Creativity At It's Finest

As mentioned in other blogs, a lot of us have different opinions or conclusions as to how stories or certain parts of stories should be interpreted. For example, in class we discussed Megillat Esther on page 96 and the meanings behind it. Haman’s heart is drawn outside of his body and the next couple of frames show the chambers of the heart. At the end of the chamber there seems to be a person. As mentioned in class, could this be Haman? Professor Levine even made the reference that it almost looked like the chamber was a water slide and he was sliding down it. Because at the end we see him in a pool of what looks to be like blood or filth. With my first glance at this page, I was completely clueless as to what was going on, so I skipped over it. However, in class we focused on this scene and many people had different opinions of what it was supposed to mean. Maybe because Haman was such a greedy person, it was showing that on the inside his heart was filled with filth? Regardless of what is supposed to be interpreted through this scene, I think it’s pretty brilliant how imaginative people in our class are. Professor Levine’s comment about the water slide particularly interested me because I would have never looked at it in this way.

I think how the class was set up was really important to understanding and interpreting different perspectives of graphic novels. I enjoyed hearing other people’s thoughts as well as considering my own. I would suggest having an open discussion like this for previous classes dealing with graphic novels and comic books.

On a side note, for anyone using Twitter, I found JT Waldman’s twitter page if you’re interested (The picture I have posted above is actually his profile picture on Twitter. I was wondering, could this be as self-portrait?). It’s kind of cool to see a different side of him, as he posts pictures, articles, and even lets his fans know where he will be guest speaking next. I’ve included his Twitter handle below.
JT Waldman: @peartree4

J.T. Waldman

I’m still up in the air as to whether or not I enjoyed Megillat Esther. I deeply enjoy and appreciate the art provided in the novel, but the story itself didn’t do much for me. It’s possible that I had a harder time with this novel because it took more than just a glance to get through the book. Normally the comics we read, don’t require as much time to get through because they’re so short, but Megillat Esther, although the same in length, gave me a harder time. Throughout this novel, especially the second half, I was a bit confused as to where my eye should draw across the page. In the second half I understood that the book had to physically be flipped upside down, but then I was uncertain as to whether to read each frame from bottom to top or right to left. Because of this uncertainty it made most of the novel not so enjoyable to me, so I basically focused on the graphics. Doing a little more research about the Book of Esther on my own would have been beneficial to me.

In Waldman’s Foreword, in our BOS book, he explains that he had to do a lot of research and planning before even sketching for Megillat Esther. This gives me some influential insight when dealing with novels. Although I am not writing a novel, doing a lot of background research can help in any instance. In my case, just reading the Book of Esther was not enough research in preparation for reading Megillat Esther.

“To obtain an authentic voice for my retelling of the tale, I needed to learn Hebrew and begin extensive research. Three years passed before even one sketch for the project appeared”(BOS, x).

Megillat = Scroll

I really like coming to class after reading the assigned novel and getting background knowledge about the novel. It constantly gives me that moment of "Aha! I get that part!" I think reading the novel and coming back as a class to interpret it is really cool way to understand it. By giving us the background after we’ve read the book, it challenges us to figure out the parts we don’t understand when first reading it.

Both interludes in Megillat Esther flew right over my head because I didn’t understand the references. Discussing them as a class allowed me to appreciate the interludes and understand why they might be in the novel. However, this makes me question the people that do read the comics who don’t have the large support group that we do to discuss what certain frames might mean. Maybe reading comic books is an acquired skill, and after understanding what type of story you’re getting into, comic book readers do their own research or background of the story if they don’t already know how to interpret them.

The artistic detail Waldman displayed in Megillat Esther is something to be admired. Although I mentioned my appreciation for the detail of the art in my last post, I still hadn’t picked up on some details that others had. After our class discussion, I’ve decided my favorite frame has to be on page 58 displaying those who had been hanged. With the footnotes as part of the ground, it really forces you to look deeper into each picture. Someone brought up the fact the footnotes on the page, can be taken as literal footnotes, as those who were hanged are right above this piece of the frame. I think interpreting art, like those displayed in comic books, in your own way (like the footnotes) is a really cool aspect of graphic novels.

I can’t wait to flip the book and see what other details I can pick up on.

