Sunday, January 11, 2015
Getting to Know You
Despite the fact that we might not get to meet one another in-person, I thought it made sense to open the semester by introducing ourselves. Below, please post a brief introduction: your name, major/ year, knowledge of or interest in comics (if any), and a line or two about a favorite book/ movie/ television show/ comic to give us a sense of your taste.
I can start: I'm a professor in the English department at UC. I teach classes on contemporary American literature, especially comics, the modern novel, literary theory, and race and ethnicity. I am happy to talk to you more about the department here at UC or other fun classes you might take or (gasp) careers you might pursue with an English degree. I love teaching this course because I really enjoy comics, particularly what has come to be called "the graphic novel," and think that comics have forever altered the contemporary literary scene and made us think about how images, like words, can tell a story. I have countless favorite books, movies, television shows, and comics; like a lot of you, I imagine, I am a bit of a culture junky. I'd have to say, though, that I am obsessed with the newish show, Transparent, and can't bear that there won't be a new season for awhile. Any other Transparent obsessives out there?(Also can't wait for Orphan Black to return!)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Hello there! I'm Amanda, but I prefer Mandi (the username is attached to my Google+ account?? So, if it's a problem that I'll be posting as a rather unprofessional name, let me know!). I am a Fine Arts major and a freshman. I read a lot of comics, and take a lot of summer time classes with a friend and mentor of mine. Comic book art is actually the career I'm going for (working on something right now, actually) so this class is going to be super fun! I'm a huge fan of a lot of things, but right now, I guess I'd say my tastes lie with sci-fi/fantasy writings. Currently, I've been playing (re-playing, really) a video game trilogy called Mass Effect. It's got a really solid plot and fantastic, three-dimetional characters. Anybody here a Mass Effect fan? (I haven't seen Orphan Black! But it looks so cool, and it seems like its getting intense, if the gifs on Tumblr are anything to go by!)
ReplyDeleteI think you'll love Orphan Black! And, it will be great to get your feedback as a comics artist.
DeleteHi, my name is Megan, and as strange as it may sound, my major is Criminal Justice. This is my last semester and will be graduating in the spring with my bachelors degree. I don't really know much about comics or graphic novels, and the main reason for taking this course is to fulfill my English requirements, which included an upper level, 3000 or higher english class. While I am no expert in the subject, my hopes are, by the end of the semester, to have gained a better understanding for the subject and learn a little bit more about it other than what I see in the Sunday morning paper. A TV show that I have an obsession with is The Amazing Race. I live vicariously through the people on the show and enjoy traveling with them and seeing the different places they get to visit. Another show that I have been forced into watching is The Walking Dead. I hated this show at first, but it has grown on me over time. Other than that, I really don't have much time to watch TV. I just recently finished a book called Only By His Touch and have a new found love for Amazon Kindle, which I have found to be easliy accessible on my phone. I look forward to reading the books selected for this course and spending the semester learning more about the subject of comics/graphic novels.
ReplyDeleteGreat. There's actually a Walking Dead comic, as well. Look forward to exposing you to comics this semester!
DeleteHello classmates.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Alyssa Chabrier and I'm a fourth year (though slightly behind) English Literature major looking to graduate this coming fall.
I have little to no experience with the Western graphic novel, though (if it counts) I was very into Japanese manga as a teenager and have braved one or two series since then. I enjoy the degree of visual expression that the graphic novel offers over prose, and the consequential emphasis on plot development through dialogue.
My favorite graphic novel (or series, rather) is ひぐらしのなく頃に which basically translates to "When the Cicadas Cry." It's of the horror/psychological thriller genre, but it mainly won me over with a very complicated and nuanced way of telling the story-- with a series of arcs that show the same characters at the same time with different bad outcomes, then later on with "answer" arcs that show the story from a different perspective that basically gives motivation to the madness. Each series of arcs that goes by clues the reader in little by little as to the grander plot. It's intense, but I'd recommend it.
We're not reading manga this semester, but it's so influential and important to the writers we read and we will need your input for sure.
DeleteMy name is Holly Gale and I am graduating this spring with a degree in Communications and certificate in Public Relations. I love writing and storytelling, specifically using my skills to tell the story of a brand/company/organization in a strategic and meaningful way.
ReplyDeleteMy exposure and knowledge of comics/graphic novels is sparse. I read a graphic novel for a ethnic studies course called Incognegro, which I enjoyed. I'm looking forward to reading more of this genre because I love the idea of mixing mediums and creating completely unique and engaging content.
