Calvin and Hobbes

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/

Calvin and Hobbes was a daily comic strip written by Bill Watterson. It’s about a six year old boy and his stuffed tiger. It ran from November 18, 1985 to December 31, 1995.

Calvin and Hobbes is set in USA. It is about Calvin’s fantasies and his relationships with his family, his stuffed tiger, and his classmates. Although the comic spanned ten years Calvin never became older.

The series dealt with issues such as education, education, and philosophy.

Bill Watterson drew Calvin and Hobbes basic and simple. A key part of Watterson’s style is his exaggerated expressions. Several of his comics showed Calvin and Hobbes philosophizing while sledding down a hill or going down on a wagon (See example below). He uses various methods of showing movement. In the first scene he draws a little outline around the tire of the wagon. In the second scene he shows multiple images of Calvin and Hobbes on the wagon. In the fourth scene he blurs the background to symbolize movement.

Calvin and Hobbes is a funny, simple comic that is still enjoyed by both children and adults.

Philip Van Raalte

Manga from The Legend of Zelda Series – A Link to the Past Comics

http://www.zeldadungeon.net/Manga.php

The Legend of Zelda is a video game series that stated in 1986. Nintendo endorsed, manga adaptations of the series have been available since 1997. I will be focusing on the “A Link to the Past” comic adaptation of the third game of the series also named “A Link to the Past”.

“A Link to the Past”, the manga adaptation, was created by Shotaro Ishinomori for Nintendo Power magazine. The series ran from January 1992 to December 1992. Later it was released in graphic novel format. The storyline was changed to make it interesting to people who had already finished the game.

 In the novel the evil wizard, Agahnim, has captured princess Zelda and has awakened Ganon. Link must rescue Zelda and restore peace to Hyrule. He finds the master sword and meets a master archer named Roam.

A Link to the Past is set in Hyrule.The author uses themes or heroism, friendship, and good versus evil. Link begins as an average villager. On his quest he becomes a hero. The author shows this when Link is in the Dark World. In the Dark World negative emotions can turn you into a beast. Link remains positive to stay in his true human form. He meets Roam who he becomes friends with. Link also defeats the evil in Hyrule and restores peace.

Shotaro Ishinomori uses the visual elements of the story to display emotion and to set the mood for the story. When Link goes to the Dark World Ishinomori shows an image of a grim looking moon above a pile of rocks being blown around. The style of Ishinomori’s art is similar to most Japanese manga. In some Japanese graphic novels the characters are children. In A Link to the Past the heroes are portrayed as children (Link, Zelda, and Roam). Agahnim and Ganon, the enemies, are adults. Not all the adults are evil. Link’s uncle and the old man are both adults.

If you are a fan of The Legend of Zelda series and graphic novels I highly recommend reading manga from The Legend of Zelda series. The art is interesting and the storylines are slightly different.

Philip Van Raalte

The Wormworld Saga online

http://www.wormworldsaga.com/

The Worm World saga is an online graphic novel currently being written, and uploaded chapter by chapter.

     The story follows the main character Jonas, a elementary school kid, who has just started summer vacation.  Like most kids his age, Jonas likes to day-dream, but Jonas day dreams so much, that his grades are slipping, and this does not make his father very happy.  Upon being reprimanded by his father, Jonas runs away, and discovers a portal to a magical land in which he quickly becomes trapped!

     The pages in the Worm World saga are laid out differently than any comic I've ever read.  Each page consists of one large image, and do proceed through the story you simply have to scroll down.  I found this technique very enjoyable, as you can not accidentally jump forward in the story line.  The artistic style is very colourfull, and vibrant, creating imagery of vast landscapes, and dense jungles.

     The characters themselves are simple in their construction, creating very accessible protagonists, which the reader can easily relate to.

     At the current time, the novel remains unfinished, only going as far as chapter 5, but  the plot so far seems to be based upon Jonas, being plunged into this fantastical world, where he must face his fears and triumph over the evil lurking in the shadows.

