"Moving Pictures" - Ryan Stevens

1. Analyze: Rising Action
The Rising Action in this graphic novel is the approach of the German's, the German invasion and the efforts of the French people to protect the precious artwork from falling into the German's hands. There is a lot of effort by the main characters to hide and protect the artwork from being taken by the nazis. The anxiety that the characters go through is evident throughout the entire book. Which is understandable seeing the characters don't know what nazis plan to do with the artwork when they find it.

2. Rating: PG-13
Sexual themes and content. There is one bedroom scene where it is insinuated that the characters had casual sex and that casual sex as whole during this time is an acceptable activity. Adult language including a awkwardly used F bomb on page 32. It seems they just used it randomly and for no real specific reason. To be honest is was a little confusing.

3. Springboard:
The author must have researched not only the German invasion of France but the history of the artwork that was in France at the time and the German's efforts in obtaining the artwork from the museums and private collections. I was interested in what the most famous pieces of art were that were stolen and recovered by and from the nazi's during WWII. So I did a little research and this is what I found. The most famous and priceless work of art stolen by the nazi's in WWII was a sculpture created by Michelangelo called "Madonna of Bruges". The sculpture is made of marble and is a sculpture of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus Christ. They also stole many works by Van Gough, Degas, Cezanne and Vermeer. Some of which are still missing or thought to have been destroyed to this day.

Madonna of Bruges by Michelangelo

4. Apply:
I like the dark feeling of the backgrounds throughout the novel. I like that it helps put most of the focus on the foreground and the characters. I might want to use this in my own book to show specific emphasis on certain characters or events that might be important for the reader to notice and understand throughout the narrative.

Heavy Liquid - Britta Frazier

Analyze: Character - Secondary

The character is definitely a main focus of the story but for it to be primary the story would have to be focused on a significant change in the character's personality. For the most part S remains the same throughout the story. The events he goes through don't necessarily make him better or worse. And if he does go through any change of character it is not a central part of the story. Idea or Event would be considered primary.

Rating: PG-13/R

For language (5 F words), violence, and drug use. Drug use especially is a main theme of this comic.

Springboard: Paul Pope would have to be familiar with different languages since some of his characters speak Spanish, and French. Either he'd need to speak them himself or use something like Google translate. Also, since the story takes place mostly in a large, crowded city, good reference would be needed. I for one cannot draw buildings from imagination alone, but since Pope lives in New York City good building reference is right on hand.

The story takes place in the future, but the car/trains and stuff still look very modern day. I did some follow up research on bullet trains (since a few scenes take place in trains), just to see what they look like inside and out. I can see what kinds of designs Pope stuck with and what he modified to help his story visually.

Apply: I've been struggling with figuring out the kind of line quality/style I want to use in my own comic.. Heavy Liquid was an excellent example of how to effectively use bold, think, and messy (but controlled) lines. It's unique and has a distinct visual impact. Probably not what I want to use in my comic, but it's good to see options.

Tout Seul - Aileen Thomas

(Pronounced "Too Sell" with a French inflection.)

1. EVENT: Primarily Secondary... although only somewhat. The event is when the younger sailor decides to leave a note for Tout Seul. He asks "What would make you happy?" Until this point all of the scenes we've had with Teut Seul were somewhat light hearted, albeit naive. As he reads his dictionary he imagined a great battle stalled by a butterfly, he envisioned his tiny lighthouse as a labyrinth and even tried to envision what an oboe might look like. Upon receiving this note he looks after where the sailors have gone and stands motionless. This idea sticks with him and begins to change him. Soon he finds himself reading words like "solitude" which strikes at his heart and "monocotyledon" whose definition he cannot begin to fathom. On and on he thinks about this simple question until finally he acts and his whole world is changed.

2. PG and a half, for brief language (unless you're French and these words are more common to you).

3. Springboard - The author had to know French. Just kidding, um...The artist must have studied a lot of boats and learned at least some basics on boating in order to get the images to be convincing. I decided to learn boat terms since they're mentioned and I found these nifty diagrams.










4. Well, my story takes place in a desert, so no boats. However I am using a tree ... I could learn correct terms for the tree and for the freeway nearby...?

