Underground Comix

So first off what aren't underground comix. Some may think that they are the same as indie comics in which they are both not affiliated with a publishing company and the artist has full control over their story, art, and characters. They aren't kid friendly. Think about South Park: it's crude but has adult themes to it. That is what underground comix are.

I chose to read Dopin' Dan first, a comic set around the the army. It's crude with a simplistic design. Nothing extremely bad n the one I was reading, but with a clear stereotype of characters we think of when we imagine the military. The typical rough sergeant who picks on his crew and the pranks they play on him. There's some sexual reference but other than that it's just a bunch of jokes. Maybe I just didn't fully get it's humor or something. I do know that it wasn't my cup of tea.

Then I decided to read Fight Girls as I could already tell I was in store for something outrageous. Sure enough, it was women themed and included sexual encounters and such. I really shouldn't have been surprised. I mean there's a whole few pages in which Fox stabs a panther and uses it's skin as clothing (a simple bra and panties), chases a gazel for dinner and ends up getting captured by englishmen and one proceeds to have sex with her, or at least in the process of it, before she stabs him in the back. I will say that it does sometimes show the power of the female... I guess. Then I found the gem that is Speed Queen among the Freudians. I would like to quote simply quote my favorite line: 

"Dare you ask, landing yon phallic craft next to our monument to the great maleness." 

If that doesn't give you a simple clue as to what it was then you must not get it's genius writing. And of course, the writing isn't what the readers want. All the want is to see woman engaging in sex or any activity in skin tight to little clothing. Obviously both comix are geared to a male audience but, as said before, I guess some women may have read these. I mean the men in Speed Queen thought she was inferior but she got out of that situation... 

Eisner

I chose to read The Spirit, as I've heard of it but never read it. When I saw the cover I could already tell I was in for some great characters. And by great, I mean racist and stereotypical. The grumpy old man to the blonde vixen, to the black "monkey". Even The Spirit himself is just a rich, good looking white man. But to elaborate on the monkey aspect, the character is short, black, with ape like features; which I guess goes well with his grammar and role as a servant. The ones with the gorgeous oval lips. When I finally started to read it, I noticed my predictions to be true. I also noticed that he doesn't do as much saving. Someone else does an action to catch the bad guy while The Spirit gets all the credit. One can say it's like he's letting his "slave" do his work for him, as if calling him master wasn't enough. I'm guessing he's taking care of The Spirit's house, too.

Various Comics

It was nice to read about Jack Cole and Plastic Man as I have seen the character multiple times but never read anything staring the hero. Plastic Man is an interesting character in himself so getting to know some information him and his creator was something I enjoyed. However, I felt there were more I would have loved to learn about, but of course it's not a biography.

Now Tin Tin, on the other hand, I could read for days. It's in a simple style that I love with an interesting layout. A lot of comics I've read from the past have been very grid based while the panels in Tin Tin are not vertically aligned. I'm also a story kind of person, so quick stories aren't really my thing. Like Archie. It's the same characters but different stories that doesn't tie too much together. I feel I'm getting a full story from Tin Tin. It keeps me reading and entertained while continuing the story. You get a sense that everything is connected rather than snippets of his life.

Comic Strips and Little Nemo

Little Nemo has an interesting concept. It's like they took a child's thoughts and sayings and brought it to life, much like how some do these days with children's drawings. It's very surreal in which his dreams become his real life and his real life becomes the dream.

So one online comic strip I love to read is Hark, A Vagrant! by Kate Beaton. It combines a few of my favorite things: History, Humor, and Comics. These quick reads can get extremely addicting once you start. One of my favorite strips of the webcomic is the Gatsby ones located here: http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=259. What makes these so successful to me is the fact that these have historical facts to back them up with clever jokes within the words and visuals. It's that fact that they are almost inside jokes that you either get or don't.

Krazy Kat on the other hand I found humor in other ways. It isn't something I really was into. The accents do sometimes make it hard to read sometimes. What I found interesting is the use of a cat, mouse, and the side character dog. It seems like the basis for cat and mouse themed comics and shows such as Tom and Jerry and Itchy and Scratchy of the Simpsons.

Calvin is based on the child that's inside every adults mind that is struggling to escape. An example of this is that Calvin is very advanced for his age but still finds comfort to his imaginary tiger. Hobbes is the embodiment of a conscience and sort of like a parent figure by making sure Calvin doesn't do anything bad but still provides him with childlike imaginary activities such as Spaceman Spiff.