I am a television addict and I binge watch responsibly. That being said, I have not seen Orphan Black OR Transparent, but they are on my list. Right now I'm really into Homeland and I'm making my way through The L Word (oldie, but goodie).
My no-guilt guilty pleasure is Pretty Little Liars, and part of why I love it so much is the fan base that comes with it and the relationship between the viewers and creators/actors. I am fascinated at how art and media creation is increasingly greatly influenced and shaped by it's audience. I know that many comics/graphic novels have a loyal following and I'd like to learn more about this mediums audience and creator relationship.
Holly, a lot of what we will read this semester plays with the relationship between audience and author, too, so I'll be interested to get your thoughts. In Understanding Comics, McCloud talks about comics as participatory, as well.
DeleteHey. My name is Chris Ernst. I am a second year student, attempting for a bachelors in fine arts. Hopefully, I can make that develop into a masters and then a career in art education.
ReplyDeleteI decided to take this class because I've always loved comics and graphic novels. My personal favorites are the comics that made up the Civil War arc of Marvel's universe.
I'm not much for television, but I love movies and play more video games than I probably should. I especially love the Elder Scroll series. I love series' with a vast array of lore for me to dig into. The more developed a story's universe is, the more I tend to enjoy it.
Will be interested to get your perspective on how narrative works differently in gaming than in comics!
DeleteHello all, my name is Tony Kahn and I am a fourth year e-media student. This is my first semester in e-media however, I had previously been in architecture. I have always loved comics- when I was a kid I read Calvin and Hobbes, The Far Side, Foxtrot, and other newspaper strips. I also read Shonen Jump and was introduced then to Naruto, Shaman King, and the manga version of Dragon Ball. I loved it a lot then, but got involved with other things in high school and left that side of me behind until not too long ago. I got an iPad and stumbled upon free versions of the manga I used to read, and so I reread everything I loved back then and then more. I fully embraced the nerdy comic book lover inside of me, and that is a big part of why I am taking this class.
ReplyDeleteI watch too much stuff on Netflix and am not even going to try to write a list of all the stuff I like. Lately I watched Black Mirror, which I highly recommend. Very creepy Twilight Zone-esque show.
Excited to see Black Mirror! I've heard it's great. Also: it would be interesting to think through some of the links between architecture and comics as the semester proceeds. The cartoonish Chris Ware makes this link explicit in his work, Building Stories.
DeleteHi everyone,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Jess and I'm in Industrial Design at DAAP. What I do is design products. I spent 2 years previously in fine arts, earning a minor, but eventually switched majors to ID.
I actually joined this class hoping to understand more about the making process and history of comics. I have previously illustrated a children's book a few years back, so I have a slight grasp on the publication process (emphasizing "slight"). But I want to learn techniques used in the past for designing character development and plot development. At my last co-op I worked in NYC with some pretty big clients, Panasonic and LG. They came to our firm hoping to have us design them the next big product releases. For us to help explain how the new product we design will be used by customers, we have to draw them storyboards. (aka, cartoons of how to use these new products) I had to draw a lot of these last semester and want some new insight on how to draw/layout some of these stories my job entails me to do.
But enough about that, in my spare time I do enjoy sketching, sketching and lots more sketching, while watching my favorite films on Netflix. The latest films I have thoroughly enjoyed are, "The Equalizer" and "The Theory of Everything." So action and psychological thrillers are my favorites!
Fascinating, Jess. You'll have a making-comics extra credit project later in the semester. I'll enjoy getting your thoughts on craft.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWe read Alison Bechdel later in the term, so I'm glad she is one of your favorites! Did you know that Fun Home was turned into a musical? I wish I had seen it.
DeleteI did not know that! I love musicals, thanks very much for pointing it out to me. Now I just have to comb the internet to find some way to listen.
DeleteHi! I am Jillian Phillips and I am a senior in English. I'm hoping to get my M.Ed and my teaching certificate after I graduate, I eventually want to be a reading specialist.
ReplyDeleteI don't really have too much experience with graphic novels, but I have had previous courses that used them. I like exploring different formats to tell a story, like using photography or in this case, graphic novels.
I am one of those weird people who doesn't really have a favorite genre, I'll read pretty much anything given to me. I spend my free time with my daughter, she just turned 2, and my husband.
I'm very excited to see what more I can learn about the graphic novel.
Some Ed students who took this course last semester wrote great papers about using comics in the secondary ed classroom. It could be interesting for you to pursue this if you're interested.
