Comics

 This one was really cool. In terms of the art I really enjoyed it. I like the monochromatic, sepia color and the stylization is really fun. The composition of each panel really helped guide me through the speech bubbles, and the story in general. It was really easy to follow along.  I really enjoyed the story and the take on the prohibition period. I think it was well represented and the cats were a fun choice because I think cats tend to be seen as sneaky or kind of two-faced almost. 

 Reading Lady of the Shard was refreshing because, even though I don't read a lot of web comics, the ones I do see are always very painterly and colorful and very well rendered which is great, but having seen Lady of the Shard, which is very simplified, black and white, and minimal, was eye catching. I was very interested from the get go because I had never seen a comic approached this way. It reminded me a lot of very old, pixelated video games. This gave a chance for the actual story to stand out even more and it aided for the focus of the audience to be balanced between visuals and writings. I really like this one, I am invested. 

 1. The Killing Joke, and the Joker in general, was kind of my introduction to the DC/Batman world and I had previously watched the animated movie before reading the comic. I thought the comic brought out the darker parts of the story, and was able to fully bring the more graphic images and topics that an animated movie might have limitations to. I really liked the comic so much better than the movie and I think I was able to get a better tone of the Joker and his motive. You really get to see what made him, him. The Joker is still a terrible person but you really get to see what drove him to do what he did, and that was trying to provide for his wife, which I still believe is the only person he will ever love. I really liked seeing a clearer display of the relationship between the Joker and Batman; it really shows just how similar they can be. I've always portrayed them both as the worst married couple with the most toxic relationship in the world.  2-3. I was able to connect with

 I really enjoyed this comic. The feminist stance and the strong women represented in the comic really resonated with me. I really liked to see the representation of women of different backgrounds, body types, and ethnicities. I think the art style fits perfectly with the strong and firm women being represented. It’s sharp and quick. I think this comic was successful in having a very believable dystopian world without the need for any fantasy extraterrestrial beings. This world feels like something we can come to as humanity in future years, that is if our planet survives. 

As a kid I never really read manga but I grew up with some of the shows that came from it like Dragon Ball Z and Tezuka's Astroboy. I didn't really pay much attention to the creators outside of the manga, however, I enjoyed the genre. When I think about manga today, I think the hyper detailed style which is, personally, a bit overwhelming sometimes, so  Buddhist felt a lot more comfortable to read. It was easy to keep up with despite having several backstories of the different characters that, then, end up meeting together. I really liked the way that the style was very comic-like and not super emphasized which gave the actual story and plot to shine without the art style being too distracting and too perfect. I enjoyed that some panels did not required a speech bubble which gave me a chance to interpret the story and make it up in my head. It was neat. 

 I really liked the rendering style of this comic. When I hear punk I think of being ahead of time and for this comic, it was definitely ahead of its time. The characters with shaved heads, crazy outfits and colored hair really stand out from the time it was released and I can see why it made such an impact. It was something that wasn't often seen around the time the comic was released. I really liked how heavy the story is from the beginning. It takes you from action to action. Despite the rendering style being very good, I wasn't too into the characterization of the people, they scared me a bit. However, it was really cool to see comics back then playing with the idea of a world where people and technology meet, literally, having people become part machines.