Week 14

Megg, Mogg, & Owl was an enjoyably strange comic to read. It reminds me a lot of those internet comics except longer. It reminds of those types of comics because it usually features this type of art style, a sort of water color looking style with thin linework. The subject matter was also reminiscent of that style utilizing strange characters like a witch, cat, and anthropomorphic owl. The part where Megg and Mogg kiss made me uncomfortable though as it is a human making out with a completely feline character despite his ability to speak. I really appreciate owls character. He seems very anxious and type A compared to Megg and Mogg’s type B attitude which makes their characters very relatable for different people. The whole comic feels surreal but relatable which I like. There are some bits I can not relate to though which kind of put me at a distance like partying a lot and drugs. I feel like these topics and the vulgarity of the comic would turn off a large portion of its possible audience.  I will most likely continue to read more but in the “I want to weird myself out” sort of way.

Week 13

This week I read Hellboy Savage Dragon. I have seen Hellboy since I was younger but had only ever seen the movie a long long time ago and have wanted to read the comics but was not expecting this. I got not even a few pages in and was surprised to see a large robotic Hitler in this book.  Then after Hellboy destroys him Nazis save his brain and after they do this I’m not really sure where the brain goes. It looks like it’s in the tank attached to the gorilla’s head which is even more ridiculous. The concept borderlines comedic from its outrageousness. I am sure it was sort of meant to convey itself that way but because of its intrinsic ridiculousness I found myself stopping to think if it was real rather than continue reading. I know Captain America has a lot of Nazi iconography in it but there it makes me sense and because of the age it came from and its message of patriotism but this seems all kinds of strange. Plus, it looks like this came from a recent year which somehow makes it weirder. I enjoy it to a certain extent aesthetically but even some of the characters are too weird to look at. I probably won’t continue reading from this series in the future. I know a lot of people like Hellboy and maybe I should read a different volume but this one was too strange to where it was kind of a turn off for me personally.

Week 12

I read This One Summer for comics by women, week 12. I very much enjoyed this book and was immediately sucked in in every way. The style of art is incredibly charming and enjoyably simple. Down to the text used it all just fits together. Even the language and common use of words like ‘uh’, ‘like’, and ‘just kidding’ is all stuff that’s relatable to how my friends spoke when we were fifteen. It’s a coming of age story but in a very subtle way. I feel like it doesn’t hammer home and into your face that this is about the hardships of growing and growing up as a girl. It’s incredible relatable in a not in your face kind of way which I enjoy. I feel like maybe I can relate to this type of story more because I am female and I feel like guys maybe would not like this story as much as I do. When I began reading I didn’t think too deeply but it slowly starts to show you that there’s something more to her parent’s relationship and I wanted to know more about it and beyond that more about the characters themselves. I feel like they are characters that are easy to invest in and enjoy. I felt as much disappointment and sadness when Rose and her mom fought in the kitchen. All in all, I think this is a really great book and would definitely read more by this author.