DeleteHey all,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Tom Panzeca, and I'm a 5th year Information Systems student. As I near graduation, I looked for elective classes that aligned with my interests. This one jumped out at me immediately. I've never been fully invested in comic books or graphic novels, but I have a small collection of X-Men comics from the mid-2000s. I loved reading them, but I felt like $3.99-$5.99 I would pay to read a comic for 20 to 30 minutes was just unreasonable. I'm hoping this class can give me a new understanding of comics, their history, and their value.
In my spare time I watch Mad Men, which I've decided is the best show on television, and I throw all of my disposable income at growing my collection of vinyl records, both new and old.
So sad Mad Men will be ending. It's interesting to think about visual media, such as television, in comparison to comics, which function using some of the same vocabulary of images.
Delete(I commented a bit ago but it didn't show up for some reason so here I go again)
ReplyDeleteHello,
My name is Jonathan Nickoson. I am a Creative Writing major with a minor in E-Media. I am a 5th year and took this course 1, because I needed one more english course o finish my major up and 2, because I really love comics. I grew up watching superhero tv shows and movies. I enjoyed the DC Comics animted universe like Batman: the animated series and Justice League as well as Xmen and it's range of series released. The X-Men films are probably my favorite super hero series because it isn't like all the others. It shows a people grouping together to fight for equality. It's far deeper than good vs. evil. I started collecting comics a few years ago. I have a lot of the New 52 including Batman and Robin and Batgirl. I have a few X-Men series and Spiderman that I was able to read over the internet. Probably my favorite short comic series is Wake and Trillium. These Vertigo series are smartly written intrigue me because of their depth into the science fiction genre. I deeply love science fiction. My favorite films are Jurassic Park, Alien, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Akira. Any well developed science fiction stories always intrigue especially dinosaurs. I actually do a lot of dinosaur and movie character sculptures. My favorite television series are Doctor Who and Community. An equal combination of scifi and comedy is what I deeply admire.
A lot of what we're reading runs to black comedy (if not scifi), so I hope you'll enjoy the works we discuss.
DeleteYesss!!! Haha
DeleteHey! My name is LeeAnne Lepak and I am a Criative Writing major. I am a senior and will graduate in the fall of 2015. I am a non-traditional student having returned to college after an absence of twenty odd years. In 2006 I was diagnosed with Pulmonary Hypertension and was forced due to the severity of the disease to leave the work force. After some time feeling quite sorry for myself, I got up and got dressed and decided to return to college to keep my mind busy. Too much internal soul searching is not necessarily a good thing. I love Lord of the Rings, and all the Marvel universe. My son thinks his mother is "too weird," but he is sixteen...so really, what does he know. I am an NCIS junkie, and have recently fallen in love with the new series The Librarians and at that I should probably blush at the very least of my odd taste in television entertainment.
ReplyDeleteOdd television is the best! I haven't seen the Librarians, but it sounds interesting. Congratulations on going back to school; what a huge project to undertake!
DeleteMy name is Jake Grieco and am a fourth Creative Writing Major. I took this class because I've always wanted to know more about comics and graphic novels. My only exposure to the medium is Calvin & Hobbes, which I admire deeply. I just watched all of Black Mirror and Marco Polo during the break. My cat's name is Ponyo and my dog's name is Weezer so that shows my interests a bit. I've been listening to Pity Sex and Adventures lately. I've been eating peanut butter sandwiches with honey and that's been lovely. During the break I spent my time writing out Allen Ginsberg poems and taping them to my wall.
ReplyDeleteLove Allen Ginsberg and I'm excited to watch Black Mirror. I hear it's amazing, but I haven't had a chance to watch yet.
DeleteMy name is Jenny and I am a 2nd year Anthropology student. I don't have much experience reading comic books, aside from Betty & Veronica and the occasional superhero comic growing up. I like a variety of books/movies/tv, but I think many of my favorites have a science fiction or fantasy element. My favorite book is Ender's Game, I love old movies and especially silent movies like Metropolis, and I enjoy tv shows such as Star Trek and The Walking Dead.
ReplyDeleteMetropolis is one of my favorites! A fascinating angle re: comics is their relationship to silent film.
DeleteMy name is Aubrey Byrd. I am a third year fine arts student. I have always enjoyed reading comics. I have read many comic books from Marvel and DC. I am interested in reading less popular comic book stories and learning more about comic book story telling. I hope to someday be able to produce a successful comic book series or story of my own.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy comedy and science fiction. Over the break I read several short volumes of Marvel, DC, and IDW comic books.
Excited to introduce you to these new materials!