Moving Pictures, Paul Petty

1. Analyze: Idea – Primary

So I realize Aileen has already made statements about this comic as having the idea secondary. I disagree with that statement. After reading this graphic novel, the only thing I could grasp from it was that an idea was being expressed. Any story, or plot, that was being told was secondary. There was hardly any clear closure in the end. The relationships between the characters seemed to be more important the characters themselves. I believe that to be the real idea behind “Moving Pictures”. This non-linear narrative focused on memories and attachment, or lack thereof. The artwork was used as a tangible example of something that preserved memories and held strong importance to the protagonist. The bad guys were destroying that connection, and failed to truly appreciate the significance of the art they were stealing. You can’t have your cake and eat it too. Visual image and the story’s character development of this comic took a much more simplistic position in the background.

2. Rating: PG-13

There’s an F word, and an adult theme of sleeping around casually with other people. It’s not in your face though, so it stays at a teenage level and up for readers.

3. Springboard: Springboard

Art history must have been studied to a degree by the creators of this comic. I looked up some information on the Nazi plunder. Apparently there really was much artwork stolen by the Nazis. As I looked up information, there was a connection to Hitler’s past that I was familiar, but never made the connection. He was rejected from Vienna Academy of Fine Arts. Hitler thought he was some sort of connoisseur of the arts. And as a dictator with a chip on his shoulder, I can imagine that ruining other people’s experience with art to be somewhat of a priority during his conquest. For the record, Hitler’s a lousy artist.

MEKA - Adam Borgia

1. Analyze: Falling Action - Primary
Ryan has already established how important the Event is for this story, that of a large-scale mech battle... I would add an Event within that Event (one that is part of the larger whole, but more specific to the characters) which may be identified as their mech being destroyed. I would label this smaller Event as the climax for this volume, making the results afterward the Falling Action (and thus the preceding actions part of the Rising Action). The battle still continues for the two characters, but their method of survival has gone from being one defined by technology to one defined by personal drive and instinct, the latter being thrust upon them by the failure of the former. I believe this deserves to be identified as "primary" if only because the narrative is driven by these two characters working together in the face of danger, and would be just as coherent (as much as possible in a French comic anyway) if done in any other setting or period.

2. Rating: PG-13
There is a lot of pervasive violence going on, though most of it is between machines or between man and machine. Physical bloodshed is shown, but mostly from a distance as part of the atmosphere, and the story doesn't dwell on it. Nudity is present, but not explicit. The panels and shots are organized in such a way so that you know they are naked because of circumstance, but like the gore mentioned earlier, the story doesn't dwell on it. The rating is due more to the violence than any nudity.

3. Springboard:
Both Ryan and Chad have already discussed the attention to detail in the architecture of the environment and the construction of the machines, either large or small. You can review their comments for more insight into this. I did appreciate how the artist/creator didn't completely ignore physics, which sometimes happens in science fiction. Bodies reacted fairly believably to explosions, quakes and being thrown around violently in a giant mech (I would totally expect that to play out in such a way...). Since there are numerous grenades being tossed like candy toward the end, and the two characters are always covering up their ears, I was interested in looking into how grenades affect hearing. Warfare has been documented to cause temporary or permanent hearing loss. And those with sensorineural hearing loss have a different threshold for sound--the softest sound audible to them is louder than the softest sound perceived by those with normal hearing.

4. Apply:
I don't want mechs in my story. I like them, but I don't think they belong. I do like French though, so maybe putting that in somehow... My treatment also doesn't have the vibe of a survival story, but there are elements of desperation that I could use.

Heavy Liquid - Brandon Pedersen

It's coming, and in a big way. You'll see.

Hellboy, Aileen Thomas

1. Rising Action: Hellboy is faced with the cold, hard fact that the people for whom he works find that Roger, the homunculous, is expendable. He poses a dangerous threat should he decide to turn against them for, after all, he isn't human. Hellboy asks if there will be a time that they decide he too is expendable. As he faces an alien threat this theme of human vs inhuman beats heads until the point where Hellboy has to make a decision on whether or not destroy Roger.

