One of the comics strips that I found interesting among all of these newspaper comics was the Buck Rogers comic. To me, it felt more like a page out of a comic book than something that belongs in a newspaper, which is why I think it stood out to me from the rest. There are a few key factors that made the comic feel less like it was from the newspaper and rather made it feel more like a comic book. I think the art direction, the panel diversity, and the thought-out story work together to make this comic strip stand out from the rest in newspaper comics. The art direction shows that the creators put a lot of time and care into the comic. There are a lot of unique designs for outfits, characters, and worlds. Additionally, the color choices, while very saturated in some cases, help to differentiate the background and foreground well. The panel diversity also assists the comic to feel different from the rest. Few panels in the comic break themselves from the traditional square column-row format that most newspaper comics follow. Some panels jump in and out of others, while others are rectangular and do not follow a strict line of where to begin and where to end the sides of the panel. Furthermore, the story in Buck Rodgers is more than just a jump to the punchline. Many of the other comics in the collection rely on quick wit and humor or offensive dialogue in order to attract the attention of their audience. Buck Rodgers, however, relies on world building and in-depth story telling to captivate their audience. Additionally, it does not seem to fall into the sexists tropes, but rather it gives the women in the comic intelligence and authority.
For the week that we read these, we were asked to discuss whether the comics we read should be considered literary or not. My first reaction was to break down what made something 'literary'. I was inclined to say that as long as something had words and was telling a story with some amount of depth, then that was what I considered literary. However, I realized while talking with team members about this question that I had a new consideration of literary comics. I like to think of comics the same way I think about art, and that is that anything can be art. I do not think that we have to tie down the constraints of what is and is not literary because that can put writers who just want to create into a bubble. Whether I used my old definition or my new definition, I think My Favorite Thing is Monsters is definitely a literary comic. It masterfully uses its media to tell a fantastic and relatable story. Everything about the comic felt real and was very engaging, the art felt in sync...
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