For this week I read the surprisingly enjoyable and
approachable visual novel, "Ms. Marvel," a modern take on a modern
Marvel fan. It is made obvious numerous times that this is NOT the "actual"
Ms. Marvel, or even any variant of the character in previous versions, (there
is a quite enjoyable sequence in the first/second comic that shows her
transforming into various previous variants of the character). The bulk of the
story centers around Kamala Khan, a girl with strong heritage and close family
ties that feels like a freak/outsider in nearly every scenario in her life. One
of her most powerful lines of dialogue probably includes, "Why does
everyone get to be normal but me." While not the most original story or
concept, (the storyline of someone feeling alienated, lonely, or unsure of what
to do with their powers has been seen many, many times a la Superman,
Spiderman, etc) its defining characteristic is the execution of these aspects
combined along with a voice headed by a somewhat dramatic, somewhat comedic
viewpoint. While I personally don’t take a lot of inspiration from this story,
it is nice to see another alternative take on the idea of what is truly heroic,
this time from a combination of feminine and foreign points of view. Well
executed with a lot of relatable, funny, and diverse characters, this newest
addition to the Marvel universe may be a fan-girl, but she stands unique from
and beside those she admires.
Jarod Frank Analysis of Shaun Tan’s, “The Arrival.” Shaun Tan's, “The Arrival,” is a fantastic example of conveying narrative themes and complex character interactions without the use of dialogue. Through the emphasis on gestures, body positioning, and facial expressions, we are able to “fill in” to a great degree what we imagine the characters are conveying; regardless of anything literally being said. One such fantastic example of this is when the main immigrant man is trying to find an apartment, beginning by asking another man where it could be. We see the quizzical look he local man as he looks over the immigrant, who pulls out a drawing pad and draws a bed, pointing to it. Such a natural progression of actions, reactions and continued actions are the basics of human communication, not necessarily needing words to convey an experience we all are familiar with: questioning. While the situation is mundane, the comic being able to convey this series of emotions here and n...
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