straight to the point, compared to what graphic novels and comic books are today. They are short stories in their most basic form. They don't typically last longer than a page, and rarely have a follow up to compliment the first spread.
Many of these aren't terribly exciting, but they're still entertaining and are the sort of things you look at and read when you need something to do. You can certainly get lost in them, reading them dry until there isn't anything more and you've spent a few hours of your life without realizing it.
Despite the fact that the entertainment value isn't astronomical, they still tend to end on a joke, or a reveal of some kind, or just have something interesting to say.
My favorite of them is Calvin and Hobbes, which explores the life of this young kid and how he views the world. It's a very sweet idea that this tiger who is his best friend is in actuality a stuffed animal, and cements the idea that this is a child's world view that we are looking through. Still, there is plenty of smart humor that those of all ages and understand, and even at times has something rather interesting to say and some kind of message.
What I find to be most interesting though, is when you identify a main character within a series of comic strips you tend to get to know them, and start to care about them. You piece together all these different ideas of who they are based off of the experiences they've endured during the short comic, and begin to have emotional responses towards their adventures.
It's fun to project yourself into this world, even as short of stories as they are, and start to hope and wish for things to go their way.
Some things I've noticed that all these stories have in common is that they are very precise and straight to the point, compared to what graphic novels and comic books are today. They are short stories in their most basic form. They don't typically last longer than a page, and rarely have a follow up to compliment the first spread.
Many of these aren't terribly exciting, but they're still entertaining and are the sort of things you look at and read when you need something to do. You can certainly get lost in them, reading them dry until there isn't anything more and you've spent a few hours of your life without realizing it.
Despite the fact that the entertainment value isn't astronomical, they still tend to end on a joke, or a reveal of some kind, or just have something interesting to say.
My favorite of them is Calvin and Hobbes, which explores the life of this young kid and how he views the world. It's a very sweet idea that this tiger who is his best friend is in actuality a stuffed animal, and cements the idea that this is a child's world view that we are looking through. Still, there is plenty of smart humor that those of all ages and understand, and even at times has something rather interesting to say and some kind of message.
What I find to be most interesting though, is when you identify a main character within a series of comic strips you tend to get to know them, and start to care about them. You piece together all these different ideas of who they are based off of the experiences they've endured during the short comic, and begin to have emotional responses towards their adventures.
It's fun to project yourself into this world, even as short of stories as they are, and start to hope and wish for things to go their way.
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