Is This the End of Blogs? Perhaps Not, at Least for Me

As a person that has never kept a blog before this, I found the experience to be a quite enjoyable one.  That is not what I thought at first.  i thought that I would be bored of it very quickly.  Boy was I wrong.

The experience forced me to think of topics to write about for that week.  It kept me on my toes and just forced me to dig deep.  For a while,  the topics flowed pretty well.  Then there was a trickle of thoughts.  But that was a good thing.  As I said, it forced me to dig deep into my brain and pull out what was there.

I wrote about things that I thought that I would never write about.  Well, I did and it turned out very well.  Also, more importantly, I enjoyed it throughout the process of writing.

I have thought to myself though,  "What happens after the assignment is over with.  Do I leave it here, never to be read again or updated?  Just another faceless blog that the internet has forgotten? Is that what should be done?"

Well, I have put some thought into it and I will continue the blog after the class is finished.  However, the subject might not just be comics anymore.  Yes, I will still write about comics.  I will write on things that i know like art and gaming.  Comics will still be a major part of the posts though.  If anyone wishes to still follow me they can.  I love to share my knowledge and opinions to the world.

Megillat Esther Part 2

To be honest, much of what I said about Megillat Esther last week is true for this week.  The story is still a very good one.  Lots of twists and turns for a story that is from the Bible.  It kept me completely enthralled throughout the entire reading.  Not all stories can do that to me.  Especially if it is from the Bible.  Not to say the Bible is boring.  Its just that I do not usually go and read stories out of it just for fun.  Though I should probably put it into consideration.

Moving on.  The story is the same as the first half.  Only it wraps up things really nicely. Also, the book has to be turned upside down and read right to left, almost like a manga issue.  I was so confused at this point the first time that I got to this point, but I eventually got it.  Being a reader of some mangas it just got easier for me to read.

I really do not know why the author made the book go like this, but I can make a guess.  I believe it to represent the chaos that ensued during the entire reading of the story.  It is just one more thing to add to the chaos of the interludes and the little people arguing amongst themselves during the outing of Haman.

Besides the story, I believe there should be a section of the book that gives the reference as to what some of the references are.  The family portrait would make sense to more people if that was implemented.

Still a good story.

Bible Stories in Comic Form, is it a Good Thing

I know for a lot of us, not all mind you, do not just sit down and read the Bible, or Torah or whatever your religion has as the holy book.  For some of us, it isn't exactly exciting to read.  Sure, there are some interesting stories about men being swallowed by whales or ones that teach us important lessons about truth and things like that.  But that can be boring for some of us.  On top of that, some stories can be very hard to understand due to the language that they use.

Many people prefer visuals to just reading words on paper.  Pictures can help to understand what is happening in the story for the reader.  That is where comic books come into the picture.  Comic books can help people to understand their holy book much better.

There has been at least one attempt at doing this.  The book of Genesis was made into comic form by R. Crumb.

I know that this could not work with certain religions that consider iconography to be blasphemous, so for them it would not be wise to make their book into comic form.  For the others it could possibly work.

These books could get children to start actually reading their own holy book just so they could see the original source.  It would not be tricking them into religion.  It would just be giving them an alternate means into it.  When this actually happens, if it does, we would see an influx of religion into the world as we know it.

Megillat Esther Part 1

Well, here we are again. Time to talk about what we have read again.  To reiterate what has probably been said before.  Here we go again.

Megillat Esther is by far the best comic version of a story from the Bible that I have ever read in my life.  Granted, there are not many that I have read in my life, but this is still the best that there is.  The story, that I have read so far, is not one that I am familiar with in the Bible. (I am still surprised that there is no mention of God at all.)  It is still a very good story with insight to a fake event.  It does give insight also to the Jewish holiday of Purim which I never knew existed.  It seems like a very important and fun holiday in the Jewish world.  Costumes are always fun to wear no matter where you go.

Besides the story, the art was also very impressive too.  It is the most detailed art out of all the graphic novels that we have read so far.  While reading this, the art style reminded me of an anime that I had watched.  It contained the same contrasting shadows throughout it.  Here is a link to the clip. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7i6cajQhAok&feature=related

While reading this though, I still got very confused as to the interludes in the story.  They seemed to have no place in the story.  If they did,  i did not see them at all.  If I could get some explination, it would be greatly appreciated.

Animation Versus Real Life in Film

Throughout the entire Film Waltz with Bashir, it was all animated except for the last little bit of the movie.  Both styles give off a very different vibe when it comes to put out emotions to the audience.  They are both as different as day and night, but one could not exist without the other.  Well, they probably could, but it would just be very boring without the variety that it provides.