2. Rating: PG-13 for language, dark themes and mild violence.

3. Springboard: World War II, design and poetry. People have already talked about WWII and Nazis so I'm going to talk a little about this conqueror worm from Edgar Allen Poe's poem.

There are many interpretations and analyses that people have made about this poem. The average man (at least those who post responses on the internet which may or may not be average people, perhaps less) seem to all find it as the story of how Heaven stands idly by while men are destroyed. Another popular belief is that it speaks of how our dead bodies are food for the worm.

But according to GradeSaver, ("GradeSaver(TM) ClassicNotes are the most comprehensive study guides on the market, written by Harvard students for students!" - Amazon.com) it says that people are controlled, that there are "unseen forces," such as emotion, that push and pull man. Then as man is controlled angels cannot help them as they destroy themselves. Then, as it is read in the context of the story Ligeia (for which it was originally ended) the girl who reads it interprets that man die because of their lack of will and so with her strong will she later comes back from the grave by taking over another woman's body after she leaves her own.

This plays in really well with Mignola's story in that there is an alien force without body or form that comes into the world by way of a dead host and everything it breathes on become a different creature and are then consumed.

(Go here to read The Conqueror Worm by Edgar Allan Poe.)

It pays to read the entirety of something. Someone who misuses a quote can be considered a great fool. Take for instance the story of the man who when looking for inspiration opened the Bible to any page and read of the suicide of Judas. Stupidly the man takes that as a sign and goes and kills himself. When trying to find true depth and inspiration one should actually try to learn what their source is saying. Mignola obviously did an actual study of the poem from which he based Hellboy: The Conqueror Worm and was neatly inspired. Had he just read the short poem and gone off his first instincts of the meaning we may have ended up reading a story about zombies and fallen angels instead of the more clever tale of nazis, an alien race, humanity, control, the will of man and the madness of man.


4: Apply: So often I'll go onto the internet, find a little fact and go running with it. Other times I'll actually spend time studying and learn a great deal more as well as eliminate falsehoods. But never have I tried to study a poem further than reading it and talking to peers about it. Even in highschool I'd just come up with ideas, which is good, then I'd let it rest at that. Now I see that such studies can actually become the basis of great inspiration and stories. So, I'm going to just learn everything I can whenever I can and see what brilliance shines.

All Star Superman - Britta Frazier

1. Idea - Secondary

*Spoilers* To me one of the big ideas in the story is coping with death. In the first episode (as they're called) Superman flies too close to the sun and damages his cells beyond repair, the affect is now slowly killing him. Episode 6 is all about the death of Superman's human dad, and how Superman copes with it. It's an overarching theme but not front-stage enough to be called primary.

2. PG - For frightening images and very brief partial nudity. Any teenager would be fine with this but a younger kid may be a bit frightened by some of the aliens/monsters. Gross monsters pgs. 14, 19, 21, 22, 60-62, 99-102, 118-125, 144, 147-149. Partial nudity pg 42.

3. Springboard - One thing the artist would need to have is a knowledge of how to draw buildings and architecture. I mention this because it is one of my weaknesses. Most scenes take place in the city or inside spaceships or buildings. Also, and more importantly, the writer/artist needs an immense knowledge of the Superman universe, including character's from older series. I decided to do some research on a character that was a bit of a mystery to me but seemed to have deep root in the Superman world, Jimmy Olsen.

Apparently Jimmy Olsen was a recurring small character in the original tv series Adventures of Superman. Apparently he was prone to humorous transformations, in one episode even becoming a Giant Turtle Boy. Which may explain the existence of this photo in All Star Superman.

It would also explain Jimmy's enthusiasm for dressing up. For a while Jimmy had his own comic series called Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen.

4. Apply - I learned a lot just by examining the style of this book. I struggle with making panels look to empty. I noticed that many panels in this comic have very little filling them, but they feel full because of small details and textures put on the characters and objects. Lack of a background does not have to make the panel feel empty.

