"One Punch Man" (Original Web Comic)

One Punch Man has become more and more popular over the past two years. Before it was an anime, before it was a beautifully drawn professional manga, it was a crappily drawn webcomic. The fact that is started out as some artist taking a chance and putting his work out there even though he knew it didn’t have the best art, he took a chance anyways. As long as the story is strong, it will shine through.

I appreciate the ridiculous characters and hilarious nods to other mainstream media. Not to mention the Saitama face. When translating from the source material to the professional material I love that some of the original drawing style and dialogue was kept the same.

Saitama is a very relatable character in terms of being bored with his life. His facial expressions are also very relatable.

The introduction of Genos is probably one of the most awkward ways to introduce a character ever. Genos appears to be a badass powerful cyborg that’s gonna save the day. Hilariously he has his ass handed to him by a mosquito and of course Saitama kills it with one punch.

There are many theories going around about just how Saitama got his powers. I don’t think doing an insane workout routine every day will make you an invincible superhero. I might make you bald but I don’t think it’ll turn you into Superman.

"Hellboy Wake the Devil"

Hellboy has to be one of the classic examples of an antihero. He’s selfish, rude and blunt yet he still does what’s right even if it is in unconventional ways.

I first discovered Hellboy when I was staying up late one night flipping through the movie channels at home. I saw one of the live action movies with Ron Perlman. It’s almost hard not to read the comics in his voice now.

I love the references and ties to historic events that actually happened. Kind of spinning it into something fantastical and completely off topic from what it actually is.

The ridiculous technology that is used throughout the works is really cool. It has a vintage feel with some modern sci-fi twists.

Hellboy himself produces the majority of the comedy and the icebreakers in the story and that is hilarious. He kind of reminds me of a more serious Deadpool with a pessimistic view on life and the world. Knowing Hellboy’s past and backstory along with how he’s treated by the general public/media I can see why he’s so down on life and himself.

The sharp and graphic art style works well with the subject matter. Shading with mostly black seems to be a common way of drawing for darker subject matter. Also the fact that Hellboy is the brightest character in the story, he sticks out in whatever panel he’s in.

"Rat Queens"

I loved this comic. The art style is similar to mine and that resonated with me. The fantasy genre has always interested me and reading this that concept comes across very strong.

The facial expressions are strong and aesthetically pleasing; the variety of body types, species and races is greatly appreciated. It has a solid plot and good breaks in between action sequences.

The chemistry between Tizzy and Hannah is awesome and is well written. They always take verbal shots at each other while in the middle of a fight. Again, it’s a good break from the action of the battles. Clashing personalities are used a lot, sometimes overused; but Tizzy balances out Hannah and that helps the story flow.

In terms of theming it is a cross between Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings but with badass female leads.

Some of the transitions could have been a little clearer. I was lost at one point but it came back around and I found my place again.

This deals a lot with sacrifice and impulse decision making which are good topics to talk about. I recommend this and I plan to continue reading this when I have time in the future.

"Alice in Sunderland"

This has to be one of the trippiest comics I have ever read. There were so many colors and subject matters that it was almost overwhelming. It didn’t help either that the art style changed every page. In my opinion it was a mess. It did however give a valuable history lesson. I learned things that I never knew before. The history events also went chronologically, so at least I wasn’t confused about that part.

I liked the art style that was somewhat consistent though. I feel that people need a better lesson in history so if this is what it takes for people to get knowledge then that’s okay with me.

Using actual images and cutting and pasting them together is a good way to get away with not drawing anything. The comic was fairly long so That’s understandable.

I feel that the main audience member represents the general population in terms of learning and understanding history and art. He starts off rude and ignorant and stays that way through most of the work. The stubbornness of the man in the audience is compared to the desire of the stage performer trying to get him to appreciate something that used to be so popular.

I would have liked it to be a little bit shorter and a little clearer but otherwise it was really interesting.

"Death Note"

Re Reading Death Note made me flash back to my freshman year of highschool. I was really into manga at that time of my life and I kinda still am today. I started out with the cliche “How to Draw Manga” book and started getting more serious as I started to figure out that art was something that I wanted to make a career out of.

Death Note was also one of the first anime’s that I watched. Personally I feel it was pretty close to the manga but others can fight me about it. Now the fact that Netflix is coming out with a live action version with a terrible cast and the fact that they’re changing the story and I can list all 1,000,000 problems wrong with it but I won’t…………..

Re reading  made me re examine Light’s character and how he came to be Kira. Light appeared to be more innocent to me the first time but knowing who he becomes it kind of makes sense. His transformation and perversion of his morals speak to the nature of humanity. How we strive to rid the world of evil but in the process we become evil ourselves. Ryuk was the best part of the series hands down.

"Tank Girl"

My first impressions of this comic are mixed. It is very gritty and action packed, you can definitely tell that this is aimed towards a male audience. It almost reminds me of Mad Max. The art style is so rough and packed full of scratchy detail. Tank Girl herself is loud, proud and extremely reckless. Her design is unique and I can see the influences in modern media. For example, in Deadpool her design resembles Negasonic Teenage Warhead. Also the new Mad Max movie references Tank Girl heavily. The post apocalyptic theme has been extremely popular lately.

This comic has outrageous characters. The anthropomorphic characters are especially interesting. The designs are creative and different and Tank girl appears to change outfits every few pages. That gives the work a refreshing quality. I hate it when a character only has one specific design or outfit. Dressing them differently give more of a feel for their personality and how they express themselves.

The actual plot is a little hard to follow. From what I’ve read so far all she seems to do is go around causing destruction. It’s mostly action and ridiculous scenarios. It’s hilarious at times and kind of disturbing others.

I love comics with bad ass female leads and this catches my eye. I had heard of Tank Girl before but I never got around to reading it. If I have time I might continue it later on over the summer.

"March"

Reading this comic made me really think about what people went through just to get the right to sit and eat at a diner or ride on a bus. As a nation we are far from where we once were but we still aren’t all equal yet. Given the fact that it’s the 21st century and people are still fighting for basic rights is unbelievably sad, disturbing and just unconstitutional. As kids we’re taught that everyone is equal under the eyes of God; despite being an atheist, I still uphold that principle. Our nation was founded on the principles of freedom and equality and if our founding fathers could see us now they’d be ashamed!

This work gave an important look back on a point in history that many don’t want to talk about. The struggles that the people faced are real. Having it told as a first hand account helped emphasize the fact that John Lewis was actually there on the front lines of this fight. I think that all should read this at some point of their lives to understand what everyone fought so hard for.

During the point in the story where Lewis was making his way up the midwest and ended up in Buffalo, kind of touched my heart. Being from Buffalo myself, we pride ourselves in helping our neighbors no matter who they are. Having this be the place where Lewis first experienced what it was like to be equal almost made me cry. I wish that all could feel safe and free in this country and one day I think we’ll get there. This taught me that progress is slow and things don’t happen overnight.

In terms of the illustrations, the high contrast black and white images fit with the tone of the story. The way that the medium was used reminded me of scratchboard, ink wash and ink work. The dramatic lighting and the harshness of the ink emphasized the dramatic parts of the story. I love pen and ink, but my hand is too shaky to do it well.