Esther

JT Waldman’s retelling of the Book of Esther in “Megillat Esther” was both new and interesting to me. Although I did not have much knowledge of the Book of Esther before reading it for this class, it seems like an appropriate topic to discuss in our class. Because Waldman was able to transform the book into a graphic novel, it gives the story a different feel. The adaptation of the story allows us to also take other themes into consideration and focus on other aspects of the story by putting emphasis on certain frames.

I enjoyed reading parts of “Megillat Esther,” but I had a hard time following it as a whole. It’s possible that I had trouble interpreting it because I don’t have much background with the Book of Esther. I found the graphics in the novel to be extremely detailed which caught my attention, but it was a challenge for me to follow the story. It seemed like I had to search for the text on each page and I wasn’t exactly sure where to begin reading, if it even mattered. I also had a hard time interpreting what some of the pictures displayed because I think there was just so much going on in each scene. Not to mention the fact that the text was also translated in Hebrew, which I thought was really cool but just too distracting for me.

I’m interested to see what our class discussion holds. I think after we talk about the underlying themes of the story and the concepts we are supposed to understand from both stories, I will better appreciate them.

A Significant Waltz

I really liked “Waltz With Bashir.” Although much more graphic then I previously thought it would be, it was quite enjoyable. I think by animating the story, it gave us a different view of such a tragic event. It does not necessarily make the story easier to view, but it puts it in a different light, giving us an artistic appreciation of the events that took place.

I specifically liked the way the film was animated. Again, it reminded me of “Waking Life,” because of the stiffness the characters had, but realistic at the same time. In class someone mentioned the scene which the woman jumps in the water off of the boat, holding the soldier. This particular scene stood out to me as well because you saw each droplet of water appear after the splash. I think I liked this type of animation so much, simply because it was something different. The basic colors that were used put forth a certain mood of each scene, so that numerous colors weren’t needed.

I agreed with professor Lavine, in that the two most shocking scenes were the beginning and the end, particularly the beginning for me. When the film first began it showed a group of vicious-looking dogs running through the street. The color tones as well as the sounds just made that entire scene completely eerie, which I thought was a pretty intriguing way to start the film.
Finally, I thought the last scene with the live footage to be quite crucial to the film, as most other students thought. I think the real documented footage was a way to tie us back into reality from the animated version we had just seen. Although extremely graphic and depressing, it was important for people like me to see that video at the end because it made me understand the story better as a whole.

Overall, a really excellent film that I would recommend showing again in classes related to this topic.

Pre: "A Waltz With Bashir"

Looking at this week’s schedule I noticed we will be viewing a film entitled “Waltz with Bashir.” Frankly, I was a bit confused when I first read this and tried to figure out which book we had to read! Finally after rereading our syllabus again I figured it was a film. So, I did a little research.

“Waltz with Bashir” is film that portrays the 1982 invasion of Lebanon. An Israeli film director interviews veterans from the invasion in order to remember his term in the service during this time. "One night at a bar, an old friend tells director Ari about a recurring nightmare in which he is chased by 26 vicious dogs. Every night, the same number of beasts. The two men conclude that there's a connection to their Israeli Army mission in the first Lebanon War of the early eighties. Ari is surprised that he can't remember a thing anymore about that period of his life. Intrigued by this riddle, he decides to meet and interview old friends and comrades around the world. He needs to discover the truth about that time and about himself. As Ari delves deeper and deeper into the mystery, his memory begins to creep up in surreal images."

While viewing the trailer of the film on YouTube I was reminded of the film “Waking Life.” Not because the film is animated, but the way in which the characters and scenery are drawn, give us that life-like feel, although animated.

From the trailer it seems like the film is going to be quite violent and graphic, which should be pretty interesting because of the animation. I'm interested to find out why the title has the word "waltz" in it as well.

Below I have provided a few links: One where you can watch the trailer of the film and the other is a site I found some information on where you can watch clips, check out photo galleries, and other fun stuff.

Click Here To Watch The Trailer!
Check Out More Info On The Film!

Miriam Libicki: Ok, I'll give her another chance

In my last post, I expressed my disinterest in Jobnik! However, after our class discussion, I have a new appreciate for the novel. Although I did not necessarily enjoy the novel, I now understand it better because of the discussion we had in class. I think it really helps when we cover background information about the books, but I think I would have liked to absorbed the background about Israel before I read Jobnik!, so I wasn’t so lost.