"Blue Pills" - Ryan Stevens

1. Analyze: Idea - Primary
First off let me just say that I thoroughly enjoyed this graphic novel. It was really entertaining and funny for a story that is about such a serious subject matter. Just the way the characters interact with each other is so friendly and loving and real. This was probably my favorite book of all the reading in the class. Now down to business. I believe that the idea is primary to this story. But it may not be the idea you think I am going to say. You probably think the idea through this book is dealing with living with aids in a intimate relationship, which it does for sure. But I think it goes even deeper then that. I believe the idea throughout this novel is about dealing with our daily lives and enjoying life all while knowing inevitably we must all die. Yes, mortality is the idea of this book. When people get HIV or an other life threatening disease they are forced to deal with their mortality on a much more immediate basis. But if we are honest with ourselves, we are all living with our mortality everyday. Just like someone with HIV, we could die at any minute. Today, tomorrow, in a accident or a heart attack. We will all die, but if we don't have something to remind us everyday that were are cursed to this fate, we can let it go and just enjoy the time we do have. I this is a true blessing of being mortal. This book was very successful in exploring this idea and communicating it to me as the reader.

2. Rating: R
Sexual content is a major theme in the book because of HIV and Aids being what the book is centered around. Sexual themes, full frontal male and female nudity, and adult language. Mature audiences only.

3. Springboard:
To successfully help the readers understand the characters and their relationships the author must have had to do a lot of research on HIV and the AIDS virus. He would have to know what it is like for the people that live with the disease everyday, their struggles and joys,. He would also have to know about the treatments and medication that is available to help treat the virus and what the medical community was learned while dealing with these diseases. I was interested about the blue pills in the story that the novel gets its name from. So I did some research and this is what I found. The little blue pills are called Truvada. It is made by a company called Gilead Sciences, Inc. It has GILEAD stamped on one side of the pill and 701 stamped on the other side. In the United States a years prescription can cost from $5,000 to $14,000 or more.

4: Apply:
I have learned that in order to fully understand the characters that you are wanting to write about you have to be able to get into them. Get into them personally and intimately. If you don't know your characters this well then you will not be able to know how they would react or what they would do in a certain situation. But if I take the time to truly flesh out my characters and understand them, then that knowledge becomes a huge asset to me as a writer. Characters will almost write themselves in certain situations.

Nausicaa - Christina LeBaron

1. Analyze: Milieu - Secondary
Even though milieu wasn't the main driving force of the story, it still played a huge roll in moving the story along.  This world in which Nausicaa lives is so different from our own.  While she is familiar with it, I found myself asking questions, like: why are these people at war?  Why is the lake acidic?  Why is it so dangerous the breathe in the forest?  This world was created but not all of the details were explained to the reader, making it even more interesting as the reader tries to figure things out as the story goes on.  The setting helps drives the story as it centers around these warring civilizations and the forest.  

2. Rating: PG for a little violence.

3. Springboard: As Megan mentioned, Miyazaki would have had to know about aviation and how flying contraptions work. 


That was interesting to me and I actually found out that a real scale model of the Möwe ((メーヴェ Mēve , or "mehve" in the English manga), the German word meaning seagull.  An official scale model lists it as having an approximate wingspan of 5.8 meters, while the design notes indicate it weighs only 12 kg.  (that's the version in the manga.  You need to be specific when you design these things even if it's for a book or a comic)  In 2004, the Japanese-led OpenSky Aircraft Project began attempts to build a real-life, working personal jet glider based on the glider from Nausicaa.  Two gliders with no power source carrying the code name M-1 and M02, with a half-sized jet-powered remote controlled mock up called moewe 1/2 was built.  The designer and tester of the project refused the official endorsement of the project by Studio Ghibli and Miyazaki. noting that he did not want to cause trouble for them if an accident occurred.


4. Apply:  What I really liked about Nausicaa (as well as almost all of Miyazaki's stuff) is the world that he creates but doesn't exactly explain.  I would like to be able to do that with my own stories.  I want to be able to create a cool believable (yet fantastical world) that has history but doesn't need to have all the details about it explained to the audience.  The audience should be able to learn about the world and it's history bit by bit from clues in the story without getting confused

Response--MEKA

1. Analyze: (a) Milieu primary
They’re trying to escape a giant mecha! Inside of a gigantic machine there are two tiny, insignificant humans going through corridors and escape hatches, down ladders, through hallways, trying to get out.