With animation, it makes the story seem very surreal or dreamlike to the audience.  It detaches the audience from the reality that is being showed to them.  It is like a whole other world to them.  All the blood, all the violence, all the depraved acts in it are not real and that is exactly how the audience perceives it.  If it was put into live action, it would affect the audience a lot more.

That is what happens at the end of the movie Waltz With A Bashir.  the movie shifts from being animated to real footage of the massacre.  It is almost a slap in the face to the audience in order to remind them that this actually happened.  What you just saw was the real thing.  It really wakes the audience to reality.

A slap in the face for reality.  It can be a painful experience but sometimes must be done.

If Waltz with Bashir had been done in live action for the entire movie, I believe it probably would not have had the same effect.  The detaching of reality is important to the impact that it gives in the end.

In conclusion, both forms are a valid art form.  It just depends on what you want to convey to the audience.  Think about that next time you compare animated and live action movies.

Waltz with Bashir

I think that I speak for most of the people in the class when I say that I became thoroughly depressed when I saw this movie.  Granted, I do not know much about the Lebanese war in 1982, but war is always depressing in terms of death and violence.  That is just the way of war I guess.

(I do not seem to know a lot according to these blogs,)

Anyway back on track.  Being a person that enjoys action movies, the ones with car chases and epic gun fight sequences, this movie hit me harder then any of those could.  Though not as graphic as some of those have been, this just hit me over the head and actually depressed me.  I think it is due to the fact that the story is autobiographical that made it so depressing.

The part that hit me the most were the Sabra and Shatila massacres.  It is hard to imagine that people can be capable of such cruelty to do such things.  Being that we studied the death camps not too long ago, I can see a lot of similarities between the killings.  The only difference real is that these killings happened in a few nights and not over many years.

I also got angry at this point too.  The Christian Lebanese Phalangists had no reason to slaughter those innocent people.  Sure, the group blamed the entire people, but that is not a good reason to kill hundreds or thousands of people.  There is no reason to do those things, but such is war and how it works.

Religious Identity in Jobnik

Yes I know what you are thinking.  I am just rehashing another post that I did about a week ago about the same subject, but I believe that religious identity plays a very big part of this story.  It is very important to the whole of Miriam Libicki as a character.

Throughout the graphic novel it is completely obvious that she does not conform to the traditional Jewish ways.  For one, she is not exactly shy when it comes to the subject of sex.  She seems to be very open to the fact with others.  Then again that can be said with a lot of people in this day and age.  This is defiantly very different from what many Orthodox Jewish people would do.

There is also the fact that she wears more revealing clothing then the other girls in her religious area.  Especially with low cut shirts compared to shirts that have to add lace in order to cover up more of the neck.  Defiantly quite a difference.

However, there are at least two instances where she actually does pray and goes to temple.  This would usually seem out of place with this sort of character.  However, this shows that know matter what you do, religion can still be very important to a person.

Even though she may not seem very religious in a way she is religious.  We all need something to turn to in dire times.  I guess religion is what you make of it, though we usually conform to a major one in the end.

Until next time.

Jobnik

Jobnik is an autobiographical novel about a girl who volunteered to join the IDF during the time of the Second Ifantada.  It tells us of her life during this time and also gives us some glimpses into her past in order to bring out the character that she is.

All in all, I think the story was a pretty good one.  It gives part of the history of what happened in Israel during that time but also what it was like to be in the IDF during that time, though she was never actually in combat.  Also, it shows so much personal insight to herself and and personal life.  Maybe a bit too much, but then again that is up to who reads it.

As I had said in my past post about my reactions to Maus, true stories are usually the best stories to be told.  Although this story isn't as emotionally packed, not to say that there is none, it is still a decent story if a bit disconnected at times.  But maybe it is just me not following well enough and that's just my problem.

I believe the best part of the story is the dealing with the duel identity as a an Israelite and Jewish American.  Having a double identity is defiantly a tough thing to have.  I would almost liken it to a superhero and their own secret identity.  The only difference is that she does not have to keep a side of herself secret from anyone.

Alla nd all a pretty good graphic novel.

Religious Identity

There are so many religions in the world that it can make ones head spin out of control into a black hole of insanity.  On top of that, there are almost an infinite amount of sects that make up the entire religion.  It is hard to keep track of it all.  And whats more the differences between the different sects can be from very minor things and people will argue the that to the other sects that believe them to be completely wrong.  Also some religions will go to war with the other sects.

I know that I can not go out there and change everyone's mind about how religion is supposed to be done.  I can only tell my opinions in the hopes of someone considering it.

