McCloud and Sandman or Morpheus or Dreamlord or…

The illustrations in Neil Gaiman’s graphic novel Sandman use almost every trick in the Scott McCloud book! The most creative part is the use of the gutter throughout the book. Sometimes there is a lot left to the imagination between that panels, and sometimes there is so little left to the imagination that the characters and scenes are spilling out into the gutters! Still other gutters might not be gutters at all but parts of a much bigger picture set behind all of the panels.

The Sandman novel doesn’t stop there! Color is more vibrant in this novel than it was in any we have previously read! I have been considering what the significance of color is in this novel. It seems to have a number of different effects on a reader. It can set a mood, or a tone for certain scenes, and it can excite emotion within the reader during others. Color can signify good or evil and pain or happiness. In The Sandman’s case it can also signify the perspective of the picture such as page 25 part 1 of the novel when the blue tinted panels represent the view of the Sandman in his orb. Along with the color of perspective there seemed to be an interesting portrayal of certain characters throughout the story. Most prominently, I wondered why it was decided to represent Lucifer the way he was represented. In the first panel, on page 8 of the “Hope in Hell” chapter, that Lucifer is introduced he is presented typically as a dark shadow with wings and horns, but in the next panel he is blonde haired and dressed in white and a bit feminine looking. (A bit like early ‘80s David Bowie!).

I think Gaiman was trying to present a bit of an ironic image by presenting Lucifer in a white jumpsuit. I also think he was attempting to make a connection between Lucifer and Morpheus. This way it seems clear the the lords of the unworldly realms all seem human despite our common ‘misconceptions.’

When it comes to the illustrations in this novel McCloud's book is the perfect reference because Sandman contains all if not more of the stylistic choices explained by McCloud! Sandman is a novel that I think asks the questions abut our perceptions of reality. I wondered toward the end what my own perceptions of dreams were. Which answers perfectly the question of "What significance do the illustrative and textual qualities of this book play in the reading of it?" Well, they were good enough to get me to think twice about the way I perceive dreams!

Maus + White

Maus by Art Spiegelman is a terrific book. I read this over the course of 24 hours, and I believe I retained the story so well because of the format in which it is presented; the graphic novel.

This is the first graphic novel that I have ever read. Maus is an impressive combination of imagery and language. Prior to this I was only familiar with the more traditional comic...

I really enjoyed the format in which Spiegelman presents the story as a narrator interviewing a narrator. However, the idea of a serious matter such as World War II being presented as cats versus mice seemed a bit crude to me. Now that I have read the story I understand the perspective that this characteristic brings to the narrative. Vladek's retelling of events is so well done that you forget that all these events are being acted out by cats and mice. This is paired nicely with the contemporary point-of-view presented by Art.

    Now, the article by Hayden White entitled "The Value of Narrativity in the Representation of Reality" is a very interesting article that dives deeply into the theory of creating a story. I, however, honestly did not like the depth that was used to evaluate Maus. I enjoyed it much more on a bit of a lighter level. Instead of asking myself questions about why Maus was written one way and not another, I spent my reading time asking myself questions like "How do I rate the importance of the relationships in the story? (from Art and his Father to Vladek and Mala, to Vladek and Anna, Art and Mala, or Art and Anna?) I was very interested in the reasons why Vladek and Mala had such a rocky relationship, and I was repeatedly disappointed at Art's lack of attention paid to this relationship. The way Vladek and Mala are portrayed really makes it seem like they never could have gotten along! On the other hand, I loved Spiegelman's portrayal of Vladek and Anna's relationship! There was a depth given to that relationship that made the side story of their courtship all the more interesting.

    I was also desperate to hear something more about Art and Anna's relationship that seemed lacking. The old comic book found in the middle of the story portrayed a dark side to their relationship, but it is hard to accept that that was the only side to it. Art also has a strange relationship with his father. There are times when he comes across as spoiled. I understand that his father can be unbearably tight, but I didn't like that Art was so unwilling to do things like help his father with the drainpipe and so on. Despite my like or dislike for any of the characters in the story. I loved the lack of closure. I know that there is a second volume to the story, but this first volume is a story in itself and the lack of closure makes for some interesting license to the reader.