The Street Singer

I read the Street Singer by Will Eisner and again blown away by his attention to detail. Almost every illustration has a surrounding environment which gives the subject a context and allows the viewer to become deeply involved with what is going on in the story. I like how some of the frames are not actually "framed" and uses the white space a round it to create the space needed for a successful panel. I think that a good comic strip artist has to draw really well as well as tell a story in a short concise way without watering it down. According to this graphic novel, he has done an amazing job.

Heroes of the Blues

I read Heroes of the Blues and have come to think that it is my favorite illustrations by Robert Crumb. I felt that even though the illustrations were really detailed and rendered, they were still iconic in a way that they are easily recognizable. If you know anything about these guys, you would be able to recognize them in the comic. I also like these cards because it is very consistent and structured but doesn't lose the viewers attention because of the illustrative and colorful drawings. Usually when I think of comics, a funny caption or drawing comes to mind. In this set of comic cards, comics are actually used for an educational purpose, that, in my opinion, is very useful. The information is direct and to the point and the almost photo-realistic drawings help you understand who these legends really are.

A Contract with God

I read the graphic novel "A Contract with God and Other Tenement Stories". The first thing I noticed was the hand generated type. I think since I am a graphic designer it was something that really grabbed my attention. In fact, I was more impressed with the type than I was with the illustrations at first. But after reading a couple pages I began to really look at the illustrations and then realized how much work it must have been (much more than the type). So that was my initial reaction to the work of Will Eisner. As I continued to read I found the stories to be quite interesting and really got into it. I read "A contract with God" first, but kept reading the rest if the stories since he had my attention. I think these comics need to rely on a good story along with good illustrations. Because one without the other wouldn't hold the attention of someone like me. My favorite story was "A Contract with God". I thought it was well written but kind of left you hanging at the end. Like the conclusion wasn't completely settled. I found this to be the same with most of the stories he wrote. Overall I think that Will Eisner's novel was a good read and would be interested in reading his other novels in the future.

Peanuts

It has been a while since I have a read a Peanuts comic. I remember reading them every now and then when I was young, but I have never been an avid comic collector/reader. For the longest time I thought comic books were for the kids who thought they were superman or ran around in costumes all the time shooting people with invisible webs. But now I really have a greater appriciation for comic strips and for the artist who creates them. I was amazed at how funny a little strip of Peanuts could be while the illustrations are so simple. This time around I paid a lot of attention to the details, such as facial expressions and hand gestures. I noticed how much is communicated through these features, and how it can really give the reader enough information to put the "inbetweens" together.

Calvin and Hobbs and Peanuts have been my favorites to read for these reasons. I enjoy getting a smile or chuckle out of them too. I have yet to read a serious comic, but Im sure I will soon enough.

So overall, I am beginning to enjoy the comic strip with the more I read. Maybe it will become one more thing to add to my already busy life :)