Persepolis

Reading both volumes of Persepolis was a real treat. The book is named for the ancient capitol of Persia, and represents in many ways the author's own views of Iran as a place lost somewhere between the ancient and the modern. Throughout the memoir, we see Satrapi torn between tradition and family, and modernization and independence. Her bold-lined "cartoony" style is surprisingly effective. All of the characters are extremely emotional and sympathetic in spite of, or perhaps because of the reduced black and white style.
Perhaps the most interesting and heartfelt part of the memoir are the years when Satrapi is away from home as a teenager, experimenting both with drugs and political philosophies. The fluctuationg relationship she has with faith and family is most evident here, as she struggles to define herself and find concrete meaning, thousands of miles from her home. Here, Satrapi illustrates wonderfully the misunderstanding and difficulty that can occur accross cultures, as well as the universal qualities of compassion and friendliness that might be found anywhere.
One of my favorite parts in Persepolis was when Marjane's mother comes to visit her in Vienna after a long time apart. This scene really brings the story into a universal realm of family connections, and highlights the depth of their relationship. When Marjane and her mother meet up, nothing seems to have changed between them, despite their differences in size and appearance. This kind of sentiment is one tht I think most people hve felt at some point with someone very close, and it is one of many scenes that allows the story to flow so comfortably from a larger, political stage into a deeply personal and relatable one.

Astro City Cont, Eyebeam Update.

The most interesting part of Astro City is the way Busiek invites the reader to share in the personal space of the superheroes, especially of the Samaritan as he tries to maintain a normal life despite his self-imposed duty to prevent as many tragedies as he possibly can. He dreams of using his powers to fly uninhibited through the sky, when normally he is stuck constantly flying from one disaster scene to another, unable to sleep for more than several hours at a time, for fear that somewhere, someone needs him. Busiek uses the Samaritan to look deeply at the psychology of the super hero. Particularly, the idea of self-imposed sacrifice and martyrdom. The Samaritan seems almost reluctant that he has to keep on going every time he gets a glimpse at being a normal person, but he is bound to his work, almost addicted to saving people.

At Eyebeam, my work continues to be mostly intern-worthy desk stuff, but it is still proving a worthy experience. I am gaining valuable insight on the inner workings of creative institutions like Eyebeam. Reading press at work, I get more insight into the almost singular position that Eyebeam holds as a kind of new media think tank. The internship has become a kind of hands-on review of the place of new media struggling to find a niche within contemporary art. The Eyebeam workshop/gallery really sits at the forefront of new media art, with artists constantly coming up with new ways to use technology in their work.

Astro City, Drawing Crime Noir

Kurt Busiek's Astro City was a really amazing piece of work to read. The world Busiek creates is something extremely familiar, but on the whole different from anything I've read before. He succeeds utterly in his stated goal of giving super heroes a world of their own, a world that makes sense within its own reality, as opposed to transplanting super heroes into our reality, and the effect is incredible. The cross-section that the book provides of life in Astro City, from the daring rescues of the overworked Samaritan, to a fateful day in the life of Marta, a young woman from the wrong side of town, is an amazing feat of world-building. Through the few stories of Life In the Big City, one gets a surprisingly complete account of a tangible, believable world, while getting the chance to get personal with several distinct and interesting characters.

Reading Drawing Crime Noir for Comics and Graphic Novels by Christopher Hart was interesting, although I feel I would have gotten more out of it if I were a more accomplished artist myself. The book is clearly for those who have some experience with figure drawing, and who wish to modify their style for a certain effect. That being said, it was interesting to get an idea of the processes by which traditional drawing styles can be modified for storytelling and dramatic effect. particularly, I enjoyed reading and seeing how sometimes it is best to bend the rules of cast shadows a bit, in order to increase the contrast and drama of a scene.