Because Jobnik! was the only book I haven’t really enjoyed in this class, I decided to do some outside searching to try and convince myself otherwise. Although I can still say that I did not enjoy Jobnik! I am excited to say that it’s not Miriam Libicki that I do not enjoy, it is just this particular work. At first I was taken back by not enjoying the book, but I think that’s healthy when reading any style of writing. You’re not supposed to like everything, and that’s ok. After reading a bit on her blog, as well as a few article reviews, I have decided that I am going to go beyond the class syllabus by reading other works created by Libicki.

Below, I have provided a link to Libicki’s blog as well as an article that featured a question and answer segment for Libicki. As discussed in class, Libicki is quite interested in nude drawings. One of the questions asks her what advice she would give for any aspiring cartoonist and her answer was to do a lot of live figure drawing. Although live figure drawing does not necessarily have to be nude, it reminded me of our discussion in class. Regardless if the drawing will be nude, I think Libicki was right to encourage artists to use live figures to really grasp an idea of how a cartoon should be illustrated.

Article: http://tinyurl.com/2ezypt7
Libicki’s blog: http://www.realgonegirl.com/about.html

jobnik!

After reading jobnik! by Miriam Libicki, I am said to say I was not a fan! I was pretty excited because this was the first comic we were assigned to read by a female author, but it really didn't appeal to me. I may have missed important aspects of this story (which may be why I didn't like it very much), because I thought it was really hard to follow. I understood that Miriam (the main character) was involved in the Israeli army before and after the attack in the US on 9/11. This is about where I get lost.

Jobnik is a derogatory slang used by combat soldiers for soldiers with desk jobs or basically lower ranks of jobs. I understand that Miriam may represent this stereotype that some of the other soldiers had. In a way I think that she almost lived up to the stereotype because she knew she was being degraded when sleeping with men who treated her badly, but she continued doing it with others. It seems that her whole life she had been degraded by men in general, but it was almost as if she didn’t try and prevent it. It’s possible that interpreted things wrong or differently, but this is just the general sense I got from all of it.

I think the main reason I was so confused by this book was because the story itself jumped round a lot. I wasn’t really sure how some things related and I got confused when the plot would jump back in time. Because I found the story hard to follow, it made reading it a little annoying. I even got a little irritated with Miriam’s character because she never really stood up for herself and was just socially awkward most of the time. Which makes me think, again, that I may have missed some important themes of this novel.

More on The Rabbi's Cat

One thing that that really struck me as interesting during our class discussion yesterday was the comparison of “The Rabbi’s Cat” and “A Contract With God.” It was mentioned that they saw this parallel when the rabbi was eating the meal of non-kosher foods and in “A Contract With God” when Frimme changes his attitude about life when his daughter died and stopped practicing the Jewish traditions. Before being mentioned, I would have never sought out this similarity, and although they are different stories I still like being able to compare certain themes or aspects of other stories.

The class had mixed feelings about the ending of “The Rabbi’s Cat” because it left a lot of questions unanswered. The rabbi confessed that he did not know what was actually right in life. A few people in class thought this contradicted the rabbi’s original views. However, I liked the ending because I think there is a lesson to be learned. Although the rabbi had complete faith throughout the story, at the end he decided he wasn’t so sure as to what was correct for a person to do. I think the trip to France gave him a better perspective of other people and allowed him to diversify his beliefs. I think by leaving his followers with a sense of uncertainty at the end was pretty affective. I liked the fact that the rabbi was questioning his beliefs, but left it up to everyone to decide for themselves what they would do with this information. Also mentioned in class, Jewish faith revolves around questioning everything. I think the rabbi changing his perceptions and considering new options can be a theme related to Judaism in general.

The Rabbi's Cat

Joann Sfar’s graphic novel entitled “The Rabbi’s Cat” has more than one theme running through it. Much different than the other novels we have reviewed, “The Rabbi’s Cat” offers a discrete sense of humor throughout all the three parts. Using a cat to narrate the tale in itself can be considered quite different and therefore amusing to us. Toward the beginning of the novel, the Rabbi’s cat eats the Rabbi’s parrot and gains the ability to speak. The Rabbi and his daughter, Zlabya, think this fact is alarming but soon they become well adapted to their talking cat. I find this type of novel very enjoyable to read.