DeleteHello all,
ReplyDeleteMy name is John Franklin, and I am a fourth year chemical engineering student. I'm a big fan of comics as a medium, and try to enjoy them as best as I can. That said, my background with them is not what you'd call conventional. Despite harboring a passion for comics (I even wrote my own back in middle school, 300 odd pages contained in a single Five Star Notebook), I've never been invested in mainstream comics, such as Marvel or DC. While my friends geeked out over Batman or the Avengers, I would find myself perusing Charles Burns or Herge, or even the occasional manga. After this checkered background in the medium, I'm hoping this class can give me a more well-rounded appreciation of comics, perhaps even make me less of a hipster as well. As far as favorite things, I love books by Thomas Pynchon, I'm very much into Dan Clowes' comics, I adore the show Mystery Science Theater 3000, and my favorite movie would be Annie Hall. So, perhaps I should just give up hope for becoming less of a hipster..
I thought about doing some Charles Burns this semester. He is great. And, have you seen the new adaptation of Pynchon's Inherent Vice into a film? Apparently, he makes a (*secret*) cameo.
DeleteHello, I'm Jordan and a second year English (Creative Writing Fiction) major. I have been a superhero fan since the beginning of time, which is usually a great surprise to people. My favorite are the X-men, but I also like the Justice League. I guess I tend to like it when the superheroes team up. When I was in middle school I discovered manga and since then have also been a manga/anime fan. I came to like Watchmen some time during high school. I saw the movie and then read the graphic novel. Then I discovered V for Vendetta, although I never read the graphic novel. I have seen an animated version of Persepolis which I see we are going to read. Also, I recently became a fan of the comic Saga, and some others from Image. Not the Walking Dead though, I like them in color... and that about does it for my knowledge of comics. I'm an artist so sometimes I imagine drawing/writing comics one day, but we'll see. Favorite book: The Count of Monte Cristo. Movie: Kill Bill. TV Show: Shameless, but right now I am bingeing Revenge. Comic: Saga.
ReplyDeleteObsessed with Shameless, too. I just binge-watched the marathon last weekend! Welcome, Jordan.
DeleteHello, everyone.
ReplyDeleteI'm Katie. I'm majoring in English Literature and am in my fourth year, though I won't be graduating until spring of 2016. I actually took a class with you, Jennifer, in fall of 2013. It was an Ethnic American Literature class... alternatively, Race in America, and you used comics there as well. So I've read quite a few of these books already, and really enjoyed them. There are some new titles here I haven't seen before as well. Regardless, I'm glad to get a chance to explore more of them in depth, again!
I wouldn't call myself a comics expert, but I certainly enjoy them. Some favorites are of course, Calvin and Hobbes, Blankets, Persepolis, Dennis the Menace, Garfield and a slew of webcomics whose names I can never remember until they pop up on Facebook or Tumblr.
Some of my favorite books:To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Erasure by Percival Everett, Green Angel by Alice Hoffman, The Running Man and Carrie by Stephen King, The Giant's House by Elizabeth McCracken, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson, Crossing the River by Caryl Phillips, The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman, Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden and Elders by Ryan McIlvain. I realize this is a lot, but it's always difficult for me to narrow down.
As far as films and television shows go, I love Orphan Black, Orange is the New Black, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Bob's Burgers, Firefly, Blue is the Warmest Color, Ink, Amelie, Imagine Me and You, Spirited Away, Kiki's Delivery Service, Howl's Moving Castle, Moonrise Kingdom, Super 8 and Easy A. I also have a variety of anime series and Korean and Taiwanese dramas that I'm a huge fan of.
That's probably way more information than is needed. But I'm a fervent lover of all things popular culture, so I have trouble containing my "most loved" lists to just a few items. In any case, that's me.
Good to "see" you, again, Katie! There is some overlap, but hopefully enough new works to keep you interested, as well.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHello Class,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Mark Bricker and I am in my 5th year of seeking my Journalism degree. I have always been somewhat interested in the world of comics, but the opportunity to learn more never really presented itself. Reading has always been very hot and cold with me. Some of the books that we read in school inspired me to go out and find what I enjoyed to read in my free time. At the same time growing up in the technological age, I do appreciate the silence that comes along with reading a real book.
Some of my favorite books include, The 48 Laws of Power, The Wu Tang Manual, The Tao of Wu and some of the Harry Potter books. Sports writing was a big interest of mine up until a year or so ago. One of my journalism teachers drove me to dislike what the media represented in the sports world. And with last years racial tensions, my interest for the media has dwindled as well. Though I have gained an utter passion for seeking the truth.
My roommates and I don't have cable, so we get all of our media needs from the internet. My favorite shows are Fuck, That's Delicious, Nice Kicks: Sneak Peek, Hot97, DeliStatus, and Funny or Die. I get my news and political views from personal research of websites that I trust. Favorite movies include Old School, The Other Guys, StepBrothers, Training Day, This Is The End, and Remember The Titans.
