Week 2: Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud

Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud
In this comic, the author mainly talked about what comic is and how to make comics in a comic way. The main character is the author himself. He broke the forth wall and directly talked to the audience. He combined the comic knowledge and comic techniques together. It is very interesting when he used himself in the comic to explain how the comic panels work. He said comic is a vessel. Inside the vessel there are the genres, the creator's styles and the themes. I strongly agree with him. The format and technique of comics will hardly change, the thing really matters is the creator's idea. Different creator will mix the "juice" in the vessel in a different way. I also agree with what he said about the animated films. He said the animated films can be considered as a very slow comic. I found the animated films share some similarities with the comics. They both require the knowledge about composition. Even if the comics do not move, you still need to know what it is the right timing of the panels.  He also talked about how the audience’s imaginations help them understand the comic. Some comic panels will skip something in-between. But the audience’s imagination will help them to imagine what happened between those panels. After reading this comic, I think I can understand comics better. It helps me to understand why the comic artist made some decisions. 

Week 1: The Arrival by Shaun Tan

The Arrival by Shaun Tan
This comic mainly talks about a man who left his family and country for finding a better job in another exotic country. This exotic country is really stylized and weird. The author designed it like a fantasy  country where magic things happened. The man was really confused when he first arrived. He tried many different jobs, but he messed them up. He doesn't understand the language, so he had many difficulties in his work. We can always see he looking at his family photos. I am kind of related to he feeling he had. As an international student, when i went abroad for college, i had the same feeling. I was sitting in the airport, surrounded by a totally different culture. I felt helpless and lonely. I also messed things up in my freshmen year in college. It is very easy to be emotional and lonely in this kind of situation. Many people would give up because of the loneliness. But author created a kind lady who helped the man to figure out his problems. The lady was another person who left her home for a better life. Actually, when you went abroad, you really need the help from others. Things will be much easier when someone is helping you. I can say the author must have the same experience. His or her decision to set this story in a fantasy country softened the story. I am really happy to see this story has a good  ending.