Once the cat is able to talk, the Rabbi immediately insists that the cat learn and respect Jewish traditions. The cat’s first thought is that he wasn’t so sure if he wanted to follow Jewish traditions because although his master is Jewish, he wasn’t so sure he was. This type of conflict could be seen in numerous novels, whether they are traditional or more modern. The ability to chose your religion and way of life is something each person must deal with in their lifetime. Because the cat is much like a child to the Rabbi he must decide whether or not he will follow in the same footsteps as his master, who can be viewed much like a parent figure.

One of the scenes that interested but also confused me was the one where the cat began having nightmares about his mistress, Zlabya. During this scene much of the nightmares were underwater. Although the nightmares were about Zlabya dying and leaving the cat and the Rabbi, I’m still unsure as to why the scene took place underwater. Does this have anything to do with cat’s being afraid of water? Maybe because it was the cat’s nightmare, it was supposed to show a deep sense of fear by having the cat experience the horror of his mistress dying in an even more intense atmosphere.

9/11..Spiegleman's Own Holocaust?

In the "Time Stands Still" article in BOS, McGlothlin focuses on Spiegelman’s newer comic entitled “In The Shadow of No Towers.” The difference between this piece and Maus is that Spiegelman was present during the terrorist attack that destroyed the World Trade Center skyscrapers on September 11, 2001. Maus was a depiction of the memories he learned from his father, whereas “No Towers” was an actual event that occurred in which Spiegelman was deeply affected because of its immediacy. Not only did he live a few blocks from the disaster, but was forced to run with his family as the north tower collapsed. Although the terrorist attack on 9/11 can not be compared to the Holocaust, this was an event in which Spiegelman was affected and always will be, much like his father with the experience of the Holocaust.

Maus and “No Towers” differ as a whole, as far as the story is concerned. However, the way in which the graphics of the comics are portrayed are quite different as well. In Maus the pictures are organized in order and are displayed simply in black and white. “No Towers” introduces us to a more chaotic form of comic. By chaotic, I mean less organized of a setup than Maus. Spiegelman uses watercolors and more of a collage-type frame for the graphics. I’m not exactly sure why he chose to portray the story this way, but from the reading I think he did it to show the sense of urgency that the event actually took place in his life not long ago. Maus was more of a historical story to him and to us as an audience, so it was portrayed in black and white with a more organized storyline.

Although we get to see glimpses of “In The Shadow of No Towers” out of the readings in BOS, I would be quite interested in tracking this down to read the entire thing for myself. Because I liked both volumes of Maus, I would be interested to see if Spiegelman’s other works also appeal to me.

Maus II

The second volume of Maus, although a continuation of the first volume, is quite different because of the story line. Although the story is continuing, I liked the fact that Spiegelman used different themes but was still able to carry out the rest of the story in a similar light.

I really liked Spiegelman’s use of reality in this volume. Although he used it in the first volume, he really exaggerated this in the second volume. The first scene shows Spiegleman and his wife Francoise trying to figure out which animal she will portray in the comic book itself. This fact alone is quite interesting to interpret.
I also like the scenes in which Spiegelman is in a slump and is unable to continue writing. I feel like because of his father’s death, he became depressed but didn’t really know it. Overall he just seemed confused, but the scene with his shrink explains the guilt he may have felt from his father having to face the Holocaust. The graphics during his slump were also the most intriquing to me.

Although Spiegelman is portrayed as a stingy old Jewish man in his later years, during the Holocaust he was quite resourceful and intelligent, which is what probably saved his life. Not only was he able to survive, but he helped others when he could. Because he was able to save things and be so resourceful during the Holocaust, this is probably why he continued being that way later on in life.

I thoroughly enjoyed both volumes of Maus, but there is one thing that I would still like to learn more about. The death of Anja is not really discussed much in the Maus, but it is something I would of liked to read about more in depth. Maybe this is because Spiegelman touched on this topic in “Prisoner on the Hell Planet.”