2. Rating: PG-13 There is language (although in French) and some brief nudity. The nudity is brief and covered up (they’re burning their clothes to get a signal through to the outside). There’s action adventure violence, mainly men against machines.

3. Springboard:
Being able to tell a small story within a big world. He's worked hard on his backstory and solidly developed everything. Like everyone else has mentioned, he obviously has a great knowledge of mechanical structure. However, he's also got a background in military organizations and procedures.

4. Apply:
Small story within a big world--theres so much history that isn't touched on. He doesn't bother talking about who's fighting or why--most of the setting outside the Mecha isn't even discussed. I'm not sure I'd like to live in this brave new world of his.

"Heavy Liquid" - Ryan Stevens

1. Analyze: Idea - Secondary
In "Heavy Liquid" I believe that the idea is secondary in the narrative to the character. The main idea of the book is Illegal drugs. The entire novel revolves around Paul Pope's character yes, but the character is always involved with illegal drugs in one way or another. I mean even the title of the story comes from a new illegal drug on the streets. I think this is a pretty interesting take on a narrative, because that is how people really are who have fallen into drug use. If you have ever been around a person that has a drug addiction problem you know that their whole world revolves around the drugs of their choice. Whether it be using it, they are getting it, getting more of it, getting enough money to be able to get more of the drug. It is what is constantly on their minds. It swallows up their entire life and being. it is a very sad situation to watch or to be in. It can also many times lead to an increase in violence in oneself and their life and also tends to lead to a life of criminal activity as well.

2. Rating: R
Because illegal drugs and the use of illegal drugs are a major theme. There are more than a few F-bombs in the book. Also there is quite a bit of violence throughout, I think this graphic novel deserves an R rating.

3. Springboard:
For this graphic novel the author would need to know about the world of illegal drugs. He would have to research the different drugs available, how they are made, how they are sold, and what the drug business and lifestyle is all about. I was curious to know what the top used illegal drugs are worldwide. So I dug around a bit and this is what I came up with. These are the top 5 most used illegal drugs worldwide right now. #5 Amphetamines #4 Ecstasy #3 Cocaine #2 Heroin #1 Marijuana or Cannabis. I found these pretty interesting.

4. Apply:
I learned from this novel that it can be a really good thing to give your characters trials, struggles or personal problems and addictions. It helps to round out the character and make them more believable. It helps the reader relate to the character and care about them. If the reader doesn't care about your characters he or she is far more likely to become bored or even leave the story. Characters that have no flaws are fun for a while, but they become boring and predictable. We all as human beings have trials and struggles, it makes us real. They can also help make your characters more real.

Blue Pills - Aileen Thomas

Blue Pills.

1. Event: Secondary - Although the story starts with Frederik and Caiti already together the event that set the ball rolling was when he first met her. At that time he was impressed with her and recognized her at the later times they saw each other. As they started to date his feelings for her had grown immensely allowing him to be more able to handle the fact that she had HIV. At the moment she told him, though that was also an event, the ball had already been rolling so I didn't pick that. Kind of like how the Event in Macbeth was when he met the weird sisters and the idea to become king was first place in his head.

2. R For Nudity, Sexual Themes and Language. (Although all meaningfully used in relation to HIV, nonetheless they're there.) This is definitely meant for mature audiences.

3. Well the specific knowledge needed was an understanding of the disease. Frederik, the main character, learned from Caiti, doctors and so on. I frankly learned about it more in depth just from this book. I was concerned with life expectancy and according to a report on About.com studies show that those with medication can expect 2/3rds of a normal life expectancy. The average French life expectancy in 2011 is 81.19 years according to www.indexmundi.com/france. So someone born with it and medicated can likely live to be about 54 which makes me happy since I was really concerned with their son. Granted these are just numbers and one cannot really expect anything but sometimes it's nice to know and hope.

