Lit of Comics Kevin Liang

Maus is an interesting story about a Jewish survivor of the Nazi invasion and the Holocaust.  In this graphic novel, Nazis are portrayed as cats, and the Jews are seen as mice.  The story is told from the perspective of Vladek Spiegelman's perspective and his son Artie.  The book jumps back and forth in between the past and present, jumping from Vladek Spiegelman's past and the present time with Artie.   Despite the characters being displayed as animals, the overall story feels very human and real.   Apparently Maus was a graphic novel that brought the whole genre into the mainstream, which contributed to the legitimacy of the medium overall. The overall aesthetic of the novel seems to appear as though it was drawn by an amateur artist. So the thing that set this book apart from the other must have been the subject matter rather than the actual art itself, not that it undermines the artistic value of drawings themselves.   The mature and “re...

Underground comics seem to be comics that is not afraid to add in more mature subjects.  Seems like most of them use adult subjects as a joke/punchline.  What is interesting is that in Harold Hedd No. 1 I noticed that the comic avoids using profanity.  I wonder why that was a line the author did not want to cross. Based off the discussion we had in class, Underground Comics seemed to be a counter culture movement within the comic book community.  It uses its nudity and vulgarness to send a message to its reader.  Yes, there are some that are simply there to make poop and dick jokes.