Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud was a fantastic explanation of the mechanisms behind comics and how we the viewers process sequential imagery. I loved his explanation of why more realistic images tend to be more particular and therefore less relatable to the viewer, and how we as humans tend to project ourselves into more relatable characters. I also loved his breakdown of how we process time in a medium like comics, and all of the potentiality that the medium has. Not only was the information in the book fascinating, it was also a highly effective, visually appealing comic in and of itself. Strangely the book was published in 1994, and i feel like the only graphic novel I've read that really pushes the concepts he elucidates to the max, is Promethea by Alan Moore. Promethea goes above and beyond the artistic call of duty, stretching time, space, and the readers mind, with its graphic storytelling techniques. Ensuring that what is being read is both felt and experienced by the reader first had.
I really loved how music was integrated into this weeks reading. Both the music and the art styles seemed to twist and flow together in one moment of nonlinear expression. It’s like you could feel the culture of the time, dripping out of its conventional constraints through any and every available crack or gap. The religious experience of Phillip K Dick, was really intense. I've heard a few people talk about his experience before, but had never realized that it was centered on Christianity. I also really enjoyed some of the underground stories and art styles in the Mothers Oats Comix. The pinnacle of this particular reading experience was listening to In-a-gadda-da-vida, while flipping through “The Dope Dealer”. I also really appreciated the diversity of style and storytelling, in “Gay Comix”. It was pretty awesome hearing about different things people had experienced, and seeing the individual ways they wrote about and expressed those experiences.
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