Geek Heroes ” Scott Pilgrim”

In class we explored the idea of “Geek Heroes” when talking about the hero Scott Pilgrim.  Scott is considered to be a geek when his background and life is examined; Scott is an unemployed 23 year old, who spends most of his days playing video games and playing base for an highly mediocre band. His ‘geekiness’ does however allow him to have excellent kung fu skills; he uses these skills to attempt to beat the exes of a girl he is trying to date. Although this plot line may seem a little bit corny, I feel it really highlights the audience that it’s trying to relate to and attract to this genre… geeks. Geeks or nerds would be highly attracted to this type of genre and this type of super hero especially, because it takes their lifestyle and makes it that much more exciting. Stereotypically, nerds and geeks spend their time playing video games and hanging out alone or in small groups. Furthermore, geeks and nerds are sometimes socially awkward and find it hard to speak to women; Scott Pilgrim makes this lifestyle seem awesome because it his through his video games skills, which translate to real life fighting skills, that he is able to fight for the girl of his dreams.

Week 10 Hawkeye

I feel that Hawkeye is a great comic and the dialogue really is one of the most unique features of the comic. The comic is always riddled with dialogue, but I have the sparseness of the dialogue really make the dialogue jump out at you and more relevant. The sparseness of the dialogue also makes the writing more enjoyable because you are reading dialogue that the author finds really relevant, thus adding excitement to the writing.  Another fascinating aspect is how Matt Fraction made the Russian mobsters both fearsome with a hint of comic relief using dialogue. In his writing Fraction makes the mobsters fearsome, but he adds comic relief by punctuating their speech with ” Bro”. I found this comic especially enjoyable because of real it felt. Hawkeye is never really fighting super villains as other heroes do, he almost usually fighting henchmen and mobsters. This adds normalcy to the comic because mobsters and henchmen are more realistic the super villains with outrages powers; this aspect of the comic made it very easy to read a refreshing. Moreover, the plot was very normal and refreshing aswell, the main plot wasn’t a hero fighting for the human race, rather, it was simply Clint Barton fighting to keep his apartment block safe from mobsters.

Planetary

When reading planetary I can see why many critics rave about the comic. The most interesting thing about the comic is that the author, Warren Ellis, focuses more on the idea of comics as a genre rather than the super heroes themselves. I find this to be an unique view on comics because as someone who isn’t an avid reader of comics, I found very interesting and exciting since it is a new concept. I found it appealing because exploring the planet with Elijah, Jakit, and kooky, I, the reader, felt like I was a fourth main character. The fact that these characters weren’t necessarily super heroes but rather observants of the world they were exploring added an exciting element because I had no expectation of a hero coming and saving the day necessarily. I wish other comics took on this format because it allows for more room for defeat, which intern raises the stakes and consequently adds more excitement to the reading material. In other comics I find as the first couple of issues go by and you familiarize with the super heroes power and characteristics, and it becomes easy to predict the outcome of the problem that arises. However, if the heroes are more observant and not the main part of problems, I feel it is easier to become entranced in the plot line. For example, when reading comics about Superman perhaps, it is easy to predict that Superman, being the powerful and flawless superhero he is, will eventually figure out a solution to the problem and save humanity like he always does. This type plot line becomes boring and I wouldn’t be able to engage with the material presented for more than a couple issues.

Wonder Woman

Wonder woman really opened the eyes of many when she was first introduced as a super-hero. Although Miss America was the first female character introduced, I feel Wonder Woman relates to this generation a lot more. Growing up the only female super hero that I heard of was wonder woman, and my sisters were very fond of her because they could relate to her by seeing a woman in power. The movie was very well done and I found that feminism was a very important topic that was discussed. Wonder Woman used humour throughout the film to shed light on feminism. For example, when Etta was explaining what a secretary was to wonder woman, she made fun of the idea by relating it to slavery. The fact that Wonder Woman is confident enough to show her disagreement with gender norms, shows why women like my sisters gravitated towards her. Wonder Women isn’t afraid to go against social norms and go against the notion that a male run society is the only way to do things. The fact that Wonder Woman was such a block buster hit, shows how far our society has come. In the sixties for example, a women staring in a lead role where she is exhibiting masculine traits such as strength to fight evil, would be un heard of, and mostly likely not accepted.  I feel in the next coming years, we should go further and show case female super heroes on the big screen. I feel if more young women saw women as being powerful and able to “ Kick Butt” as well, their confidence would sky rocket and they would not feel the need to gain acceptance from others by looking a certain a way other than being simply themselves.

