Darrells Blogs

Without hesitation I chose to read The Dark Knight Returns for this week. I am a die hard Batman Fan and could speak for hours about him. The main Idea behind Batman as a character is brain over brawn. Some might think its the other way around, and even though he’s very strong and skilled at fighting, he’s extremely smart and uses his knowledge to maneuver through tough and dire situations. There are multiple fascinating things that the Dark Knight Returns shows. The style in which the comic is illustrated seems a lot more traditional than digital and the line quality shows the artists precision and attention to detail. What I love about Batman in this comic is how he sports his old fashioned blue and grey outfit. That was his original outfit, however, in this comic he’s wearing it in a comic thats a lot more deeper and darker than the previous ones. Overall this comic was created in a time where Batman as a character was evolving into a more grounded and intense protagonists, and the

Very rarely do we see new superheroes take the spotlight. However in this weeks reading, Ms. Marvel stood out. She fits the bill when it comes to a well made superhero. The amazing fact about Ms. Marvel is that she not only appeals to women but to the younger audience, and ethnic readers. The protagonist Ms. Marvel also knows Kamala Khan is a young Arabic girl who has the ability to shapeshifter. It was real fun to see her powers take place in the comic but it was also interesting to see her family and household dynamic. Overall I really enjoyed reading this weeks comic and I feel like Ms. Marvel is a great addition to the superhero community and can be a bridge for many more great female superheroes to come.

What is your reaction to the text you just read? This was a deeper and darker take on the Batman series. This story surprised me with twists and turns around every corner, especially the interrogation scene with Batman and the Joker and how Batman found out that the Joker in the room was a fake. This story dosnt waste any time to take action and get serious. The moment detective Gordons daughter was shot I was shocked but not as shocked when Gordon was dragged to a carnival and stripped naked by the Jokers henchmen. Even though this comic was dark, I found it quite humorous at times. Especially the ending where the Joker made Batman laugh. I thought that was a perfect way to end the story. This comic felt like it was in the realm of dark humor. What connection did you make with the story, discuss the elements of the work with which you were able to connect? To be honest, I was laughing at pretty much every momment of this comic, even though it was dark. I found it hillarou

I've seen the covers of Bone multiple times but have never bothered to take a look into the comics. Now I have finally done so with this weeks reading and I’m glad I did. Firstly, I love the illustrated style of Bone. Everything in this comic is right up my alley when it comes to the visuals. The story follows three bald cartoon characters wondering in an unknown world who then meet up with a girl named Thorn. The visual element of this story is what really appeals to me. There are three cartoon characters that are plopped in the middle of an unknown world where they encounter humans and fantastical beasts. As a reader, I’m not trying to completely figure out why these characters exist in this world but instead just going along with the story as I enjoy the unique interactions especially with the bald cartoon character and the humans. At times it's out of the ordinary to see a mixture of character designs in a story, however, for Bone it works perfectly.

To be quite honest, I haven’t always been that intrigued by anime and manga. However, I have become a bit fascinated with it over the past few months and especially with this week's readings. I’m very glad I came across Astro Boy. I remember watching the animated movie as a child and now that I am older it was enjoyable to see Astro Boy in his original comic book illustrated form. In a desperate attempt to bring his son back after a car accident, a scientist creates a robotic replica in his son's image. Astro Boy is not only a robot, but he has enhanced strength and flight. The fascinating aspect about Astro boy is seeing a Japanese take on an action hero. Before Astro boy there weren’t any popular manga based action heroes. Everyone knew Spiderman and Batman, but when Astro Boy came into the scene he bridged the gap between western comic book lovers and manga.

I started off this weeks reading with Mobius Stories from Heavy Metal. This comic allowed European artists to showcase their talent in western cultural comics. Mobius Stories from Heavy Metal comprised of multiple stories. The comic opened up with a story titled Arzak which caught me by surprise with the bright saturated colors. Another aspect about this story was that is was wordless. Wordless comics are becoming one of my favorites to read because of how it relies more on the illustration and the placement of the subject matter to explain the narrative. The same thing also happens in the movie the Triplets of Belleville. There isn’t much talking in the film, however, I could tell exactly what was going on. This is a French made movie that depicts the story of a young man who works extremely hard to pursue the life of bicycling and competing. He works so hard that he becomes lean and bony to the point where he almost looks like a stick figure. His legs are long and skinny similar to h