Holocaust Memories in Comics

While discussing Maus I in class, I picked up on a few topics or themes that I had not when I read it myself. There is a scene in which portrayals of killings and abuse were focused on with children. I’m not sure why I didn’t really think anything of this scene the first time around, but while discussing it in class I realized how horrifying it was. I think I may have over passed this section because this kind of portrayals are common in film and literature, especially today so it was something that almost did not phase me as much as it should have. Thinking back to the time of the Holocaust, I can’t imagine being a parent, or even an adult, at that time and seeing this type of thing happening all over to innocent children.

We talked about Spiegelman’s other piece “Prisoner on the Hell Planet,” which is featured in Maus I. Before our discussion I didn’t relate the two pieces, but it is interesting to see the parallels in the ending of both of them. They both end similarly, accusing a parent of being a “murderer.” Because there was so much tension during the Holocaust, people didn’t know who they could trust. Not only was trust an issue, but this affected having normal relationships with other people. We can see this between Vladek and his new wife, Mala. It is also displayed between Art and Vladek.

This goes to show that the Holocaust changed people, and because not all people reacted like Vladek, we can see that that Holocaust changed people in many different ways.

Maus I

Art Spiegelman’s Maus is his father’s tale of survival of the Holocaust. I felt Spiegelman’s representation of different ethnicities as different animals was really unique as well as helpful for readers. I especially liked the scenes where Vladek and other Jewish people were trying to portray themselves as Polish, so the illustration had them wearing masks of pigs (which is the animal Polish people represented in Maus). It took me a second glance to understand the meaning of the pictures, but after realizing what they were portraying I thought how smart of Spiegelman to do it this way.

Not only do we get to see glimpses of Vladek’s life during Hitler’s reign, but we get to see how Vladek and Art himself interacted after his father’s survival. We see instances of how surviving through the Holocaust has changed and shaped Vladek by his need to save everything he owns like old papers, but especially his money. Art even jokes that his father is living up the stereotype of old Jewish men being stingy about their money.

At the end of the comic there is a scene between Vladek and Art. They are talking about Anja’s diaries (Art’s mother). Throughout the comic Art asks Vladek to search for these diaries because they would give him some great insight of what she went through. When Vladek tells Art he burned them because he was upset, Art calls him a murderer. I thought this specific word was interesting for Spiegelman to use. At first I was upset that Art would treat his father this way, but when reconsidering the situation, it is almost like a murder has taken place. Because Vladek burned all of her diaries, he also burned the memories of her. In this sense, we could think of Vladek as a sort of murderer.

As I read the first volume of Maus it kept me wanting more. So, I am eager to read the second volume. Although I have yet to read the second volume, I can already agree with people in class who have mentioned that they think it is wrong to just read the first volume.

Spidey & Comix

In my last post I focused mainly on the X-Men aspect of the Silver Age of comics because it seemed like the dominant theory of the chapter. Although extremely intriguing, I forgot about a few other things I found interesting.

Although I have never read a Spiderman comic, I have seen recent movies associated with Spiderman. And, although I thoroughly enjoyed these, I had not once associated Spiderman as a metaphor for teenagers going through the unfamiliar aspect of life known as puberty. I think by using Peter Parker as a way for teens to associate themselves was a really smart move on Marvel’s part. Because comics were changing and focusing on broader audiences, this was a character that young adults could feel they related to. Not only this, but I also really liked the idea that Spiderman was realistic when he first discovered his powers. Of course most superheroes fight crime and protect the city, but this was not Spiderman’s first intention after discovering his power. Spiderman used his power selfishly to win money on things like tv shows and wrestling matches. Although this is not the type of hero we normally read about, I think it can be admirable because it’s realistic. Spiderman eventually uses his power for good because of the death of his uncle, which I think can be justified. I think it would be safe to say that many people put in Peter Parker’s place would do the same thing if they realized they had powers capable of many inhuman things.

“Comix” are a form of underground comic books that also became popular during this time. Because they contained subject matter that focused on sex, drugs, and politics, they were not the kind of comics you would see mainstream. I had never heard of Comix before Kaplan’s chapter on them, but they sound quite interesting to me and I’d like to look into them a bit more.

"X-Men As J Men"

“What makes Magneto tick?” A question asked by X-Men’s author, Chris Claremont. After reading much about X-Men, specifically Magneto, this quote can be explained and elaborated upon. I think the underlying ideas of the X-Men comic were really smart and can be admired for being displayed so artistically. I liked that X-Men differed from other Jewish comics by linking Magneto with actual history of Jewish oppression. Not only can the whole idea of X-Men being mutants relate to how Holocaust victims were treated during WWII, but Magneto’s past experience with the concentration camps also shows us glimpses of the horrors of the Holocaust.