Black Panther: Self Conflictions

When reading the Black Panther I was amazed by how much I saw myself in T’Challa. Of course I do not have mystical connection with the Wakandan Panther God, or incredibly fast reflexes, but I can still relate to him. My relation to T’Challa stems further than the surface, as he is African and so am I, I relate to him in terms of his constant inner conflict with who is. “ Am I a king, a scientist, a superhero?” are questions that surface quiet frequently in the comic. In my own life I find I too ask myself, “ who am I ?”. I have many different titles, I am a student, a brother, a son, a basketball player, and most recently a musician. Finding ways to balance all of my responsibilities with my extracurricular activities can be very difficult. T’Challa’s first duty is to be a king to his people, and as the title “ A Nation Under Our Feet” suggests, the comic focuses heavily on his relationship with Wakanda. On the other hand, T’Challa enjoys being a scientist, and his eyes, he feels he is really gifted in this field. In my life, my main obligation is being a student, but I also came to this school specifically to play basketball as well. I find these two parts of my life conflict sometimes because they are so dependent on each other. As T’Challa learns later in the issues, the most important part of finding who you are is finding a balance between all the things you do and prioritising. T’Challa’s main obligation is to be a king to his people, and being a super hero as well as a scientist come second to this obligation. In my life, my main obligation is to be a student, and playing basketball and making music have to take a back seat to my main obligation.

Week 3: Ms Marvel

Ms. Marvel has truly taken the right steps into breaking the barriers between what characteristics are socially acceptable for a superhero. The idea of a muslim female superhero, was probably deemed impossible to selling as many copies as it did. In the Ted Ex presented by Ms. Marvel’s author, Willow Wilson, states that “ Female characters don’t sell, minority characters, (…) for a series like this to succeed it would have to shatter decades of conventional wisdom”. It is evident that the authors of this comic knew what they were up against in terms of audience and acceptance. Wilson also gave insight into why the comic sold as well it did, admitting she had extreme confidence in today’s society; the newer society has become more acceptable to ideologies and people who do not conform to socials norms. In the Ted Ex, Wilson continues to say, “What is the secret [to selling so many books]? … The secret is the audience… angry, joyful, inhibited, multiethnic, millennial audience”. Although this is the first comic starring a muslim superhero, I found that the authors did a great job of not throwing the idea into the reader’s face. Rather, they highlighted the idea of Ms Marvel being muslim in a very comfortable manner easing the idea into the readers mind. In the very beginning of the comic, readers are introduced to Ms Marvel’s family and gain understanding of the household environment; in various ways, the family is similar to that of any individual regardless of culture or religion. I found this made the reader accept the idea more because it made it seem like an everyday thing, and thus making it acceptable to be muslim and a superhero.  

-KORBIL GANY

 

 

Week 2: My Thoughts on Comic Books

Comic books are an excellent form of literature in regards to reaching out to young kids and grasping their attention. Comic books have various factors and components that make them attractive for young readers and those who enjoy visuals while reading. Comic books are attractive to children as they essentially look like “cartoons”, and may be a reason for igniting interest within a child to read. Comic books teach children emotions and basic human interactions through pictures and simple visuals; these visuals, although very rarely complex, allow a child to infer what is going on in that specific part of the story. It allows one to be forced to understand the story without being provided too many words to do so. Comics are useful in telling a complex story with few images, presented in a way that is easy to understand and relate to. Comic books give all readers, but children especially, a visual window where their mind can relate the words of the story to the photos provided. Children can learn the basics of dialogue, as in comics, dialogue is seen in a speech bubble. Comics can also be a useful form of literature for struggling readers, and those who cannot as easily comprehend traditional forms of reading such as chapter books or novels. Comic books also allow large amounts of information to be presented in a short amount of time. Lastly, comic books many times have bright colours and a good use of dramatic speech, which attracts young readers.

-Korbil Gany