4. Uh, well I'm going to be having a character whose life is tied to a tree, and her life expectancy is about 3000 years. I studied bristlecone pines, which is what she is, and the oldest one is estimated to be 4760 some odd years old. If I wanted I could give her a tree disease and I could do numbers as to how long she'd be able to survive, but that seems rather morbid at the moment.

Powers: Psychotic - Brandon Pedersen

1. This is a story of rising action. Technically there is a beginning and an ending, but really they're brief waypoints fitted into a larger story arc. Following up on a powers related slaying, a power being the victim, Detective Walker and his partner Deena Pilgrim are put through their paces as they unravel the mystery behind this murder and the subsequent killings that happen throughout the book. Really, though, it is about Walker secretly training a young girl he once rescued (which didn't happen in this book) to be the next Retro Girl while Deena, struggling with developing powers of her own (which didn't happen in this book) takes matters into her own hands when her abuse ex-boyfriend refuses to let her be. The consequences of these actions are never dealt with, I assume they are in a later book, and the inciting incidents that led to Walker and Pilgrim behaving they way they are didn't occur in this volume. Interesting as the story is, its just rising action, culminating in a later book when Walker's relationship to Calista and her new identity as a Retro Girl and Deena's power and handling of her ex come to light.

2. Definitely a hard R on this book, despite strong pervasive language (meaning obscenities throughout), there are also quite a few instances of male and female frontal nudity, most notably at the beginning of the story (sorry, the pages aren't numbered) during a medical examination and towards the end where the villain behind the slayings is "exposed," shall we say.

3. Most impressive was the realistic dialogue, most notably the correct application (or at least the appearance of correct) police procedural language. The way Walker and Deena swept a scene, interrogated suspects, continually rehashed the events of the crimes they investigated with each other, all has that ring of authenticity. Having a police officer in the family one begins to notice they have a certain way with language, sentences are short, terse, and efficient, containing as much information with as a few words as possible. When on the job Walker and Deena talk with each other and to victims and suspects in this way.

4. Finally, an application portion of my response that doesn’t exist in the realm of vague adherence to implied knowledge, but an opportunity to actually apply researched knowledge from the graphic novel. Bendis's use of police procedural language is something my story needs. There will be several interactions with the police in my story and making sure they speak realistically, using the words and phrases police officers actually use, will help sell potential viewers on the authenticity of my story.

Hell Boy: Conqueror Worm - Paul Petty

1. Analyze: Rising Action

The big focus on Hell Boy was the rising action. It introduces the element of a bomb button on Hell Boy's friend, Roger. It's obvious the whole story is going to lead up to the need to blow Roger up, but what will happen to spark that event? Most of the story is everything leading up to the climax of when Hell Boy will have to make the decision.

2. Rating: PG-13

There's some violence with blood, zombies, and guns. There's also some vague nudity shots of Roger, but with some cover. There's also some nude shots of Hecate and another of an old nasty witch at the very end. Though in all these cases it's not super detailed nor erotic. The redeeming quality from the violence is that evil Nazis get beat up and killed.

3. Springboard:

Mignola must have a lot of notes on witchcraft. From studying Shakespeare's Scottish Play, Hecate is the moon goddess/goddess of witches. There's also a lot of religious superstition/ mythology stuff with cults and summoning unworldly demons and monsters.

I hadn't seen the second Hell Boy, so I watched that. It had a lot of cool visual effects, but the first one had more suspense in the story.

4. Apply

Mignola's composition with word bubbles and illustration leads the reader's eye. There's a great deal of clarity, and everything flows with great timing. That's something I want to include in my comic and still keep some dynamic quality like Mike Mignola does.

Tout Seul - Britta Frazier

1. Falling Action -*Spoilers* The climax of this story seems to be when the deformed man reads the word "Prison" in his dictionary, this finally pushes him to make changes in his life which leads to the story's falling action. He frees his fish, throws his beloved dictionary out to sea and ultimately decides to leave the lighthouse. This is the action that leads towards the resolution of getting off the lighthouse island for good.

2. PG. For language (but only if you read the translation), and the deformed man's appearance would be frightening to a younger audience. No violence, no nudity.