To answer the question previously stated, Magneto himself as a person is strong and powerful yet at the same time, full of hurt and pain from his Holocaust experience. According to BOS, Magneto ticks like a clock and the heavy metal and machinery located in concentration camps. Magneto’s past is what drives him to “tick and tamper with things (144).” This is his character and it developed because of his harsh past.

Not only did Claremont write about the hardships faced by Holocaust victims and survivors, but he expressed the general problem that society has at accepting those who are different, or “mutant.” Baron’s article “X-Men As J Men,” repeatedly discusses the importance of treating everyone as equals, and uses the “Holocaust as a metaphor for the vulnerability of any minority group.” Not only can we connect X-Men to different ethnic groups being treated unfairly, but the X-Men were also a way to target teens. Claremont’s use of the mutants being freaks of nature, allowed younger adults going through puberty to reflect and feel like they could relate.

The bottom line is that in some way we are all “mutant” and therefore we shouldn’t treat one group of people differently or any lesser just because it’s easier. Like X-Men (film) director Bryan Singer said in the article, “all kinds of people should live in as much peace and harmony as humanly possible on this planet, regardless of their differences.”

"The Golden Age"

When asked how we remember our first experience with comic books and comic book heroes, the following came to mind: video games, cartoons, movies, and parents. If I had to think back to my first memory of a comic book hero I would probably have to associate it with the mid 90’s cartoon portrayals of Spiderman and Batman. I’ve also always grown up watching the numerous versions of Batman films (I think the first one I ever saw was with Val Kilmer portraying Batman). It seemed like a common theme among the class was that we had watch different versions of comic books in movies or on tv. It’s just interesting to think about how times have changed, in that most of the students in the class didn’t grow up reading the comic books themselves. But, I am sure there are a few of us that did. I think it’s really neat to see the idea of superheroes still holding on, but just being displayed in a different manner such as video games or remakes of movies.

One interesting comment came up in class today, which I hadn’t even thought of. Someone made the comment that although most of the Jewish undertones in comic books are unintentional, why is it that none of these Jewish authors and artists directed their work to portray certain instances in Jewish culture in the first place? I think the inference that we made as a class to answer this question is intelligent. Because Jewish authors and artists were going through a time when ethnicity was not celebrated, the demand for this type of content was minimal. Another reason could be that these writers simply didn’t want to write about their past. Comic books were a way for them to overcome their obstacles and escape the reality of what had happened.

On a final side note, I just want to say that I think the idea of the “Golem” is very intriguing and I’d love to learn more about the theory around this character. And, although “The Thing” and a few other characters may resemble the “Golem,” I would have never associated them with the “Golem.” So, it’s interesting to see how other people, who are more engaged in comics, theorize these characters and find parallels.

"Up, Up, And Oy Vey!"

"How do you circumcise an orange brick?"

Good question. Referring to Fantastic Four’s, “The Thing” as a character with a dominant background of Judaism, had never occurred to me before reading this article. Although I have mentioned it before, I am not an avid graphic novel reader and therefore have not been entirely indulged in the movies they have made based off of comic books. However, I have seen the film version of “Fantastic Four,” which I enjoyed. Although it has been awhile since I have seen the film, I ‘m sure I would be able to pick up certain characteristics of Judaism in the story or some of the characters if I were to watch it again.

“Up, Up, And Oy Vey!” focuses on the characteristics displayed by “Fantastic Four’s” characters, especially that of “The Thing.” Because they are so close with one another, the Foursome is more of a family than anything, reflecting the importance of family in the Jewish Community. The article’s author, Simcha Weinstein, also explains the importance of earth, water, air, and fire in Jewish spiritual practices (which obviously represents the four characters).

I find it extremely surprising that most Jewish authors, according to this article and “From Krakow To Krypton,” did not purposely focus on Jewish undertones. The Jewish references in many instances just happened to arise ironically. I do believe the authors when they explained this situation as well. Because they grew up Jewish, I think they may have touched on Jewish symbolism because it was first nature to them.