I believe the sects of any religion with only minor differences should consider coming together as one so that they can stop all the arguing as to who is right and who is wrong.  Those who have major differences can not possibly come to an agreement.  These sects I believe are best left to being their own religion.  The only reason that I say this is for the fact that minor differences are easier to come to an agreement to then major ones.

I know that this will never happen due to the fact that people can be very stubborn with there religion.  So all that I have to say is this.  Know what you are.  It makes things a whole lot simpler.  Also don't push your religion onto others.  It's not very polite.

That Darn Cat

I am going to be very frank about The Rabbis Cat, it was not what I expected for a graphic novel.  It was worse than I thought it would be and I will tell you why.

For one thing, the art of the entire graphic novel really got to me.  Being an art major, I appreciate art that doesn't look like that it was done by a five year old.  I am not saying that it is utterly horrible, just that its so inconsistent that it hurts my eyes.  That cat changes his shape so often that I think it is made out of Play Doh.  It was just too distracting for me while I was reading it.

Speaking of the story, what was the point of it? It follows a basic story I guess, but it is so disconnected from itself that it hardly qualifies as a story.

Besides the story and the art, my biggest problem with the graphic novel was the cat.  That's right, the cat.  To me he seems like a complete jerk when he is given the gift of speech.  He keeps contradicting the Rabbi's rabbi and just generally getting people mad.  The way I was brought up was that you do not question peoples religion.  Its just not proper.  Also he just tells lies when he speaks.  Not a very good attribute to have when you can finally speak.

Maybe I am being too hard on the entire novel.  Maybe there is supposed to be some sort of message in it all and I don't get it.  I don't know.  Until then my opinion stays.

Holocaust memory and its Distrubution

It seems that America has an inane curiosity as to what happened during the Holocaust.  It is almost like a sick sort of curiosity but we still want to know.  Since most people nowadays were not in the Holocaust or for that fact alive during World War 2, most people do not have a first hand account of what happened during that time.  What we do have are people that were there, and the books and graphic novels that talk about what had happened.

With actual books, there are a lot of facts that are put into it to try and describe what happened according to primary sources.  Now, unless there are pictures put into the book, there is no actual way to show the horror that was the Holocaust.  You would have to imagine it all for yourself, and that image may not be accurate to what it actually was like.

With the graphic novels that are written about the subject, I believe that it gives a better idea of what it was like, although they are just drawings.  As with Maus, it gave you a sense of actually being there, even though the people are represented by animals.  The drawings themselves paint a horrifying picture.  It shows what it could have been like during that time.  Though not as accurate as a photograph, it is still as horrifying.

Both have their validity in telling of what happened, and each of them has advantages over the other.  Actual books have a more scholarly appeal while the graphic novel is a bit more accessible to a wider range of people and is usually a bit easier to understand than a book.  But like I said, both are valid in the way that they tell a story.

Maus Part 2 and my Reactions

Incredible.  This book is absolutely incredible. The story had me enthralled the entire time I read the book.  I think the biggest factor of it being so interesting was the fact that it is a true story.  I knew that he lives through it, but its the how that kept it going.  Wanting to know how he lived through it all.

I could not believe how clever that Vladek was during his time in the camp. Besides the fact that Vladek was skilled in jobs such as tin work and cobbling, he also knew English and other such languages.  These things put together helped him survive.

I knew that those who could not work were immediately killed off, but almost ten months, at least according to the book is quite a long time to survive against such great odds.  The only work that I knew of in the camps was the so called black work or grunt work.  But now I know of other types of work that Nazis used their prisoners for.

Going back to the book though, I find it hard to believe that Art waited so long to finish the second part of the book.  The conclusion of part one just left you hanging there.  Its like one of those TV mini series that concludes an episode on a cliff hanger and you have to wait a week to find out what happens next, only this time it took a couple of years to have a conclusion.

All in all, it is just as good as part one. Some disturbing images like the dead on the bathroom floor, moments of high tension and as always good writing.

Until next time.

The graphic novel and the Holocaust

During my reading of Maus, I wondered to myself if there were any other comics or graphic novels for that matter that had dealings with Jewish people during the time of the Holocaust.  Now, I did some research into the subject and there are quite a few comics and graphic novels on the subject.

One of the novels I came upon is a graphic novel version of the story of Anne Frank.  It is by Elizabeth Hudson-Goff,  and Jonatha A. Brown.  This is the classic book put into graphic novel form for those who do not wish to read the actual book.

Another one is simply entitled Auschwitz by Pascal Croci.  This one tells the story of an elderly couple retelling their tale from the camp.  It is apparently more graphic then that of Maus, but probably no more depressing.