Looking forward to taking the class and learning more about the comic world.
Welcome, Mark! Great to get your perspective. And, we can definitely talk about race and the media, since we'll be discussing race and comics this semester.
DeleteHello I am Jesse Cooley, I am a senior in Political Science. I love to read comics of varying styles. I recently read the DC Identity Crisis story line and frequently enjoy the manga Hajime no Ippo. I also occasionally read the webstrips of xkcd and vgcats. Some of my favorite shows are the IT Crowd, Blacklist, The Librarians, and Leverage.
ReplyDeleteThe movies I most enjoy include the works of Miyazaki, The Professional, Big Trouble in Little China, Hot Fuzz, and Push.
My book interests are the Pendragon Series, the Harry Potter series, the Percy Jackson series, Redwall series, Enders Game. I love to read fantasy and sci-fi novels. I also enjoy mystery novels. Comics have always been interesting to me. They have the ability to entertain and to inform people through humor and satire. I am looking forward to a fun semester.
Jesse, it might be interesting to try comparing some of the films you like to comics, given the deep connections between the two forms of media. I'll be interested to get your input this semester!
DeleteHey everyone!
ReplyDeleteMy name is Amber Piece, and I am in my final semester at UC (FINALLY)! I am majoring in English: Cultural and Literary Studies. Through two other courses, I have actually read Maus and The Complete Persepolis, which served as a sort of sling shot into this form. After reading Maus, I became interested in the graphic novel, and what its form means in my field. It was a pleasant surprise that I had to read The Complete Persepolis the following semester, and this semester, I was finally able to take this course.
I am very passionate about literature and have been since a very early age. I am currently working on research around The Hunger Games and what role YA has a genre, outside of classes. While YA is one of my favorite genres, I find myself reading literature from all forms and genres.
Some television shows I am into are The Real World, Pretty Little Liars, CatFish, American Horror Story, Girls...and Jeopardy (I have no shame about this).
I am really looking forward to a wonderful semester with everyone!
Welcome, Amber. The links between YA and comics are underexplored and could make a great paper topic.
DeleteHello everyone,
ReplyDeleteI am a bit late, I tried posting earlier, I was having a few technical difficulties. My name is Hala Ayesh, I am a transfer student from Palestine, this is my last year, and I am hoping to make it an experience, I'm an English Language and Literature major, I am excited about this class. The majority of the classes I have been taking have centered around the English language and I'm looking forward to learning a lot. This is my first online class, so hopefully it will be an experience to remember!
PS- The last comic I read was Garfield, when "newspapers" were in, I would rush to get the newspaper just to read Garfield, that was the first thing I remembered when I signed up for this class.
Garfield! He will always have a little place in my heart, for his love of lasagna if nothing else. Hala, you might be interested in reading Joe Sacco's great graphic journalistic work, Palestine. We are not reading it in class, but you could still do your final paper on it. It's fabulous!
DeleteHello everyone (and professor)
ReplyDeleteI've been slow getting to this but better late than never! I'm in my last year at UC, studying journalism and English. This class will complete my requirements. Throughout my time at UC I've taken many English courses and enjoy analyzing literature but this class seems to be completely different than the rest. I've never read a comic book/graphic novel before (like Hala, I read newspaper comics) and I'm excited to learn more about the styles they offer.
Great! Excited to expose you to this medium.
DeleteI'm freshly added to this class as of 1/19/15 and super excited to be in it! I am currently transitioning into my Bachelors at UC. Growing up I read a few comics, and a few manga, but haven't picked up graphic novel in a long while. My first lengthy novel was Akira back some 12+ years ago. My major is in technology but this kind of stuff is something I'm passionate about and pretty excited to start reading. I am a huge mystery junkie so I hope something within these stories can help me get my fix without listening to audible at work 4 hours a day. Thanks everyone!
ReplyDeleteHello! I'm really late to the party (Graduate paperwork held me up for a long time)
ReplyDeleteAnyway I'm Alex Healey and I'm a 1st year Grad in Fine Arts. I focus in comics and I already own and operate my own indy comic publishing group called Hamster Bomb Studios. So aside from writing and drawing comics I read them a lot as one would assume. I think my first ever graphic novel was the Crow, and most recent was Trillium. I also review comics on my youtube channel (as well as do a whole lot of weird stuff.) I'm currently trying to render a possibly corrupt video file that took me all day to make... Videos aren't fun at all. Non-time based work like comics is always a less stressful choice. Anyway I'm really excited about this course! Look forward to discussions with you all!