I liked the fact that the Fantastic Four didn’t have to follow “clean-cut, all-American” models of heroes, much like Superman. Regardless of their religion, the Fantastic Four are a different group of comic book heroes which gave the industry a fresh new attitude towards these types of literary work.

"A Contract With God"

Discussing Eisner’s “A Contract With God,” in class has helped me grasp a few things I missed when reading it myself. I found it quite interesting that throughout each of the short pieces, sexuality is used in more than one instance. Not only the story line itself, but the explicit graphics show a deep sense of sexuality. This is not necessarily a negative aspect to Eisner’s work, just an observation I have encountered. Also, it seems that the women are generally focused on in these instances as well. In “A Contract With God,” Frimme’s mistress is displayed as wearing modern clothing which is somewhat revealing. In “The Street Singer,” Diva Marta Maria initiates the sexuality, and she is more exposed in the drawing. In “The Super,” the little girl is displayed in a towel. And finally in “Cookalein,” Mrs. Minks is drawn naked, as well as Goldie. Is this because the male anatomy is just too revealing, or does this say something else about women in general?

On a different note, I think Frimme’s story in “A Contract With God” is exceptionally intriguing. First, I find it interesting that Eisner’s devastating experience with losing a child influenced his character of Frimme. I wonder if Eisner himself went through any drastic changes in life like Frimme did. I also found the parallel of Frimme and the young boy at the end of the story to be smart on Eisner’s part. In class we talked about the possibility of the young boy winding up down the same road that Frimme did, which I predict would be the epilogue if there ever were one. Someone had mentioned in class about the lightness and the tones of the graphics, which I believe foreshadow the young boy to lead a similar life as Frimme, in that there is no true happiness.

My First Comic Book Encounter

Will Eisner's "A Contract With God," is the first comic book I have ever read. Yes, I said it. Before entering Judaism in Comic Books, the only type of graphic novel I had experience with was skimming through a few pages of “Maus,” which I am also quite eager about. But, I must say that after reading one of Eisner’s works, I am truly excited to make it up to myself. I would have never known graphic novels and comic books could be so in depth, because I virtually know nothing about them.

When I think comic books, I think Spiderman, and that's about it. So, when enrolling for this class I repeatedly asked myself how a class could be based on comic books, specifically Judaism in comic books. What I have learned so far is that “comic book” doesn’t have to mean just superheroes and villains. After reading some of Eisner’s work, I feel like comic books are just a different template for any kind of story. It doesn’t make them less important or less interesting. Eisner touches on themes that any author could in a novel, he just also happens to provide us with some interesting graphics to go along with it. Which, I completely appreciate. I’ve come to realize the graphics in comic books are not just pictures, they’re artwork. The attention to detail specifically in “A Contract With God,” should be admired.

I liked Eisner’s portrayal of the Bronx, because it really allows us to get a feel for the tenement structure of how people lived. Because this book is semi-autobiographical, this encourages me to understand that this is really how people lived during this time period. A book could express this to me, but sometimes it’s nice to have the picture painted for us to get a better emotional understanding.

I’m interested to see what else Eisner has to offer, as well as if any of his themes cross over into his other works.

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Assign 5-Depth of the field

Christmas lights are a great way to liven up any home, no matter what time of the year. Photo by Jessie Tadder.Christmas lights add an artistic touch to any living space. Photo by Jessie Tadder.

Photo I practice

Assign 4- "Down" & "Up"

Looking down an abandoned stairwell really shows off the beauty of Oshkosh. Photo by Jessie Tadder

You are able to capture new shapes when looking up the side of an old apartment building. Photo by Jessie Tadder

Assign 3- Shutter Speeds

The smell of burning charcoal is one sign that spring is on the way. Photo by Jessie Tadder. (f/3.5, 1/80)
Enjoying the sun on her daughter's spring break, Margaret grabs a refreshment. Photo by Jessie Tadder. (f/5.0, 1/1600)

Assign 2 -Frames

The creeping vines draw your eyes across the fence. Photo by Jessie Tadder 

The vertical lines of the fence draw your eyes off into the distance. Photo by Jessie Tadder

Assignment 1

Being an environmentalist, a tattoo of a tree was only fitting for Jessica. Photo by Jessie Tadder

I am a pasta freak. Photo by Jessie Tadder

Grapefruit (test)

I love to eat grapefruit.