The next one that I happened upon was not of the camps but of the ghettos.  Specifically the Warsaw ghetto.  It is entitled Yossel, April 19, 1943: A Story of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising by Joe Kubert.  This one is not a true story but more of a what if sort of story.  The writer imagines what would have happened to his parents if he had not left Europe before the times of the Holocaust.

There are many other graphic novels out there about the Jewish culture, the Holocaust and also just Jewish based stories such as those of the Golem and the like.  I might consider adding a few of these to my reading list at some point in the future.

Until next time.

Maus and My Reactions

Out of all my years of reading graphic novels and comic books, Maus is the most depressing thing in comic form that I read, and I have read comic stories that include being trapped in hell, families being killed in cross fire of gangsters and even one that included philosophical discussion that ultimately got me thinking and also depressed.  Besides that, it is one of the most engaging stories I have read.

Although I have some knowledge of the Holocaust, I never had much of an insight to what it was actually like inside the death camps and what it was like for Jewish people in general during this time in Europe.

With the constant hiding and acting like the enemy to stay alive during those trying times really showed how resilient these people were.  I will admit that I would not have lasted as long as some of them did hiding and dealing with black market goods so to speak.

I liked that it was a first person account on the matter and not just a multitude of accounts put together to put a general picture together.  Showing one persons account creates a more personal story for the reader and thusly makes it more interesting.

Along with the story, a lot of the imagery is great and thought provoking.  The one image that hit me the hardest was the one of the Jewish people being hung in the street.  I had to put down the book for a bit due to the fact that it is hard to imagine how cruel humans can be.

All in all, it is a great story and I can't wait to finish part two.

Until next time.

X-men and Racism

Throughout my years enjoying the X-men comics, animated series, video games, and movies, I had never put much though into the racism metaphor put into this universe.  When I was younger, I obviously did not think of such things until I was much older.  It is very obvious to me now.

The fact that mutants are not only hated, they are feared, puts a lot of emphasis on this.  They are feared by what they might do to the ones without powers.  That is why the sentinels were created to hunt down all mutant life.

The mutants all have different ways of coping with this sort of rejection among the general populous.  However there are three main ways that have been represented in X-Men.  There is the X-men way.  They hide among the populous and help them whenever they can.  They also try to create equal rights for mutants.  There is the Magneto way of dealing with it.  being very angry and contemptible of the world, looking down on the others and would rather see them dead and make the mutants the superior race.  Then there is the Morlock way of looking at things.  Hate all human life and even the "surface mutants." Do not get involved unless they encroach on the territory of the sewers.

All three groups deal with the rejection in their own way as we all do our own way.

An interesting note though.  The Sentinels are now a former weapon of oppresion to the mutants.  They are now used as manned units to protect the Xavier school.  Most find them unsetteling of course but now being manned, they are less of a threat to the mutants.

Until next time.

The Silver Age

After doing the reading for class, I must say, the silver age is possible the most important age of all of comic books. For both super heroes and the Jewish people.

At the beginning of this period, the comic book industry was at its lowest.  No one was buying comics and it seemed that it was all at an end.  But by some miracle, they started to become popular and sales began to rise again.

In this period, characters such as the Flash got a revamp and were released in their own comic series.  Some other second stringer heroes also got their time to shine.  Characters such as the Green Lantern got brought back and also got their own series.  Most of these characters survive today with their ongoing series still intact.

Also during this period there was a rise in diversity among comic characters, especially in the X-men universe.  Characters were created that were from Russia, Germany, and even from Canada.  Perhaps the biggest addition to this universe is the inclusion of the Jewish characters.  In this period we find out that magneto, the main protagonist to the X-men, is in fact a Jewish survivor of the Holocaust.  There was also the introduction of the character Kitty Pryde to the X-men who is openly Jewish.  This was a big step in the world of comics and the world of Jewish people to have openly Jewish characters.

I must say, besides the comic code of the Golden Age, I think the Silver Age has had the most influence on what comics are today.  Bringing much needed diversity among all aspects of the comic world. Bringing all the different characters that we have today and more.

Until next time.

Disney Presents Marvel Comics

As some of you may not know, Marvel comics are no longer owned by themselves. As of the end of 2009, they were bought up by Disney.  Now, I do not know your opinions on Disney or what you may think that might happen with the Marvel franchise due to this merger, but I find it ironic that a company whose founder was rumored to be very anti Semitic has acquired a company that was founded by Jewish comic writers and illustrators.