     All in all, the art style, combined with the interesting, and somewhat familiar plot make this an interesting read, which i would recommend to those looking to escape the regular world for a little while.      






    


Spencer Van Nus

For Better or For Worse

http://www.fborfw.com/strip_fix/

For Better or For Worse was a comic that ran for 30 years.  It was based on a Canadian family named the Pattersons, and it was even made into a tv show.  The Pattersons were a family of 6, Elly and John Patterson, Michael, Elizabeth and April Patterson and of course their beloved sheepdog Farley.

This comic centered on the lives of these six characters and their walk through everyday life.  As the comic grew older so did the characters growing in real time and developing the lives of those within it.  The family is faced with difficulties, just as in real life, as they lose Farley as he heroically saves little April from drowning, or when John loses his job.  Although the Pattersons face trials in their lives they can always depend and lean on one another for support.

The artistic style that is used is actually very elegant yet simple, creating a set of unique characters that you can relate to, and altogether a happy feeling to the comic.  As the characters grew older, their looks had to change (this from my opinion was the first I had seen of a comic that “evolved” and became something more with a storyline. 

For Better or For Worse was a great family comic, which focused on life’s ups and downs.  Its name originated from the marriage service vows, …to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health..., which I believe shows that life isn’t perfect, but if you have a good supporting, loving family around you, you can make it through the worst and the best times of your life!

Matthew White

Archie Comics

 

http://www.archiecomics.com/

 

Archie comics is an american based comic that centres around the lives of 5 distinct teenagers; Archie, Betty, Veronica, Jughead and Reggie.

 

The classic comics revolve around Archie's obsession with the opposite sex and his inability to choose who he should go "steady" with.  Betty, the sweet girl from next door, or Veronica, the lovely heiress of Mr. Lodge.  Jughead, Archie's best pal, provides a comic relief from all this girl chasing by focusing on food and sleep (things he believes are more important).  Reggie, another pal of Archie's (though not in the same way), also tries to get shots with the ladies and in short, is quite full of himself.  These five teenagers live in a quaint small town by the name of Riverdale, where they attend their local highschool, and of course get into more trouble as teenagers do. 

 

The style of Archie comics have changed throughout the years, but the colour filled pages, and witty humor of the stories has remained the same. It is easy to recognize the simplicty of each character in these comics, as it is also easy to picture yourself in their shoes.  Archie has evolved throughout the years with the clothing portrayed, or the speech spoken, and yet somehow the feeling of Archie comics was never lost. This is something to be proud of!

 

This comic started 70 years ago has captured the nation by the power of showing us all what it's like to be young again.  Whether this be head over heels in love, in trouble with our school work and teachers, or just hanging out with good friends, and living while we're young.

 

Archie comics is an enjoyable comic, that provides a humorous and heart felt read.  I would recommend it to readers of any age.

 

Matthew White

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



The probability broach

http://www.bigheadpress.com/tpbtgn?page=0

The probability broach is a 23 chapter epic in which we follow detective Edward William Bear...better known as Win.

We follow his adventures as an 1970's detective who's seen it all. He's following a murder when suddenly he's shot forward in time! To a land with lasers flying cars and where dolphins and whales can speak...oh and lets not forget the monkey butlers.
Through his adventures, he picks up a rag tag group of friends who aid him in his journey. Consisting of the blonde scientist love interest, the man with the gadgets, the old cat lady, the monkey butler, and at some points, a cyborg dolphin.

The theme of this novel is mostly that of friendship. Win must make the transition from surly old detective, to new age private eye. His old hermit ways won't fly in the big city of the future, so he struggles to make new friends, and he is much better off for it.

Visually, the novel has a very retro style drawn mostly in the 70's the characters look like they fit right in, especially with the back to the future look of the depicted future. The style of gutter, is plain and white, like the background, creating stark contrast between the action and gutter.

Over all i rather enjoyed the novel and would recommend it to others looking for a dose of 1970's retro cop
Spencer van nus