3. Springboard - The artist would need a good eye for drawing technical things like ships and lighthouses. I've never been very good with inorganic stuff like that so I know I'd need lots of reference. Also, even though the year is not really important the artist would need to have a good idea of his story's timeframe to make sure the technology of the boats was on par.

4. Apply - I really admired this artists ability to create bautifully interesting moment to moment shots. Large portions of the book are just panels of birds flying or waves crashing but he has them placed so that they really help the timing and flow of the entire story. It's a good reference.

Moving Pictures - Adam Borgia

1. Analyze: Event - Secondary
We know from the setting almost immediately that this isn't a modern story. The war is just about to reach France's front door (in part of the narrative, since there are flashbacks), and so it sets the actions and character motivations of wanting to hide and protect artwork from any invaders. Thus it is this story's Event. But the War is always either on the horizon (flashback), or the eventual occupation (narrative present) has yet to reach its feverish high, thus I would label it as secondary over primary, since the interactions between characters and their personalities would still come through I think in another place or time.

As a side note, I feel I need to be honest and say that this book lost me more so than any others I had read to this point. That might be one reason I was disappointed. I think the premise had such promise, but in my eyes fell short of what it could have been. Plus, I didn't find any of the key characters to be likeable enough to draw me in to their lives. Some minor characters were far more interesting and enjoyable to "watch." In this way I am reminded of some artistic foreign films that try to win you over with mood and ambiance and hold to the idea that apathetic and angsty souls automatically make for moving stories. I respectfully digress. What was the main lesson of the novel? How did our character change? Or does she just run away? Because I feel the whole package lacked direction, it left me, as the reader, with little direction of my own.

That all being said, I have nothing but positive things to say about the aesthetics of Moving Pictures. For me, the visuals carry the story and are much more effective in establishing mood and influencing readers than the dialogue and the handling of the characters.

2. Rating: PG-13
A couple is not-so-subtly shown to be sleeping together, although none of these actual scenes are shown. There is one F-word (pg 32), but it is used rather awkwardly (I can only reason that the author used it simply for its alliteration in the sentence) and stands out in a novel which otherwise is fairly clean. And Nazis rarely factor into stories below pg-13...

3. Springboard:
A lot has been said regarding the history research needing to be done to make this story feel authentic. I would instead like to make mention to the research needed in bringing the story to life and giving it authenticity through visual reference. There are scatterings of "reproductions" of actual works of art as background to several scenes and panels. Towards the end of the book are also several pastoral landscapes of the countryside. It is possible that all this gathering of good photo reference could have been done indirectly by third-parties, but I would be more than willing to venture that the creators did some traveling in that part of the world for their own personal referencing.

I looked up the unique history of one of the paintings mentioned in the book, Les Noces de Cana (The Wedding Feast at Cana) by Paolo Véronèse. According to the book, the painting ended up in France because of a post Napoleonic War treaty/trade between countries. Other sources however say that Napoleon first looted the painting from its site in a Monastery in Venice, cut it in half for the journey to France, then sewed it back together in Paris. With regards to the post-war art trading, this painting was never returned to Italy, but a Charles Le Brun painting was sent in its place. During WWII this massive painting was rolled up and transported around France in a truck to avoid looting.

4. Application:
I do not htink that I would like to explore the wartime setting for my treatment (later ones, perhaps). I did appreciate the techniques in panel transitioning though, including some transitions from the "present" to memories in the characters' past. The employment of harsh outlines and silhouettes was striking and I would consider exploring their implementation for my own story.

Solanin - Christina LeBaron

1.Analyze: character-Primary

Character seemed to play a very large role in Solanin.  The story follows these characters who are at a point in their life where lots of changes are happening and decisions are being made.  These characters are seeking happiness and a purpose to life, while going through character changes in the persute of that answers.  A first big shift in character his the big decisions by Meiko at the beginning of the story to quit her job.  Later on another big change happens when she decides to learn how to play guitar and be in the band.  This decisions seems like a way to not only keep Taneda alive but also let Meiko move on with her life and be happy.  

2. Rating: PG-13 for nudity (a bare breast), a bed scene, and some mild offensive language.  Recommended for older teens.

