Maus

By only looking at the cover alone, it seems that this is just a dull, even naive comic novel. The first book is a pair of humanoid mice, and the second book is a group of mice that wears blue and white striped clothes, blue striped hats. The black and shiny big eyes may look cute.

However, the Nazi flag behind them is very depressed.

The cover of the books has been carefully designed. Before I recovered from the cover, I opened the second page, and the black and white image shook my heart. Even if I didn't read the content, I was impressed by the expressionless faces. I think I can’t feel the same as the survivors from the Holocaust.

The medium of Maus is comic. The author draws various animals to represent people from different countries. Germans are cats, Jews are mice, Poles are pigs, Americans are dogs, French are Frogs, British are fish, and Gypsies are moths. The faces of these animals are interchangeable, highlighting that the absurdity of assessing people by race.

There were not only Jews and Poles in the concentration camp but also many Germans. It emphasizes that the Holocaust is not just a shame of Germans or a disaster for Jewish, but also a disgrace and disaster for all humanity. 

Maus reminds me a poem written by Martin Niemoller:

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—

     Because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—

     Because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—

     Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

Underground comics

Before I read these underground comics, I thought all of them are going to relate to drug and sexual. However, there are comics relate to drug and sexual, there are also comics like “Heroes of the Blues,” which is just an encyclopedia of famous Blues artist.

The experience of reading underground comic and standard comic is way different. The comics from DC, Marvel, and Disney usually have a similar style. Although they might have a number of comic artists draw the comics, the stories and styles are mainly the same. However, underground comics don’t give a damn about that. Tits and Clits are short stories about sex. The title of the comic already shows that directly.

I feel like underground comics are willing to show the desire of human. Some of them are pornography comic. I don’t know their relationship with the readers, but I do see the practicality of these comics. 

Will Eisner

Before I read Will Eisner’s comics, I already knew his name. He is revered as the "godfather of American comics," not only because of the great influence of “the Spirit” on the comics industry but more importantly, he has improved the artistic status of comics. The public accepted him for elevating comics from children's books to a new literary form.

I read his book Comics and Sequential Art. When I read the theory that has been put in comics, I always feel amazed. Especially the differences between comics with text and without text. Or the same bubble produces an entirely different meaning in different pictures.

The focus of the comics is the use of space and the sense of time. Every frame needs to be carefully considered. Gradually, the picture has become a story-telling art. This medium can express more thick emotions and more complex stories.

The comic “the Spirit” already has the prototype of the superhero comic. The style of the Spirit is very American. I kinda don’t like it because I have been seen too many comics like this.

The Arrival by Shaun Tan

The whole book begins with a wall full of photos of immigrants, just like the Esley Island Memorial. Some of them depict immigrants entering the customs and their passport photos. The landing hall in the book was also created based on photographs taken on Esley Island.The story in the book begins with a man who is carefully putting a photo of his family into a box. The time is morning. His wife and daughter sent him to the train station. The scene is the town he is about to leave, and the town is home for creatures with huge black tentacles. In the picture of the train station, We can see the sadness in the eyes of his little daughter. When he took out a paper crane from the hat to tease her, she smiled reluctantly. They hug and say goodbye, and then the train started. Mom and daughter walked back home in the shadow of the creature.From these pictures, we can appreciate the tremendous effort and think of the author in this book. In each of the works, there are details carefully designed by Shaun Tan, which allows the reader to look at the new world with the amazing eyes of strangers. The man was in the arrival hall, and before he finally entered, he silently accepted the health check, and the immigration officer asked him about his purpose.He found a new job, met new people, and we learned more about him and this new, quirky new world. The final scene of the story is that he happily greets his wife and little daughter. From the joy in their faces, we can appreciate how emotional their reunion is. In the last painting, his daughter is guiding the way for a stranger who just arrived. It is a comic for travelers. It is a comic for immigrants. It is for people who are far away from their home. I feel the emotion that the author wants to show. As an international student, I feel homesick when I read it.