I think the most interesting thing to me about the Little Nemo comics is their context. From what I have seen in regards to 'Sunday Comics', very few comic creators stray away from snappy, quick humor or punchlines. Many of the art styles and stories are simple and rely on efficiency. With Winsor McCay and Little Nemo comics, however, a short story with very specific stylistic decisions is what makes them stand out from most Sunday comics. While the basic premise of Nemo falling asleep, having a dream that transforms into a nightmare, and jolting awake with the aid of one of his parents does not change, McCay still makes a successful effort to provide to the readers a world with depth. Additionally, we get to see more and more of the dream world with each new comic, rather than see the same generic setting that many artists default to in their comics. Furthermore, the art that Winsor McCay uses for his comic is not simply a quick and easily copied drawing. His style is refined and thought out; it is a couple steps away from realism (similar to the theme of his comic), his use of line-weight as a form of creating depth is perfect, and the colors he uses goes very well with the tone of each part of the comic. His display of uniqueness in art style also shows in his panel layouts. Some time the mishaps of Nemo by being offset from one another, while others break the grid of Sunday comics by putting an illustrated centerpiece in the middle of the page. Overall, I would say his work was unique and well thought out amongst other Sunday comic artists.
I read American Born Chinese about two years ago for the Asian and Asian American Diaspora LMST Class, but I did not quite remember everything that happened, so I decided to read it again. While there are seemingly three story lines, they all merge into one at the end, which caught me off guard again the second time reading it. I definitely think this fits into the category of literary comics. Not only does it have great writing, it tells a compelling story that really makes the reader stop to think. While I cannot say that I relate to this story in the same way, I can see how this story could be relatable. I feel like this is an important novel that everyone should take a second and read. I also really enjoyed the pacing of this novel, both in the sense of the three stories coming together as one and in the panel by panel framing of the scenes. The writer understands well how to use blank panels and pages.
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