3. Springboard: The author would have had to know about college life in Japan and life after college for young people in Japan.   The stages of life in Japanese culture would have been important to know, especially the challenge of transitioning to adulthood.  

As it turns out, Japan's legal age to become an official adult is a bit of a controversy.  Currently the age is 20 years old, but some think it should be lowered to 18.  The problem with lowering the age is that maturity differs from person to person.  Some people are ready to take on adult responsibilities and privileges, like drinking, marriage, voting, etc. while others are not.  

Another interesting fact: Japan has universal education up to 15 (but 99% of people attend high school beyond that). Full-time employment, also allowable from 15.

4. Apply: I paid a lot of attention to body language in this comic, mainly because it was what I read about recently in making comics and I really like how the artist uses the body language to convey meaning.  Gestures and stances are important and I want to use that to tell what's going on in my own comics.  I also found the panels and everything to be very easy to read and follow.

"The Sandman: Season of Mists" - Ryan Stevens

1. Analyze: Character - Primary

Character is definitely the Primary focus in this Graphic novel. Most all of the narrative runs through the central character. The main character is Morpheus of the Endless. He is the ruler of the Dream Realm and he is all powerful there. I assume that is where the book gets its title from, seeing that "The Sandman" is a name routinely used as the name of the being that brings dreams to humankind as they sleep. We almost always are viewing the narrative as a third person as we follow Morpheus throughout his journey. If we are away from Morpheus at any time usually the subject matter is still strongly concentrated on him.

2. Rating: R

This Graphic novel has quite a bit of violence and nudity. There are graphic depictions of people being tortured in Hell. There is partial and suggested nudity throughout the book. Coarse language is used many times in the novel as well as sexual themes and sexual innuendos.

3. Springboard:

For this graphic novel the writers and artists would need a good understanding of how Heaven and Hell are described and depicted by many different religions and cultures. They would have to have knowledge of the names of these places, what types of places they are, what they look like and who inhabits them.
I researched the different names for Heaven and Hell for different cultures and religions so I could see what they are like. Some for Hell are Gehenna, Hades, Abaddon or Tararus. Some for Heaven are Arcadia, Elysium, Shangra-La and Utopia. I found this very interesting.

4. Apply:

Seeing that my treatment deals with the issues of morality and right and wrong, it will be important for me to do research to find out what the majority of the world believes is moral and what is considered as not moral. This issues of right and wrong can change drastically depending on your point of view, your culture or your religion. I will also need to remember to be sensitive to other peoples beliefs and cultures in my treatment if i expect it to have success with many different readers.

Moving Pictures – Younhee Burningham

1. Analyze:

(c) Character – “primary”

The character might be the type of storytelling for Moving Pictures. The story begins with new characters whom we know almost nothing about yet, sometimes, not even their names. I think it is wanting to know who they are and trying to figure out if we like the character(s) or not is what drives the readers through the book. The story doesn’t completely explain all the characters, but we do learn by the end, enough of the personalities of most characters to attempt to understand the major characters.

2. Rating: PG-13, There is a random “f” word on page 32 that really doesn’t make sense to me as to why it was used there, I guess the bare breast on the painting, “Woman Combing Her Hair” that is in multiple frames might also contribute to the rating (forgot to note the page number), there are some references to sexual relationships but no bed scenes (83, forgot to note the other page number), and sequences of a woman getting dressed without depicting nudity on page 127-131.

3. Springboard: The writer of Moving Pictures would have to have historical knowledge of this specific war time at this specific area of location, which is the World War 2 and France. The story is during the wartime when the Nazis stole much of the art collections from Europe. Upon research I found out that the Nazi stole over 2,000 individual art pieces including more than 300 paintings! I also found out that Germany “began storing the artworks in salt mines and caves for protection from Allied bombing raids. These mines and caves offered the appropriate humidity and temperature conditions for artworks” (quoted in Wikipedia). I think that last sentence is a cool fact.

4. Apply: I think I want just the little of the feel that the Moving Picture had, being set during a war time though not about war at all. I would like that very faint feeling of tense and uncertainty throughout most of the story.