Now, I can not make any assumptions on the views of the late Walt Disney, its just that for years that I had heard that he was anti Semitic.  I always tried to push it out due to the fact that I was raised on Disney movies as a child as were many children my age.

However, the biggest irony is that Michael Eisner, the current head of Disney is he himself Jewish. A Jewish man in charge of a company that is supposedly anti Semitic. The world really does work in mysterious ways.

Getting back to the merger of these two companies, I have no idea what is in store for the future of Marvel comics.  It could go very badly by over saturating the market with crappy merchandise and even crappier everything else.  It could go very well and the company would flourish.  Or, and this is probably the best bet, it would pretty much stay the same.

I did learn that even before the merger, Disney had footholds in the company such as rights to animated features and their DVD releases.

All I can say for sure is that Disney has not screwed up the company or its intellectual property yet, so I guess that it will be just fine with this.

Until next time.

The Golem, the Original Superhero?

The Golem has been a huge mythic figure in the realm of Judaism for at least a couple of centuries.  A creature made of clay set to help the Jewish people. A protector if you will. Its story is akin to that of a modern day comic book superhero.  Super strong, indestructible, and it even has a weakness like most superheroes do. 

I had thought about this during the discussion on Wednesday.  Besides the legends of the Greek and Roman gods and their pantheon of deities, the legend of the Golem seems to be that of the original superhero.

The Golem legend does still impact the comic world.  In the Marvel universe there is the character of the Golem.  He is the Golem of Jewish legend.  There were even a few others that donned the name of Golem.  One was of a man in World War 2 that had accidentally gained the power to turn into a golem and defended Jews in Poland.

The Golem does have influence on the comic world besides its own character.  There are many parallels between the Golem and a couple of superheroes of today.  Some have considered Superman to be a golem like figure as he is seen as a protector.  Also the Hulk is is very Golem like as he is indestructible and super strong.  But perhaps the character most influenced by the golem legend is the character of the Thing.  A man with a body made of stone and also super strong says it right there.  It also helps that Ben Grimm is Jewish, but that was not revealed until the 2000's.  The Thing is the closest equivalent to the Golem that we have in modern day comic book lore.

It is with these findings that I would say that the Golem is the original superhero.

Until next time.

The Death and Rebirth of Captain America

Captain America.  He is one of those heroes that most people can really look up to.  The original all-American hero.  A symbol that stood for the American dream, the defender of the weak and protector of the innocent.  There is a reason why he fought with a shield back when he began his fight for America during World War 2.

Captain America was brought back to life after he was found frozen in ice in the North Atlantic. After being unfrozen, he again fought for the American ideal, just like he did back in the 1940's.  He continued to do this up until the end of the Civil War of the Marvel universe.  During this Civil War, superheros were split among each other on the issue of registering super powered individuals.  Even villains were joining their enemies to stand up for their beliefs. Near the end of this war, Captain America surrendered and was eventually arrested.  Before his trial could take place, Captain America was fatally shot on the steps of the courthouse.

The reason I am talking about Captain America is for the reason that he was a symbol of the protector for many Jewish children, and possibly some adults, during World War 2.  He was seen as the hero against the Nazi regime in Germany and the savior of Jewish people.

Though the original Captain America is dead, or possibly alive again due to rumors that I have heard, there will be a resurgense of Captain America fandom due to a movie that is in the works. I am personally looking forward to this movie.

For more information on the death of Captain America and what it means go to http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=2934283&page=1.

Until next time.

The Journey Begins

Having been a comic book reader my entire life, I had never really thought about the impact that Judaism, or anything else for that matter, has had on the comic book world.  I did know that the character of Magneto from the Marvel comic series X-Men was Jewish, but that was about it for my knowledge on the subject.

After reading A Contract with God, I am beginning to see the impact of the Jewish culture on the entire comic world, and I must say that it is one of the best things to happen to the comic industry.  Just by the fact that Will Eisner was there at the beginning of comic books says a lot.  Also by the fact that he started the sect of graphic novels says quite a lot too.  If it wasn't for that first publication of Contract with God, we would not have the groundbreaking series of Watchmen, V for Vendetta, or even the lesser known, but still respected, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.  And for that I thank Will Eisner.

On the subject of A Contract with God, I thought it to be a very well written piece of work.  The stories bring you into a world of a multitude of characters that seem to be the victim of the world that they live in. Victims of their own vices and of the culture that has been forced upon them.  All the while, it slowly brings you into the culture lives of Jewish people.  He does not flat out state that they are Jewish, save the fact of the main character of the title story is explicitly stated to be just that. 

I may not know much about the history of Judaism or its culture, but i do know this.  I cannot wait to learnso much more through the readings.