Krazy Kat

Krazy Kat was a pretty fun and cute comic to read. I had to seriously concentrate on reading to figure out what the cat was saying, but I didn't feel like that took away from the enjoyment of it. Infact, I almost felt like I was playing a word game, like "Sound out the letters to figure out the message". I also was interested in the fact that for once, the mouse was a bit of a bully to the cat instead of the typical cat bullies the mouse scenario. The gags were simple, short, and funny, which complimented the difficulty of the cats speech (and the time it took to figure it out).

Understanding comics

Understanding comics was an interesting read. There were quite a few points that the artist made that really made me think about comics in a new light. One of the points that I found really interesting was when he said that when characters are drawn in a more cartoon-ish fashion, people will project themselves onto the character. They imagine themselves as the one having the adventure, and relate to the character more. When the character is drawn more realistically, the viewer will see it as following or watching someone else. At first, I really wasn't sure I agreed with what the artist was saying. However, he managed to make his point by drawing himself more realistic, and asking "would you have listened to me if I had drawn myself like this?" And the answer was no, I probably would have been less likely to listen to him if he had been rendered that way throughout the book. I was pleased that he had managed to prove his point in such a way, and what I liked about this book is that he was able to show and draw what he meant as he was explaining comics.

The Arrival

I had mixed feelings on the comic "The Arrival". The art was definitely the best part about the comic. It was beautifully rendered; both the people and the environments had gorgeous detail. Although in some cases I felt a little confused with what was going on in the story. Although I think I got the overall gist of what was going on, parts where they switched to what happened to different characters sometimes put me off balance. In those moments I wished that there was some sort of dialog to explain what was happening, as well as explain why those monster-like creatures were there. The whole thing had a very surreal feel to it. The realistic people, paired with the fantastic environment and the cartoonish creatures.  Overall, I wasn't sure I liked the story, and the thing that really made me enjoy the comic was the art itself.

Come to Venus Melancholy

This was kind of an odd story. I can honestly say that I really like it, but I think the only reason that I do is because it reminds me of some of the characters from one of my favorite video games, Portal 2. The slightly crazy rambling was kind of amusing, and made the speaker oddly likeable, despite the fact that she had apparently locked me as the reader in some room. I got the impression that there was a kind of love hate thing going on between the machine and the user/reader (like it usually is with all machines) and in some areas of the story she seemed a little bit menacing. Especially when she commented that she would leave open a trap door for you to go in, but didn't promise that she would leave it open.I find that this type of character is usually the most fun to read, I'm mildly disappointed that this wasn't longer and more developed.

The Circus of Dr. Lao

This one was rough to get through. I didn't even get through it really. Getting through the first HALF has rough. I found it to be far too repetitive, and I got bored with it very quickly. When they first put up the ads for the show, and it went through about a good twenty people commenting on how they thought they might see the circus, I got annoyed, but I gave it the benefit of the doubt and kept going. Then they went through the twenty people again commenting on seeing the circus, and was that a man or a bear? That got old quickly. Couldn't finish it after that.

Troll Bridge

This was a pretty cute little story. I couldn't help but think of the troll and cohen as my grandparents, remembering the good ol' days. The trolls that are moving into the cities, getting different jobs that aren't guarding a bridge, made me think that this must be how my grandparents feel when they're looking at how this generation is going through life. There's not really any more family jobs where the kids take the job that their parents had. Things don't really have a simple pleasure like they use to, everythings getting bigger and more complicated.

Dawn

Dawn was a very enjoyable book for me. I found that the aliens were very fascinating, and the constant internal struggle with the heroine kept the book very gripping. Up to a point I both agreed and got extremely annoyed with Lilith's view on reproducing with the aliens. The aliens were very kind, and I liked them almost immediately. I felt in some cases she was overreacting to what the aliens were doing. They weren't out to do any harm, stop whining. The fact that they want to help, want to do what's best for them and the humans, makes it difficult to dislike them. And then, despite the fact that they're likable, they're also frustrating in their view on what's best for us. For example, when Jdahya said that their people had destroyed the ruins on earth, and Lilith got upset at him. I was also rather upset at the idea of what was left of our old culture being destroyed. Even though he pointed out that she was still alive. A logical answer yes, "you're still alive, why be upset about us getting rid of ruins?" and yet I just felt "That's not the point!". That kind of feeling of being torn between liking these creatures and wanting to slap some sense into them, i felt, was very well done. I really felt like I was always feeling what Lilith was feeling.